MacArthur - American Caesar (1)
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Douglas MacArthur was born in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1880. He was the grandson of a former governor of Wisconsin, and the son of a medal-of-honor-winning military governor of the Philippines. He attended West Point and graduated first in his class. After a brief stint as an aide to his father, he became the chief of staff of the 42nd Rainbow Infantry Division in France during WWI. He led the division through the Meuse-Argonne Offensive and the Battle of St. Mihiel. During the war, he developed a bad relationship with General Pershing.
After the war, he became the superintendent of West Point. Then, he was charged with breaking up the Bonus Army, which had gathered in Washington DC to protest Hoover's treatment of them. After that, he became the head of FDR's Civilian Conservation Corps. Then, he became US Army Forces Commander in the Far East and was stationed in the Philippines. When WWII rolled around for the United States, he led the failed defense of the Philippines. Although he did not do the best job, he was awarded the Medal of Honor. In March 1942, he was instructed to go to Australia to become Supreme Allied Commander of the Southwest Pacific Area. He famously yelled "I shall return" as he sailed away.
MacArthur's actions during WWII and the Korean War will be in the next episode.
For more information, read:
Armchair General (November 2005): Douglas MacArthur
The Guinness Book of Military Blunders by Geoffrey Regan
TheOxford
The Pacific War Companion by Daniel Marston
Reader’s Digest Illustrated History of WWII
The Dictionary of Battles by David Chandler
http://ww2db.com/person_bio.php?person_id=3&list=Ground
http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/douglasmacarthurfarewelladdress.htm
Military History Podcast is sponsored by Armchair General Magazine
Douglas MacArthur was born in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1880. He was the grandson of a former governor of Wisconsin, and the son of a medal-of-honor-winning military governor of the Philippines. He attended West Point and graduated first in his class. After a brief stint as an aide to his father, he became the chief of staff of the 42nd Rainbow Infantry Division in France during WWI. He led the division through the Meuse-Argonne Offensive and the Battle of St. Mihiel. During the war, he developed a bad relationship with General Pershing.
After the war, he became the superintendent of West Point. Then, he was charged with breaking up the Bonus Army, which had gathered in Washington DC to protest Hoover's treatment of them. After that, he became the head of FDR's Civilian Conservation Corps. Then, he became US Army Forces Commander in the Far East and was stationed in the Philippines. When WWII rolled around for the United States, he led the failed defense of the Philippines. Although he did not do the best job, he was awarded the Medal of Honor. In March 1942, he was instructed to go to Australia to become Supreme Allied Commander of the Southwest Pacific Area. He famously yelled "I shall return" as he sailed away.
MacArthur's actions during WWII and the Korean War will be in the next episode.
For more information, read:
Armchair General (November 2005): Douglas MacArthur
The Guinness Book of Military Blunders by Geoffrey Regan
The
The Pacific War Companion by Daniel Marston
Reader’s Digest Illustrated History of WWII
The Dictionary of Battles by David Chandler
http://ww2db.com/person_bio.php?person_id=3&list=Ground
http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/douglasmacarthurfarewelladdress.htm
Military History Podcast is sponsored by Armchair General Magazine
posted by George Hageman at 12:52 PM
1 Comments:
This is a very large topic and probably should have been in 3 episodes, WWI (1880-1930), WWII (1930-1948), and Korea (1948-1954).
A couple of brief corrections need be added:
MacArthur did a superb job with what he had to work with in the Philippines. His attempts to make improvements by requesting more of everything went unheard. He was constantly backstabbed by the best in the business...FDR. He received a Medal of Honor for his gallantry in leading the defense of the Philippines.
He did not get along with Pershing because of a woman, whom they both shared an interest in. George C. Marshall went behind MacArthur's back to Pershing...being the career oriented opportunist lap dog that he was at the time, and he hated MacArthur.
MacArthur made his famous statement "I shall return" when addressing the Australian Parliament after escaping the Philippines.... Not "as he sailed away."
During WWII MacArthur's war strategy took more land from an enemy with the fewest losses in lives than any other commander of any country during the entire war.
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