March 12 1942 MacArthur abandons his Troops

[whitehall]

By April 9 1942 the exhausted starving Americans surrender at Bataan and Corrigador but the General is successfully transported to Austrailia by P.T. Boat. The skipper of the P.T. Boat is awarded the Medal of Honor and so is General MacArthur.

 

[SassyIrishLass]

MacArthur was a shit stain

 

[IsaacNewton]

He was ordered to leave if I remember correctly.

After Pearl Harbor the Japanese quickly expanded in the Paicifc and the war news for the allies was not good at all. There was no guarantee of winning. The DoLittle Raid took place on April 18, 1942 and the battle of Midway wouldn't take place until two months later in early June 1942.

At the moment McArthur was ordered to leave the US did need all capable generals and other high ranking military personnel. While it looks good and heroic for commanding officers to stay with their men in the real world the experience they have is too valuable. Neither the US nor the British had the capability of sending a large fleet so far a distance to evacuate the troops in Bataan who actually fought a very good defensive battle for many weeks. They eventually ran low on supplies.

 

[regent]

"Stick with Mac and never get back."
"Move over God, it's me, Mac."
Come to think of it, Mac and Trump are like peas in a pod. Both need adulation and both make enormous mistakes.

 

[longknife]

He was given direct orders by FDR to leave the Philippines at the earliest possible moment.

 

[regent]

He was given direct orders by FDR to leave the Philippines at the earliest possible moment.

How many orders did MacArthur disobey? The last order he disobeyed, led to his dismissal,

 

[longknife]

He was given direct orders by FDR to leave the Philippines at the earliest possible moment.

How many orders did MacArthur disobey? The last order he disobeyed, led to his dismissal,

He wanted to stop the massive invasion of Korea by the Chinese army using a nuclear weapon. HST told him it was out of the question and Mac openly disagreed with him. HST canned him for being insubordinate.

Maybe if he had been allowed to nuke the Chinese, a whole lot of allied deaths would've been avoided, we'd have a unified Korea, and Mao would've lost power.

 

[whitehall]

Has it ever happened in history? Has there ever been a case when a general was ordered to save himself while his troops were left to starve and surrender? You would expect at least a Court Martial or a board of inquiry but FDR bolstered MacArthur's reputation by having congress award the venerable Medal of Honor in an embarrassing perhaps shortest citation in the MOH book. MacArthur earned the nickname "dugout Doug" on Corrigador. Strangely enough the P.T. Boat skipper was also awarded the MOH for evading the Japanese while transporting MacArthur to safety.

 

[RetiredGySgt]

Mac was a tool BUT he was ORDERED to leave get your history straight people.

 

[harmonica]

Mac screwed up big time in Korea:
1.there were numerous signs/quotes from China/etc that the they would get involved
if the parallel was crossed
2.Mac said our air power could stop the Chinese--WRONG
3.the UN forces [ except for the USMC ] took a bloody nose in the 1st Chinese Offensive--more proof China was greatly involved--but Mac didn't accept that fact
4. USMC General Smith knew it was asking too much of the Americans to advance in that weather and terrain

In early November, Smith had asked to slow the advance toward the Chinese border, fearing his Marines were walking into a deadly trap. Though MacArthur denied his request, Smith cleverly left supplies and established airfields along their route so that they could fight their way out if his instincts proved right.

I believe a winter campaign in the mountains of North Korea is too much to ask of the American soldier or Marine, and I doubt the feasibility of supplying troops in this area during the winter or providing for the evacuation of sick or wounded."

During Korean War, battling bitter cold and the enemy at Chosin - Philly
Korean War Educator: Chosin Reservoir - Ray Vallowe Research - Chapter 7
Two Strategic Intelligence Mistakes in Korea, 1950 — Central Intelligence Agency

very tough to move a non/or mechanized force north tactically
1.icy -snowy-hilly terrain
2. 30 BELOW zero temps
3.one MSR easily cut by enemy
4.line of supply/etc extended as they move north
5. a lowly Marine intel officer knew it would've been hard to move north

...my father fought at the Chosin--you think it's cold sometimes?? 30 BELOW is COLD...and that's not wind chill
The Chosin Reservoir: Medical Care in Subfreezing Weather | Marine Corps Association

 

[harmonica]

..Mac changed his plan 180 in the Philippines--and this lost a lot of supplies---logistics are a critical point in war
..so all the planning and staging was for a forward defense--then on 23 Dec--he CHANGED the plan completely!!
very chaotic/insane/etc
..first he wanted to stop them on the beaches--then he changed it to a Bataan defense

However, by this time Brigadier General Charles Drake's supply corps, although desperately attempting to move tons of food, ammunition, fuel, and medical supplies to the Bataan Peninsula, were hampered by air raids, lack of vehicles, lack of personnel, and, most importantly, lack of time, even with General Jonathan Wainwright's Northern Corps fighting a delayed retreat.[67] As a result, they were only able to relocate a portion of the much needed supplies to the peninsula. In addition, the pre-invasion construction of the planned Bataan fortified defensive positions had also been neglected.

Military History Online - MacArthur's Failures in the Philippines

 

[whitehall]

General MacArthur had done his duty in WW1 and later rose to the rank of Chief of Staff of the Army He retired from the Army honorably but for some reason FDR talked him into taking command of a military force that was the most likely target of the Japanese in a war that seemed inevitable. MacArthur seemed to think that he was some sort of diplomatic envoy rather than a military commander and hobnobbed with the Philippine elite. In the 24-48 hours the American troops had to prepare for attack after Pearl Harbor, accounts indicated that MacArthur was indecisive and hesitant and possibly confused. The "war plan" was not followed and the Japanese must have been puzzled why Mac never sent a plane in the air and his entire air force was shot up on the ground parked wing to wing. Within three months MacArthur's entire army would be starving and out of ammunition and forced to surrender while the commanding officer was evacuated to safety. Mac should have faced a court martial but instead was awarded the Medal of Honor.

 

[Admiral Rockwell Tory]

General MacArthur had done his duty in WW1 and later rose to the rank of Chief of Staff of the Army He retired from the Army honorably but for some reason FDR talked him into taking command of a military force that was the most likely target of the Japanese in a war that seemed inevitable. MacArthur seemed to think that he was some sort of diplomatic envoy rather than a military commander and hobnobbed with the Philippine elite. In the 24-48 hours the American troops had to prepare for attack after Pearl Harbor, accounts indicated that MacArthur was indecisive and hesitant and possibly confused. The "war plan" was not followed and the Japanese must have been puzzled why Mac never sent a plane in the air and his entire air force was shot up on the ground parked wing to wing. Within three months MacArthur's entire army would be starving and out of ammunition and forced to surrender while the commanding officer was evacuated to safety. Mac should have faced a court martial but instead was awarded the Medal of Honor.

It was 9 hours later. Why are you attempting to change the historical record?

There is so much wrong in your post that it is a crime.

 

[whitehall]

General MacArthur had done his duty in WW1 and later rose to the rank of Chief of Staff of the Army He retired from the Army honorably but for some reason FDR talked him into taking command of a military force that was the most likely target of the Japanese in a war that seemed inevitable. MacArthur seemed to think that he was some sort of diplomatic envoy rather than a military commander and hobnobbed with the Philippine elite. In the 24-48 hours the American troops had to prepare for attack after Pearl Harbor, accounts indicated that MacArthur was indecisive and hesitant and possibly confused. The "war plan" was not followed and the Japanese must have been puzzled why Mac never sent a plane in the air and his entire air force was shot up on the ground parked wing to wing. Within three months MacArthur's entire army would be starving and out of ammunition and forced to surrender while the commanding officer was evacuated to safety. Mac should have faced a court martial but instead was awarded the Medal of Honor.

It was 9 hours later. Why are you attempting to change the historical record?

There is so much wrong in your post that it is a crime.

O.K. call it nine hours but technically he had three years to prepare for the impending Japanese attack and by all accounts his command structure was laughable. Like most failed demagogues MacArthur quickly blamed subordinates for his own failures of leadership.

 

[Admiral Rockwell Tory]

General MacArthur had done his duty in WW1 and later rose to the rank of Chief of Staff of the Army He retired from the Army honorably but for some reason FDR talked him into taking command of a military force that was the most likely target of the Japanese in a war that seemed inevitable. MacArthur seemed to think that he was some sort of diplomatic envoy rather than a military commander and hobnobbed with the Philippine elite. In the 24-48 hours the American troops had to prepare for attack after Pearl Harbor, accounts indicated that MacArthur was indecisive and hesitant and possibly confused. The "war plan" was not followed and the Japanese must have been puzzled why Mac never sent a plane in the air and his entire air force was shot up on the ground parked wing to wing. Within three months MacArthur's entire army would be starving and out of ammunition and forced to surrender while the commanding officer was evacuated to safety. Mac should have faced a court martial but instead was awarded the Medal of Honor.

It was 9 hours later. Why are you attempting to change the historical record?

There is so much wrong in your post that it is a crime.

O.K. call it nine hours but technically he had three years to prepare for the impending Japanese attack and by all accounts his command structure was laughable. Like most failed demagogues MacArthur quickly blamed subordinates for his own failures of leadership.

I suggest you read the history and stop relying on amateurish accounts.

 

[longknife]

I was alive when all of this happened and remember well the news reels of the war. Afterward, I devoured just about everything I could about the war on both fronts.

I has always been clear to me that Mac, like Ike, was first and foremost politician. He relied on subordinates to make the tactical decisions and selected them for their ability to say yes to everything he said. I agree that he failed to prepare the Philippines to defend itself against the Japanese and his indecision resulted in the Bataan Death March.

However, when FDR ordered him to leave and establish a base in Australia, he had clearly learned his lesson and set about relying on men like Chester Nimitz and others in the island-hopping campaigns, using naval forces he was not familiar with, to force the Japanese back to their home islands.

Maybe because of him and a strong anti-war feeling, we were totally unprepared for the north's invasion of the south in Korea. More thousands died because of political instead of tactical decisions. And, when Mac finally woke up and wanted to use nukes, politicians stepped in and stopped him.

So, decades later, we face a serious problem in the Korean Peninsula that should have been ended decades ago.

Damn the politicians.

 

[whitehall]

It was said that MacArthur had more reporters on his staff than a Marine platoon. Mac was the worst choice to command front line troops in the Pacific. He was still a skilled tactician but he was more at home with his charts and maps than in command of troops. William Manchester's puzzling title "American Caesar" bio of MacArthur solidified the fake legacy. When mostly Korean Vets prevented MacArthur from gaining the republican ticket to run for president the vindictive "Old Soldier" ran as a 3rd party candidate deliberately siphoning votes from fellow retired general Eisenhower.

 

[RetiredGySgt]

I was alive when all of this happened and remember well the news reels of the war. Afterward, I devoured just about everything I could about the war on both fronts.

I has always been clear to me that Mac, like Ike, was first and foremost politician. He relied on subordinates to make the tactical decisions and selected them for their ability to say yes to everything he said. I agree that he failed to prepare the Philippines to defend itself against the Japanese and his indecision resulted in the Bataan Death March.

However, when FDR ordered him to leave and establish a base in Australia, he had clearly learned his lesson and set about relying on men like Chester Nimitz and others in the island-hopping campaigns, using naval forces he was not familiar with, to force the Japanese back to their home islands.

Maybe because of him and a strong anti-war feeling, we were totally unprepared for the north's invasion of the south in Korea. More thousands died because of political instead of tactical decisions. And, when Mac finally woke up and wanted to use nukes, politicians stepped in and stopped him.

So, decades later, we face a serious problem in the Korean Peninsula that should have been ended decades ago.

Damn the politicians.

We would have faced Russian troops as well as Chinese if we used Nukes. Russia was clear on that. I don't know if Russia had the ability to deliver nukes on the US in 50 but I am sure they would have used them in Korea.

 

[harmonica]

I was alive when all of this happened and remember well the news reels of the war. Afterward, I devoured just about everything I could about the war on both fronts.

I has always been clear to me that Mac, like Ike, was first and foremost politician. He relied on subordinates to make the tactical decisions and selected them for their ability to say yes to everything he said. I agree that he failed to prepare the Philippines to defend itself against the Japanese and his indecision resulted in the Bataan Death March.

However, when FDR ordered him to leave and establish a base in Australia, he had clearly learned his lesson and set about relying on men like Chester Nimitz and others in the island-hopping campaigns, using naval forces he was not familiar with, to force the Japanese back to their home islands.

Maybe because of him and a strong anti-war feeling, we were totally unprepared for the north's invasion of the south in Korea. More thousands died because of political instead of tactical decisions. And, when Mac finally woke up and wanted to use nukes, politicians stepped in and stopped him.

So, decades later, we face a serious problem in the Korean Peninsula that should have been ended decades ago.

Damn the politicians.

We would have faced Russian troops as well as Chinese if we used Nukes. Russia was clear on that. I don't know if Russia had the ability to deliver nukes on the US in 50 but I am sure they would have used them in Korea.

I agree that would've widened the war--any sane person did not want that

you can't have the military ruling on political problems!!!! !!!
then you get:
Saddam-Iraq
Amin-Uganda
Ghadaffi -Libya
etc etc etc

 

[harmonica]

China was not going to let the US or a US ally on their border
remember the US aided the Chinese Nationalist vs the Communist in their civil war
just as the US did not want Cuba communist
that's why there was a Bay of Pigs and an October Crisis