Douglas MacArthur



Douglas MacArthur

Introduction

Douglas MacArthur was born in Little Rock, Arkansas, 1880 - Washington. At age 32 he reached the rank of general. From 1930 to 1935 he was chief of staff and then became a military adviser to the Philippines, where he was surprised by the outbreak of the Second World War (1939-45).

Battle in the Pacific

Sixty reporters waited for the MacArthur's' arrival in Melbourne, Australia, on March 17, 1942. Douglas MacArthur, who was always eager to talk to the press, didn't shy away from any of the reporter's questions. He made it clear he still felt that the defeat of Japan should be a higher priority than the defeat of Germany. He also repeated a promise that he would return to help the Philippines.

Once in Australia, MacArthur hoped he'd be put in charge of the entire Pacific region, including the land, sea, and air forces. But, he was only assigned to handle the war in the southwest Pacific. In July, MacArthur's headquarters moved to Brisbane, Australia, 500 miles (800 km) north of Melbourne. He and his family settled in at Lennon's Hotel, where young Arthur made friends with the son of one of the hotel's assistant managers. Having his wife and son nearby, helped keep MacArthur strong during the challenging times of war. He and his son kept their morning tradition of salutes and marches, but now the ritual was followed by the presentation of a small gift from father to son. MacArthur loved to spoil his son.

That summer, MacArthur, who was very popular with the American public at the time, was named Father of the Year hack in the United States. MacArthur didn't have time to bask in the glory of his award however. He quickly set to work making plans to protect Australia from a Japanese invasion. Early in the war, the Japanese had gained control of many islands in the southwest Pacific. Now, the Japanese sat poised to take Australia. Many believed the best plan was to prepare Australia to defend itself, but MacArthur devised a bolder plan. He led American and Australian soldiers to retake the islands captured by the Japanese and push the enemy farther away. Upset by the number of lives that were lost in directly challenging the Japanese soldiers in their strongholds, MacArthur created a strategy he called island hopping. Under this plan, MacArthur's forces would attack a relatively weak area through which the Japanese received much needed supplies. With the supply line cut, the strong area would soon suffer from lack of food, ammunition, and other things necessary for battle. MacArthur knew it was much easier to starve the enemy than to beat it outright in battle, and his strategy worked. One by one, MacArthur gained control of New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, and others areas held by the Japanese. Because the Australian and American troops were 'hopping” from island to island, the Japanese troops never knew where they would be attacked next.

The island-hopping strategy relied on close cooperation between air and ...