Is there any military leader of the war who proved more divisive? Personally, I'm ambivalent. His decisions during the invasion of the Philippines in 1941-42 were sometimes disastrous. However, I agree with his insistence on retaking the Philippines in 1943-44. This was a very controversial decision that was (at least initially) opposed by Nimitz and most other USN admirals. His opponents accused him of narcissism, that he only wanted to liberate the Filipinos to make good on his infamous 1942 promise that "I shall return". But IMO his critics failed to recognize the geopolitical importance of prioritizing that region.

While he was undeniably egotistical, I believe that MacArthur was motivated by a passion that wasn't just about promoting himself (potentially for president). He legitimately cared for the Filipinos and desired their independence - from the Japanese and American empires (The US had agreed to grant them sovereignty after a 10 year transition in 1934). Also, we owed them - their stout resilience against the Japanese during the Battle of Bataan was admirable (as was their ample assistance as spies during the occupation), and letting them suffer for another 1-2 years would've been seen as a betrayal. Liberating a massive nation from the tyranny of IJ was undeniably in the best interests of the Filipinoes - and, by extension, the US, who to this day has enjoy a (reasonably) good relationship with them.

We see a lot of great questions on this sub but don't always catch them all. This is your chance to ask anything. Want to know more about E-Boats, or the differences in M4 Sherman variants, or perhaps you've never known what the D in D-Day stood for. Or maybe you just want to know how we got into World War 2 history in the first place. It doesn't matter, this is the place to ask all the questions you've wanted.

Can anyone name this weapon its being used by the volkstsurm

Just managed to finally finish this book. It's quite a hefty tome - but well worth the read. I read it through Kindle on my phone, so all those new words I could instantly get a definition. The amount of German names can get a bit confusing. And I definitely enjoyed the latter third or so more, when things start to go horribly wrong for the Nazis.

Recommended 👍😊 📖