Chapter 9 Chapter 2 The feeling of being beaten to death

The southern region is very large, and the biggest controversy at the time was which theater in the south could be used as the main counter-offensive area for the war against Japan. MacArthur tried his best to choose the Southwest Theater he was in charge of.Taking advantage of the victory of the Bismarck naval battle, he put forward an ambitious "Elkton" plan, asking Washington to give him another 5 divisions, 1,800 aircraft and naval forces including aircraft carriers. The three armies "directly attacked Huanglong Mansion". How could Marshall accept such a large list?And if he agrees, it will be the same as before, and he will grab the navy's cake again. Can Jinge and others agree?

Sure enough, Ginger disagreed.He believed that MacArthur was an aggressive vanguard and a popular marshal who only knew how to grab the navy's job-who said that the counter-offensive zone is the Southwest Pacific, why can't it be the Central Pacific?Nimitz can also "drink ears with the kings" over there. Marshall was caught in the middle again, he had to do work on both sides, and sent a special envoy to Australia to let MacArthur revise the "Elkton" plan. MacArthur could not understand Marshall's painstaking efforts, instead he lost his temper and got angry.He's sure it's the "Navy Cabal" that's ruining his good work again: Damn, is there a way to put shit up these guys' noses and keep them from talking?

Marshall was from the army, and he was supposed to speak for the army, but now he is standing with the navy. It must be the result of being surrounded by a group of young people from the navy. Bar.MacArthur also had a grudge against Marshall, and he telegraphed Marshall, declaring that the campaign for New Guinea was "temporarily suspended due to lack of resources." If you don't give me good things, I won't work! The battle will continue and cannot be stopped.The Joint Chiefs of Staff coordinated, and both MacArthur and Nimitz were represented.In the end, the two sides reached a compromise, and both the Southwest Pacific and the Central Pacific were determined to be the main counterattack areas.

This time, the quarrelsome old Mai made a bargain, and he finally got an extra share of Nimitz's Pacific Fleet.In addition to the small-scale Southwest Theater Navy (the new designation is the U.S. Seventh Fleet), the South Pacific Fleet (the new designation is the U.S. Third Fleet) under the direct command of Halsey is also temporarily placed under the command of MacArthur, which makes his The force catapulted to become the most powerful Allied force in the Pacific. Halsey flew to Brisbane for the first meeting with MacArthur.Halsey reported to MacArthur for five minutes, and the two immediately fell in love at first sight.

Halsey said he had rarely met someone who had impressed him so deeply, so strongly, so likable, and he felt as if the two had already been lifelong friends. MacArthur was 63 years old at the time, but in Halsey's eyes, he was only in his early 50s: "His hair is black and shiny, his eyes are clear and bright, and his demeanor is dignified and stable." — "Even in civilian dress, he was immediately recognizable as a soldier." Everyone knows that Lao Mai is handsome, and everyone knows that Halsey is "ugly", looking like an alien.But MacArthur did not "dislike": "From the moment we met, I liked him, and my respect and admiration for him grew day by day."

Halsey and Nimitz have also been friends for many years, but compared with the steady and restrained Nimitz, MacArthur is undoubtedly more tempered with Halsey.Both of them have the same aversion to hatred, the same outspokenness, the same bullying, no one else but me.MacArthur has opinions on admirals, but Halsey is an exception, because in the eyes of Lao Mai, Halsey does not have the fear of others facing naval battles, and he does not care about the gains and losses of ships and even aircraft carriers. Fight the enemy and put the enemy to death. This combative character made MacArthur applauded loudly. He did not hesitate to list Halsey as one of the four major sailors in American history. Equally famous, "In the history of our navy, no one can get a higher evaluation than him."

Originally, MacArthur and Halsey's staff members were still a little worried. They were afraid that when these two people with extremely distinctive personalities met, sparks would hit the earth. Unexpectedly, the two of them cherished each other, and the more they chatted, the more speculative they became. Of course, when discussing the combat strategy, the two sometimes have different opinions. At this time, Halsey said truthfully: "I disagree." Although MacArthur was the boss, he did not forcefully sell his ideas to Halsey. , He will continue to discuss with Halsey until one side is persuaded by the other, which makes Halsey very impressed: "I have never heard anyone surpass him in the way he (MacArthur) expresses his views."

MacArthur did have reasons to admire Halsey. After giving Marshall a challenge for a while, he finally came up with his favorite work, which is the wheel battle based on the adjusted "Elkton" plan. . The Battle of Wheels was a military operation of unprecedented scale. Its combat frontline stretched nearly 1,000 miles across land and sea. Hundreds of ships and submarines boarded this huge "chariot".In the South Pacific, the wheels are rolling, and there are bursts of killing sounds. According to the overall deployment of the Battle of Wheels, Halsey's troops attacked the Solomon Islands, and MacArthur's troops attacked the east coast of New Guinea. The two troops were like two huge pincers, and finally achieved the goal of encircling Rabaul.

At that time, many people had doubts about whether the Battle of Wheels could be successful, and even the staff of the Southwest Theater Command had doubts.A battle in Papua frightened everyone. The defensive tactics adopted by the Japanese army on the Papuan battlefield, the skilled combat skills of the Japanese soldiers, and the incredible degree of death all make people shudder when they think about it. Most of the aides believed that the occupation of Rabaul and other Japanese strongholds could only be possible with a substantial reinforcement of ground troops and aircraft.Some people even asserted that the Battle of the Wheels would either not start, and once it started, the losses of the Allied forces in terms of personnel and materials would inevitably greatly exceed the two battles of Papua and Guadalcanal.

At a staff meeting in the Southwest Theater, a staff officer expressed his confusion in front of MacArthur: The replenishment of soldiers is so slow, and the supplies in the Southwest Theater can only meet the basic needs of the combat plan. In this case, how to deal with it? What about launching an attack? Although MacArthur issued a watered-down communiqué after the Papua battle, it does not mean that he did not have a correct understanding of that battle.In the Battle of Papua, the U.S. military used direct frontal force to force the Japanese army to retreat. This tactic has a profound traditional foundation, because since ancient times, both sides in the battle have competed around the "Chu River Han boundary". Push back and forth around the line.

However, the First World War in Papua also fully exposed the disadvantages of traditional tactics, that is, huge investment and losses, but extremely slow progress.It's okay to say once or twice, but three times or four times. Given the resource situation in the Southwest Theater, it is indeed unbearable. The island-by-island attack did not conform to MacArthur's ideal style of play. After summarizing the Papua campaign, he had every reason to change his perspective and use a new idea to solve the problem.MacArthur stood up and told the participants: "The combat policy I want to adopt will break the usual practice of sticking to the rules."