- My Forums
- Tiger Rant
- LSU Recruiting
- SEC Rant
- Saints Talk
- Pelicans Talk
- More Sports Board
- Fantasy Sports
- Golf Board
- Soccer Board
- O-T Lounge
- Tech Board
- Home/Garden Board
- Outdoor Board
- Health/Fitness Board
- Movie/TV Board
- Book Board
- Music Board
- Political Talk
- Money Talk
- Fark Board
- Gaming Board
- Travel Board
- Food/Drink Board
- Ticket Exchange
- TD Help Board
Customize My Forums- View All Forums
- Show Left Links
- Topic Sort Options
- Trending Topics
- Recent Topics
- Active Topics
Started By
Message
re: Gen. Douglas MacArthur "dug out dug"
Posted on 6/15/15 at 1:28 pm to terd ferguson
Posted on 6/15/15 at 1:28 pm to terd ferguson
quote:
And that's BS too. FDR and G. Marshall wanted him somewhere out of the way... at the time they thought Australia was the least threatening place to send him.
If it wouldn't have been for his popularity (due to his own propaganda) he would have been shitcanned and out of the war completely after his frick up in the Philippines.
You're looking at the matter with the benefit of hindsight. Yes, MacArthur royally fricked up in the Philippines and hastened it's fall with his ineptitude. But in 1942, the picture in Washington of what was happening there was very incomplete. Basically they thought he was cut off from resupply (which he was) and was facing an overwhelmingly larger force (which he wasn't).
As for Australia, at that time, with Japan on the advance seemingly everywhere in the Pacific, Australia was not viewed as a backwater but rather a highly strategic focal point of the war to come. And it was assumed at that time that Australia would face invasion in the very near future. Remember, not only did Washington send MacArthur there, they also dispatched the 1st Marine Div there, which at that time was basically the only ground forces we could muster in the entire theater.
Posted on 6/15/15 at 1:41 pm to Darth_Vader
He was a decent WW1 officer...
but by 1941, whole 'nother story...
and what's just as bad, Louis Brereton kept getting pushed up after the cluster at Clark Field...remember he's the guy that said there couldn't be two airdrops on the first day of MARKET GARDEN...
but by 1941, whole 'nother story...
and what's just as bad, Louis Brereton kept getting pushed up after the cluster at Clark Field...remember he's the guy that said there couldn't be two airdrops on the first day of MARKET GARDEN...
This post was edited on 6/15/15 at 1:41 pm
Posted on 6/15/15 at 1:57 pm to Darth_Vader
quote:
Remember, not only did Washington send MacArthur there, they also dispatched the 1st Marine Div there, which at that time was basically the only ground forces we could muster in the entire theater.
And no worse match between force and mission than to ask Marines to hold ground.
![](https://images.tigerdroppings.com/Images/Icons/IconLOL.gif)
So, you know that's the last act of a desperate Pentagon.
The speed with which Japan seized control of the entire Western and Central Pacific is stunning, even in hindsight - at set up they were on their home islands, Manchuria, and Korea - they also had an army in Eastern China - but within a few weeks, it seemed like there was a Japanese garrison and airfield on every other island in the Pacific at least North of Australia and West of Midway.
And by Summer 1942 - after battles in the Coral Sea and at Midway - it was all over, except the counting for the Empire of Japan.
I want to credit them for following an aggressive and correct strategy - cut the lines of communication between the U.S./U.K. and Australia - and they could have contained the Aussies while focusing on China to the West and the U.S. to the East. But, just as the Confederacy simply didn't have the men and materiel reserves to absorb the losses associated with agggressive, offensive operations, the Japanese could not replace what they were losing - particularly the extraordinarily high losses in capital ships and trained pilots for much of 1942.
Generalship and admiralship counts for only a small part of that war. To put it in perspective - in December 1941 - the U.S. Pacific Fleet consisted of 9 battleships, 3 aircraft carriers, 12 heavy cruisers, 8 light cruisers, 50 destroyers, 33 submarines and 100 patrol bombers (plus the air wings of the 3 aircaft carriers).
By May 1945 - there were 29 carrier DIVISIONS - counting the training squadron and the escorts - just the CVs and CVLs (not counting Saratoga, as she was the flagship of the training squadron) numbered 26 - the majority of which were state of the art, Essex class carriers (the world's first "supercarriers").
The Japanese navy was doing ... not as well ... in May 1945, from a combat power standpoint.
This post was edited on 6/15/15 at 2:00 pm
Posted on 6/15/15 at 2:39 pm to Darth_Vader
Thank you for posting with perspective and accuracy. Now I don't have to do it myself, and can just call the OP a dumbass who can't spell Bataan.
Posted on 6/16/15 at 6:09 pm to Darth_Vader
My granddad served under him and hated his guts. Never really got into it other than referencing him as dugout dug along with a few of the first curse words I learned.
Popular
Back to top
![logo](https://images.tigerdroppings.com/images/layout/TDIcon.jpg)