The Fate of the Generals: MacArthur, Wainwright, and the Epic Battle for the Philippines

Gen. Douglas MacArthur was a conniving glory hound who sold out his second-in-command, Gen. Jonathan Wainwright, according to this incisive chronicle. Historian Horn (Washington’s End) recaps the 1941 Japanese invasion of the Philippines, when MacArthur was hailed as a hero after his men on the Bataan peninsula held out for several months despite facing starvation. But Horn argues that MacArthur bungled the campaign, stayed relatively safe and well-fed, and was derelict in abandoning his men for Australia. The real hero, Horn contends, was Wainwright, who skillfully led the troops at the front and shared their hardships. From Australia, Horn notes, MacArthur ordered Wainwright not to surrender despite the hopelessness of resistance, then smeared Wainwright as “unbalanced” when he surrendered and went into captivity with his soldiers, where he endured brutal treatment by the Japanese. Horn also describes how MacArthur tried to quash efforts to award Wainwright the Congressional Medal of Honor. Horn’s profile is a colorful addition to the library of disparaging MacArthur portraits, depicting the general as a self-obsessed prima donna and Wainwright as his opposite: a stoic, self-deprecating cavalryman, devoted to the well-being of his men, who agonized over the moral dilemma of choosing between pointless carnage and shameful surrender. The result is a perceptive take on the psychology of military leadership. (Apr.)