Unconditional Defeat by Thomas W. Zeiler

Author:Thomas W. Zeiler
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781461705765
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Published: 2017-12-08T05:00:00+00:00

5

THE RETURN TO THE PHILIPPINES

In the last phase of the war the United States enjoyed the luxury of deciding where and when to go next. The fall of Saipan, Guam, and Tinian created choices: Douglas MacArthur itched to invade the Philippines, while the Joint Chiefs had long planned to take Formosa, off the China coast. When U.S. officials decided that Japan would have to be invaded, securing as much of the western Pacific as possible became imperative.

On July 26, 1944, President Roosevelt met with MacArthur and Chester Nimitz at Honolulu to decide on the next moves. Heading for reelection, FDR wanted to be seen with the popular MacArthur, and the egotistical general reveled in the fanfare. The two also talked strategy. In 1943 the Joint Chiefs had approved of securing the South China coast, Luzon in the Philippines, and Formosa—the China-Luzon-Formosa line —but now, a year later, only Admiral Ernest King and some of the other Joint Chiefs advised taking Formosa. Jiang Jeshi’s obstructions, difficulties in India and Burma, and Japan’s seizure of air bases in east China had ruled it out; besides, the Philippines were more alluring, for an invasion there had political, moral, and emotional appeal. American citizens since 1898, Filipinos sought liberation from Japan. MacArthur emphasized not only that Filipinos would never forgive the United States for failing to try to rescue them but that America’s postwar image in Asia was at stake. The president implied that he wanted the Philippines retaken. Both informally agreed on an attack on Luzon in return for the Republican general’s support for FDR in the November 1944 election.

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