I'm most of the way through American Caesar, which is a biography on Douglas MacArthur. (Most of the way means that I've now gotten to the point where he has re-taken the Philippines. Anyway, it's an interesting read.
For instance, I had no idea how old MacArthur was. He was born in 1880. Yeah, that made him sixty years old when WWII broke out in 1940. Sixty.
This is Douglas MacArthur in 1930, between the wars - before he was a household name.
He's 50 in this picture.
What's also interesting is the reaction I get from some people when I tell them I'm reading about MacArthur. He's still somewhat polarizing. Yes, he was arrogant, conceited, and flamboyant, but he was also an amazingly capable officer. His tactics/strategy very likely saved many lives, when compared to the Allied Operations in France and Italy, especially Italy.
What does the book say about how he left the Philippines?
ReplyDeleteYou mean when he left Corregidor? It's fair. He was ordered to leave by Roosevelt, and MacArthur thought (incorrectly) that he would assume command of a large army who would immediately come back to rescue his troops.
DeleteI can't fault MacArthur for following the President's order. It would have been disastrous in terms of morale, and strategically if MacArthur had been killed or captured at Corregidor.