MacArthur Reconsidered

Douglas MacArthur is one of America’s most controversial generals. Many adored him while others mocked his bombastic language and pompous behavior. Dwight Eisenhower, who served for years under MacArthur, was not alone in thinking, “My God, but he was smart” and also “I just can’t understand how such a damn fool could have gotten to be a general.” Many historians have been similarly conflicted, judging MacArthur to be a military genius even while acknowledging that he was imperious, egotistical, insubordinate, and paranoid. In this carefully researched and argued book that’s sure to generate controversy, James Ellman digs deep and connects the dots to conclude that General MacArthur’s record as a commander in wartime was mediocre at best.

Highly intelligent, a self-promoter extraordinaire, and a bona fide World War I hero, Douglas MacArthur’s rise through the U.S. Army’s ranks was meteoric. However, he did not lead large formations of men in combat until he assumed command of forces in the Philippines in 1941. When war commenced with the bombing of Pearl Harbor, MacArthur’s performance on the battlefield was a failure: he underestimated the Japanese, and his poorly trained forces were outmaneuvered and outfought by a smaller invading force. However, in what became a repeating hallmark of his career, he successfully portrayed his actions to much of the American people as brilliant and heroic regardless of victory or defeat. After fleeing to Australia, MacArthur famously announced, “I will return,” and followed through on a quest to retake Manila regardless of its impact on Allied global strategy or its cost in American, Australian, and Filipino blood.

In his subsequent role as America’s shogun in Tokyo, MacArthur was again surprised by an enemy he underestimated. The Korean War yielded his greatest victory, at Inchon, but also his greatest defeat, along the Yalu River. Unwilling to accept anything but complete victory, he openly defied President Truman: MacArthur fatally undermined chances for an early peace, planned to seed a great swath of enemy territory with radioactive cobalt, and attempted to widen a conflict which threatened to become a third world war. Raging against his subsequent firing, he only truly faded away after he was publicly criticized by a panoply of America’s greatest WWII generals.

Today, MacArthur still polarizes. Many biographies agree he was a great and patriotic leader marred by a few failures. Ellman argues the opposite: MacArthur was a lackluster battlefield commander who suffered stunning defeats while undermining the command structure of our military.

James Ellman holds a bachelor’s degree in history and economics from Tufts University and an MBA from Harvard. He has also written Hitler’s Great Gamble: A New Look at German Strategy, Operation Barbarossa, and the Axis Defeat in World War II (Stackpole, 2019). He lives in Hawaii.