In the Japanese plan a Covering Force built around the 12,000-ton carrier Shoho was first to cover the landing on Tulagi, then turn back west in time to protect the Port Moresby Invasion Force, which was to come down from Rabaul and around the tail of New Guinea through Jomard Passage. There were close support forces for both landings, and in addition a Striking Force centered on the Shokaku and Zuikaku was to come down from Truk to deal with any United States forces that might attempt to interfere with the operation. Land-based aircraft were counted on for scouting and support. Altogether there were six separate naval forces engaged in this dual operation. Such complex division of forces was typical of Japanese strategy throughout most of the way. So far, against a weak and disorganized enemy, it had worked well, and it was not inconsistent with concentration so long as the forces were properly coordinated and sufficiently close together to render mutual support. But when the Japanese disregarded these two important conditions they met with disaster.
In the Coral Sea, Japanese coordination was to be provided by a unified command. Vice Admiral Shigeyoshi Inouye, Commander Fourth Fleet, was to direct all forces, including land-based air, form Rabaul. The Allied command was not so well integrated. The battle was to be fought in General MacArthur's Southwest Pacific Theater, but it was understood that any fleet action would remain under Admiral Nimitz' strategic control. The result was that Allied land-based air and naval forces were under separate commands without effective coordination.
Since the Pearl Harbor attack, the Untied States had broken the Japanese naval code and thus possessed the enormous advantage of accurate and rather detailed intelligence concerning the enemy's plans. Even so, it was no easy matter to gather sufficient forces to meet the threat to Port Moresby. The Saratoga was still in Puget Sound undergoing repairs for the torpedo damage sustained in January. The Enterprise and Hornet did not return to Pearl Harbor from the Tokyo raid till 25 April. Although they were hurried on their way as soon as possible, there was little likelihood that they could reach the Coral Sea in time to play a part. The only carriers immediately available were Admiral Fletcher's Yorktown force, which had been in the south Pacific for some time, and Rear Admiral Aubrey W. Fitch's Lexington group, fresh from Pearl Harbor. From Noumea, New Caledonia came the Chicago, while Rear Admiral J. C. Crace RN brought H.M.A. cruisers Australia and Hobart from Australia. The Japanese, overconfident from their long series of easy successes, assumed that a single carrier division was sufficient to support their new advance.
The two American carrier groups, which had been ordered to join under Fletcher's command, made contact in the southeast Coral Sea on 1 MAy. Two days later Fletcher received a report of the Japanese landing on Tulagi. Leaving the Lexington group to complete fueling, he headed north with the Yorktown group, and during the 4th made a series of air attacks on the Tulagi area that sank a few minor Japanese naval craft. He then turned back south and formally merged his two groups on 6 May. The two carriers were to operate within a single circular screen of cruisers and destroyers. Admiral Fitch, because of his long experience with carriers, was to exercise tactical command during air operations.
Fletcher's uniting of his forces was luckily timed, for the Shokaku and Zuikaku with their escorts, having swung around the southeastern end of the Solomons, had just entered the Coral Sea. The Japanese Striking Force was commanded by Vice Admiral Takeo Takagi, with Rear Admiral Tadaichi Hara commanding the carriers. Takagi, in coming around the Solomons, hoped to catch the American carriers in a sort of pincer movement. He almost succeeded, for on the evening of the 6th he was rapidly overhauling the American force, then refueling, and was actually within 70 miles of the Americans when he turned north.
At dawn on 7 May, the American task force was cruising on a northwesterly course south of the Lounisiades, which form an extension of the New Guinea tail. A little before 0700, Fletcher detached three cruisers and three destroyers under Admiral Crace and ordered them to push on to the northwest while the carriers turned north. The detached vessels were to prevent the Port Moresby Invasion Force from coming through the Jomard Passage, regardless of the fate of the American carriers, which Fletcher expected would come under attack during the day. In sending Crace forward however, Fletcher was depriving a part of his force of carrier air cover and at the same time further weakening his already weak carrier anti-aircraft screen.
Thus far neither Takagi nor Fletcher was sure that the other was in the area, though Fletcher had information that three Japanese carriers were involved in the operation. Takagi was depending on land-based searches which actually sighted the American carrier force but failed to get word through. Fletcher's air searches were defeated by bad weather to the northeast, where the two Japanese heavy cruisers were operating.
To the northwest however the weather was clear, and early on the 7th reports began to come in from American scout planes searching in this direction. Ar 0815 a pilot reported "two carriers and four heavy cruisers" not far north of Misima Island, whereupon Fletcher ordered attack groups launched from both his carriers. The 93 planes were well on their way before the scout returned and it was discovered that the report was an error due to improper coding–that the scout had meant to report two cruisers and two destroyers.
Fletcher made the courageous decision to let the attack proceed, probably thinking that with the Japanese Invasion Force nearby there must be some profitable targets. His boldness was rewarded at 1022 by a report which placed an enemy carrier with several other vessels only 35 miles southeast of the point toward which the strike had been sent' The attack group had to alter course only slightly for the new target.
The Americans came upon the Shoho about 1100 and, in the first attack ever made by American pilots on an enemy carrier, smothered her with 13 bomb and seven torpedo hits, which sent her down within a few minutes. Upon their return, Fletcher decided to withhold a second strike until the other two enemy carriers were located. Moreover, he suspected that the enemy knew his position, and it seemed likely that he would soon come under attack.
The Japanese failed to attack Fletcher on the 7th only because of a series of errors which by evening reached the fantastic. Before 0900 on the 7th, Inouye, directing the Japanese operation from Rabaul, had reports of two American carrier forces. One was Fletcher's; the other, some 45 miles to the west, was in fact Crace's cruiser-destroyer force. Then came a report from Takagi of a third American carrier in the Eastern Coral Sea. This last was actually the oiler Neosho, which had been detached from Fletcher's force the evening before and was proceeding with the destroyer Sims toward a rendezvous.
At 0950 Japanese navy planes took off from Rabaul to attack the westernmost of the United States forces. The Japanese pilots returned with reports that they had sunk a battleship and a cruiser. Actually Crace's force survived without damage both this attack and another by B-26's from Australia, which mistook his vessels for Japanese.
The identification of the Neosho as a carrier had a serious effect on Japanese operations, for Hara at once launched a full attack upon the hapless oiler and her escort. The Sims with three hits went down with most of her crew. The Neosho took seven but remained afloat until her crew was taken off four days later.
This erroneous attack left Takagi and Hara facing a critical situation. As night approached, the weather closed in, but Hara was determined to destroy the American carriers before they could further damage the Invasion Force. Selecting 27 pilots best qualified in night operations, he sent them out at 1615 in the direction in which he estimated the American carriers lay.
It was not a bad gamble, for in the foul weather and poor visibility the Japanese actually passed near Fletcher's force. The American combat air patrol, vectored out by radar, intercepted the Japanese planes and shot down nine. An hour later several of the returning Japanese, mistaking the American carriers for their own, actually attempted to join the Yorktown's landing circle until American gunners shot down one and drove off the others. The Lexington's radar showed planes circling as if for a landing about 30 miles to the east, which seemed to indicate that the Japanese carriers were very close indeed. Of the Japanese striking group, ten had been shot down, and eleven others went into the water in attempting nightlandings on their carriers. Hara recovered only six of his 27.
The pilots of these planes reported the American carriers only 50 to 60 miles away. Thus each of the opposing commanders was aware of the proximity of the other. Both seriously considered a night surface attack, and both abandoned the idea because they hesitated to weaken their screens with an enemy near. Thus the main action of the Battle of the Coral Sea was postponed another day.
Actually the distance between the two forces was greater than either commander imagined, for postwar plots show that they were nearly a hundred miles apart.
Thus far the antagonists had been together in the Coral Sea for two days, and had twice come within a hundred miles of each other without exchanging blows. On the evening of 7 May each of the opposing commanders felt that the enemy was uncomfortably close. There was every likelihood that a decision would be reached the next day. During the night Fletcher withdrew to the south and west, While Takagi moved north. For both commanders everything depended on locating the enemy as promptly as possible on the morning of the 8th. Both launched searches a littler before dawn, and the scouts of each reported the other almost simultaneously a little after 0800.
The contest of 8 May started on curiously even terms. Each force contained two carriers. Fitch had available 121 planes, Hara 122. The Americans were stronger in bombers, while the Japanese enjoyed a preponderance in fighter and torpedo planes. The Japanese pilots had more combat experience, and their torpedoes were better. In another respect the Japanese enjoyed a significant advantage. By moving south through the night Fletcher had run out of the bad weather area in which he had been operating, and on the 8th his force lay exposed under clear skies, while the Japanese remained within the frontal area, under the protection of clouds and rain squalls.
Essentially the battle consisted of a simultaneous exchange of strikes by the two carrier forces. Between 0900 and 0925 both American carriers launched their attack groups. That of the Yorktown, consisting of 24 bombers with two fighters, and nine torpedo planes with four fighters, departed first. About 1030 the dive bombers found the Japanese carriers with their escorts in loose formation. While the pilots took cloud cover to await the arrival of the torpedo planes, the Zuikaku disappeared into a rain squall. Hence the attack fell only on the Shokaku.
When the torpedo planes approached, the SBD's began their dives. Although the attack was well coordinated, it was only moderately successful. The slow American torpedoes were easily avoided, but the dive bombers succeeded in planting two bombs on the Shokaku. Of the Lexington group, which departed about ten minutes later than the Yorktown's, the 22 dive bombers failed to find the target. Only the eleven torpedo planes and the four scout bombers found the enemy. Again American torpedoes were ineffective, but the bombers succeeded in adding another hit to the two already sustained by the Shokaku. These three hits put the Shokaku out of action for the time being; because the damage to her flight deck prevented her recovering planes, Takagi detached her, ordering her to proceed to Truk.
The Japanese had sent off their group of 70 attack planes and 20 fighters at about the same time as the American launching. Although the American radar picked them up at 70 miles away, only three fighters succeeded in intercepting them before the attack. At a distance of 20 miles, still having met no interference by American fighters, the Japanese planes divided into three groups, two of torpedo planes, and one of bombers.
The two American carriers were together in the center of their circle of screening vessels, but evasive maneuvers gradually drew them apart. The screen divided fairly evenly, but this breaking of the circle undoubtedly contributed to the Japanese success . . .
–Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz
-E. B. Potter
From: The United States Navy in World War II
Compiled and Edited by: S. E. Smith
Part III: Chapter 3: Coral Sea Preliminaries
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Chester W. Nimitz | |
|---|---|
Nimitz during his tenure as a Fleet Admiral
| |
| Birth name | Chester William Nimitz |
| Born | 24 February 1885 Fredericksburg, Texas, U.S. |
| Died | 20 February 1966 (aged 80) Yerba Buena Island, California, U.S. |
| Buried at | Golden Gate National Cemetery San Bruno, California, U.S. |
| Allegiance |  United States of America |
| Service/branch |  United States Navy |
| Years of service | 1905–1966[1] |
| Rank |  Fleet Admiral |
| Service number | 5572 |
| Commands held | USS Chicago (CA-14) USS Rigel (AR-11) USS Augusta (CA-31) Bureau of Navigation United States Pacific Fleet andPacific Ocean Areas Chief of Naval Operations |
| Battles/wars | |
| Awards | Navy Distinguished Service Medal (4) Army Distinguished Service Medal Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath (United Kingdom) Legion of Honor (France) |
| Other work | Regent of the University of California |
| Signature |  |
Chester William Nimitz (24 February 1885 – 20 February 1966) was aFleet Admiral of the United States Navy. He played a major role in theNaval history of World War II as Commander in Chief, United States Pacific Fleet (CinCPac), for U.S. naval forces and Commander in Chief, Pacific Ocean Areas (CinCPOA), for U.S. and Allied air, land, and sea forces during World War II.[2]
Nimitz was the leading U.S. Navy authority on submarines, as well as Chief of the Navy's Bureau of Navigation in 1939. He served as Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) from 1945 until 1947. He was the United States' last surviving Fleet Admiral.
On 24 March 1942, the newly formed US-British Combined Chiefs of Staffissued a directive designating the Pacific theater an area of American strategic responsibility. Six days later the US Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) divided the theater into three areas: the Pacific Ocean Areas (POA), the Southwest Pacific Area (SWPA, commanded by General Douglas MacArthur), and the Southeast Pacific Area. The JCS designated Nimitz as Commander in Chief, Pacific Ocean Areas with operational control over all Allied units (air, land, and sea) in that area.
As rapidly as ships, men, and material became available, Nimitz shifted to the offensive and defeated the Japanese navy in the Battle of the Coral Sea, the pivotal Battle of Midway, and in the Solomon Islands Campaign.
Potter, E. B.- Elmer Belmont "Ned" Potter, (27 December 1908 — 22 November 1997[1][2]), was an American historian and author. He was the leading naval historian at the United States Naval Academy from the late 1940s to the mid-1970s, and author/editor, in collaboration with Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, of the Naval Academy's famous textbook on naval history: Sea Power.
Career[edit]
Born in Norfolk, Virginia to Judson Rice Potter, a grocer, and Fannie (née Beacham) Potter, he attended the University of Richmond, where he completed his B.A. degree in 1929. Known as "Ned" among family and friends, Potter taught history in high schools between 1931–41, before completing his Master of Arts degree in history at the University of Chicago in 1940.
In 1941, he joined the U.S. Naval Reserve and was assigned to the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland, where he began to teach history. With the exception of three years service in the Pacific theater in 1943-45, Potter spent his entire career at the Naval Academy until he retired in 1977.
While at the Naval Academy he married Grace Brauer (8 August 1925—25 February 1997[3]), on 21 May 1954, with whom he had two daughters: Katherine Anne, Lorraine Frances.
Potter lectured widely on naval history and was a member of the U.S. Naval Institute, the American Historical Association, and the American Association of University Professors.
Potter died of congestive heart failure in Annapolis, Maryland.
Inouye, Shigeyoshi, Admiral-
Shokaku-
MacArthur, Douglas, General-
Southwest Pacific Theater-
| Inoue Shigeyoshi | |
|---|---|
Japanese admiral Shigeyoshi Inoue
| |
| Native name | 井上 成美 |
| Born | December 9, 1889 Sendai, Miyagi, Japan |
| Died | December 15, 1975 (aged 86)[1] Yokosuka, Kanagawa, Japan |
| Allegiance |  Empire of Japan |
| Service/branch |  Imperial Japanese Navy |
| Years of service | 1909-1945 |
| Rank | Admiral |
| Commands held |
|
| Battles/wars | |
| Awards | Order of the Rising Sun (1st class) |
| Other work | Vice Minister of the Navy |
Shigeyoshi Inoue (井上 成美 Inoue Shigeyoshi?, 9 December 1889 – 15 December 1975) was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navyduring World War II. He was commander of the Japanese 4th Fleet and later served as Vice-Minister of the Navy. A noted naval theorist, he was a strong advocate of naval aviation within the Japanese Navy.[3]General (Prime Minister) Abe Nobuyuki was his brother-in-law.
Contents
Biography[edit]
Early career[edit]
Inoue was a native of Sendai in Miyagi prefecture, in the Tōhoku regionof Japan. He attended the 37th class of the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy, graduating second out of a class of 179 cadets in 1909. As amidshipman, he was assigned to the cruiser Soya on its 1909 cruise from Dairen to Chemulpo, Chinkai, Sasebo and Tsu. He stayed withSoya on its cruise the following year to Manila, Ambon, Townsville,Brisbane, Sydney, Hobart, Melbourne, Fremantle, Batavia, Singapore,Hong Kong, Makung, and Keelung. On his return, he was assigned to the battleship Mikasa, and then the cruiser Kasuga.
Overseas experience[edit]
Shortly after his promotion to ensign on 15 December 1910, he was reassigned to the cruiser Kurama and attended the coronation ceremonies for King George V in London in 1911. In 1912, he returned to school to study latest naval artillery and submarine warfaretechniques and was promoted to sub-lieutenant at the end of that year. In 1913, he served on the cruiser Takachiho, followed by the battleship Hiei. He was promoted to lieutenant at the end of 1915, and transferred to the battleship Fusō. Although Fusō participated in operations in World War I against the Imperial German Navy, Inoue was not in any combat situations.
Inoue was given his first command, the dispatch vessel Yodo on 1 December 1917. At the end of 1918, Inoue was appointed military attaché to Switzerland, and ordered by the Navy to learn German. In 1919, he was part of the Japanese diplomatic delegation to the Paris Peace Conference, where this knowledge proved to be useful. In 1920, he was appointedmilitary attaché to France, and was then ordered to learn French. In December 1921, he received a promotion to lieutenant commander, and was permitted to return to Japan.
After serving as executive officer on the Suma in 1923, Inoue enrolled in the Naval Staff College, graduating 3rd in a class of 21 the following year from the 22nd class. On 1 December 1925, he was promoted to commander. Inoue remained in staff positions for the next several years, including an appointment as naval attaché to Italy from 1927–1929, after which he was promoted to captain.
As admiral[edit]
On 15 November 1933, Inoue was given command of Hiei. However, his administrative talents could not be overlooked, and he returned to shore duties after slightly over a year and a half. Inoue was a protégé of Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, and was strongly opposed to the Tripartite Pact with Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany. Inoue was a leader of the "leftist clique" within the Japanese military, which opposed Japan's increasing trend towards fascism and overseas expansionism.
Promoted to rear admiral on 15 November 1935, Inoue was made vice commander of the IJN 3rd Fleet, which covered theChina theater of operations in 1939 and further promoted to vice admiral the same year. As with Yamamoto, he was a strong proponent of naval aviation. Inoue was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun (first class) in 1940.
In 1940, Inoue became commander of the Imperial Japanese Navy Aviation Bureau, and submitted his thesis for a radical restructuring of the Imperial Japanese Navy to Naval Minister Koshirō Oikawa early in 1941. He was highly critical of the Navy's shipbuilding programme, with its emphasis on battleships over aircraft carriers. Inoue was given command of the IJN Fourth Fleet later the same year, based out of Truk. He was thus in command of Japanese naval forces during the Battle of Guam and Battle of Wake Island. He subsequently relocated his headquarters to Rabaul for Operation Mo, intended to occupy Port Morseby. However, after the Japanese defeat at the Battle of the Coral Sea in May 1942, he was relieved of his command in October, and returned to Japan to become commander of the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy. He becameVice Minister of the Navy in the closing stages of World War II, was promoted to full admiral on 15 May 1945, and officially retired on 15 October of the same year.
Shokaku-
Shōkaku on 23 August 1941 upon completion and delivery to the Imperial Japanese Navy
| |
| Career (Japan) |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | Shōkaku |
| Namesake: | Japanese: しょうかく Kanji: 翔鶴 "Soaring Crane") |
| Laid down: | 12 December 1937 |
| Launched: | 1 June 1939 |
| Commissioned: | 8 August 1941 |
| Fate: | Sunk by American submarineUSS Cavalla on 19 June 1944 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type: | Shōkaku-class aircraft carrier |
| Displacement: | 25,675 long tons (26,087 t) (standard) 32,105 long tons (32,620 t) (full load) |
| Length: | 257.5 m (844 ft 10 in) |
| Beam: | 26 m (85 ft 4 in) |
| Draft: | 8.8 m (28 ft 10 in) |
| Installed power: | 160,000 shp (120,000 kW) |
| Propulsion: | 4 × Kampon geared steam turbines 8 × boilers 4 × shafts |
| Speed: | 34.2 kn (63.3 km/h; 39.4 mph) |
| Range: | 9,700 nmi (18,000 km; 11,200 mi) at 18 kn (33 km/h; 21 mph) |
| Complement: | 1,660 |
| Armament: |
December 1941:
16 × 127 mm (5 in) Type 98 dual purpose guns36 × 25 mm (1 in) Type 96 anti-aircraft guns |
| Aircraft carried: |
72(+12)
December 1941:
|
Shōkaku (Japanese: 翔鶴 "Soaring Crane") was an aircraft carrier of the Imperial Japanese Navy, the lead ship of her class. Along with hersister ship Zuikaku, she took part in several key naval battles during thePacific War, including the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Battle of the Coral Sea and the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands before being torpedoed and sunk by an American submarine at the Battle of the Philippine Sea.[1]
Contents
Design[edit]
The Shōkaku-class carriers were part of the same program that also included the Yamato-class battleships. No longer restricted by the provisions of the Washington Naval Treaty, which expired in December 1936, the Imperial Japanese Navy was free to incorporate all those features they deemed most desirable in an aircraft carrier, namely high speed, a long radius of action, heavy protection and a large aircraft capacity. Shōkaku was laid down at Yokosuka Dockyard on 12 December 1937, launched on 1 June 1939, and commissioned on 8 August 1941.
With an efficient modern design, a displacement of about 32,000 long tons (33,000 t), and a top speed of 34 kn (63 km/h; 39 mph), Shōkakucould carry 70–80 aircraft. Her enhanced protection compared favorably to that of contemporary Allied aircraft carriers and enabled Shōkaku to survive serious damage during the battles of the Coral Sea and Santa Cruz.[2]
Hull[edit]
In appearance, Shōkaku resembled an enlarged Hiryū, though with a 35.3 m (116 ft) longer overall length, 4.6 m (15 ft) wider beam and a larger island. As in Hiryū, the forecastle was raised to the level of the upper hangar deck to improve seakeeping. She also had a wider, more rounded and heavily flared bow which kept the flight deck dry in most sea conditions.[3]
The carrier's forefoot was of the newly developed bulbous type, sometimes referred to informally as a Taylor pear, which served to reduce the hull's underwater drag within a given range of speeds, improving both the ship's speed and endurance. Unlike the larger bulbous forefoots fitted to the battleships Yamato and Musashi, however, Shōkaku's did not protrude beyond the ship's stem.[3]
Shōkaku was 10,000 tons heavier than the Sōryū-class carriers, mainly due to the extra armor incorporated into the ship's design. Vertical protection consisted of 215 mm (8.5 in) on the main armor deck over the machinery, magazines and aviation fuel tanks while horizontal protection consisted of 215 mm (8.5 in) along the waterline belt abreast the machinery spaces reducing to 150 mm (5.9 in) outboard of the magazines[3]
Unlike British carriers, whose aviation fuel was stored in separate cylinders or coffer-dams surrounded by seawater, all pre-war Japanese carriers had their aviation fuel tanks built integral with the ship's hull and Shōkaku was no exception. The dangers this posed, however, did not become evident until wartime experience demonstrated these were often prone to cracking and leaking as the shocks and stresses of hits or near-misses to the carrier's hull were inevitably transferred to and absorbed by the fuel tanks. Following the debacle at Midway in mid-1942, the empty air spaces around Shōkaku's aviation fuel tanks, normally pumped full of inert carbon dioxide, were instead filled with concrete in an attempt to protect them from possible damage. But this did little to prevent volatile fumes spreading to the hangar decks in the event damage did occur, particularly demonstrated when Cavalla torpedoed and sank her. Shōkaku normally stowed 150,000 gallons of AvGas for operational use.[4]
Machinery[edit]
The geared turbines installed on Shōkaku were essentially the same as those on Sōryū, maximum power increasing by 8,000 shp (6,000 kW) to 160,000 shp (120,000 kW). In spite of all the additional armor, greater displacement and a 2.1 m (6.9 ft) increase in draught, Shōkaku was able to attain a speed of just over 34.2 kn (63.3 km/h; 39.4 mph) during trials. Maximum fuel bunkerage was 4100 tons, giving her a radius of action of 9,700 nmi (18,000 km; 11,200 mi) at 18 kn (33 km/h; 21 mph). Two same-sized downward-curving funnels on the ship's starboard side, just abaft the island, vented exhaust gases horizontally from the boilers and were sufficiently angled to keep the flight deck free of smoke in most wind conditions.[5]
Flight Deck & Hangars[edit]
Shōkaku's 242 m (794 ft) long wood-planked flight deck ended short of the ship's bow and, just barely, that of the stern. It was supported by four steel pillars forward of the hangar box and by two pillars aft.
The flight deck and both hangars (upper and lower) were serviced by three elevators, the largest being the forward one at 13 m (43 ft) by 16 m (52 ft). All three were capable of transferring aircraft weighing up to 5,000 kg (11,000 lb) and raising or lowering them took approximately 15–20 seconds.[6]
Shōkaku's nine Type 4 electrically operated arrester wires followed the same standard arrangement as that on Hiryū, three forward and six aft. They were capable of stopping a 6,000 kg (13,000 lb) aircraft at speeds of 60–78 knots. A third crash barrier was added and a light collapsible wind-break screen was installed just forward of the island.[3]
Hangar space was not greatly increased in comparison to the Sōryū-class carriers and both Shōkaku and Zuikaku could each carry just nine more aircraft than Sōryū, giving them a normal operating capacity of seventy-two plus room for twelve in reserve. Unlike on Sōryū, the reserve aircraft did not need to be kept in a state of disassembly, however, thereby shortening the time required to make them operational.[7]
After experimenting with port-side islands on two previous carriers, Akagi and Hiryū, the IJN opted to build both Shōkakuand her sister ship Zuikaku with starboard-side islands.[3]
In September 1942, a Type 21 air-warning radar was installed on Shōkaku's island atop the central fire control director, the first such device to be fitted on any Japanese carrier. The Type 21 had a "mattress" antenna and the initial prototypes were light enough that no major structural modifications were necessary. Later versions, however, were bulkier and required eventual removal of the fifth fire control director in order to accommodate the larger and heavier antenna.[3]
The presence of this radar however, undoubtedly saved Shōkaku one month later at the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands, when Shokaku was bombed by SBD-3 Dauntless dive bombers from Enterprise; the early detection of the US strike planes by this radar alerted refuelling crews below deck, giving them time to drain and purge the aviation gasoline lines before they were ruptured by bomb hits, thus saving the ship from the catastrophic avgas fires/explosions that eventually caused most of the carrier sinkings in the Pacific theater.
Armament[edit]
Shōkaku's primary air defense consisted of sixteen 127 mm (5.0 in) dual-purpose AA guns in twin mountings. These were sited below flight deck level on projecting sponsons with four such paired batteries on either side of the ship's hull, two forward and two aft. Four fire control directors were installed, two on the port side and two to starboard. A fifth fire control director was located atop the carrier's island and could control any or all of the heavy-caliber guns as needed.[3]
Initially, light AA defense was provided by twelve triple-mount 25 mm (0.98 in) AA guns. Further mounts were added in 1943.[3]
Operational history[edit]
Shōkaku and Zuikaku formed the Japanese 5th Carrier Division, embarking their aircraft shortly before the Pearl Harbor attack. Each carrier's aircraft complement consisted of 15 Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighters, 27 Aichi D3A1 "Val" dive bombers, and 27 Nakajima B5N1 or −2 "Kate" torpedo bombers.
Shōkaku and Zuikaku joined the Kido Butai ("Mobile Unit/Force", the Combined Fleet's main carrier battle group) and participated in Japan's early wartime naval offensives, including Pearl Harbor and the attack on Rabaul in January 1942.
In the Indian Ocean raid of March–April 1942, aircraft from Shōkaku, along with the rest of Kido Butai, attacked Colombo,Ceylon on 5 April, sinking two ships in harbor and severely damaging support facilities. The task force also found and sank two Royal Navy heavy cruisers, (HMS Cornwall and Dorsetshire), on the same day, as well as the aircraft carrierHMS Hermes on 9 April off Batticaloa.
The Fifth Carrier Division was then deployed to Truk to support Operation Mo (the planned capture of Port Moresby in New Guinea). During this operation, Shōkaku's aircraft helped sink the American aircraft carrier USS Lexington during the Battle of the Coral Sea but was herself severely damaged on 8 May 1942 by dive bombers from USS Yorktown and Lexingtonwhich scored three bomb hits: one on the carrier's port bow, one to starboard at the forward end of the flight deck and one just abaft the island. Fires broke out but were eventually contained and extinguished. The resulting damage requiredShōkaku to return to Japan for major repairs.
On the journey back, the carrier shipped so much water through her damaged bow she nearly capsized in heavy seas, maintaining a high rate of speed in order to avoid a cordon of American submarines out hunting for her. She arrived at Kure on 17 May 1942 and entered drydock on 16 June 1942. Repairs were completed within ten days and, a little over two weeks later on 14 July, she was formally reassigned to Striking Force, 3rd Fleet, Carrier Division 1.[8]
The time required for repairs, combined with the aircraft and aircrew losses incurred by her and Zuikaku, kept both carriers from participating in the Battle of Midway.
Following her return to front-line duty, both Shōkaku and her sister-ship Zuikaku, with the addition of the light carrier Zuihō, were redesignated as First Carrier Division and took part in two further battles in 1942: the Battle of the Eastern Solomons, where they damaged USS Enterprise, and the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands, where they crippled USS Hornet (Hornetwas abandoned and later sunk by Japanese destroyers Makigumo and Akigumo), but Shokaku was in turn damaged by dive-bombers of Enterprise, which therefore prevented the bombardment of nearby Henderson Field, and once again kept her out of action for months, leaving other Japanese defensive operations in the Pacific lacking sufficient airpower.
At Santa Cruz, on 26 October 1942, Shōkaku was again seriously damaged, taking at least three (and possibly as many as six) 1,000-lb. bomb hits from a group of fifteen Douglas SBD-3 dive bombers launched from Hornet. With ample warning of the incoming American strike, Shōkaku's aviation fuel mains to the flight deck and hangars had been drained down and she had few aircraft on board at the time of the attack. As a result, no major fires broke out and her seaworthiness was preserved. Her flight deck and hangars, however, were left in shambles and she was unable to conduct further air operations during the remainder of the battle.[6][9]
After several months of repairs and training, Shōkaku, now under the command of Captain Matsubara Hiroshi, was assigned in May 1943 to a counterattack against the Aleutian Islands, but the operation was cancelled after the Allied victory at Attu. For the rest of 1943, she was based at Truk, then returned to Japan for maintenance late in the year.
Sinking[edit]
In 1944, Shōkaku was deployed to the Lingga Islands south of Singapore. On 15 June, she departed with the Mobile Fleet for Operation "A-Go", a counterattack against Allied forces in the Mariana Islands. Her strike waves suffered heavy losses from US combat air patrols and anti-aircraft fire, but some survived and returned safely to the carrier. One of her D4Y Suiseistrike groups, composed of veterans from the Coral Sea and Santa Cruz engagements, broke through and one plane allegedly struck home with a bomb that damaged USS South Dakota (BB-57) and caused many casualties, but this group suffered heavy losses themselves. During the Battle of the Philippine Sea, she was struck at 11:22 on 19 June by three (possibly four) torpedoes from the submarine USS Cavalla (Commander Herman J. Kossler). As Shōkaku had been in the process of refueling and rearming aircraft and was in an extremely vulnerable position, the torpedoes started fires that proved impossible to control. At 12:10, an aerial bomb exploded, detonating aviation fuel vapors which had spread throughout the ship. "Abandon Ship" was ordered, but before the evacuation had progressed very far, Shōkaku abruptly took on water forward and sank quickly bow-first at position 11°40′N 137°40′E, taking 1,272 men with her. The light cruiserYahagi and destroyers Urakaze, Wakatsuki, and Hatsuzuki rescued Captain Matsubara and 570 men.
Zuikaku-
Zuikaku at Kobe on 25 September 1941 after launching, awaiting delivery to the Imperial Japanese Navy.
| |
| Career (Japan) | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Zuikaku |
| Namesake: | Japanese: ずいかく Kanji: 瑞鶴 "Auspicious Crane") |
| Laid down: | 25 May 1938 |
| Launched: | 27 November 1939 |
| Commissioned: | 25 September 1941 |
| Struck: | 26 August 1945 |
| Fate: | Sunk by air attack in the Battle of Leyte Gulf on 25 October 1944 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type: | Shōkaku-class aircraft carrier |
| Displacement: | 29,800 normal tons, 32,000 tons full load |
| Length: | 257.5 m (844 ft 10 in) |
| Beam: | 26 m (85 ft 4 in) |
| Draft: | 8.9 m (29 ft 2 in) |
| Propulsion: | Kampon geared turbines, 8 boilers, 160,000 hp (119 MW), 4 shafts |
| Speed: | 34.5 knots (63.9 km/h) |
| Range: | 7,581 mi (6,588 nmi) at 18 kn (21 mph; 33 km/h) Fuel: 4100 tons |
| Complement: | 1,660 |
| Armament: | 16 × 5 in (127 mm) guns 36(last 96) x 25 mm anti-aircraftguns |
| Aircraft carried: | 72(+12) 18 x Mitsubishi A6M Zero, 27 xAichi D3A, 27 x Nakajima B5N(Dec. 1941) |
Zuikaku (Japanese: 瑞鶴 "Auspicious Crane") was a Shōkaku-classaircraft carrier of the Imperial Japanese Navy. Her complement of aircraft took part in the attack on Pearl Harbor that formally brought theUnited States into the Pacific War, and she fought in several of the most important naval battles of the war, finally being sunk during the Battle of Leyte Gulf.[1]
One of six carriers to participate in the Pearl Harbor attack, Zuikaku was the last of the six to be sunk in the war (four in the Battle of Midway andShōkaku in the Battle of the Philippine Sea).
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Service history[edit]
In 1941, Zuikaku, under the command of Captain Yokokawa Ichibei, and her sister shipShōkaku comprised Carrier Division 5. On 26 November 1941, she left Hittokapu Bay for the attack on Pearl Harbor as part of the Kido Butai ("Mobile Force"). Her aircraft complement consisted of 15 Mitsubishi A6M fighters, 27Aichi D3A dive bombers, and 27 Nakajima B5N torpedo bombers. On 7 December, she launched two waves of aircraft against American military installations on the island of O'ahu. In the first wave, 25 dive bombers attacked Wheeler Army Airfield and five fighters attacked the airbase atKaneohe. In the second wave, 27 torpedo bombers, armed with bombs, attacked the airbase at Hickam Field and 17 dive bombers targeted thebattleships USS California and Maryland on Battleship Row at Pearl Harbor. California later sank, while Maryland escaped Pearl Harbor with moderate damage.
Zuikaku's aircraft also attacked the Australian bases at Rabaul on 20 January 1942 and Lae in New Guinea on 21 January. In April 1942, she took part in the Indian Ocean raid, striking the British naval bases atColombo and Trincomalee on Ceylon, and sinking the Royal Navyaircraft carrier HMS Hermes and the heavy cruisers HMS Cornwall and Dorsetshire, also with the help of Shōkaku.
Battle of the Coral Sea[edit]
In May 1942, she was assigned along with Shōkaku to support Operation Mo, the invasion of Port Moresby, New Guinea. Alerted by intercepted and decrypted Japanese naval messages, the Americans dispatched the carriers USS Yorktown andLexington to stop this operation. On 8 May 1942, during the Battle of the Coral Sea, the main carrier forces located one another and launched maximum-effort raids, which passed each other in the air. Hidden by a rain squall, Zuikaku escaped detection, but Shōkaku was hit three times by bombs and was unable to launch or recover her aircraft. In return, torpedo and dive bombers from both ships hit Lexington, which was later scuttled by torpedoes from an escorting destroyer. Zuikakuwas undamaged in the battle, but sustained severe losses in aircraft and aircrew. This required her to return to Japan with her sister ship for resupply and aircrew training, and neither carrier was able to take part in the Battle of Midway in June 1942.
MacArthur, Douglas, General-
Douglas MacArthur (26 January 1880 – 5 April 1964) was an American five-star general and field marshal of thePhilippine Army. He was Chief of Staff of the United States Army during the 1930s and played a prominent role in thePacific theater during World War II. He received the Medal of Honor for his service in the Philippines Campaign, which made him and his father Arthur MacArthur, Jr., the first father and son to be awarded the medal. He was one of only five men ever to rise to the rank of General of the Army in the U.S. Army, and the only man ever to become a field marshal in the Philippine Army.
Raised in a military family in the American Old West, MacArthur was valedictorian at the West Texas Military Academy, and First Captain at the United States Military Academy at West Point, where he graduated top of the class of 1903. During the 1914 United States occupation of Veracruz, he conducted a reconnaissance mission, for which he was nominated for the Medal of Honor. In 1917, he was promoted from major to colonel and became chief of staff of the 42nd (Rainbow) Division. In the fighting on the Western Front during World War I, he rose to the rank of brigadier general, was again nominated for a Medal of Honor, and was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross twice and theSilver Star seven times.
From 1919 to 1922, MacArthur served as Superintendent of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, where he attempted a series of reforms. His next assignment was in the Philippines, where in 1924 he was instrumental in quelling the Philippine Scout Mutiny. In 1925, he became the Army's youngest major general. He served on the court martial of Brigadier General Billy Mitchell and was president of theAmerican Olympic Committee during the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam. In 1930, he became Chief of Staff of the United States Army. As such, he was involved in the expulsion of the Bonus Army protesters from Washington, D.C. in 1932, and the establishment and organization of theCivilian Conservation Corps. He retired from the U.S. Army in 1937 to become Military Advisor to the Commonwealth Government of the Philippines.
MacArthur was recalled to active duty in 1941 as commander of United States Army Forces in the Far East. A series of disasters followed, starting with the destruction of his air forces on 8 December 1941, and the invasion of the Philippines by the Japanese. MacArthur's forces were soon compelled to withdraw to Bataan, where they held out until May 1942. In March 1942, MacArthur, his family and his staff left nearby Corregidor Island in PT boats and escaped to Australia, where MacArthur became Supreme Commander,Southwest Pacific Area. For his defense of the Philippines, MacArthur was awarded the Medal of Honor. After more than two years of fighting in the Pacific, he fulfilled a promise to return to the Philippines. He officially accepted Japan's surrender on 2 September 1945, and oversaw theoccupation of Japan from 1945 to 1951. As the effective ruler of Japan, he oversaw sweeping economic, political and social changes. He led the United Nations Command in theKorean War until he was removed from command by President Harry S. Truman on 11 April 1951. He later became Chairman of the Board of Remington Rand.
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Early life and education
A military brat, Douglas MacArthur was born 26 January 1880, at the Arsenal Barracks in Little Rock, Arkansas, to Arthur MacArthur, Jr., a U.S. Army captain, and his wife, Mary Pinkney Hardy MacArthur (nicknamed "Pinky").[1] Arthur, Jr. was the son of jurist and politician Arthur MacArthur, Sr.,[2] Arthur would later receive the Medal of Honor for his actions with theUnion Army in the Battle of Missionary Ridge during the American Civil War,[3] and be promoted to the rank of lieutenant general.[4] Pinkney came from a prominent Norfolk, Virginia, family.[1] Two of her brothers had fought for the South in the Civil War, and refused to attend her wedding.[5] Arthur and Pinky had three sons, of whom Douglas was the youngest, following Arthur III, born on 1 August 1876, and Malcolm, born on 17 October 1878.[6] The family lived on a succession of Army posts in the American Old West. Conditions were primitive, and Malcolm died of measles in 1883.[7] In his memoir,Reminiscences, MacArthur wrote "I learned to ride and shoot even before I could read or write—indeed, almost before I could walk and talk."[8]
This time on the frontier ended in July 1889 when the family moved to Washington, D.C.,[9] where Douglas attended the Force Public School. His father was posted to San Antonio, Texas, in September 1893. While there MacArthur attended the West Texas Military Academy,[10] where he was awarded the gold medal for "scholarship and deportment". He also participated on the school tennis team, and played quarterback on the school football team and shortstop on its baseball team. He was named valedictorian, with a final year average of 97.33 out of 100.[11] MacArthur's father and grandfather unsuccessfully sought to secure Douglas a presidential appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point, first from President Grover Clevelandand then from President William McKinley.[12] After these two rejections,[13] he passed an examination for an appointment from Congressman Theobald Otjen,[10] scoring 93.3 on the test.[12] He later wrote: "It was a lesson I never forgot. Preparedness is the key to success and victory."[10]
MacArthur entered West Point on 13 June 1899,[14] and his mother also moved there to a suite at Craney's Hotel, overlooking the grounds of the Academy.[15] Hazing was widespread at West Point at this time, and MacArthur and his classmate Ulysses S. Grant III were singled out for special attention by southern cadets as sons of generals with mothers living at Craney's. When Cadet Oscar Booz left West Point after being hazed and subsequently died of tuberculosis, there was a congressional inquiry. MacArthur was called to appear before a special Congressional committee in 1901, where he testified against cadets implicated in hazing, but downplayed his own hazing even though the other cadets gave the full story to the committee. Congress subsequently outlawed acts "of a harassing, tyrannical, abusive, shameful, insulting or humiliating nature", although hazing continued.[16] MacArthur was a corporal in Company B in his second year, a first sergeant in Company A in his third year and First Captain in his final year.[17] He played left field for the baseball team, and academically earned 2424.12 merits out of a possible 2470.00 or 98.14, the third highest score ever recorded, graduating first in his 93-man class on 11 June 1903.[18] At the time it was customary for the top-ranking cadets to be commissioned into the United States Army Corps of Engineers, so MacArthur was commissioned as a second lieutenant in that corps.[19]
Junior officer
MacArthur spent his graduation furlough with his parents at Fort Mason, California, where his father, now a major general, was serving as commander of the Department of the Pacific. Afterward, he joined the 3rd Engineer Battalion, which departed for the Philippines in October 1903. MacArthur was sent to Iloilo, where he supervised the construction of a wharf at Camp Jossman. He went on to conduct surveys at Tacloban City, Calbayog City and Cebu City. In November 1903, while working on Guimaras, he was ambushed by a pair of Filipino brigands or guerrillas; he shot and killed both with his pistol.[20]He was promoted to first lieutenant in Manila in April 1904.[21] In October 1904, his tour of duty was cut short when he contracted malaria and dhobi itch during a survey on Bataan. He returned to San Francisco, where he was assigned to theCalifornia Debris Commission. In July 1905, he became chief engineer of the Division of the Pacific.[22]
In October 1905, MacArthur received orders to proceed to Tokyo for appointment as aide-de-camp to his father. They inspected Japanese military bases at Nagasaki, Kobe and Kyoto, then headed to India via Shanghai, Hong Kong, Java and Singapore, reaching Calcutta in January 1906. In India, they visited Madras, Tuticorin, Quetta, Karachi, the Northwest Frontier and the Khyber Pass. They then sailed to China via Bangkok and Saigon, and toured Canton, Tsingtao, Peking, Tientsin, Hankow and Shanghai before returning to Japan in June. The next month they returned to the United States,[23]where Arthur MacArthur resumed his duties at Fort Mason, still with Douglas as his aide. In September, Douglas received orders to report to the 2nd Engineer Battalion at the Washington Barracks and enroll in the Engineer School. While there he also served as "an aide to assist at White House functions" at the request of President Theodore Roosevelt.[24]
In August 1907, MacArthur was sent to the engineer district office in Milwaukee, where his parents were now living. In April 1908, he was posted to Fort Leavenworth, where he was given his first command, Company K, 3rd Engineer Battalion.[24]He became battalion adjutant in 1909 and then engineer officer at Fort Leavenworth in 1910. MacArthur was promoted to captain in February 1911 and was appointed as head of the Military Engineering Department and the Field Engineer School. He participated in exercises at San Antonio, Texas, with the Maneuver Division in 1911 and served in Panama on detached duty in January and February 1912. The sudden death of their father on 5 September 1912 brought Douglas and his brother Arthur back to Milwaukee to care for their mother, whose health had deteriorated. MacArthur requested a transfer to Washington, D.C. so his mother could be near Johns Hopkins Hospital. Army Chief of Staff, Major GeneralLeonard Wood, took up the matter with Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson, who arranged for MacArthur to be posted to the Office of the Chief of Staff in 1912.[25]
Veracruz expedition
On 21 April 1914, President Woodrow Wilson ordered the occupation of Veracruz. MacArthur joined the headquarters staff that was sent to the area, arriving on 1 May 1914. He realized that the logistic support of an advance from Veracruz would require the use of the railroad. Finding plenty of railroad cars in Veracruz but no locomotives, MacArthur set out to verify a report that there were a number of locomotives in Alvarado, Veracruz. For $150 in gold, he acquired a handcar and the services of three Mexicans, whom he disarmed. MacArthur and his party located five engines in Alvarado, two of which were only switchers, but the other three locomotives were exactly what was required. On the way back to Veracruz, his party was set upon by five armed men. The party made a run for it and outdistanced all but two of the armed men, whom MacArthur shot. Soon after, they were attacked by a group of about fifteen horsemen. MacArthur took three bullet holes in his clothes but was unharmed. One of his companions was lightly wounded before the horsemen finally decided to retire after MacArthur shot four of them. Further on, the party was attacked a third time by three mounted men. MacArthur received another bullet hole in his shirt, but his men, using their handcart, managed to outrun all but one of their attackers. MacArthur shot both that man and his horse, and the party had to remove the horse's carcass from the track before proceeding.[26]
A fellow officer wrote to Wood recommending that MacArthur's name be put forward for the Medal of Honor. Wood did so, and Chief of Staff Hugh L. Scott convened a board to consider the award.[27] The board questioned "the advisability of this enterprise having been undertaken without the knowledge of the commanding general on the ground".[28] This was Brigadier General Frederick Funston, a Medal of Honor recipient himself, who considered awarding the medal to MacArthur "entirely appropriate and justifiable."[29] However the board feared that "to bestow the award recommended might encourage any other staff officer, under similar conditions, to ignore the local commander, possibly interfering with the latter's plans"; consequently, MacArthur received no award at all.[30]
World War I
Rainbow Division
MacArthur returned to the War Department, where he was promoted tomajor on 11 December 1915. In June 1916, he was assigned as head of the Bureau of Information at the office of the Secretary of War,Newton D. Baker. MacArthur has since been regarded as the Army's first press officer. Following the declaration of war on Germany on 6 April 1917, Baker and MacArthur secured an agreement from President Wilson for the use of the National Guard on the Western Front. MacArthur suggested sending first a division organized from units of different states, so as to avoid the appearance of favoritism toward any particular state. Baker approved the creation of this formation, which became the 42nd ("Rainbow") Division, and appointed Major GeneralWilliam A. Mann, the head of the National Guard Bureau, as its commander; MacArthur was its chief of staff, with the rank of colonel. At MacArthur's request, this commission was in the infantry rather than the engineers.[31]
The 42nd Division was assembled in August and September 1917 atCamp Mills, New York, where its training emphasized open-field combat rather than trench warfare. It sailed in a convoy from Hoboken, New Jersey, for France on 18 October 1917; MacArthur made the passage on the transport Covington. On 19 December, Mann was replaced as division commander by Major General Charles T. Menoher.[32]
Champagne-Marne Offensive
The 42nd Division entered the line in the quiet Lunéville sector in February 1918. On 26 February, MacArthur and Captain Thomas T. Handy accompanied a French trench raid in which MacArthur assisted in the capture of a number of German prisoners. The commander of the French VII Corps, Major General Georges de Bazelaire, decorated MacArthur with the Croix de guerre. Menoher recommended MacArthur for a Silver Star, which he later received.[33] The Silver Star Medal was not instituted until 8 August 1932, but small silver Citation Stars were authorized to be worn on the campaign ribbons of those cited in orders for gallantry, similar to the Britishmention in despatches.[34] When the Silver Star Medal was instituted, it was retrospectively awarded to those who had been awarded Silver Stars.[35] On 9 March, the 42nd Division launched three raids of its own on German trenches in the Salient du Feys. MacArthur accompanied a company of the 168th Infantry. This time, his leadership was rewarded with theDistinguished Service Cross. A few days later, MacArthur, who was strict about his men carrying their gas masks but often neglected to bring his own, was gassed. He recovered in time to show Secretary Baker around the area on 19 March.[36]
MacArthur was promoted to brigadier general on 26 June.[37] In late June, the 42nd Division was shifted to Châlons-en-Champagne to oppose the impending German Champagne-Marne Offensive. Général d'Armée Henri Gouraud of theFrench Fourth Army elected to meet the attack with a defense in depth, holding the front line area as thinly as possible and meeting the German attack on his second line of defense. His plan succeeded, and MacArthur was awarded a second Silver Star.[38] The 42nd Division participated in the subsequent Allied counter-offensive, and MacArthur was awarded a third Silver Star on 29 July. Two days later, Menoher relieved Brigadier General Robert A. Brown of the 84th Infantry Brigade of his command, and replaced him with MacArthur. Hearing reports that the enemy had withdrawn, MacArthur went forward on 2 August to see for himself.[39] He later wrote:
It was 3:30 that morning when I started from our right at Sergy. Taking runners from each outpost liaison group to the next, moving by way of what had been No Man's Land, I will never forget that trip. The dead were so thick in spots we tumbled over them. There must have been at least 2,000 of those sprawled bodies. I identified the insignia of six of the best German divisions. The stench was suffocating. Not a tree was standing. The moans and cries of wounded men sounded everywhere. Sniper bullets sung like the buzzing of a hive of angry bees. An occasional shellburst always drew an angry oath from my guide. I counted almost a hundred disabled guns various size and several times that number of abandoned machine guns.[40]
MacArthur reported back to Menoher and Lieutenant General Hunter Liggett that the Germans had indeed withdrawn, and was awarded a fourth Silver Star.[41] He was also awarded a second Croix de guerre and made a commandeur of theLégion d'honneur.[42]
Battle of Saint-Mihiel and Meuse-Argonne Offensive
The 42nd Division earned a few weeks rest,[43] returning to the line for the Battle of Saint-Mihiel on 12 September. The Allied advance proceeded rapidly and MacArthur was awarded a fifth Silver Star for his leadership of the 84th Infantry Brigade.[44] He received a sixth Silver Star for his participation in a raid on the night of 25–26 September. The 42nd Division was relieved on the night of 30 September moving to the Argonne sector where it relieved the 1st Division on the night of 11 October. On a reconnaissance the next day, MacArthur was gassed again, earning a second Wound Chevron.[45]
The 42nd Division's participation in the Meuse-Argonne Offensivebegan on 14 October when it attacked with both brigades. That evening, a conference was called to discuss the attack, during whichCharles Pelot Summerall, commander of the First Infantry Division andV Corps, rang and demanded that Châtillon be taken by 18:00 the next evening. An aerial photograph had been obtained that showed a gap in the German barbed wire to the northeast of Châtillon. Lieutenant Colonel Walter E. Bare—the commander of the 167th Infantry—proposed an attack from that direction, where the defenses seemed least imposing, covered by a machine-gun barrage. MacArthur adopted this plan.[46] He was wounded, but not severely, while verifying the existence of the gap in the barbed wire.[47]
Summerall nominated MacArthur for the Medal of Honor and promotion to major general, but he received neither.[48] Instead he was awarded a second Distinguished Service Cross.[49] The 42nd Division returned to the line for the last time on the night of 4–5 November 1918.[50] In the final advance on Sedan. MacArthur later wrote that this operation "narrowly missed being one of the great tragedies of American history."[51] An order to disregard unit boundaries led to units crossing into each other's zones. In the resulting chaos, MacArthur was taken prisoner by men of the 1st Division, who mistook him for a German general.[52] His performance in the attack on the Meuse heights led to his being awarded a seventh Silver Star. On 10 November, a day before the armistice that ended the fighting, MacArthur was appointed commander of the 42nd Division. For his service as chief of staff and commander of the 84th Infantry Brigade, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal.[53]
His period in command was brief, for on 22 November he, like other brigadier generals, was replaced, and returned to the 84th Infantry Brigade. The 42nd Division was chosen to participate in the occupation of the Rhineland, occupying theAhrweiler district.[54] In April 1919, they entrained for Brest and Saint-Nazaire, where they boarded ships to return to the United States. MacArthur traveled on the ocean liner SS Leviathan, which reached New York on 25 April 1919.[55]
Between the wars
Superintendent of the United States Military Academy
In 1919, MacArthur became Superintendent of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, which Chief of Staff Peyton March felt had become out of date in many respects and was much in need of reform.[56] Accepting the post allowed MacArthur to retain his rank of brigadier general, instead of being reduced to his substantive rank of major like many of his contemporaries.[57] When MacArthur moved into the superintendent's house with his mother in June 1919,[58] he became the youngest superintendent since Sylvanus Thayerin 1817.[59] However, whereas Thayer had faced opposition from outside the Army, MacArthur had to overcome resistance from graduates and the academic board.[60]MacArthur's vision of what was required of an officer came not just from his recent experience of combat in France but also from that of the occupation of the Rhineland in Germany. The military government of the Rhineland had required the Army to deal with political, economic and social problems but he had found that many West Point graduates had little or no knowledge of fields outside of the military sciences.[58] During the war, West Point had been reduced to an officer candidate school, with five classes graduated in two years. Cadet and staff morale was low and hazing "at an all-time peak of viciousness".[61]MacArthur's first change turned out to be the easiest. Congress had set the length of the course at three years. MacArthur was able to get the four-year course restored.[62]
During the debate over the length of the course, The New York Times brought up the issue of the cloistered and undemocratic nature of student life at West Point.[62] Also, starting with Harvard University in 1869, civilian universities had begun grading students on academic performance alone, but West Point had retained the old "whole man" concept of education. MacArthur sought to modernize the system, expanding the concept of military character to include bearing, leadership, efficiency and athletic performance. He formalized the hitherto unwritten Cadet Honor Code in 1922 when he formed the Cadet Honor Committee to review alleged code violations. Elected by the cadets themselves, it had no authority to punish, but acted as a kind of grand jury, reporting offenses to the commandant.[63] MacArthur attempted to end hazing by using officers rather than upperclassmen to train the plebes.[64]
Instead of the traditional summer camp at Fort Clinton, MacArthur had the cadets trained to use modern weapons by regular army sergeants at Fort Dix; they then marched back to West Point with full packs.[64] He attempted to modernize the curriculum by adding liberal arts, government and economics courses, but encountered strong resistance from the Academic Board. In Military Art classes, the study of the campaigns of the American Civil War was replaced with the study of those of World War I. In History class, more emphasis was placed on the Far East. MacArthur expanded the sports program, increasing the number of intramural sports and requiring all cadets to participate.[65] He allowed upper class cadets to leave the reservation, and sanctioned a cadet newspaper, The Brag, forerunner of today's West Pointer. He also permitted cadets to travel to watch their football team play, and gave them an allowance of $5.00 a month. Professors and alumni alike protested these radical moves.[64] Most of MacArthur's West Point reforms were soon discarded but, in the ensuing years, his ideas became accepted and his innovations were gradually restored.[66]
Army's youngest major general
MacArthur became romantically involved with socialite and multi-millionaire heiress Louise Cromwell Brooks. They were married at her family's villa in Palm Beach, Florida on 14 February 1922. Rumors circulated that General Pershing, who had also courted Louise, had threatened to exile them to the Philippines if they were married. This was denied by Pershing as "all damn poppycock."[67] In October 1922, MacArthur left West Point and sailed to the Philippines with Louise and her two children, Walter and young Louise, to assume command of the Military District of Manila.[68] MacArthur was fond of the children, and spent much of his free time with them.[69]
The islands were peaceful now, and in the wake of the Washington Naval Treaty, the garrison was being reduced.[70]MacArthur's friendships with Filipinos like Manuel Quezon offended some people. "The old idea of colonial exploitation", he later conceded, "still had its vigorous supporters."[71] In February and March 1923 MacArthur returned to Washington to see his mother, who was ill from a heart ailment. She recovered, but it was the last time he saw his brother Arthur, who died suddenly from appendicitis in December 1923. In June 1923, MacArthur assumed command of the 23rd Infantry Brigade of the Philippine Division. On 7 July 1924, he was informed that a mutiny had broken out amongst the Philippine Scouts over grievances concerning pay and allowances. Over 200 were arrested and there were fears of an insurrection. MacArthur was able to calm the situation, but his subsequent efforts to improve the salaries of Filipino troops were frustrated by financial stringency and racial prejudice. On 17 January 1925, at the age of 44, he was promoted, becoming the Army's youngest major general.[72]
Returning to the U.S., MacArthur took command of the IV Corps Area, based at Fort McPherson in Atlanta, Georgia, on 2 May 1925.[73] However, he encountered southern prejudice because he was the son of a Union Army officer, and requested to be relieved.[74] A few months later, he assumed command of the III Corps area, based at Fort McHenry in Baltimore, Maryland, which allowed MacArthur and Louise to move to her Rainbow Hill estate near Garrison, Maryland.[73] However, this relocation also led to what he later described as "one of the most distasteful orders I ever received":[75] a direction to serve on the court martial of Brigadier General Billy Mitchell. MacArthur was the youngest of the thirteen judges, none of whom had aviation experience. Three of them, including Summerall, the president of the court, were removed when defense challenges revealed bias against Mitchell. Despite MacArthur's claim that he had voted to acquit, Mitchell was found guilty as charged and convicted.[73] MacArthur felt "that a senior officer should not be silenced for being at variance with his superiors in rank and with accepted doctrine."[75]
In 1927, MacArthur and Louise separated, and she moved to New York City.[76] In August that year, William C. Prout—the president of the American Olympic Committee—died suddenly and the committee elected MacArthur as their new president. His main task was to prepare the U.S. team for the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam.[77] MacArthur saw the team as representatives of the United States, and its task was to win medals. "We have not come 3,000 miles," he told them, "just to lose gracefully."[78] The Americans had a successful meet, earning 24 gold medals, and setting 17 Olympic records and seven world records.[79] Upon returning to the U.S., MacArthur received orders to assume command of the Philippine Department.[77] In 1929, while he was in Manila, Louise obtained a divorce, ostensibly on the grounds of "failure to provide".[80] In view of Louise's great wealth, William Manchester described this legal fiction as "preposterous".[81]
Chief of Staff
By 1930, MacArthur was still, at age 50, the youngest of the U.S. Army's major generals, and the best known. He left the Philippines on 19 September 1930 and for a brief time was in command of the IX Corps Area in San Francisco. On 21 November, he was sworn in as Chief of Staff of the United States Army, with the rank of general.[82] While in Washington, he would ride home each day to have lunch with his mother. At his desk, he would wear a Japanese ceremonial kimono, cool himself with an oriental fan, and smoke cigarettes in a jeweled cigarette holder. In the evenings, he liked to read military history books. About this time, he began referring to himself as "MacArthur".[83]
The onset of the Great Depression forced Congress to make cuts in the Army's personnel and budget. Some 53 bases were closed, but MacArthur managed to prevent attempts to reduce the number of regular officers from 12,000 to 10,000.[84] MacArthur's main programs included the development of new mobilization plans. He grouped the nine corps areas together under four armies, which were charged with responsibility for training and frontier defense.[85] He also negotiated the MacArthur-Pratt agreement with the Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral William V. Pratt. This was the first of a series of inter-service agreements over the following decades that defined the responsibilities of the different services with respect to aviation. This agreement placed coastal air defense under the Army. In March 1935, MacArthur activated a centralized air command, General Headquarters Air Force, under Major General Frank M. Andrews.[86]
One of MacArthur's most controversial acts came in 1932, when the "Bonus Army" of veterans converged on Washington. He sent tents and camp equipment to the demonstrators, along with mobile kitchens, until an outburst in Congress caused the kitchens to be withdrawn. MacArthur was concerned that the demonstration had been taken over by communists and pacifists but the General Staff's intelligence division reported that only three of the march's 26 key leaders were communists. MacArthur went over contingency plans for civil disorder in the capital. Mechanized equipment was brought to Fort Myer, where anti-riot training was conducted.[87]
On 28 July 1932, a clash between the District police and demonstrators resulted in two men being shot. President Hoover ordered MacArthur to "surround the affected area and clear it without delay."[88] MacArthur brought up troops and tanks and, against the advice of Major Dwight D. Eisenhower, decided to accompany the troops, although he was not in charge of the operation. The troops advanced with bayonets and sabers drawn under a shower of bricks and rocks, but no shots were fired. In less than four hours, they cleared the Bonus Army's campground using tear gas. The gas canisters started a number of fires, causing the only death during the riots. While not as violent as other anti-riot operations, it was nevertheless a public relations disaster.[89]
In 1934, MacArthur sued journalists Drew Pearson and Robert S. Allenfor defamation after they described his treatment of the Bonus marchers as "unwarranted, unnecessary, insubordinate, harsh and brutal".[90] In turn, they threatened to call Isabel Rosario Cooper as a witness. MacArthur had met Isabel, a Eurasian woman, while in the Philippines, and she had become his mistress. MacArthur was forced to settle out of court, secretly paying Pearson $15,000.[91]
President Hoover was defeated in the 1932 election by Franklin D. Roosevelt. MacArthur and Roosevelt had worked together before World War I and, despite political differences, remained friends. MacArthur supported the New Deal through the Army's operation of the Civilian Conservation Corps. He ensured that detailed plans were drawn up for its employment and decentralized its administration to the corps areas, which became an important factor in the program's success.[92]MacArthur's support for a strong military, and his public criticism of pacifism and isolationism,[93] made him unpopular with the Roosevelt administration.[94]
Perhaps the most incendiary exchange between Roosevelt and MacArthur occurred over an administration proposal to cut 51% of the Army's budget. In response, MacArthur lectured Roosevelt that "when we lost the next war, and an American boy, lying in the mud with an enemy bayonet through his belly and an enemy foot on his dying throat, spat out his last curse, I wanted the name not to be MacArthur, but Roosevelt." In response, Roosevelt yelled "you must not talk that way to the President!" MacArthur offered to resign, but Roosevelt refused his request, and MacArthur then staggered out of the White House and vomited on the front steps.[95]
In spite of such exchanges, MacArthur was extended an extra year as Chief of Staff, and ended his tour in October 1935.[94] For his service as chief of staff, he was awarded a second Distinguished Service Medal. He was retroactively awarded two Purple Hearts for his World War I service,[96] a decoration that he authorized in 1932 based loosely on the defunct Military Badge of Merit. MacArthur also insisted on being the first recipient of the Purple Heart, which he had engraved with "#1."[97][98]
Field Marshal of the Philippine Army
When the Commonwealth of the Philippines achieved semi-independent status in 1935, President of the Philippines Manuel Quezon asked MacArthur to supervise the creation of a Philippine Army. Quezon and MacArthur had been personal friends since the latter's father had been Governor-General of the Philippines, 35 years earlier. With President Roosevelt's approval, MacArthur accepted the assignment. It was agreed that MacArthur would receive the rank of field marshal, with its salary and allowances, in addition to his major general's salary as Military Advisor to the Commonwealth Government of the Philippines.[99] It would be his fifth tour in the Far East. MacArthur sailed from San Francisco on the SS President Hoover in October 1935,[100] accompanied by his mother and sister-in-law. He brought Eisenhower and Major James B. Ord along as his assistants.[101] Another passenger on the President Hoover was Jean Marie Faircloth, an unmarried 37-year-old socialite. Over the next two years, MacArthur and Jean were frequently seen together.[102] His mother became gravely ill during the voyage and died in Manila on 3 December 1935.[103]
President Quezon officially conferred the title of field marshal on MacArthur in a ceremony at Malacañan Palace on 24 August 1936, and presented him with a gold baton and a unique uniform.[104] The Philippine Army was formed from conscription. Training was conducted by a regular cadre, and the Philippine Military Academy was created along the lines of West Point to train officers.[105] MacArthur and Eisenhower found that few of the training camps had been constructed and the first group of 20,000 trainees did not report until early 1937.[106] Equipment and weapons were "more or less obsolete" American cast offs, and the budget of $6 million was completely inadequate.[105] MacArthur's requests for equipment fell on deaf ears, although MacArthur and his naval advisor, Lieutenant Colonel Sidney L. Huff, persuaded the Navy to initiate the development of the PT boat.[107] Much hope was placed in the Philippine Army Air Corps, but the first squadron was not organized until 1939.[108]
MacArthur married Jean Faircloth in a civil ceremony on 30 April 1937.[109] Their marriage produced a son, Arthur MacArthur IV, who was born in Manila on 21 February 1938.[110] On 31 December 1937, MacArthur officially retired from the Army. He ceased to represent the U.S. as military adviser to the government, but remained as Quezon's adviser in a civilian capacity.[111] Eisenhower returned to the U.S., and was replaced as MacArthur's chief of staff by Lieutenant ColonelRichard K. Sutherland, while Richard J. Marshall became deputy chief of staff.[112]
World War II
Main article: Douglas MacArthur in World War II
Philippines Campaign (1941–42)
Main article: Philippines Campaign (1941–42)
On 26 July 1941, Roosevelt federalized the Philippine Army, recalled MacArthur to active duty in the U.S. Army as a major general, and named him commander of U.S. Army Forces in the Far East (USAFFE). MacArthur was promoted to lieutenant general the following day,[113]and then to general on 20 December. At the same time, Sutherland was promoted to major general, while Marshall, Spencer B. Akin, and Hugh J. Casey were all promoted to brigadier general.[114] On 31 July 1941, the Philippine Department had 22,000 troops assigned, 12,000 of whom were Philippine Scouts. The main component was the Philippine Division, under the command of Major General Jonathan M. Wainwright.[115]
Between July and December 1941, the garrison received 8,500 reinforcements.[116] After years of parsimony, much equipment was shipped. By November, a backlog of 1,100,000 shipping tons of equipment intended for the Philippines had accumulated in U.S. ports and depots awaiting vessels.[117] In addition, the Navy intercept station in the islands, known as Station CAST, had an ultra secret Purple cipher machine, which decrypted Japanese diplomatic messages, and partial codebooks for the latest JN-25 naval code. Cast sent MacArthur its entire output, via Sutherland, the only officer on his staff authorized to see it.[118]
At 03:30 local time on 8 December 1941 (about 09:00 on 7 December in Hawaii),[119] Sutherland learned of the attack on Pearl Harbor and informed MacArthur. At 05:30, the Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army, General George Marshall, ordered MacArthur to execute the existing war plan, Rainbow Five. MacArthur did nothing. On three occasions, the commander of the Far East Air Force, Major General Lewis H. Brereton, requested permission to attack Japanese bases in Formosa, in accordance with prewar intentions, but was denied by Sutherland. Not until 11:00 did Brereton speak with MacArthur about it, and obtained permission.[120] MacArthur later denied having the conversation.[121] At 12:30, aircraft of Japan's 11th Air Fleet achieved complete tactical surprise when they attacked Clark Field and the nearby fighter base at Iba Field, and destroyed or disabled 18 of Far East Air Force's 35 B-17s, 53 of its 107 P-40s, three P-35s, and more than 25 other aircraft. Most were destroyed on the ground. Substantial damage was done to the bases, and casualties totaled 80 killed and 150 wounded.[122] What was left of the Far East Air Force was all but destroyed over the next few days.[123]
Prewar defense plans assumed the Japanese could not be prevented from landing on Luzon and called for U.S. and Filipino forces to abandon Manila and retreat with their supplies to the Bataan peninsula. MacArthur attempted to slow the Japanese advance with an initial defense against the Japanese landings. However, he reconsidered his confidence in the ability of his Filipino troops after the Japanese landing force made a rapid advance after landing at Lingayen Gulf on 21 December,[124] and ordered a retreat to Bataan.[125] Manila was declared an open city at midnight on 24 December, without any consultation with Admiral Thomas C. Hart, commanding the Asiatic Fleet, forcing the Navy to destroy considerable amounts of valuable material.[126]
On the evening of 24 December, MacArthur moved his headquarters to the island fortress of Corregidor in Manila Bay, boarding the Army transport Don Esteban after 19:00 arriving Corregidor at 21:30, with his headquarters reporting to Washington as being open on the 25th.[127][128] A series of air raids by the Japanese destroyed all the exposed structures on the island and USAFFE headquarters was moved into the Malinta Tunnel. Later, most of the headquarters moved to Bataan, leaving only the nucleus with MacArthur.[129] The troops on Bataan knew that they had been written off but continued to fight. Some blamed Roosevelt and MacArthur for their predicament. A ballad sung to the tune of "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" called him "Dugout Doug".[130] However, most clung to the belief that somehow MacArthur "would reach down and pull something out of his hat."[131]
On 1 January 1942, MacArthur accepted $500,000 from President Quezon of the Philippines as payment for his pre-war service. MacArthur's staff members also received payments: $75,000 for Sutherland, $45,000 for Richard Marshall, and $20,000 for Huff.[132][133] Eisenhower—after being appointed Supreme Commander Allied Expeditionary Force (AEF)—was also offered money by Quezon, but declined.[134] These payments were known only to a few in Manila and Washington, including President Roosevelt and Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson, until they were made public by historian Carol Petillo in 1979. The revelation tarnished MacArthur's reputation.[135]
Escape to Australia and Medal of Honor
Main article: Douglas MacArthur's escape from the Philippines
In February 1942, as Japanese forces tightened their grip on the Philippines, MacArthur was ordered by President Roosevelt to relocate to Australia.[136] On the night of 12 March 1942, MacArthur and a select group that included his wife Jean, son Arthur, and Arthur's Cantoneseamah, Ah Cheu, as well as Sutherland, Akin, Casey, Richard Marshall,Charles A. Willoughby, LeGrande A. Diller, and Harold H. George, left Corregidor in four PT boats. MacArthur, his family and Sutherland traveled aboard PT 41, commanded by Lieutenant John D. Bulkeley. The others followed aboard PT 34, PT 35 and PT 32. MacArthur and his party reached Del Monte Airfield on Mindanao, where B-17s picked them up, and flew them to Australia.[137][138] His famous speech, in which he said, "I came through and I shall return", was first made atTerowie, a small town in South Australia, on 20 March.[139] Washington asked MacArthur to amend his promise to "We shall return". He ignored the request.[140]
Bataan surrendered on 9 April,[141] and Corregidor on 6 May.[142]George Marshall decided that MacArthur would be awarded the Medal of Honor, a decoration for which he had twice previously been nominated, "to offset any propaganda by the enemy directed at his leaving his command".[143] Eisenhower pointed out that MacArthur had not actually performed any acts of valor as required by law, but Marshall cited the 1927 award of the medal to Charles Lindbergh as a precedent. Special legislation had been passed to authorize Lindbergh's medal, but while similar legislation was introduced authorizing the medal for MacArthur by Congressmen J. Parnell Thomas and James E. Van Zandt, Marshall felt strongly that a serving general should receive the medal from the President and the War Department.[144] MacArthur chose to accept it on the basis that "this award was intended not so much for me personally as it is a recognition of the indomitable courage of the gallant army which it was my honor to command."[145] Arthur and Douglas MacArthur thus became the first father and son to be awarded the Medal of Honor. They remained the only pair until 2001, when Theodore Roosevelt was awarded posthumously for his service during the Spanish–American War, Theodore Roosevelt, Jr. having received one posthumously for his service during World War II.[146][147] His citation, written by George Marshall,[148] read:
For conspicuous leadership in preparing the Philippine Islands to resist conquest, for gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty in action against invading Japanese forces, and for the heroic conduct of defensive and offensive operations on the Bataan Peninsula. He mobilized, trained, and led an army which has received world acclaim for its gallant defense against a tremendous superiority of enemy forces in men and arms. His utter disregard of personal danger under heavy fire and aerial bombardment, his calm judgment in each crisis, inspired his troops, galvanized the spirit of resistance of the Filipino people, and confirmed the faith of the American people in their Armed Forces.[149]
As the symbol of the forces resisting the Japanese, MacArthur received many other accolades. The Native American tribes of the Southwest chose him as a "Chief of Chiefs", which he acknowledged as from "my oldest friends, the companions of my boyhood days on the Western frontier".[150] He was touched when he was named Father of the Year for 1942, and wrote to the National Father's Day Committee that:
By profession I am a soldier and take pride in that fact, but I am prouder, infinitely prouder to be a father. A soldier destroys in order to build; the father only builds, never destroys. The one has the potentialities of death; the other embodies creation and life. And while the hordes of death are mighty, the battalions of life are mightier still. It is my hope that my son when I am gone will remember me, not from battle, but in the home, repeating with him our simple daily prayer, "Our father, Who art in Heaven."[150]
New Guinea Campaign
Further information: New Guinea Campaign
General Headquarters
On 18 April 1942, MacArthur was appointed Supreme Commander of Allied Forces in the Southwest Pacific Area (SWPA). Lieutenant General George Brett became Commander, Allied Air Forces, and Vice Admiral Herbert F. Leary became Commander, Allied Naval Forces.[151] Since the bulk of land forces in the theater were Australian, George Marshall insisted an Australian be appointed as Commander, Allied Land Forces, and the job went to General Sir Thomas Blamey. Although predominantly Australian and American, MacArthur's command also included small numbers of personnel from the Netherlands East Indies, the United Kingdom, and other countries.[152] MacArthur established a close relationship with the Prime Minister of Australia, John Curtin,[153] although many Australians resented MacArthur as a foreign general who had been imposed upon them.[154] MacArthur had little confidence in Brett's abilities as commander of Allied Air Forces,[151][155][156] and in August 1942 selected Major General George C. Kenney to replace him.[157][158] Kenney's application of air power in support of Blamey's troops would prove crucial.[159]
The staff of MacArthur's General Headquarters (GHQ) was built around the nucleus that had escaped from the Philippines with him, who became known as the "Bataan Gang".[160] Though Roosevelt and George Marshall pressed for Dutch and Australian officers to be assigned to GHQ, the heads of all the staff divisions were American and such officers of other nationalities as were assigned served under them.[152] Initially located in Melbourne,[161] GHQ moved to Brisbane—the northernmost city in Australia with the necessary communications facilities—in July 1942,[162] occupying the AMP Insurance Society building.[163]
MacArthur formed his own signals intelligence organization, known as the Central Bureau, from Australian intelligence units and Americancryptanalysts who had escaped from the Philippines.[164] This unit forwarded Ultra information to Willoughby for analysis.[165] After a press release revealed details of the Japanese naval dispositions during the Battle of the Coral Sea, at which a Japanese attempt to capture Port Moresby was turned back,[166] Roosevelt ordered that censorship be imposed in Australia, and the Advisory War Council granted GHQ censorship authority over the Australian press. Australian newspapers were restricted to what was reported in the daily GHQ communiqué.[166][167] Veteran correspondents considered the communiqués, which MacArthur drafted personally, "a total farce" and "Alice-in-Wonderland information handed out at high level."[168]
Papuan Campaign
Anticipating that the Japanese would strike at Port Moresby again, the garrison was strengthened and MacArthur ordered the establishment of new bases at Merauke and Milne Bay to cover its flanks.[169] The Battle of Midway in June 1942 led to consideration of a limited offensive in the Pacific. MacArthur's proposal for an attack on the Japanese base at Rabaul met with objections from the Navy, which favored a less ambitious approach, and objected to an Army general being in command of what would be an amphibious operation. The resulting compromise called for a three-stage advance. The first stage, the seizure of the Tulagi area, would be conducted by the Pacific Ocean Areas, under Admiral Chester W. Nimitz. The later stages would be under MacArthur's command.[170]
The Japanese struck first, landing at Buna in July,[171] and at Milne Bayin August. The Australians repulsed the Japanese at Milne Bay,[172] but a series of defeats in the Kokoda Track campaign had a depressing effect back in Australia. On 30 August, MacArthur radioed Washington that unless action was taken, New Guinea Force would be overwhelmed. He sent Blamey to Port Moresby to take personal command.[173] Having committed all available Australian troops, MacArthur decided to send American forces. The 32nd Infantry Division, a poorly trained National Guard division, was selected.[174] A series of embarrassing reverses in the Battle of Buna–Gona led to outspoken criticism of the American troops by the Australians. MacArthur then ordered Lieutenant General Robert L. Eichelberger to assume command of the Americans, and "take Buna, or not come back alive."[175][176]
MacArthur moved the advanced echelon of GHQ to Port Moresby on 6 November 1942.[177] After Buna finally fell on 3 January 1943,[178]MacArthur awarded the Distinguished Service Cross to twelve officers for "precise execution of operations". This use of the country's second highest award aroused resentment, because while some, like Eichelberger and George Alan Vasey, had fought in the field, others, like Sutherland and Willoughby, had not.[179] For his part, MacArthur was awarded his third Distinguished Service Medal,[180] and the Australian government had him appointed an honorary Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath.[181]
New Guinea Campaign
At the Pacific Military Conference in March 1943, the Joint Chiefs of Staff approved MacArthur's plan for Operation Cartwheel, the advance on Rabaul.[182] MacArthur explained his strategy:
My strategic conception for the Pacific Theater, which I outlined after the Papuan Campaign and have since consistently advocated, contemplates massive strokes against only main strategic objectives, utilizing surprise and air-ground striking power supported and assisted by the fleet. This is the very opposite of what is termed "island hopping" which is the gradual pushing back of the enemy by direct frontal pressure with the consequent heavy casualties which will certainly be involved. Key points must of course be taken but a wise choice of such will obviate the need for storming the mass of islands now in enemy possession. "Island hopping" with extravagant losses and slow progress ... is not my idea of how to end the war as soon and as cheaply as possible. New conditions require for solution and new weapons require for maximum application new and imaginative methods. Wars are never won in the past.[183]
In New Guinea, a country without roads, large-scale transportation of men and materiel would have to be accomplished by aircraft or ships. A multi-pronged approach was employed to solve this problem. Disassembled landing craft were shipped to Australia, where they were assembled in Cairns.[184] The range of these small landing craft was to be greatly extended by the landing ships of the VII Amphibious Force, which began arriving in late 1942, and formed part of the newly formedSeventh Fleet.[185] Since the Seventh Fleet had no aircraft carriers, the range of naval operations was limited by that of the fighter aircraft of theFifth Air Force.[186]
Lieutenant General Walter Krueger's Sixth Army headquarters arrived in SWPA in early 1943 but MacArthur had only three American divisions, and they were tired and depleted from the fighting at Battle of Buna–Gona and Battle of Guadalcanal. As a result, "it became obvious that any military offensive in the South-West Pacific in 1943 would have to be carried out mainly by the Australian Army."[187] The offensive began with the landing at Lae by the Australian 9th Division on 4 September 1943. The next day, MacArthur watched the landing at Nadzab by paratroops of the 503rd Parachute Infantry. His B-17 made the trip on three engines because one failed soon after leaving Port Moresby, but he insisted that it fly on to Nadzab.[188] For this, he was awarded the Air Medal.[189]
The Australian 7th and 9th Divisions converged on Lae, which fell on 16 September. MacArthur advanced his timetable, and ordered the 7th to capture Kaiapit and Dumpu, while the 9th mounted an amphibious assault on Finschhafen. Here, the offensive bogged down, partly because MacArthur had based his decision to assault Finschhafen on Willoughby's assessment that there were only 350 Japanese defenders at Finschhafen, when in fact there were nearly 5,000. A furious battle ensued.[190]
In early November, MacArthur's plan for a westward advance along the coast of New Guinea to the Philippines was incorporated into plans for the war against Japan.[191][192] Three months later, airmen reported no signs of enemy activity in the Admiralty Islands. Although Willoughby did not agree that the islands had been evacuated, MacArthur ordered an amphibious landing there, commencing the Admiralty Islands campaign. He accompanied the assault force aboard the light cruiser Phoenix, the flagship of Vice Admiral Thomas C. Kinkaid, the new commander of the Seventh Fleet, and came ashore seven hours after the first wave of landing craft, for which he was awarded the Bronze Star.[193] It took six weeks of fierce fighting before the 1st Cavalry Division captured the islands.[194]
MacArthur now bypassed the Japanese forces at Hansa Bay and Wewak, and assaulted Hollandia and Aitape, which Willoughby reported to be lightly defended based on intelligence gathered in the Battle of Sio. Although they were out of range of the Fifth Air Force's fighters based in the Ramu Valley, the timing of the operation allowed the aircraft carriers of Nimitz's Pacific Fleet to provide air support.[195] Though risky, the operation turned out to be another success. MacArthur caught the Japanese off balance and cut off Lieutenant General Hatazō Adachi's Japanese XVIII Army in the Wewak area. Because the Japanese were not expecting an attack, the garrison was weak, and Allied casualties were correspondingly light. However, the terrain turned out to be less suitable for airbase development than first thought, forcing MacArthur to seek better locations further west. While bypassing Japanese forces had great tactical merit, it had the strategic drawback of tying up Allied troops to contain them. Moreover, Adachi was far from beaten, which he demonstrated in the Battle of Driniumor River.[196]
Philippines Campaign (1944–45)
Further information: Philippines Campaign (1944–45)
Leyte
In July 1944, President Roosevelt summoned MacArthur to meet with him in Hawaii "to determine the phase of action against Japan." Nimitz made the case for attacking Formosa. MacArthur stressed America's moral obligation to liberate the Philippines. In September, Halsey's carriers made a series of air strikes on the Philippines. Opposition was feeble and Halsey concluded, incorrectly, that Leyte was "wide open" and possibly undefended, and recommended that projected operations be skipped in favor of an assault on Leyte.[197]
On 20 October 1944, troops of Krueger's Sixth Army landed on Leyte, while MacArthur watched from the light cruiser USS Nashville. That afternoon he arrived off the beach. The advance had not progressed far; snipers were still active and the area was under sporadic mortar fire. When his whaleboat grounded in knee-deep water, MacArthur requested a landing craft, but the beachmaster was too busy to grant his request. MacArthur was compelled to wade ashore.[198] In his prepared speech, he said:
People of the Philippines: I have returned. By the grace of Almighty God our forces stand again on Philippine soil—soil consecrated in the blood of our two peoples. We have come dedicated and committed to the task of destroying every vestige of enemy control over your daily lives, and of restoring upon a foundation of indestructible strength, the liberties of your people.[199]
Since Leyte was out of range of Kenney's land-based aircraft, MacArthur was dependent on carrier aircraft.[200] Japanese air activity soon increased, with raids on Tacloban, where MacArthur decided to establish his headquarters, and on the fleet offshore. MacArthur enjoyed staying on Nashville's bridge during air raids, although several bombs landed close by, and two nearby cruisers were hit.[201] Over the next few days, the Japanese counterattacked in the Battle of Leyte Gulf, resulting in a near-disaster that MacArthur attributed to the command being divided between himself and Nimitz.[202] Nor did the campaign ashore proceed smoothly. Heavy monsoonal rains disrupted the airbase construction program. Carrier aircraft proved to be no substitute for land-based aircraft, and the lack of air cover permitted the Japanese to pour troops into Leyte. Adverse weather and valiant Japanese resistance slowed the American advance, resulting in a protracted campaign.[203][204]
By the end of December, Krueger's headquarters estimated that 5,000 Japanese remained on Leyte, and on 26 December MacArthur issued a communiqué announcing that "the campaign can now be regarded as closed except for minor mopping up." Yet Eichelberger's Eighth Army killed another 27,000 Japanese on Leyte before the campaign ended in May 1945.[205] On 18 December 1944, MacArthur was promoted to the new five-star rank of General of the Army.[206]
Luzon
MacArthur's next move was the invasion of Mindoro, where there were good potential airfield sites. Willoughby estimated, correctly as it turned out, that the island had only about 1,000 Japanese defenders. The problem this time was getting there. Kinkaid balked at sending escort carriers into the restricted waters of the Sulu Sea, and Kenney could not guarantee land based air cover. The operation was clearly hazardous, and MacArthur's staff talked him out of accompanying the invasion on Nashville. As the invasion force entered the Sulu Sea, a kamikaze struck Nashville, killing 133 people and wounding 190 more. Australian and American engineers had three airstrips in operation within two weeks, but the resupply convoys were repeatedly attacked by kamikazes.[207]
The way was now clear for the invasion of Luzon. This time, based on different interpretations of the same intelligence data, Willoughby estimated the strength of General Tomoyuki Yamashita's forces on Luzon at 137,000, while Sixth Army estimated it at 234,000. MacArthur's response was "Bunk!".[208] He felt that even Willoughby's estimate was too high. "Audacity, calculated risk, and a clear strategic aim were MacArthur's attributes",[209] and he disregarded the estimates. In fact, they were too low; Yamashita had more than 287,000 troops on Luzon.[210] This time, MacArthur traveled aboard the light cruiser USS Boise, watching as the ship was nearly hit by a bomb and torpedoes fired by midget submarines.[211] His communiqué read: "The decisive battle for the liberation of the Philippines and the control of the Southwest Pacific is at hand. General MacArthur is in personal command at the front and landed with his assault troops."[212]
MacArthur's primary concern was the capture of the port of Manila and the airbase at Clark Field, which were required to support future operations. He urged his commanders on.[213] On 25 January 1945, he moved his advanced headquarters forward toHacienda Luisita, closer to the front than Krueger's.[214] He ordered the 1st Cavalry Division to conduct a rapid advance on Manila. It reached the northern outskirts of Manila on 3 February,[215] but, unknown to the Americans, Rear Admiral Sanji Iwabuchi had decided to defend Manila to the death. The Battle of Manila raged for the next three weeks.[216] To spare the civilian population, MacArthur prohibited the use of air strikes,[217] but thousands of civilians died in the crossfire or Japanese massacres.[218] He also refused to restrict the traffic of civilians who clogged the roads in and out of Manila, placing humanitarian concerns above military ones except in emergencies.[219] For his part in the capture of Manila, MacArthur was awarded his third Distinguished Service Cross.[220]
Southern Philippines
Although MacArthur had no specific directive to do so, and the fighting on Luzon was far from over, he committed his forces to liberate the remainder of the Philippines.[221] In the GHQ communiqué on 5 July, he announced that the Philippines had been liberated and all operations ended, although Yamashita still held out in northern Luzon.[222] Starting in May 1945, MacArthur used his Australian troops in the invasion of Borneo. He accompanied the assault on Labuan, and visited the troops ashore. While returning to GHQ in Manila, he visited Davao, where he told Eichelberger that no more than 4,000 Japanese remained alive on Mindanao. A few months later, six times that number surrendered.[223]In July 1945, he was awarded his fourth Distinguished Service Medal.[224]
As part of preparations for Operation Downfall, the invasion of Japan, MacArthur became commander in chief U.S. Army Forces Pacific (AFPAC), in charge of all Army and Army Air Force units in the Pacific, except the Twentieth Air Force, in April 1945. At the same time, Nimitz became commander of all naval forces. Command in the Pacific therefore remained divided.[225] The invasion was pre-empted by the surrender of Japan in August 1945. On 2 September MacArthur accepted the formal Japanese surrender aboard the battleship USS Missouri, thus ending World War II.[226] In recognition of his role as a maritime strategist, the U.S. Navy awarded him the Navy Distinguished Service Medal.
Southwest Pacific Theater-
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The South West Pacific theatre, during World War II, was a majortheatre of the war between the Allies and Japan. It included thePhilippines, the Dutch East Indies (except for Sumatra), Borneo,Australia and its mandate Territory of New Guinea (including theBismarck Archipelago) and the western part of the Solomon Islands. This area was defined by the Allied powers' South West Pacific Area (SWPA) command.
In the South West Pacific theatre, Japanese forces fought primarily against the forces of the United States and Australia. New Zealand, theNetherlands (mainly the Dutch East Indies), the Philippines, United Kingdom, and other Allied nations also contributed forces.
Contents
Allied command[edit]
Main article: South West Pacific Area
The U.S. General Douglas MacArthur had been in command of the American forces in the Philippines in what was to become the South West Pacific theatre, but was then part of a larger theatre that encompassed the South West Pacific, the South East Asian mainland (including Indochina and Malaya) and the North of Australia, under the short lived American-British-Dutch-Australian Command(ABDACOM). Shortly after the collapse of ABDACOM, supreme command of the South West Pacific theatre passed to MacArthur who was appointedSupreme Allied Commander South West Pacific Area on 30 March 1942.[1][a] In the other major theatre in the Pacific region, known as the Pacific Ocean theatre, Allied forces were commanded by US Admiral Chester Nimitz. Both MacArthur and Nimitz were overseen by the US Joint Chiefs and thewestern Allies Combined Chiefs of Staff (CCoS).
Japanese command[edit]
Most Japanese forces in the theatre were part of the Southern Expeditionary Army (南方軍 Nanpo gun?), which was formed on November 6, 1941, under General Hisaichi Terauchi (also known as Count Terauchi). The Nanpo gunwas responsible for Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) ground and air units inSoutheast Asia and the South Pacific. The Combined Fleet (聯合艦隊 Rengō Kantai?) of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) was responsible for all Japanese warships, naval aviation units and marine infantry units. As the Japanese military did not formally utilize joint/combined staff at the operational level, the command structures/geographical areas of operations of the Nanpo gun andRengō Kantai overlapped each other and those of the Allies.
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