The fact of the matter is that the Pacific War consumed only 30% of our war resources, involved mainly U.S. troops and Navies (with some commendable help from the Australians), was fought against a far more determined opponent and still saddled us with far fewer losses.
Our blunders in the Pacific were limited to a few places like Tarawa and Pelielu. Those in Europe/Africa range from Kasserine Pass to Market Garden to the final conquest of Berlin, and scores of examples in between (Anzio, Monte Cassino, etc.).
And, yes, Ike, Mark Clark, George Marshall, Montgomery and others were political generals. The more capable (Patton, Omar Bradley) ranked further down. My father fought in that war and had little respect for the political general class.
MacArthur, OTOH, not only learned from is mistakes but became a capable postwar administrator and a hero to the people he conquered. Until another mediocre politician fired him.
Agreed but that was not what ricmc2175 was doing.
involved mainly U.S. troops and Navies (with some commendable help from the Australians),
The Chinese suffered 4-6 million military deaths in WW II tie-ing up a considerable portion of the Japanese army. The British and other allied troops had over 1 million men in Burmah and India. Slim's Fourteenth army wiped out the Japanese 15th army and reduced the Japanese 28th Army by half.
My father fought in that war and had little respect for the political general class.
As did my father who had little respect for any of the regular army generals. He believed that the people who won the war were the officers who enlisted early, rapidly made Colonel and did most of the detailed planning.
MacArthur, OTOH, not only learned from is mistakes but became a capable postwar administrator and a hero to the people he conquered.
I'm afraid you and I must differ on MacArthur. He handled the Japanese with kid gloves after the war such that to this day they do not acknowledge their role in starting the war and the manner in which they conducted it. Hirohito should have been hanged as a war criminal. An uncle spent a number of years in a Japanese POW camp. They were every bit as barbaric, if not more so than the German National Socialists. My main beef with Truman is that he didn't have another five A-bombs ( preferably one dropped on the Imperial palace in Tokyo) to really emphasize how upset we were.