World War 2

[NihalK]

Re: World War 2

Yes I am talking about the same ones. Let me get someone to dig them up for us from the channel.

[Arleitter]

Re: World War 2

^ O.K Great But pls try to get the execution photos…

[Faris_Udeen]

Re: World War 2

I’m sure we will all do our best to find those photos though I have yet to come across them… anywhere…

[mAd_ScIeNtIsT]

Re: World War 2

@Arleitter

Mc. can not be discredited with just one go incident. Mc. was either misinformed or even taken by surprise when Japs bombed Philippines and occupied the islands. But there was heavy pressure on him to retake the islands.At first he never wanted to use heavy bombardment in Manila but in the end it turned out to be a street to street fight and a massive destruction to the city took place,which was unavoidable.Remember many Jap commanders chose to defend the garrison till their last breath and thus led to a heavy bloodshed.

As far as Korya is concerned,Had Mc not landed troops in at Inchon the course of history would have been different.Thanks to one of the spectacular amphibious landings the world has ever seen and it was led by Mac. I believe Trueman was concerned abot the popularity Mc was garnering.Indeed Mc's stand on N-Bombs was well justified ,when the history and the loss of lives in that war are reckoned.

Manila was of no strategic value. The US Navy wanted to bypass the phillipines (already strangled by naval siege and nearly impossible for Japan to resupply) and go straight for Japan. MacArthur's sheer ego made him want to take them back simply to avenge his earlier defeat there rather than for any strategic reason.

And Inchon was sheer luck. Chinese intelligence had warned Kim Il Sung, based on an analysis of MacArthur's choices in WW2, that Inchon would be the most likely place for a US naval landing. Kim Il Sung's personal arrogance and dislike of the Chinese made him reject that warning.

[Faris_Udeen]

Re: World War 2

And Inchon was sheer luck. Chinese intelligence had warned Kim Il Sung, based on an analysis of MacArthur's choices in WW2, that Inchon would be the most likely place for a US naval landing. Kim Il Sung's personal arrogance and dislike of the Chinese made him reject that warning.

That is very true... often generals have like minded opponents...

But compared to many others of his time Mc Arthur was no worse if not much better...

[mAd_ScIeNtIsT]

Re: World War 2

That is very true... often generals have like minded opponents...

But compared to many others of his time Mc Arthur was no worse if not much better...

He was not better. MacArthur, both in World War 2 and in the Korean War, filled his staff with loyalists who would never question what he said. Indeed, anyone who disagreed with him was rapidly pushed aside without consideration.

MacArthur refused to allow the OSS (later the CIA) to operate in the Pacific Theatre and in Korea because he wanted only the intelligence reports that he approved of to reach the president. Intelligence that he did not approve of (such as the fact that massive numbers of Chinese troops were about to join the Korean War) was surpressed because it was not convenient to the version of the story that MacArthur wanted to put out!

[mAd_ScIeNtIsT]

Re: World War 2

To be fair, Montgomery was not much better (his staff ignored warnings that two entire SS tank divisions were located at the very spot where Monty wanted his signature Market Garden operation to take place).

Thank God my grandad and his brothers fought under Bill Slim instead, he was no-nonsense.

[Faris_Udeen]

Re: World War 2

@mAd_ScIeNtIsT

He was not better. MacArthur, both in World War 2 and in the Korean War, filled his staff with loyalists who would never question what he said. Indeed, anyone who disagreed with him was rapidly pushed aside without consideration. MacArthur refused to allow the OSS (later the CIA) to operate in the Pacific Theatre and in Korea because he wanted only the intelligence reports that he approved of to reach the president. Intelligence that he did not approve of (such as the fact that massive numbers of Chinese troops were about to join the Korean War) was surpressed because it was not convenient to the version of the story that MacArthur wanted to put out!

Hmmm evidently your knowledge is much greater than mine on this matter so I can only bow before your superior knowledge on this subject.

Thankyou for sharing that information and correcting some of my views which after looking into it i see may well have been mis-guided.

What have you to say on the British general Claud Auchinlek? I think I got the name right? I know many people in the subcontinent have ancestors who served with Generals Auchinlek and Wavel.

[goddamniamsoawesome]

Re: World War 2

MacArthur refused to allow the OSS (later the CIA) to operate in the Pacific Theatre and in Korea because he wanted only the intelligence reports that he approved of to reach the president.

From what little I've been reading up on, following this thread, it seems that was not because of his motives but because of his distrust of the OSS (Predecessor to the CIA) due to their cooperation with the NKVD. Most other literature seems to point to the same reasons. Although that does fall in line with that fact that he was a selfish General but then which military figure isn't ;) It is suggested he wanted a conflict and deliberately ignored the intelligence. The CIA evidence was obvious but he ignored it.

Again though, in line with your commentary but I thought it would be useful to put this out to make his reasons more obvious to other members.

[Faris_Udeen]

Re: World War 2

Again though, in line with your commentary but I thought it would be useful to put this out to make his reasons more obvious to other members.

Thankyou for that brother, as you can gather my knowledge is limited in this field, apart form actual fighting methods and so on, the politics in this period are thouroughly alien to me. :)