Philippines Campaign (1941–42) Douglas MacArthur

26th cavalry (philippine scouts) move pozorrubio past m3 stuart tank

on 26 july 1941, roosevelt federalized philippine army, recalled macarthur active duty in u.s. army major general, , named him commander of u.s. army forces in far east (usaffe). macarthur promoted lieutenant general following day, , general on 20 december. on 31 july 1941, philippine department had 22,000 troops assigned, 12,000 of whom philippine scouts. main component philippine division, under command of major general jonathan m. wainwright. initial american plan defense of philippines called main body of troops retreat bataan peninsula in manila bay hold out against japanese until relief force arrive. macarthur changed plan 1 of attempting hold of luzon , using b-17 flying fortresses sink japanese ships approached islands. macarthur persuaded decision-makers in washington plans represented best deterrent prevent japan choosing war , of winning war if worse did come worse.

between july , december 1941, garrison received 8,500 reinforcements. after years of parsimony, equipment shipped. november, backlog of 1,100,000 shipping tons of equipment intended philippines had accumulated in u.s. ports , depots awaiting vessels. in addition, navy intercept station in islands, known station cast, had ultra secret purple cipher machine, decrypted japanese diplomatic messages, , partial codebooks latest jn-25 naval code. station cast sent macarthur entire output, via sutherland, officer on staff authorized see it.

at 03:30 local time on 8 december 1941 (about 09:00 on 7 december in hawaii), sutherland learned of attack on pearl harbor , informed macarthur. @ 05:30, chief of staff of u.s. army, general george marshall, ordered macarthur execute existing war plan, rainbow five. macarthur did nothing. on 3 occasions, commander of far east air force, major general lewis h. brereton, requested permission attack japanese bases in formosa, in accordance prewar intentions, denied sutherland. not until 11:00 did brereton speak macarthur it, , obtained permission. macarthur later denied having conversation. @ 12:30, 9 hours after attack on pearl harbor, aircraft of japan s 11th air fleet achieved complete tactical surprise when attacked clark field , nearby fighter base @ iba field, , destroyed or disabled 18 of far east air force s 35 b-17s, 53 of 107 p-40s, 3 p-35s, , more 25 other aircraft. destroyed on ground. substantial damage done bases, , casualties totaled 80 killed , 150 wounded. left of far east air force destroyed on next few days.

macarthur (center) chief of staff, major general richard k. sutherland, in headquarters tunnel on corregidor, philippines, on 1 march 1942

macarthur attempted slow japanese advance initial defense against japanese landings. macarthur s plan holding of luzon against japanese collapsed spread out american-filipino forces thin. however, reconsidered confidence in ability of filipino troops after japanese landing force made rapid advance after landing @ lingayen gulf on 21 december, , ordered retreat bataan. within 2 days of japanese landing @ lingayen gulf, macarthur had reverted pre-july 1941 plan of attempting hold bataan while waiting relief force come. of american , of filipino troops able retreat baatan, without of supplies, abandoned in confusion. manila declared open city @ midnight on 24 december, without consultation admiral thomas c. hart, commanding asiatic fleet, forcing navy destroy considerable amounts of valuable material.

on evening of 24 december, macarthur moved headquarters island fortress of corregidor in manila bay arriving @ 21:30, headquarters reporting washington being open on 25th. series of air raids japanese destroyed exposed structures on island , usaffe headquarters moved malinta tunnel. later, of headquarters moved bataan, leaving nucleus macarthur. troops on bataan knew had been written off continued fight. blamed roosevelt , macarthur predicament. ballad sung tune of battle hymn of republic called him dugout doug . however, clung belief somehow macarthur reach down , pull out of hat.

on 1 january 1942, macarthur accepted $500,000 president quezon of philippines payment pre-war service. macarthur s staff members received payments: $75,000 sutherland, $45,000 richard marshall, , $20,000 huff. eisenhower—after being appointed supreme commander allied expeditionary force (aef)—was offered money quezon, declined. these payments known few in manila , washington, including president roosevelt , secretary of war henry l. stimson, until made public historian carol petillo in 1979. while payments had been legal, revelation tarnished macarthur s reputation.

escape australia , medal of honor


plaque affixed macarthur barracks @ u.s. military academy, inscribed macarthur s medal of honor citation.

in february 1942, japanese forces tightened grip on philippines, macarthur ordered president roosevelt relocate australia. on night of 12 march 1942, macarthur , select group included wife jean, son arthur, , arthur s cantonese amah, ah cheu, fled corregidor. macarthur , party reached del monte airfield on mindanao, b-17s picked them up, , flew them australia. famous speech, in said, came through , shall return , first made on terowie railway station in south australia, on 20 march. washington asked macarthur amend promise shall return . ignored request.

bataan surrendered on 9 april, , corregidor on 6 may. george marshall decided macarthur awarded medal of honor, decoration had twice been nominated, offset propaganda enemy directed @ leaving command . eisenhower pointed out macarthur had not performed acts of valor required law, marshall cited 1927 award of medal charles lindbergh precedent. special legislation had been passed authorize lindbergh s medal, while similar legislation introduced authorizing medal macarthur congressmen j. parnell thomas , james e. van zandt, marshall felt serving general should receive medal president , war department. macarthur chose accept on basis award intended not me recognition of indomitable courage of gallant army honor command. arthur , douglas macarthur became first father , son awarded medal of honor. remained pair until 2001, when theodore roosevelt awarded posthumously service during spanish–american war, theodore roosevelt, jr. having received 1 posthumously service during world war ii. macarthur s citation, written george marshall, read:

for conspicuous leadership in preparing philippine islands resist conquest, gallantry , intrepidity above , beyond call of duty in action against invading japanese forces, , heroic conduct of defensive , offensive operations on bataan peninsula. mobilized, trained, , led army has received world acclaim gallant defense against tremendous superiority of enemy forces in men , arms. utter disregard of personal danger under heavy fire , aerial bombardment, calm judgment in each crisis, inspired troops, galvanized spirit of resistance of filipino people, , confirmed faith of american people in armed forces.

as symbol of forces resisting japanese, macarthur received many other accolades. native american tribes of southwest chose him chief of chiefs , acknowledged oldest friends, companions of boyhood days on western frontier . touched when named father of year 1942, , wrote national father s day committee that:

by profession soldier , take pride in fact, prouder, infinitely prouder father. soldier destroys in order build; father builds, never destroys. 1 has potentialities of death; other embodies creation , life. , while hordes of death mighty, battalions of life mightier still. hope son when gone remember me, not battle, in home, repeating him our simple daily prayer, our father, art in heaven.