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From Colossal Blunders of the War by William Seaver Woods, 1930 Perhaps the strangest error . . . happened in the Argonne battle just a few days before the Armistice, when our General Mac Arthur was actually arrested as a German at the point of a revolver by a patrol of the 1st Division. This was only a minor blunder, however, in the middle of a much larger one, for which the blame will probably never be located. A very high military authority told me that the order that started it was probably given by telephone and could not be traced. At any rate, on the night of November 6, the 1st Division, it seems, marched directly across the rear of the 1st Corps, hopelessly entangling and disorganizing the line of communications and creating endless confusion and chaos. Someone had had the fine idea that the 1st Division ought to have the honor of taking Sedan, so it was accordingly sent marching directly across the battlefield, regardless of everything. Even neighbouring French divisions became involved in the confusion and sent in vigorous protests. Groups of the 1st Division were reported wandering in every direction, and one of them mistook General Mac Arthur for a German officer and brought him in, no doubt expecting large medals for the feat. General Mac Arthur's comments are not recorded, but General Liggett, who commanded the American First Army, is said to have characterized the movement of the 1st Division as the worst tactical atrocity that ever came to his knowledge. Luckily for us, the Germans at that time were thinking mainly about getting home, or else this chaos on a critical sector might have ended disastrously. As it is, we merely wonder who gave that telephone command. It brings to mind the famous remark of an unknown sergeant who said drily ; "We had a nice little army until this war came along and mussed up everything."
Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers. Title Reports of General MacArthur / [editor in chief, Charles A. Willoughby]. Publisher [Washington, DC : Center of Military History, U.S. Army ; For sale by U.S. Govt. Print. Off.], 1994. Description 2 v. in 4 : ill., maps (some col.), ports.; 31 cm. Series CMH pub ;13/1-2; 13/4 Language English Note Originally published: Washington, DC : U.S. Govt. Print. Off., 1966. With new foreword and indexes. Note Includes bibliographical references. Contents v. 1. The campaigns of MacArthur in the Pacific -- v. 1, Supplement. MacArthur in Japan : the Occupation, military phase -- v. 2. Japanese operations in the southwest Pacific area compiled from Japanese Demobilization Bureaux records. (2 v.). |