John J. Pershing commanded the American Expeditionary Forces in Europe when the World War I armistice was signed.
Pershing led U.S. forces on the Western Front from 1917 until the armistice of November 11, 1918. He insisted that American troops be organized as an independent force rather than absorbed entirely into Allied armies, although some U.S. units served under Allied command during major operations.
The American Expeditionary Forces played a significant role in the final campaigns of 1918. More than two million American personnel reached Europe during the war, and the Meuse-Argonne Offensive became the largest American operation of the conflict.
Pershing is sometimes confused with later U.S. commanders such as Douglas MacArthur, George S. Patton, and Omar Bradley. Those officers became prominent in later conflicts, especially World War II, not as commander of the American Expeditionary Forces in 1918.