General Macarthur: The Most Impactful Army Leader In World War II

The Treaty of Versailles marked the end of World War I in 1919. Germany and their allies were blamed for WWI. Because Germany was blamed for sparking the war, they had their military restricted to 100,000 men, had to pay reparations, lost their Pacific and African colonies, and the Rhineland was turned into a demilitarized zone. In the 1920s, Adolf Hitler became the leader of the Nazi Party in Germany and began rising in power. He became the Fuhrer in 1934. Hitler’s primary goal was to form a hegemonic Aryan empire. World War II began September 1, 1939, with Germany’s invasion of Poland. The United States was hesitant about joining the war because of their efforts to remain isolated from European issues. After the Japanese surprise attack on
The most impactful Army leader in World War II was General Douglas MacArthur. He served in World War I, World War II, and the Korean War. His responsibility during World War II was to command Allied forces in the Pacific Theater. General MacArthur was in the Philippines to help build a Filipino force that could defend the nation after gaining their independence. However, this mission was interrupted when the Japanese invaded and captured the island. The Japanese landed in the Philippines on December 22, 1941. On December 23, 1941, General MacArthur made the decision to fall back to the Bataan Peninsula and wait for more United States forces to arrive. However, the American and Philippine forces were significantly overpowered by the Japanese fire superiority. This forced the Americans and Filipinos to surrender on April 9, 1942. Because of his efforts in the defense of the Philippines on July 12, 1941, General Douglas MacArthur was awarded the Medal of Honor. After the defeat in the Philippines, General MacArthur and his forces retreated to Australia to plan an invasion to retake the Philippines and defeat