![]() ![]() Unfortunately several Australian pilots such as John Jackson had already lost their lives due to incompetence from the RAAF and USAAF leadership.Ĭanadians still had some strong military credibility from WW1. Two months later when Arnold made his tour of the theater, the Americans and Australians had a moderate advantage in the air. In July when Kenney arrived, the US and Australian air forces were an utter mess. ![]() The one incredibly important thing Arnold did do for the SWPA was recommend George Kenney to replace George Brett as MacArthur's air commander. Eichelberger was a glory-hound and wanted to have his troops replace the Australians, despite the fact that the two US divisions in Australia were green and unprepared for the task.īy then, the Australian 7th Division had made it back to Australia which was by far the best Allied Unit in the SWPA. Blamey wasn't any fonder of Americans than they were of him. MacArthur was at a lower point than even during his flight from the Philippines as most everyone, Australian and American, feared the Allies would be forced out of New Guinea. Have a brew and we’ll go in a few days.” Now was that conversation on the Western Front or New Guinea?Įverything Arnold wrote that morning in his diary was derived from his meetings with MacArthur, Blamey and Eichelberber. You’ll sink up to your tits in the mud and then you’ll just be a fun target for a sniper to practice shooting with his left hand. “Nah mate you can’t attack at the moment. Perhaps what the American Officer sees as an “unwillingness to fight” is actually experience. Parallels can be drawn to the Western Front in WW1 when inexperienced yet enthusiastic Yanks jumped into trench’s soaked with the blood of French and Commonwealth Forces. Now, that isn’t to take away from the American G.I. Or repeatedly attacking a Japanese position with no success before finally asking the Australians to take over. Which resulted in the unit wandering around the jungle lost for several days before jungle attrition finally forced them to return before ever finding the enemy position. ![]() Operations along the lines of “We’ll take that Japanese Airfield”. I remember in Peter FitzSimons “Kokoda” (many years since I read it) multiple stories of the US forces (once they arrived) of them underestimating the Japanese, the Jungle, the Mountains, the Mud, and the Australians. Seems like the typical (inaccurate) held view by the US leadership. ![]()
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