A General Douglas MacArthur WI

General Joseph Stilwell was the Chief of Staff to Chiang Kai Shek during WW 2, however his legacy was characterised by an ability to alienate all key stakeholders (Nationalist Chinese, Allied & American). A characteristic that ultimately led to his replacement in 1944.

What if instead of General Stilwell, a more humble man is proposed... General Douglas MacArthur.

Would he be more successful than General Stillwell, would a man of his prominence allow the Chinese front to receive more attention and supplies than the OTL?

McArthur-and-Chiang-Kai-Shek.png
 
General Joseph Stilwell was the Chief of Staff to Chiang Kai Shek during WW 2, however his legacy was characterised by an ability to alienate all key stakeholders (Nationalist Chinese, Allied & American). A characteristic that ultimately led to his replacement in 1944.

What if instead of General Stilwell, a more humble man is proposed... General Douglas MacArthur.

Would he be more successful than General Stillwell, would a man of his prominence allow the Chinese front to receive more attention and supplies than the OTL?

McArthur-and-Chiang-Kai-Shek.png


..............Dugout Doug? Humble????
No. Besides, this would take him away from his vanity project to get back to the Philippines by any means necessary.
 
..............Dugout Doug? Humble????
No. Besides, this would take him away from his vanity project to get back to the Philippines by any means necessary.

I just wanted to cause Calbear to spill his morning coffee, when he read that part.

Perhaps MacArthur formally retires from his role with the Philippino military in 1940, and is available to be recalled late 1941 to save the day in China. You know saddling the old faithful warhorse for the good of the nation, and all that :).
 
The problem with MacArthur is that you have to rebuild the doorways wherever he's stationed to allow him to squeeze his massively swollen head through.
Like CalBear I am not a fan of the man.
 
Now for my disclaimer, as I am writing an internal work paper, there be a half full bottle of single malt whisky next to the keyboard. These two observations may or may not be related... ;).

That aside, I believe that MacArthur may be able to offer more than is readily apparent on first or even second glance as Chief of Staff.

Certainly his work as Supreme Commander of Allied Powers in Japan lends credibility to the positive role that he could play, however I note that he was the senior player. How he would interact as a junior partner with CKS is another question, then again MacArthur by virtue of his nationality may not be viewed as political threat by CKS, and consequently Mac may accumulate more power (perish the thought). Further, MacArthur with his deft hand for political image could find a willing partner with Henry Luce, and use the chance to raise his profile.

I'm still uncertain if Mac could reduce the widespread graft that beset Nationalist China or their Army, but I will leave that to more learned scholars of Mac to debate.
 
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