1

GEN DOUGLAS MAC ARTHER

1880 - 1964

INTRODUCTION

1.

"Old soldiers never die, they just fade away. And like the old soldier of that

ballad, I now close my military career and just fade away--an old soldier who
tried to do his duty as God gave him the light to see that duty. Goodbye." Upon
losing his command, MacArthur spoke these words as part of farewell address to
the US Congress on April 19, 1951.
2.

Douglas MacArthur (1880-1964), American general, was one of the most

controversial mil figures in American hist. He was the son of a Civil War hero,
named Arthur MacArthur, who won the Congressional Medal of Honor for his
valor in battle. Arthur would later comd American tps during the Philippine
Insurrection. Arthur's son, Douglas, followed his father's footsteps and pursued a
career as a professional soldier in the U.S. Army. As a young coll he won seven
Silver Stars for gallantry, four other US medals, and 19 honours from Allied
nations in WW-I. He easily ranked as one of Americas greatest, albeit most
controversial, gen. Those who served under MacArthur either loved or despised
him, but all, incl his en, honoured his strat brilliance, his mastery of amph warfare
and his ability to achieve victory with a min of cas.
3.

MacArthur comd American tps in World War II, supervised the postwar

occupation of Japan. At the end of WW II, General MacArthur became the mil
governor of Japan. He was instrumental in reshaping the Japanese nation's pol
structure, its eco life, and even the Japanese people's relationship with their own
emperor. Most historians agree that MacArthur's role in post-war Japan was a
positive one for both the U.S. and Japan. He also led United Nations forces
during the Korean War. In 1951 United States president Harry Truman dismissed
MacArthur from his command of UN forces in Korea after MacArthur defied war
policy.

AIM

4.

To carry out study of Gen Douglas MacArthur life hist, ldrship traits, tac

genius and acumen.

SEQUENCE
5.

The sequence of presentation is as under:a.

Part I

Life History

b.

Part II

The Campaigns

c.

Part III

Ldrship Traits

c.

Part IV

Tac Genius and Acumen

PART I
LIFE HISTORY
6.

MacArthur was born in Little Rock, Arkansas, on January 26, 1880. In

1903 he graduated with highest honors from the U.S. Mil Academy and became
an engr offr. During the next 14 years his career incl some routine asg, but he
also toured the Orient as his father's aide, served as aide to President Roosevelt,
and became the army's first public relations offr. In World War I, MacArthur
reached the rank of gen and won numerous honors for his heroism and his
ldrship of the 42nd (Rainbow) Div. From 1919 to 1922, as supdt of West Point, he
revitalized the mil academy. After other asg, incl the comd of the Philippine Dept,
he was made army chief of staff in 1930 and held the post for five years, longer
than any predecessor. During the Great Depression, he fought hard for army per
but was pilloried for using force to drive disgruntled veterans, known as the
Bonus Army, from Washington, D.C. In 1935 MacArthur stepped down as chief of
staff to serve as chief mil advisor to the Philippine gov, a position he filled until
1941.
7.

In late 1932, Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected president. When

MacArthurs term as chief of staff expired in 1934, Roosevelt extended it for

another year. In October 1935, MacArthur reverted to the permanent rank of maj
gen and was sent to the Philippines Army. On 31 December 1937, MacArthur
retired from the U.S Army and remained in the Philippines to help the gov
prepare for independence.
8.

In July 1941, MacArthur was recalled to active duty with the rank of Lt gen

and appt comd of U.S Army Forces in the Far East (USAFFE). He imm set about
trying to bolster the Philippine def against a possible Japanese invasion. In a
speech made on his arrival Mac Arthur gave his solemn pledge, I came through
and I shall return.
9.

In March 1942, MacArthur was awarded the Medal of Honor. In April he

was appt supreme Comd, Allied Forces, Southwest Pacific Area, effectively
splitting comd in the Pacific. In Oct, MacArthur landed with his tps on Leyte and

spoke the words the Philippine people had waited two long years to hear, I have
returned.
10.

In April, MacArthur was appt Comd Gen of U.S Army Forces in the Pacific.

In August he was also appt Supreme Comd for the Allied Powers in Japan in
order to take the Japanese surrender in Tokyo Bay ( September 1945). After the
Japanese surrender, MacArthur was appt Supreme Comd of Allied Occupation
Forces in Japan. In January 1947, MacArthur was also appt Comd of the Far
East Comd, which comprised all U.S. forces in Japan, Korea, the Philippines, the
Marianas, and the Bonin Islands.
11.

Shortly after the outbreak of the Korean War in June 1950, Mac Arthur

was appt Supreme Comd of UN Forces in Korea. MacArthurs public

disagreement with U.S. policy and differences over civil-mil relations and strat dir
of the war led to inc tension with President Truman. Truman, without the
consideration of forewarning to MacArthur, publicly announced the gens
dismissal on April 11, 1951.
12.

He died on April 5, 1964, in Washington, D.C. a man, who inspired

extreme emotions among admirers and critics alike, MacArthur was a brilliant
soldier who played a crucial role in American mil affairs for more than three
decades.

PART II
THE CAMPAIGNS

World War I
13.

On 6 April 1917 the United States declared war on Germany. MacArthur

was instrumental in org a multi state National Guard div, the 42d Rainbow Div,
for service in France. Mac Arthur fought in the Aisne-Marne operation from 25
July to 2 August 1918. He comd the 84 th Bde at St. Mihiel on 12-17 Sep. During
the Meuse-Argonne campaign (4 October 11 November), MacArthur became
the youngest div comd of the war when he was appt to lead the 42d in the race
to Sedan (6-11 November). After the armistice, MacArthur remained in Germany
as part of the occupation force until April 1919, when he was recalled to the
United States.

Duty in World War II

14.

Recalled to active duty in July 1941, MacArthur conducted a valiant

delaying action against the Japanese in the Philippines after war erupted in Dec.
He was ordered to Australia in March 1942 to comd Allied forces in the
Southwest Pacific Theater. He soon launched an offn in New Guinea that drove
the Japanese out of Papua by Jan 1943. In a series of ops in 1943-44,
MacArthur's tps seized strat pts in New Guinea from Lae to Sansapor, while
capturing the Admiralties and western New Britain. The simultaneous northward
movt of South Pacific forces in the Solomons, over whom MacArthur maintained
strat con, neut Rabaul and bypassed many Japanese units.
15.

After winning a decision to invade the Philippines next rather than

Formosa, MacArthur attk Morotai, Leyte, and Mindoro in autumn 1944. Not until
the Leyte op did he have overwhelming logl sp; his earlier plans had been exec
despite inadequacies of per and material and with little asst from the Pacific
Fleet. MacArthur seriously questioned his superiors' decision to give pri to the
European war over the Pacific conflict and to the Central Pacific Theater over his
Southwest Pacific area.

16.

His largest, costliest ops occurred during the seven-month Luzon

campaign in 1945. That spring he also undertook the re-conquest of the southern
Philippines and Borneo. Meanwhile, he left the difficult mopping-up ops in New
Guinea and the Solomons to the Australian Army. He was prom to genl of the
army in December 1944 and was appt comd of all U.S. army forces in the Pacific
four months later. He was in charge of the surrender ceremony in Tokyo Bay on
Sept. 2, 1945.

Bldg a New Japan

17.

Between 1945 and 1950 as chief of occupation forces in Japan (and

uncrowned emperor) he oversaw the introduction of constitutional gov to the cty.

His knowledge and understanding of the culture and mentality of the Orient made
possible the reconstruction of Japan as a modern democratic state. It was
MacArthur who accepted the surrender of all the Japanese force in Tokyo Bay,
and he stayed on as Supreme Comd for the Allied Powers in occupied Japan
until 1951. Here his treatment of the defeated nation was remarkable for its
sensitivity and sympathy. The demilitarization of Japan and the introduction of a
democratic style of gov were achieved under his auspices, and the conventional
opinion that this was a great achievement in terms of statesmanship is likely to
stand the test of time. Significant reforms were inaugurated in land redistribution,
edn, labour, pub health, and women's rights. While he was in Japan, MacArthur
also headed the army's Far East comd.

UN Comd in Korean War

18.

On June 25, 1950, the North Koreans, with the tacit approval of the Soviet

Union, unleashed a carefully planned attk southward across the 38th parallel.
The United Nations Security Council met in emergency session and passed a
resolution calling for the assistance of all UN members in halting the North
Korean invasion. (The Soviet delegate, who was absent from the Security
Council in protest against the UN's failure to admit the People's Republic of
China, was not present to veto the council's decision.) On June 27, U.S.
president Harry Truman, without asking Congress to declare war, ordered United

States forces to come to the asst of South Korea as part of the UN "police
action."
19.

Meanwhile, the South Korean army was overwhelmed by the North

Korean forces, and the four ill-equipped American div that had been rushed into
the battle were driven all the way southward across the Korean Peninsula to a
small area covering the approaches to Pusan, on the peninsula's southeastern
tip. The American forces there were heavily reinforced, however, and then on
Sep 15, tps comd by Gen Douglas MacArthur made a daring amph landing at
Inchon, about 100 miles (160 km) below the 38th parallel and on a line with
Seoul, the South Korean capital. This brilliant landing far north of the main
battlefront succeeded in cutting the North Korean forces' lines; the North Korean
army was then totally shattered by the convergence of Allied forces from north
and south, and more than 125,000 prisoners were captured by the Allies.
20.

As the Allied forces now advanced northward back to the 38th parallel, the

Chinese warned that the presence of UN forces in North Korea would be

unacceptable to the security of the Chinese People's Republic and would force
the Chinese to intervene in the war. UN forces, however, ignored the warnings
and adv into North Korea with the expressed intention of unifying the cty. By midNovember the Allied forces were nearing the Yalu River, which marked the border
between North Korea and Manchuria, the northeast part of China. The Chinese
considered the approach of UN forces to the Yalu to be an unacceptable threat to
Manchuria. On November 24 MacArthur announced his "Home by Christmas"
offn, in which his forces would boldly adv right up to the Yalu. The next day
approximately 180,000 Chinese "volunteers" entered the war, and by Dec15,
after bitter winter fighting and a harrowing retreat, the Allied tps had been driven
southward back to the 38th parallel. On Dec. 31, 1950, the Communists began
their second invasion of South Korea with about 500,000 troops, but their attack
soon faltered in the face of incessant Allied aerial bombing campaigns, and the
front lines eventually stabilized along the 38th parallel.
21.

Meanwhile, MacArthur was demanding the auth to blockade China's

coastline and bomb its Manchurian bases. Truman refused, feeling that such a

course would bring the Soviet Union into the war and thus lead to a global
conflict. In response, MacArthur appealed over Truman's head directly to the
American public in an effort to enlist sp for his war aims. On April 11, 1951,
President Truman relieved MacArthur as UN comd and as comd of U.S. forces in
the Far East and replaced him with General Matthew B. Ridgway.

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PART III
LDRSHIP TRAITS

Bold Planning
22.

The Inchon Landing, Op Chromite, the daring 5000-to-1 shot that restored

the initiative to UN forces in Korea and kept them from being pushed into sea,
was a typical MacArthur op, from inception to exec. He boldly planned the amph
envelopment, so characteristics of all his pacific strat that hit the en where least
looked for a blow, sever his sup lines and trapped him between envil and
hammer. While other thought of a way to wdr the forces, MacArthur planned for a
victory.

Persuasiveness
23.

MacArthur was not merely a mil genius. He was a brilliant advocate who

could argue his pts with so much persuasiveness that men determined to stand
up against him were won to enthusiastic sp. To examine the feasibility of his plan,
which had so far been presented in concept, the JCS sent Admiral Forrest P.
Sherman, Chief of Naval Op and Gen J, Lawton Collins, Army Chief of Staff to
meet with MacArthur and his staff in Tokyo. I wish said Sherman after his
session with MacArthur, I had that mans confidence

Loyalty
24.

Gen Mathew Ridgway said I was particularly impressed with MacArthur

recognition of auth superior to his own. His presentation of his plan Op Chromite
to his comds did not reveal the slightest slack of loyalty to auth. He was
confident, optimistic, proud, and eloquent and utterly without fear yet he was
completely a soldier, seemingly ready to implement, without cavil or complaint,
whatever decisions his superior comm to him

Popular and Respected Ldr

25.

To the Filipinos Gen Douglas MacArthur is more than an image: he lives in

the very language of their hopes, of their threatened illusions, and he evokes
strength in their moments of crisis and despair. The very mention of his

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expresses a great deal about Philippine-American friendship. He was the symbol

of a generation in the Pacific and in America. Once he stepped into America after
fourteen years the demo of welcome to come home was only a preview of the
many that were to follow. His parade resulted in the largest popular turnout in the
history of New York City.

Learned Personality
26.

Gen MacArthur received sixteen honorary degrees from universities and

colleges, both in the United States and abroad, during his long public career. The
degree tendered by the University of Wisconsin was particularly meaningful since
he had been appointed to U.S. Mil Academy from the Fourth Congressional Dist
of that state. The degree was accepted in his behalf by Maj Genl George, Comd
Gen of the Sixth Corps area.

Responsible Attitude
27.

In contrast to the four-power occupation of Germany, Japan was under a

unified occupation auth from the beginning. Genl MacArthur, as the Supreme
Allied Comd, was the exec auth for the United Nations, asst by an advisory body
called the Allied Council for Japan. At the opening session of the council, Mac
Arthur made it very clear that the councils function was advisory only, thereby
checkmating the Soviet members at the outset. He also outlined the gen
philosophy of his prog for the rebuilding of Japan, based on securing the peace
rather than taking vengeance - a position that required courage in 1946, when
Japans war record was still fresh in allied minds.

Per Example
28.

MacArthur, who professed the belief that the en could do him no per harm,

led his men from the front, constantly ordering them to adv with audacity. He
disdained the protective steel helmet, did not carry a gas mask and went over
the top unarmed except for a riding corps. He frequently exposed himself to en
fire to keep up the morale of his army.

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PART IV
TAC GENIUS AND ACUMEN

Master of Amph Warfare

29.

When the Korean War broke out Truman made, MacArthur the Supreme

Comd of the UN Comd. Few argue that during his tenure as the UN Comd, Mac
lost touch with reality; but the fact remains that he was the sole architect of the
Grand Amph Landing at Inchon, which turned the tide of the war and saved the
UN forces from being wiped out at Pusan. The masterpiece of achievement of
strat mi surprise speaks volumes for his mil brilliance.

Vision and Foresight

30.

These were the hallmark of MacArthur. The fog of war and frequent

surprises makes the b fd uncertain and well conceived plans can turn into
disaster. MacArtuhr was able to peep into the future and exactly predicted en
reactions. MacArthur had argued that the need primarily for speedy victory in
South Korea before the winters set in and scored a victory of its own. Delay in
victory would also inc the danger of open intervention by Chinese and Soviet
forces, he argued. But to achieve the destruction of en forces in South Korea, the
offn would have to be launched by Sep 25 with adequate forces so that the op
would have every chances of success. Otherwise, with the en dug into his posn
and his armies reinforced, we faced the prospect of a far more difficult and costly
op at a time less favourable to us.

Triumph of Intuition vs Military Logic

31.

Inchon remains an astonishing achievement precisely because it was a

triumph not of military logic, strat and science but of imagination and intuition. It
was justified on no other gr, but the most overwhelming, most simple: it
succeeded and remains a Twentieth Century Cannae ever to be studied. All the
doubts about the plan of op were well founded, for a combination of perfect

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timings, perfect luck, precise coord, complete surprise, and extreme gallantry
were all needed to spell victory here. As MacArthur rightly once said, An old
soldier who tried to do his duty as God gave him the light to see that duty.

Gen MacArthurs Assumption

32.

Convincing him and his Far Eastern Comd staff that the Chinese would

not intervene in force, Gen MacArthur was determined to reunify Korea and
change the balance of power in Asia. The Joint Chiefs of Staff, impressed by
MacArthurs stunning triumph at Inchon and the collapse of the NKPA during the
fol month, was in no position to argue. Despite some misgivings, they allowed
MacArthur a generous, although not unrestrained, latitude to pursue his vision of
winning the war before the year was out. Even President Truman, not a man to
defer easily to anyone, apparently felt that MacArthur should be allowed to carry
on the war.

Over Ambitious Venture across the Yalu River

33.

Sensing an opportunity not only to stop but also to roll back Communist

expansion, President Truman approved orders for UN forces to cross the 38th
parallel and push the enemy above the Yalu River, which separated North
Korea from China. Despite repeated warnings from the Chinese that they would
enter the war if the Americans came near the Yalu, UN forces crossed into
North Korea on October 7 and later captured Pyongyang, its capital city. By
October 25 some adv units had reached the Yalu; there they came into contact
with Chinese volunteers who had moved into North Korea. After hard fighting
in which MacArthur's units had to fall back, the Chinese retired and MacArthur
continued his offn.

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CONCL
34.

MacArthur was one of Americas greatest and, equally, most controversial

gen. Reflecting a superb mil mind, his amph campaigns in the Pacific and at
Inchon were masterpieces of strat, efficiency, and boldness. Regardless of pers
foibles, MacArthur estb himself as one of the great World War II and postwar gen
by defeating Japanese in the Pacific and by saving South Korea from their
northern invaders. His knowledge and understanding of the culture and mentality
of the Orient made possible the reconstruction of Japan as a modern democratic
state. His love of the Philippine people was surpassed only by his devotion to his
own country, and he acclaimed as a Philippine hero even today. Mac Arthurs
extraordinary life is best described by the three tenets he lived by - duty, honor
and country.

Bibliography
The Military 100 by Lt Col (Retd) Michael Lee Lanning
The Korean War by Gen Matthew B. Ridgway
Microsoft Encarta Reference Library 2003
Encyclopedia Britannica 1994 1999
http://www.empereur.com/G._Douglas_MacArthur.html
http://usinfo.state.gov/usa/infousa/facts/democrac/58.htm