The Americans, led by General Douglas MacArthur, arrived in Australia in 1942 after the Japanese army captured the Philippines. MacArthur was determined to return to the Philippines as soon as possible to retake the islands but the attempted invasion of Papua New Guinea by the Japanese slowed down his plans.
General Blamey was in charge of the Australian forces but MacArthur ensured that he was in charge of military proceedings even though the Australian soldiers were far more experienced than their American counterparts as they had experience fighting overseas before returning to Australia to defend their country.
The Australian forces did most of the fighting in Papua New Guinea although some American units were involved towards the end of the campaign. MacArthur's publicity campaign, however, made it look as if he was responsible for allied victories. When the campaign to retake the Philippines began, MacArthur was determined that Australian troops should not be involved as they might be shown to be superior to American forces. There was also tension between the American navy and other military forces.
When the Japanese began attacking the Australian coastline the Australian government tried to obtain additional aeroplanes and ships from the UK and the USA but MacArthur indicated to the Americans that Australia was well supplied. This did not improve the relationship between Blamey and MacArthur. Winston Churchill had made it clear that his emphasis was on Europe though some equipment was sent towards the end of the war.
Both the generals had character flaws that impeded relationships with troops and other military and political leaders from time to time. However, reading this book, I felt more sympathetic towards General Blamey who had extensive previous military experience in both the First and Second World Wars compared with his American counterpart who had his eyes set on political aspirations once the war was over.
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