Was General McArthur just a military bloke or a great thinker?

Question

I personally think current US politicos could learn so much from him, he sought to understand the people he was dealing with, doesn't seem to be much evidence of that now.

Hmmm, most of the answers have told me i'd have been better off sorting out my PC.

Still some gold tho, cheers.-)

love your answer joej, will get into it when i ain't in a frivolous mood.

He was more than military, actually gave it a human face too, still couldn't make it right but he genuinely tried.

Sadlly the problems were so deep he c ould merely see, not understand or resolve

Answer 1

There were several different MacArthur's that presented themselves during his lifetime. The MacArthur who led the Pacific campaign was one of the most efficient generals of all time in terms of battles won vs lives lost. He had an amazingly minimal loss of life among his forces as he crossed the Pacific from Australia to the Phillipines.

The MacArthur who ruled Japan in the post-war era was a progressive leader who implemented many of the reforms that turned Japan into the economic success that it is today.

The third MacArthur, the general fired by Truman in Korea, was a dark side of the other two. By now, old and bitter, he made some terrible decisions and he forgot the soldier's primary creed --- that civilian leadership trumps all. Truman was MacArthur's commander in chief, yet the general seemingly forgot this. He deserved to be fired, but that does not lessen his earlier triumphs in the Pacific and in Japan.

He was a complicated man but definitely a great soldier, the likes of which we have never seen again.

Answer 2

MacArthur was extremely overrated. His father was a decorated war veteran and had many connections, which he used to help his son move up in the ranks. As a soldier he was very brave and was decorated due to his many brave acts in war.

As a leader he took much of the credit even if he didn't do anything. Many soldiers in the Korean war did not like him because of this. In one instance he quickly went to the front and stayed for a short time and had it filmed. He wanted to promote how brave he was and how involved he was. The media laughed at him and dubbed him, "dug out Doug".

Whenever he failed he often cast blame on others and always felt he was right. During WWII twice he did not obey orders and cost lives. In the Korean War he was fired by President Truman.

During WWII President Truman called him a worthless prima donna, who was one of the worst leaders he had ever seen.

General Nimitz and General Patton were some of the great generals of WWII. McArthur got all of the credit. Macarthur though did a great job at helping post Japan grow and rebuild.

Patton was a military genius; knowing every battle of every region he faught, and studying the armys he fought against. Germany and Italy worried about Patton more than anyone; by far. Nimitz was amazing and his tactics are still talked about in the same genious as Lee, Grant, and Cornwallis during the revolutionary war. MacArthur was the first general that really used the media to get public favor; he was very smart. Not a great leader but a great soldier.

P.S. you also have to realize this action is happening due to money, power and oil. Everything is happening the way the leaders want it to. We have a home base in the middle east. $18/barrel before Bush; $78/now; Mission accomplished

Answer 3

First to ICE... If you are going to inundate us with some long diatribe at least get your facts straight. Nimitz was an admiral not a general. MacArthur was known as dugout Doug to the idiots in Washington especially General Marshall whom MacArthur had once rated as "Unfit to command anything larger than a battalion". Further, after the harrowing escape from the Philippines on-board PT boats Marshall's cronies began to refer to MacArthur as dugout Doug and the men around him as the Bataan gang.

This ongoing feud is one of the reasons we lost the Philippines and left so many troops behind. Truman had Bill Donovan form an outside intelligence agency because all these personalities in Washington including Hoover FYI because he could not get any unfiltered Intel.

MacArthur was an insane genius. Which one you got and which one operated each day depended on the day. He was a brilliant leader and few of his troops ever spoke ill of him. Troops also knew he would always come for them no matter what. However, he also had little use for the Marines and although he was famous for handing out medals when he felt they were deserved he would seldom award one to a marine.

There's tons more information about this great man you should read up on it for yourself it is a fascinating subject to say the least.

Answer 4

Without MacArthur, Korea would be unified today.
And Kim Jong Il would be dictator.
The U.N. Forces were in rout, close to annihilation, until MacArthur's brilliant reversal of fortune at Inchon. Widely regarded as the most brilliant military feat since Julius Caesar's time, that one "end-around" saved the South Koreans from absolutely certain doom.
Truman was a communist sympathizer who used opportunism to sack America's leading strategic prodigy.

Answer 5

General MacArthur was a great military leader. Perhaps a bit crazy, but effective. Korea would have turned out a lot differently had MacArthur been given leave to do what needed to be done.

"I would never have made the attack [from Red China into Korea across the Yalu River] and risked my men…if I had not been assured that Washington [D.C.] would restrain [U.S. Army] General MacArthur from taking adequate retaliatory measures against my lines of supply and communication." – Lin Piao (Red Chinese general in charge of the Red Chinese troops who crossed into North Korea to attack U.S. military forces during the Korean War)

Answer 6

General McArthur is considered by some to be the greatest general of the Second World War. Whether that is true or not, he was very self-centered, vain, and egotistical, and he alienated a lot of people.

Answer 7

Excerpt:

Truman dismissed MacArthur as Supreme Commander in Korea for publicly criticizing Administration policy against expanding the war. "I fired him because he wouldn't respect the authority of the President. I didn't fire him because he was a dumb son of a *****, although he was, but that's not against the law for generals. If it was, half to three-quarters of them would be in jail."

As for MacArthur's attempts to conduct his own grandiose foreign policy in the Pacific, Truman said: "I've given that a lot of thought and finally decided that there were times when he wasn't right in his head. And there was never anybody around him to keep him in line. He didn't have anyone on his staff who wasn't an *** kisser. Why, hell, if he'd had his way, he'd have had us in the Third World War and blown up two-thirds of the world."

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,908217,00.html?promoid=googlep

Answer 8

He was a great General. He outsmarted the UN in Korea.

Answer 9

I agree. What people think of first with the likes of McArthur and Patton is their ability to be like prima donna's...but..I'd fight under either one of them...they were both brilliant war stratigists.

Answer 10

MacArthur is over-rated as a general, something that is due to the fact that he had an amazing gift for self-promotion.