MacArthur was brilliant at self-promotion.
He did not seem so brilliant at tactics and strategy.
He had a
He was pretty crummy in defense of the Philippines. Then he went to Australia and did a bang-up job of promoting himself, just as he had done in the Philippines.
At 3:40 a.m. MacArthur was informed of Pearl Harbor and that we were at war with Japan. At noon, over eight hours later, the Japanese attacked Clark field. MacArthur was caught with his pants down. He had done nothing. At about noon in the Philippines, nearly two hundred Japanese Mitsubishi “Betty” bombers and “Zero” fighters struck Clark Field, America’s main military airbase in the Philippines. The attackers were supposed to arrive at the same time as the Pearl Harbor strike, to maximize surprise and catch American planes on the ground. But takeoff had been delayed by fog over their Taiwanese bases. Arriving at Clark Field after a grueling seven-hundred-mile flight, the tired Japanese pilots expected to find the skies swarming with American fighters. Instead, the skies were clear. Even better, instead of being safely dispersed to secondary airfields, U.S. planes on the ground were parked wingtip to wingtip, perfect targets for bombs and machine-gun fire. Within minutes, the powerful U.S. air fleet at Clark Field—the backbone of America’s Philippine defenses—had been smashed. It was a catastrophe almost as devastating as Pearl Harbor. Yet at least Pearl Harbor’s defenders could offer the tepid excuse that they had been caught by surprise tactically, if not strategically. On the other hand, American forces in the Philippines had been alerted nine hours before the Japanese struck. There would be much blame to go around. But the man who earned the most blame was Douglas MacArthur. 3 a.m. Philippine Time on December 8, 1941, Gen. Douglas MacArthur was awakened from his slumber by a telephone call informing him that the Japanese had attacked Pearl Harbor just an hour earlier.
Tens of thousands of Americans serving under him who would have been killed off under a different commander would vigorously disagree.
He was pretty crummy in defense of the Philippines.
Only because you've gotten your information from leftist revisionists and from a lesser extent U.S Navy rivals seeking to shift blame.
Instead, the skies were clear. Even better, instead of being safely dispersed to secondary airfields, U.S. planes on the ground were parked wingtip to wingtip, perfect targets for bombs and machine-gun fire. Within minutes, the powerful U.S. air fleet at Clark Field—the backbone of America’s Philippine defenses—had been smashed.
Your citation is that of a carefully crafted revision. Clark had no dispersal area due to lack of repeatedly requested funding by Washington.
U.S. fighter patrols from Clark had been up all morning waiting for the Japanese attack. Planes cannot stay aloft forever. They just happened to have returned to base for refueling as the delayed Japanese force arrived. A few more minutes and they would have been back in the air again.
The Gods of war just happened to favor the Japanese that morning.
There would be much blame to go around. But the man who earned the most blame was Douglas MacArthur.
Such opinion, the courtesy of leftist revisionaries and to a lesser extent U.S. Navy rivals seeking to shift blame.
One eloquent Australian veteran (a Lt Bob Iskov) of the New Guinea campaign explained the need for MacArthur’s ego and self-promotion to me like this ...... “you had to have a figurehead” ..... someone for people to believe in .........