The attack began early on the morning of October 14, and the fighting was fierce. MacArthur's 168th Iowa regiment, fighting with great courage, took Hill 288 by noon. MacArthur had little time to savor their success, as he led the repeated but fruitless assaults on Chatillon, now the final key to the area. MacArthur planned a bayonets-only attack for the next day (to avoid the muzzle flashes which gave away their locations), but after listening to the protests of his men thought better of it and canceled the order.
October 15 was a bad day for the Rainbow Division. MacArthur's 84th attacked repeatedly, but could get no further than halfway between Hill 288 and the Cote de Chatillon. From the high ground, the Germans were able to pour machine-gun and small-arms fire on Lenihan's 83rd, preventing it from making progress toward the towns. That evening, furious at the lack of progress, Summerall relieved Lenihan of his command, and repeated to MacArthur his demand that he take his objective or die trying. That night, MacArthur led the night patrol and found a relative weak spot in the German lines.
The next day, MacArthur's men, led by the 167th Alabama and 168th Iowa regiments, exploited this weakness and finally took the Cote de Chatillon. MacArthur directed a massive barrage which pinned the Germans down while Major Ross of the 168th led a group through the wire and enveloped the Germans, who were routed and either killed, fled, or captured. There were numerous acts of personal bravery; it was perhaps the Rainbow Division's greatest achievement in the war. The Rainbows were too decimated to press their advantage, but the tide had turned with the taking of Chatillon. Menoher wrote in his report to Summerall: "The indomitable resolution and ferocious courage of these two officers [MacArthur and Ross] in rallying their broken lines time and time again, in re-forming the attack and leading their men that saved the day. Without them the German line would not have been broken. On a field where courage was the rule their heroism was the dominant feature. I regard their efforts as among the most remarkable of the war."
MacArthur’s heroism in WWI cannot be disputed. His actions as a General in WWII were appalling.
People are more complex than movies or histories can ever portray, but facts are stubborn and MacArthur was little more than a publicity-seeking figurehead when he ignominiously left the PI. LT GEN Wainwright may have been forced to surrender, but the defeat can only be attributed to MacArthur. He was an extreme narcissist and a poor general in the field as can be seen by any study of the PI campaign. Finally, his men did not respect him—my determining factor when it comes to command.
I won’t dispute his administrative or political skills in the aftermath. As I said, real life doesn’t always fit our neat boxes.
I reckon you already know this but.........
The 42nd Division got it’s nickname from being an amalgamated division formed from Guard units across the US. They were the first National Guard division to go to the Western Front because of that. Politicians and socially important people from many states were demanding that their units have the distinction of being the first state units to go fight the Huns so the War Department deployed the 42nd first due to their being raised from around the nation.
As an aside, my grandfather was a national president of the division association. He died when I was a kid so I didn’t get to hear much from him about the war.