One General got fired, one got rewarded for screwing up. MacArthur really showed the power of PR.

McArthur is also not remembered fondly in Australian history. He is often regarded as a general who pushed the Australians at the Kokoda Track to further and further offensive action and was completely unaware of the reality of the situation on the ground. Both him and the Australian general Thomas Blamey were notorious for micromanaging and outright replacing individual commanders constantly for failing to meet their unrealistic expectations. There was also a general belief that McArthur was a ‘paper pusher’ a general that constantly demanded accurate information and detailed reports of every engagement. Something that was extremely difficult and sometimes outright impossible to track in the thick, damp and isolated Papuan jungle.

I will forever be ready to die on the hill that MacArthur should have been shot after his massive fuckup in the Phillipines

Context: On December 7^(th) 1941 the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor in a surprise attack. There had been some signs that something might happen, although most people assumed that if Japan attacked it would be in the Philippines. Regardless of this General Walter Short and Admiral Husband Kimmel missed signs, and failed to prepare properly based on what little they did know. The Roberts Commission which investigated Pearl Harbor after the fact found several mistakes in their actions and held that they were at least partially responsible. Both Short and Kimmel were removed from their commands, because they had failed to properly prepare for the sneak attack. Their failure was limited however, Nimitz himself said that it could have happened on anyone’s watch, and kept most of Kimmel his staff after the events of Pearl Harbor, suggest at the very least that he didn’t think they held any real responsibility. There are plenty of arguments for Kimmel and Short being essentially scapegoated because scapegoats were needed.   By contrast MacArthur was the army commander in the Philippines commanding both US and Philippine forces there. The Japanese attacked the Philippines a full ten hours after Pearl Harbor, starting with bombing raids from Formosa (modern day Taiwan). Raids that found the US army air corps (as it still was back then), unprepared and easy targets with planes lined up on the tarmac, wing to wing. After the destruction of his air force, MacArthur then proceeded to ignore the defense department plans that had been prepared over 20 years (war plan Orange) on how to defend the Philippines against an attack, and decided to kick the Japanese forces back into the sea. He did this by sending lightly equipped, and trained Philippine scouting units towards the most likely landing sites, and then being surprised when they didn’t push the Japanese back into the sea. After that failed, he returned to War Plan Orange. The plan basically called for enforcing a few defensible positions and holding the Japanese back. Only unlike in the plan, due to the earlier idea of attacking the Japanese as they landed they did not have proper preparations, logistics, or supplies. Still there was limited success and MacArthur took full credit. The success led to the defense of Bataan and Corregidor, which was later made famous from the Bataan death march, which should tell you all you need to know about the end results. He also lied about being nearly bombed while defending Corregidor, while he wasn’t anywhere near, and was eventually ordered of the Philippines towards Australia. Telling his troops that he’d be back shortly with a massive army already waiting in Australia. An army he knew wasn’t there. Leaving the people there with false hope of relief that wouldn’t come. Fighting a losing battle, for no good reason. The Japanese weren’t even held up by the defense, instead they just instigated a siege and waited the Americans out while continuing their war against throughout South East Asia and the rest of the pacific. For his failure to prepare, for leaving soldiers to die needlessly, for completely ingoring warnings, and for retreating towards Australia MacArthur wasn’t fired, instead he was awarded the medal of honor.   He was also given $500,000 US Dollars by the Philippine government for his efforts (roughly 10 million dollars today).

Printed on demand by Printify. Ships from the US or UK depending on location.

This shirt is made from responsibly sourced materials and printed using sustainable practices. To care for your shirt, machine wash cold inside-out with like colors and tumble dry low. Do not iron directly on the print.