There are people whose fate is tied to a single star. Having chosen the path in childhood, they continue to follow it until their death. The American Douglas MacArthur is one of them. Being the son of a military man, he connected his fate with the war, having spent most of his conscious life on the world fronts and having reached the highest rank - “general of the army.”
Childhood of the future general
Douglas MacArthur was born on January 26, 1880 in a town called Little Rock, in Arkansas. His father Arthur MacArthur Jr. took part in the famous war of the South and the North and rose to the rank of lieutenant general. Mom's name was Mary Pinkay, she was a native of Virginia.
The whole childhood of MacArthur is connected with moving. The family wandered around the country, and the boy endlessly had to "fit" into new living conditions, which, for sure, tempered him as a person. Or maybe genes played a role (father is a military man, grandfather is a judge in Washington, great-grandfathers are representatives of the most famous Scottish aristocratic clan … One way or another, but the youngDouglas showed himself worthy everywhere and held his own.
So, for example, he became a real pride of the West Texas Military Academy, where he studied in the early nineties of the 19th century and achieved tremendous success in his studies. There, in Texas, in the city of San Antonio, at that time the boy's father was serving.
Career start
Having completed his secondary education, Douglas MacArthur becomes a student at West Point Academy, considered the most prestigious in the United States. He graduated in 1903, and MacArthur had such high marks that he was recognized as the best graduate in the history of the institution.
Together with the diploma, the descendant of Scottish aristocrats received the rank of junior lieutenant and was sent to the Philippines, to the engineering troops, and then transferred to the Land of the Rising Sun.
The beginning of his career coincided with the Russo-Japanese War, which Douglas had a chance to see almost “point-blank”, as he accompanied his father, who was then serving as a military attaché in Japan. The future General MacArthur learned a lot during these trips…
Already in 1906, he was in his native land - in the USA - and worked as a military adviser to the president. For a 26-year-old young man, a huge honor!
World War I
When the fire of the First World War broke out in Europe, Douglas MacArthur did not remain on the sidelines of events. Immediately after the US declared war on Germany in 1917, he commanded the headquarters of the division in France, and then led the division itself.
To the finish line of the militaryactions, the lucky American came alive and unharmed, moreover, with a whole scattering of awards and with the rank of brigadier general.
Between the first and second
For some time after the war, Brigadier General MacArthur still remained in Europe, but already in 1919 he was appointed superintendent of the academy at West Point, and he set a second record, becoming the youngest head of this educational institution in its history existence.
In 1922, fate again throws MacArthur to the Philippines. This time as commander of US troops in this (then) US colony. From 1930, he headed the headquarters of the US Army, and after the independence of the Philippines (in 1935), MacArthur returned to the islands as a military adviser, and a year later he was appointed field marshal of the army of the newly-made state.
World War II
World War II is Douglas MacArthur's finest hour. It was thanks to her that the American military leader received a “pass” into history. In the summer of 1941, he was called to active duty in connection with the Japanese aggression and was appointed commander of the American forces in the Far East.
MacArthur's first steps were a failure. For a long time he did not believe in the reality of Japan's attack on the Philippines and made mistake after mistake. Even after Pearl Harbor, the troops were not put on alert, and MacArthur did not dare to bomb Japanese air bases in Taiwan …
But the Japanese, on the contrary, showed determination, and on December 8, 41 bombarded American airfields,destroying almost half of the planes and securing an "air gate" to the Philippines.
Soon they managed to occupy the capital Manila and most of the state, and MacArthur's army was forced to retreat. Some time later, the Philippines was completely in the hands of the Japanese, and MacArthur took this defeat as a slap in the face. Becoming the last degree of despair of the warlord, it turned out to be the first step to his victory.
As the commander of the Southwestern part of the troops, the American general invented a unique tactic - "frog jumps". It consisted of carefully calculated operations, with the help of which one captured island after another was gradually liberated.
Thanks to the efforts of MacArthur, the Japanese were stopped on their way to Australia, New Guinea was liberated from their occupation, and the Philippines was soon returned. Having ensured almost unimpeded entry into the Land of the Rising Sun, the military leader was already hatching grandiose plans for its occupation. But the bombs dropped by the Americans on Hiroshima and Nagasaki changed the course of history and brought the end of the war closer.
On September 2, 1945, the Missouri docked in Tokyo Bay. MacArthur was also on board. Japan surrendered, and a distinguished general accepted her surrender.
At the end of life
After the end of the most terrible war in the history of mankind, the brilliant strategist and fearless commander led the reforms in Japan for some time, remaining on its lands. In fact, he was the head of this country for several years.in a row.
In the early years of the 50s, he commanded the UN troops during the Korean War, having implemented a lot of successful operations. He held this post until the entry into hostilities of China. MacArthur's proposal to use nuclear weapons against this country and North Korea did not please the then US President Harry Truman, and Douglas was relieved of his duties.
This was the end of his career. Attempts to realize themselves in another area - politics - did not lead to much success. MacArthur advised the new president, Eisenhower, wrote his memoirs and rested on his laurels.
He died on April 5, 1964. He was buried in Norflok, on the territory of the family memorial.
