The U.S. Army in the Solomon Islands and New Guinea 1942

[@waynezimnoch3182]

" To The End of The Earth " By McManus a great book .

[@philbosworth3789]

An excellent presentation by John showing that the US war in the Pacific wasn't just down to the Marines. The Army had a big part to play here, as did the logisticians (as always). WW2TV delivers yet again.

[@theccpisaparasite8813]

A big part? The largest part. Certainly more than the USMC. The power of propaganda

[@philbosworth3789]

@@theccpisaparasite8813 Agreed. Not the best choice of words on my part. However, its only through shows like this (on WW2TV in particular) that these myths get busted.

[@jeffhinson5452]

Should've already known this

[@philbosworth3789]

@@jeffhinson5452 That's why I watch these shows - to fill in a large gap in my knowledge about the US war in the Pacific.

[@briancooper2112]

Good morning from Arizona

[@KevinJones-yh2jb]

This was a brilliant presentation by John, his knowledge and research is amazing, I have learnt so much about the Pacific theatre of war. The interaction with the USMC and the Army I found fascinating. Look forward to John on again in the future. Every week on WW2TV insights into new subjects etc , rather than just another rehash of subjects. Paul’s guests are outstanding and their presentations are perfect. If you are reading this and are not a patreon please join, this helps Paul to keep bringing us these great weekly presentations. Remember everyone one they are free, Paul puts so much time and energy into every program, so please support him 👍

[@deanmurphy5735]

Good episode Woody. John is definitely a world class author. I especially liked his mentioning of logistics to win these battles.

[@dave3156]

Another great presentation by John. Sorry I missed this one live. I always look forward to John's programs--vast knowledge and extensive research. He always adds a new perspective for me on many aspects of the Pacific War. Thanks for a great job John!. Great program again Paul! You have built the best channel on KZbin!. Thx!!!

[@jefsantamonica641]

John McManus is the best! A really good discussion!

[@jimwatts914]

Dr John knows all about the US Army in the pacific and shares great insights with Woody. One of WW2TV best shows ever. McManus’ 3-volume story of the Army in the Pacific is some of the best military history on the subject.

[@mpetersen6]

This channel is a perfect complement to Unofficial History of the Pacific War.

[@WW2TV]

Thank you

[@jameshannagan4256]

Two of my very favorite YT channels along with Drach.

[@billenright2788]

awesome show. my dad was in army artillery then got moved to infantry in prep for the invasion. if it wasn't for the "big fircrackers' i probably wouldn't be here. he went as the army of occupation for about a yr.

[@scottgrimwood8868]

An great presentation by John. It is important to understand the role of the US Army in the Pacific. In he Pacific cooperation between all the US services was closer than any other war theater.

[@jimwatts5192]

Howdy folks. Another great one from Dr McManus. Learned stuff, made me think. All his books also are full of great stories, interesting perspectives and focused insight.

[@chriscollins1525]

Superb discussion. Talking about the Army in the Pacific is talking about the future of US relationship with Asia.

[@tbbb2]

It seems I leave the same message each time Woody and John do one of their programs, but these two guys are just sensational. John's U.S. Army in the South Pacific trilogy is already essential reading and there's still one volume to go! This discussion was a WONDERFUL adjunct to those two books. Few authors dig as deeply into the sociological and political aspects of the war as John is doing with this study. Americans in particular probably know far too little about the Army's involvement in the South Pacific war and it certainly is an aspect of the war that we should have a real awareness of. As is pointed out here, lots of the fighting and dying the Army did in the South Pacific was not nearly as well known as the Iwo Jima type battles, but they are no less important. Thanks to Woody for giving John this platform.

[@sparkey6746]

Another excellent presentation, thank you.

[@andrewbutcher6162]

Another awesome presentation! John McManus is one of my favorite writers, and his presentations are always outstanding and I learn so much more every time I watch these. Great job! I can't wait for '43 and round two.

[@abrahamoyevaar2226]

Thanks Woody and John. Great presentation

[@RandallFlaggNY]

I discovered Mr. McM's books from this channel. I'm now reading them in sequence. Best quality.

[@RandallFlaggNY]

Thanks for the heart. BTW my late father was 15th AF, 2nd BG(H), 96th Bomb Squadron '44-'45. The 15th did a lot of the dying but the 8th got all the glory...

[@crunchytheclown9694]

Thanks guys, the causes and symptoms of depresion havnt changed much have they

[@stevej8005]

Another fascinating discussion with John McManus, the context and insight he brings to any subject means that you always get to learn a bit more!! Great work Woody, enticing Dr McManus back to present again. The breadth of subjects you tackle and the quality of the guest speakers makes WW2TV a 'go to' channel for all things WW2, there is always something of interest and something new to learn.

[@WW2TV]

Thanks Steve. Plenty more cool guests coming in 2023

[@stevej8005]

@@WW2TV Great news👍👍 Glad I took out channel membership, the sheer volume of high quality content you put together for us viewers is brilliant!!

[@WW2TV]

@@stevej8005 Thanks for signing up Steve. I will have some mini breaks in 2023 of a few days to attend History conferences, but there will still be plenty of new shows

[@TheVigilant109]

Wonderful presentation by John as usual. Learned a lot. Look forward to John's next visit. Many thanks

[@WW2TV]

Glad you enjoyed it and John will be back

[@roybaker6902]

I've learned a lot about American history from viewing this channel, most of which was never taught in school. However, I find the discussion of what so and so is having for dinner tomorrow night rather distracting. Just my opinion. On a lighter note, as a former Marine I'm really looking forward to the upcoming show regarding VMF-114 on Peleliu. Semper Fi.

[@WW2TV]

Simple answer - don't read the side bar

[@misterbaker9728]

I hope everyone knows I’m not related to this guy… 🙄

[@stephenbrooks4713]

Excellent show - John is always a brilliant guest

[@matthewstephenson7173]

Excellent presentation,Will read John’s books

[@steveoliver771]

Another excellent presentation by Dr. McManus. I had read "Fire and Fortitude" a few months ago and the show is a great companion piece. I have done the reverse and either way works quite well.

[@carlsmith9005]

Another fascinating show, always learn loads when John is on. Top stuff!

[@gmdyt1]

excellent

[@gergemall]

Thank you

[@misterbaker9728]

Damn damn !! I missed the live of this. I would of loved to let John know how great ISLAND INFERNOS is! I mean I really liked it. I learned a lot more about the Pacific than I thought I knew. I mean I really didn’t know that the Army did the bulk of it. The book is huge and I couldn’t put it down. Thanks again I’m enjoying a number after work.

[@blueboats7530]

If you're conflicted about MacArthur in WWII, just skip ahead a few years later to Korea. He completely over extended the intervention and then was extremely insistent that nuclear weapons be used to save the situation.

[@steveoconnor7069]

Thanks for covering this topic. One of my uncle's was a staff sergeant in the 38th infantry. He was in New Guinea but the 38th was new and held in reserve, they fought in the Phillipines primarily in Bataan. The South Pacific doesn't get the attention it deserves.

[@misterbaker9728]

I highly recommend this brothers books. Especially if you have any interest in the 🇺🇸 Army. The marines get all the glory for the pacific yet alot of these battles and islands are never even spoken or written of. For example Biak. It gets a page maybe 2 anywhere else.

[@blankcanvas7187]

It was mentioned in this program that the movies in the 50's were about the Marine Corps and not the Army. At the time those movies were made, there was a move to dismantle the Marine Corps due to budget cuts. The idea was that the Marine Corps was had evolved into an infantry unit, which was the Army's job. Eisenhower supported this among others. So, the Marine Corps was glad to help Hollywood with their movies. There was tremendous support by the Corps for Sands of Iwo Jima. The technical advisor ensured that actual Marine combat film footage was included for instance. For decades afterward, whenever it was shown on TV, enlistments jumped. Then there was the Flying Leathernecks.

[@nickdanger3802]

25.00 Woody "crossroads in decision making" Search Chapter VII: The Malay Barrier

[@georgewnewman3201]

Tomorrow (Sunday) is the 80th Anniversary of the US/Allied invasion of Guadalcanal, Tulagi, and Gavutu in the Solomons.

[@jjp_nl]

New to the channel. Glad to have found it. I was just wondering wether there ever was given any though about deploying USMC in numbers to MTO/ETO? While we typically associate MTO/ETO with large more or less continues huge land campaigns fought by the 'regular' allied armies rather then USMC, these campaigns all typically started with a serious naval/amphibious effort (Torch, Husky, Baytown, Avalanche, Shingle, Overlord, Dragoon) In my mind it's not hard to imagine USMC units at least play a part in the initial naval/amphibious stages of any of these operations to help secure a foothold. Was it a mere matter of USMC not being big enough to be deployed everywhere? I mean, by comparison to other branches it was a relatively small force. Or were there other considerations as well to not use USMC in numbers in MTO/ETO?

[@WW2TV]

Basically, no there was no thought given to using th USMC in Europe. Welcome to the channel

[@larrytestmi5976]

The Pacific war was about Air bases. The Japanese established Truk, Rabaul and were trying to establish Guadalcanal via Tulagi which is a deg water harbor and a huge sea plane base. The US preempted the latter.

[@WW2TV]

Of course, and we've talked about this a lot in other shows

[@michaeldouglas1243]

5 🌟

[@barriereid9244]

Prior to WW2TV my knowledge of the US in this theatre came from John Wayne.

[@guyh9992]

MacArthur did get control of the Pacific war in the end. He was appointed Supreme Commander for the invasion of Japan, the Philippines was the main base for the invasion and the US 6th army would have embarked from there for Operation Olympic. Australia was second only to the UK as a base for American operations in WWII with so many US servicemen passing through. Reverse Lend Lease from both Australia and NZ was also greater than actual Lend Lease in the later years of the war. It seems a bit unfair to criticise Australian historians for writing about Milne Bay and Kokoda when Churchill effectively wrote the New Guinea campaign out of The Hinge of Fate for self serving reasons. Churchill set the narrative for British historians then and ever since.

[@chriscollins1525]

How did the Army resources mostly going to Europe affect the Army’s performance in the Pacific?

[@WW2TV]

That's a big question

[@guyh9992]

James Holland knows very little about the Pacific. His American guest on the We Have Ways podcast about malaria was hazy on the location of Milne Bay despite the US airfield engineers there and thought it was in the Philippines. Holland had no idea where Milne Bay was.

[@WW2TV]

None of us know it all and James would be the first to admit his Pacific knowledge is less than other theatres. Every day is a school day for all of us

[@EvangelistNickGarrett]

Amazing how modern initiatives like China’s belt and road, simply pick up where World War II left off and the struggles that were had with logistics to mainland China because of the lack of ability to have Road systems to that part of Asia. One might argue that China beat us to it with belt and Road. Maybe! I can see it being American strategy to simply take over the belt and Road if they needed it. Even Ukraine Russia to a degree, looks like we woke up after VJ day and it was the very next day in Europe, and the Pacific Islands with a now powerful China trying to make alliances with the very pacific islands that we liberated. It makes one wonder what the world powers have gained during the last 80 years? Was it just propaganda all the way? And the truth is most worlds military doctrine is you train to the last war, no? Another brilliant presentation Paul and John

[@edmundcowan9131]

American army led guerrilla movement.

[@TimKitt]

The popular Idea that the New Guinea locals were no better the slaves to the Allies is just not true, It is their War too, The locals were supplied with Clothes boots Equipment, Weapons & Rations, Villages were built by Australian & US Engineers as per the wishes of the local people.

[@JohnGodden-j1m]

It should be pointed out that as many Americans died in PAPUA New Guinea as did in the Solomons but were nowhere near as effective there, having to defer to the experience in jungle warfare of the Australians who also lost a similar amount of men. Americans focus on the exploits of their marines but their Army personnel far outnumbered them, and the second front challenging the Japanese were the Australians dividing the forces which eventually ensured the Allied defeat. The American Naval and Airborne capabilities made the difference against the tenacious Japanese

[@willpinder1229]

When can you call yourself a historian? Virtually anyone can call themselves an 'historian' if they do indeed read and study history, even if they do so at the most basic level and without any prior formal training. In this respect, history is quite different from most other 'professional' pursuits.

[@WW2TV]

Referring to anyone in particular Will?

[@willpinder1229]

knowledge and enthusiasm is fine for me

[@willpinder1229]

@@WW2TV knowledge and enthusiasm is fine for me

[@Arcusinoz]

Island hopping ...................Great except for the troops who had to go and regain the Islands that were hopped??? Usually the Australians!!!!

[@WW2TV]

Which islands do you mean, that were bypassed and left to the Australians? And Island Hopping doesn't mean skipping past, it means attacked, secured and used as staging post to move forward. Rabaul however was by-passed

[@Arcusinoz]

The Americans were a non event in New Guinea!! The Australian stopped the Japanese Troops in the Highlands of New Guinea!! Then they drove them back to the coast! Then the Americans arrived!! The first attempts to use the Americans in Battle against the Japanese at Milne Bay, the Americans actually ran away!! The Australians then had to attack 2 positions instead of 1 , The Australians then had to go out into the jungles and rescue the American troops!!

[@WW2TV]

There's no need to be so anti-American please. We are a global channel and respect the efforts of all the Allies

[@sportsfanivosevic9885]

@@WW2TV Facts should never be dismissed but I agree, we should not promote derision.

[@roybaker6902]

The chat appears to be turning into the Lonely Hearts Dating Channel. Hi, hi, hello, hello, how's the weather where you are, whatever. Gimme a break. ther

[@WW2TV]

It's called a Community Roy, and I'm glad to have it

[@philbosworth3789]

The getting to 'know' the regular live viewers is a fun part of the live shows. You don't need to take part in the general background banter, but Woody will show or answer any pertinent points you raise

[@jonrettich4579]

I’m speculating that the brutal training and brutal policies taught japanese soldiers and the extremely autocratic home and overseas ruling style made the Japanese terrible people managers with a profound disdain for other cultures despite some very rare personal exceptions

[@briancooper2112]

America i believe was still in shock because of Pearl Harbor.

[@mpetersen6]

Partly in state of shock. Also deep into the racism of the time. There are also certain events that happened in 1942 that the Allies probably would not or could not prevent. 1) The lose of the Philippines. After Pearl Harbor the US Navy was in no position to effectively run resupply into the Philippines. And without resupply holding the Phillipines ws simply untenable. 2) The Dutch East Indies and Borneo. The Dutch were simply too weak and the RN, USN and the RAN simply do not have the sea power to stop the IJN and the IJN. 3) Malaya and Singapore. Too little too late. Especially in aviation. But I think even if the RAF in the area had front line fighter aircraft they faced a situation were the Japanese simply had more combat experience.

[@edmundcowan9131]

The joint US military operations in the South Pacific in 1942 and 43. The riots were between Australian and Americans not blacks. It should not take away from what the Allies did.

[@WW2TV]

What's your problem? No-one was trying to say that, we were just stating a fact that there were tensions

[@blueboats7530]

Some of the incidents stemmed from Australians allowing blacks to mingle and to approach Australian women whereas the white Americans were still very steeped in segregation. It wasn't well expressed in the presentation but this was the type of situation that was being referred to.

[@edmundcowan9131]

What what what compared Japanese occupation to US colonial rule. This guy is cowardly saying that.

[@WW2TV]

"This Guy" is a world renowned historian. What point are you making exactly?

[@brianschwarz]

Excellent work. Thank you.

[@WW2TV]

Our pleasure!