Douglas MacArthur

Douglas MacArthur 1880-1964, American general, b. Little Rock, Ark.; son of Arthur MacArthur .

Early Career

MacArthur was reared on army posts and attended military school in Texas. At West Point he achieved an outstanding scholastic record, and after graduation (1903) he served in the Philippines and in Japan. He was (1906-7) aide to President Theodore Roosevelt, a friend of his father, and was attached (1913-17) to the army general staff. After the United States entered World War I he fought in France, first as chief of staff of the 42d (Rainbow) Division and then, having been promoted (June, 1918) to brigadier general, as commander of the 84th Infantry Brigade.

As superintendent of West Point (1919-22) he helped modernize the academy's military training program. After holding various commands (1922-25) in the Philippines, he returned to the United States and served (1925) on the court-martial of Gen. William Mitchell . He was (1928-30) department commander in the Philippines and then served (1930-35) as chief of the general staff. In 1932 he provoked much criticism by personally commanding the troop action that evicted the Bonus Marchers from Washington. In the tense and threatening days of Japanese expansion President Franklin Delano Roosevelt appointed (1935) MacArthur head of the American military mission to the new Philippine Commonwealth. Accepting command of the Philippine military establishment, he retired (1937) from the U.S. army, but later returned to duty (July, 1941) to command U.S. armed forces in East Asia.

World War II

After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, MacArthur commanded the defense of the Philippines until Mar., 1942, when, under the orders of President Roosevelt, he left for Australia to take command of Allied forces in the Southwest Pacific. From Australia he launched the New Guinea campaign and later (Oct., 1944-July, 1945) directed the campaigns that led to the liberation of the Philippines. He was promoted (Dec., 1944) to the new rank of general of the army (five-star general). MacArthur accepted the surrender of Japan on the U.S.S. Missouri on Sept. 2, 1945. He was then named commander of the Allied powers in Japan and directed the Allied occupation of Japan. He was seriously considered for the Republican presidential nomination in 1948, but his defeat in the Wisconsin state primary discouraged his supporters.

The Korean War and After

At the beginning (1950) of the Korean War he was appointed commander of UN military forces in South Korea, while retaining his command of Allied forces in Japan. After driving the North Korean forces back over the 38th parallel, MacArthur received President Truman's permission to press into North Korea and advance all the way to the Yalu River—the border between North Korea and Communist China—despite warnings that this might provoke Chinese intervention. When China did intervene, causing the UN forces to fall back in disarray, MacArthur pressed for permission to bomb Chinese bases in Manchuria. Truman refused such permission and finally (after MacArthur had made the dispute public) removed him from command in Apr., 1951.

On his return to the United States, MacArthur was given a hero's welcome and invited to address a joint session of Congress. Another attempt to nominate MacArthur for the presidency was unsuccessful in 1952. Retired from active service, he became an officer of a large business corporation.

Bibliography

See biographies by D. C. James (3 vol., 1970-85), N. Finkelstein (1989), M. Schaller (1989), and G. Perret (1996); studies by C. Whitney (1956), J. W. Spanier (1959, repr. 1965), G. M. Long (1969), J. Clayton (1985), S. R. Taaffe (1998), and S. Weintraub (2000) and (2007).

MacArthur, Douglas (1880–1964), commander of Allied forces in the Pacific in World War II and United Nations commander in the Korean War.Born to a military family, Douglas MacArthur was a flamboyant, vain, and brilliant field commander, arguably the best general in World War II. Graduating from West Point in 1903, MacArthur established a distinguished military record in World War I. Commander in the Philippines when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor in December 1941, MacArthur led the resistance to Japan's invasion of the islands. When the Philippines fell, MacArthur established new headquarters in Australia, pledging, “I shall return.”

When Allied forces halted the Japanese advance in the South Pacific, MacArthur took up the attack with a successful “island hopping” strategy of bypassing strongly held Japanese islands. He was preparing for the final assault on Japan when the United States dropped the atomic bombs on Japan in August 1945 and the war abruptly ended.

Given complete control of the occupation of Japan, MacArthur reformed and modernized the Japanese government and economy. When North Korea attacked South Korea in 1950, the United Nations called on its members to “repel” the invasion. MacArthur was appointed commander of the newly formed UN command. When UN troops halted the North Korean advance into South Korea, MacArthur ordered a counterattack, including an amphibious landing at Inchon. The strategy succeeded, and the North Korean invaders were partially trapped. UN forces drove deep into North Korea, but when they approached the Chinese border, large elements of the Chinese army crossed the border and drove the UN forces back to South Korea.

Outraged, MacArthur called for all‐out war with communist China, using nuclear weapons if necessary. President Harry S. Truman refused, fearing World War III. In April 1951, accusing MacArthur of defying presidential authority, Truman removed MacArthur from command. He came home to a hero's welcome, delivered an emotional address to Congress, but failed in his goal of winning the Republican presidential nomination in 1952.
See also Cold War; Pearl Harbor, Attack on.

Bibliography

Douglas MacArthur , Reminiscences: General of the Army, 1964.
William Manchester , American Caesar, 1979.

David E. Conrad

MacArthur, Douglas (1880–1964) US general. He was in command of US (later Allied) forces in the SW Pacific during World War II. He formally accepted Japan's surrender in 1945, and administered that country during the Allied occupation that followed. In 1950 he was put in charge of UN forces in Korea, but was relieved of his command the following year.