Douglas MacArthur - genius or overrated boob?

[anon_xl72qcu5isp39]

https://www.quora.com/Who-was-the-most-overrated-military-commander-in-World-War-2

So I ran across that post, and I'm not a WWII buff. The post surprised me. Was he really that bad?

 

[Orange Jennyslipper]

The guy lays out a pretty convincing argument.

I don't know enough about the Pacific to know anything about MacArthur. When I think about it, all I ever knew about him was the PR-staged picture of him wading ashore in the Philippines to utter his "I have returned" line.

I can't think of a campaign or battle he actually won. I always thought of him as a 20th Century George Custer.

All his braggadocio about kicking the North Koreans all the way back to China seemed to be just that.

Cue those who will say "we should have turned MacArthur and Patton loose on China and Russia after WWII.

 

[blbronco]

All i know is that my dad's dad, who was in the pacific front absolutely loathed him. Never heard a decent thing about DM from him, but history books have been kind.

 

[The Duke]

His troops in the Philippines generally disrespected him. He never had the balls to visit the front line, hiding mainly in the Malinta tunnel on Corregidor. Called him Dugout Doug. Allowing our air power to be caught and destroyed on the ground at Clark airbase 10 hours after Pearl Harbor was attacked was a grotesquely inexcusable act that should have resulted in a court martial. Leaving behind supplies and retreating to a malaria infested peninsula without adequate preparation was yet another military catastrophe. But I guess FDR wanted to make a hero out of that clown.

Later in the war he was given too much power (Nimitz should have been given full control for his island hopping campaign to Japan), Mac fought a lot of needless battles and killed a lot of men to save face politically with his return to the Philippines. Ultimately it did little to save lives or end the war.

Inchon invasion in Korea was a bold move but not sure how much genius it took to see a peninsula while having total sea control. Even with the massive tides there. I do think he was right about China - we should have bombed them, possibly w nukes.

 

[MajorMike_Ret]

He was a complete moron who had the balls to talk down to any superior that tried to tell him he was a complete moron, and most generally win that argument. Most superiors would promote him and recommend him for positions just so they could get rid of him.

He lied, cheated and stole many of his awards. He gave himself the first Purple Heart saying he was wounded 20 years prior in WWI even though there were no records. He gave himself Flying Crosses and Air Medals for single cargo flights to non-hostile areas when you are required to have combat sorties and lots of them. He was so up to his neck in bribes and debauchery that he made what many consider the greatest act of military ineptitude ever and then recommended himself (and received) the Medal of Honor for it.

Japan could have been taken much sooner and possibly without nukes, but he forced the military to retake the Philippines first, to make himself look good, then had to restage the landing so it could be filmed.

He lost thousands of troops in Korea after he was told there were over 200k Chinese troops there not to go any further, but he did anyway. The only way he got out was to use illegal gas against them.

Yeah... not a fan.

 

[anon_xl72qcu5isp39]

I'm a history major and relatively astute observer and never heard this stuff until recently. It's a shame he's been so lionized.

 

[Anodyne]

As Army chief of staff in 1932 he ignored all intelligence and concluded that the Bonus Army encampment in DC was a communist plot. Instead, he got to play cowboy and chase a bunch of destitute veterans off the Mall and across the Anacostia (the latter in direct opposition to orders from Hoover). Gas attacks, Metro police clubbings, and fires followed the Army. A real dick move.