Many critics have commented on the performance of General Douglas MacArthur during his tenure as Commander of the South West Pacific Theatre in World War II. Criticism is divided between those who praise MacArthur and those who attack him. This paper focuses on the reasons for the lapses in MacArthur's performance, specifically his hopeless plan for the defense of the Philippines, his questionable motives for insisting on the retaking of the Philippines, and his inconsistency in applying his principle of bypassing and envelopment in operations to recapture the Philippines and the Dutch East Indies. Rather than being the simple old soldier driven by strict ideals of Duty, Honor, Country, MacArthur was seduced by hubris and questionable personal motives. When he allowed these factors to take over, his generalship plummeted because he was serving MAcArthur and not the nation.

DTIC reprint: AD A240 943. "Feb 1990."