GENERAL DOUGLAS Mac ARTHUR

(For Robin who asked for the original write up when I had met him at The Thayer Hotel on the banks of Hudson, USMA , West Point)

GENERAL DOUGLAS Mac ARTHUR

 “A PROFILE IN STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP”

“Supreme amongst the Generals.His combination of strong personality

strategic grasp,tactical skill,operative mobility and vision, put him in

a class above allied commanders in any theatre”

                                                                                                       -Sir Basil Liddel Hart

 “Unquestionably.....the most gifted man-at arms this nation has produced”

                                                                                                           -William Manchester

Introduction.

1.   A legend in his life time,General MacArthur brought for over five decades,unmatched credentials of courage , dynamic personality,superior  leadership and an extraordinary sense of strategic vision.  Since the turn of the century, repeated criticisms of  his scholastic and strategic leadership and vision  have been withstood by his excellent miltary records  and outstanding achievements.From his West Point days until he finally left the shores of Japan , MacArthur`s  name had become synonymous as the architect of American victory in the Pacific,ruler of the Land of the Rising Sun and as an epic  tactician of the Korean War.

Aim

2.   Aim of this paper is to  briefly highlight the personality traits of  Douglas MacArthur from the military aspect with special reference to his insights of  strategic vision and leadership.

Lay Out

3.   At the  outset it is  brought out that this paper is focused primarily on MacArthur`s military leadership profile when viewed from a strategic aspect .Therefore, it does not, include any controversy that may have surrounded him from time to time.This paper is laid out as follows:-

                       (a)   Early Life.

                       (b)  West Point to World Wars.

                       (c)   Tenure as Chief of Staff.

                       (d)   Return to Philippines..

                       (e)   Surrender of Japan , Korea 

                        and  thereafter.

                        (f)    Critical Appraisal.

                                                 

                            PART-1 EARLY LIFE

4.    MacArthur was born on 26 January 1880 in perfect Army surroundings in Little Rock, Arkansas  in a family well steeped in military traditions.A  son of an ideal father- -a General and a over possessive mother , MacArthur showed signs of exceptional brilliance and streaks of strategic vision even at a young age.At a young age of four he was baptised under fire by marauding Indians and this early beginning saw him carving his illustrious destiny to bridge the eternity of arms ranging from a primitive arrow to the conflagration of a nuclear bomb.

                                                                                   

          PART-II WEST POINT TO WORLD WARS

West Point

5.   Young MacArthur created records at the West Point and during his entire stay of four years,his mother stayed in a hotel on the campus-another record ! He graduated first in his class and was the first West Point ballplayer to have scored a run against Navy.He was commissioned in Army Corps of Engineers and was posted to Philippines in 1903.

Early Successes

6.   Second Lieutenant MacArthur tasted blood when he volunteered to go on a patrol to mop up a band of brigands called ‘pulajanes’ and it was here  when he more or less got enamoured with the queen of the battlefield-the Infantry . In the Yalu River Battle in 1905,young MacArthur  saw the  Japanese from very close quarters  and carried on to witness the height of the massive battle of Mukden.

7.   During World War I ,MacArthur was decorated 13 times for extreme bravery under fire . He was wounded twice and gassed . As a  Brigadier General at the age of 38 , he  was the youngest  general of the American Expeditionary Force .As a military leader,he ensured that he would not ask a man to take a chance that  he himself was not ready  and willing to accept During both World Wars he served both as a Brigade and Divisional Commander and established a strong reputation for indomitable courage and astute leadership . Between the World wars he was chosen to rejuvinate West Point  in 1919 as it’s Superintendent . He did a remarkable job there and his innovative and enlightened approach in re-erecting the edifice from shambles was indeed laudable.

8.   A second  tenure in Philippines, followed by a tenure as President of the US Olympics Team saw MacArthur in his best skills in leadership and motivation coupled with strategic organizational capabilities.

PART III  MacARTHUR AS  CHIEF OF STAFF 

9.    At  age 50 , MacArthur was the youngest Chief of Staff  in the US Army`s history.His tenure coincided with the Depression period  and was marked  by conflict over appropriations for the Army.His strategic vision and intuition had told him that there was going to be another major war , that America would be involved in a big way and that the war would be fought  by maneouvre  and in the sky . MacArthur `s tenure was marked by some of the sorriest scenes of his life when he was tasked to clear out Bonus Army out of  Washington.He retired on 15 December 1935.

                                              

                 PART IV  RETURN TO PHILLIPINES

10.   A strong appeal from President Manuel Quezon of the Philippines Commonwealth   to President Roosevelt brought MacArthur back to his playing ground in Philippines on active duty . Another glimpse of his strategic vision  was amply clear when he spoke at West Point prior to his departure,” Let us be prepared, lest we too perish”. 

11.   MacArthur`s   strategic leadership and vision led to making the  Philippines a militarily strong bastion and he was able to make three distinct services .He proposed to train 40,000 Filipino youths every year and also set up a miniature West Point for officers training . MacArthur ,lack of funds from Quezon notwithstanding,was able to put together a proper fighting force as the planet  whirled towards World War II.

12.  On  26 July,1941,MacArthur was reverted back to active duty with  the US Army as a Lieutenant General in command of all American Forces in the Far  East ; the Philippines  Army  also  came under his command .Now  began  moving the magic wand of MacArthur in uncovering his master strategic strokes , one after another . In his revised plans for the defence of the Archipelago , MacArthur displayed extraordinary   strategic thought .It was accepted by Washington straightway.

13.    Attack on Pearl Harbour and the delayed commencement of battle for Philippines   led   MacArthur`s overall  plans  awry . However, he  was able to withdraw  most brilliantly . It was indeed a  low point  of war . His return to Australia in 1942 made him only more determined to come back to the centre stage of battlefield in the Pacific and his words became famous overnight  “ I shall return”.

14.   The fall of Buna and Sanananda , towards the end of January 1943 saw the end of the Papuan Campaign  and the end of Japanese offensive towards Mores-by . MacArthur exploited the  Air Force fully  and  began a strategic concept`s translation in to reality when long term and short term interdiction and air support to ground troops was given in its right earnest . Also ,  he used Air Force very effectively over Naval Forces in the defeat of  Japanese Navy at Coral Sea and Midway . A rapid airlift of an infantry battalion thwarted Japanese attempts to control the famous Bulolo Valley.

15.    The “Triphibious and Bypass Strategies” propagated by MacArthur did come for much criticism . However,  these became the basic strategies for MacArthur`s drive from Papua to the Philippines . He was able to achieve tremendous strategic surprise . He saw opportunities when others  saw difficulties and problems . He took calculated risks and virtually gambled on the element of strategic surprise.The Japanese committed their resources piecemeal and he hastened the victory while reducing the number of dead and wounded . MacArthur was able to sweep the enemy and redeem the promises of his countrymen . August 1945 saw the  dropping of the atomic bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki  and  the end of war with Japan.

                                 

PART V  SURRENDER OF JAPAN AND THEREAFTER

16.   MacArthur , as part of his strategic  vision , had proposed to the `powers that be` that Russia should declare war on Japan so that adequate pressure could be exerted from the North.Within hours of dropping of the atomic bomb  at Hiroshima,Russia jumped  in the fray ! Japan`s unconditional surrender was announced on 15 Aug 1945 and MacArthur was named as the Supreme commander of the Allied Powers . In the final tally , MacArthur`s troops had suffered only 60,000 while the enemy casualties were estimated to approximately 300,000 plus . How characteristically,MacArthur remarked ”From Melbourne to Tokyo was  a long road.It was a long,hard road,but this looks like the payoff”.

17.   In his Herculean bid to democratize Japan he set his course full steam and started the economic reconstruction of the country . He broke up the trusts , smashed secret police services , freed political prisoners , jailed war criminals , emancipated women , protected and helped develop labour unions and established free speech and a free press. 

  

18.   The Republic of Korea was attacked by North Koreans across the 38th parallel on 25 June 1950 and MacArthur was directed by the President of United States to resist the aggression with US Forces  in behalf of the United Nations.In the most outstanding of the strategic maneouvres the world has known , MacArthur staggered the North Koreans with the UN landings at Inchon on 15 September 1950 ,  followed by capture of Seoul -  the capital city.This was a masterpiece of his strategic strokes and it broke the back of the North Koreans,the war was decisively won!

19.   MacArthur returned to the United States after a gap of almost 14 years to fade away -so he said.He was ordered to handover the commands to Lt Gen Ridgeway . MacArthur had finally turned a civilian on 17 April 1951.

                     PART VI : CRITICAL APPRAISAL

20.   MacArthur was indeed a  General of exceptional military brilliance and a man of great intellectual ability.No doubt his concepts on warfare and strategies were well ahead of his time.He was a great proponent of mechanised warfare and a great advocate of extensive use of Air Power in support of the Land forces.His handling of command in the Pacific was beyond description .It displayed his great vision,strategic handling of war  and above all the master implementation  of strategic surprise .He indeed was a military genius .Korea was to be the Pyrrhic victory of his great military career with Inchon Landings as a master stroke out of this world!

Conclusion

21.   The long military career of  Douglas MacArthur and his dynamic strategic leadership qualities  are stamped indelibly on the history of the Pacific for some centuries to come.His inherited qualities of leadership and strategic vision . He grew up to be a great innovator and having powers of tremendous vision and an extra-ordinary sense of  intuition . MacArthur was a legend  and shall remain so in the centuries to come.

At the start of World War II , in a sea of uncertainty , he became a symbol of victory and remained so till the end of his military career . His articulations of strategic concepts that would guide future conflicts were much ahead of times thus placing him as a man of great intellectual ability.This coupled with his theories on war and his conceptual views on art of modern warfare and strategic surprise made him a great captain of war. Unquestionably,therefore,MacArthur was the most gifted man-at-arms United States had ever produced.  

..        

                   “The shadows are lengthening for me.The twilight is here.My days of old

                      have vanished -tone and tints.....I  listen then,with thirsty ears for the witching

                     melody of faint bugles blowing e reveille,of far drums beating the long roll.

                   “In my dreams I hear again the crash of guns,the rattle of musketry,the strange

                    mournful mutter of the battlefield.But in the evening of my memory I come back

                   to West Point.Always there echoes and reechoes:duty,honor,country.............”

,                                   -General MacArthur speaking at the US Military Academy,1962