WI MacArthur killed during WWI ?

During the Meuse-Argone offensive in 1918, Col. Douglas MacArthur, while chief-of-staff of the 42nd RAINBOW Div, got separated from his men behind German lines, and with his non-regulation uniform was nearly shot as a German officer by a wandering patrol from the 1st ID before they contacted HQ who confirmed his identity. On another occasion, he suffered thru a gas attack and was nearly blinded.

Now WI MacArthur in either of these instances had been killed- say if the 1st ID patrol accidentally opened fire prematurely, or if he was fatally wounded or ended up permanently incapacitated from the gas attack ? How would later hist have looked without MacArthur and his inspiring leadership thruout WWII in the SWPA and in Korea ? Would there have been any other American military leader of the same stature who may've been a worthy alternative ?
 
The main effect of having no MacArthur would be the effect on Eisenhower.
Without the General taking the Major Eisenhower and putting him in postion to catch the eye of Marshall there could very well have been a much differant outcome to the war. Because of Eisenhower's poltical nature the allies could have fractured and a Nazi Germany could still exist.
 
Well my take on Eisenhower was that of a peace maker. He had two bitter rivals in the presence of Montgomery and Patton and he made sure that rivalry was channeled properly. If he had not been there and some other more aggressive general was put in his place. British manpower could've been drained even quickier maybe forcing the British people's morale into more and more of a spin. Add to this was his handling of Operation Torch. Although his plan went down the tube. He found a competent general to take the reigns.
This placated the American people and politicans enough to ensure that a second front was not tried in France in 1942. This may have resulted in a win for Nazi Germany if Green American troops landed on the shores of even a 1942 France the beach head they established may have been insufficent enough to counter a German counterattack.
 
Without Eisenhower, either George Marshall or Omar Bradley would most likely have been put in overall command of the European theater. Neither would have done substantially better, but neither would have done worse, either.

If worst came to worst, Bernard Montgomery or Mark Clark would have been placed in command and all I can say is, God help us. (SHIVER)

In the Pacific, a Navy man, like Chester Nimitz, Halsey, or Ernie King would have commanded. Possibly Holland Smith, Walter Krueger, or Jonathan Wainwright could have commanded also.

In the Korean War, I'd expect Patton to be the commander of US forces (as he almost certainly would not have died in 1945). Also, possibly, Ridgway still commands.
 
Sorry to bump this up, but with an earlier and larger (and more decisive for the Union) Battle of Chattanooga (in which MacArthur's dad won the Medal of Honor) I was thinking of throwing a little monkey wrench into my 1863 Union win scenario by having his dad die in that battle and thus no Douglas MacArthur. So...

Without Eisenhower, either George Marshall or Omar Bradley would most likely have been put in overall command of the European theater. Neither would have done substantially better, but neither would have done worse, either.
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In the Pacific, a Navy man, like Chester Nimitz, Halsey, or Ernie King would have commanded. Possibly Holland Smith, Walter Krueger, or Jonathan Wainwright could have commanded also.

Couldn't someone else have noticed Eisenhower and put him in position to be noticed by marshall? I'm just not familiar enough with that situation.

If not, given his work with the Marshall Plan later, my hunch is Marshall would have been best at the politics of everything and keeping Montgomery and patton from butting heads too much. Does that sound reasonable? It sounds like he would possibly be President, but because of a few other things I'm thinking Dewey in '48 and then Warren in '56, though I'm not sure. SO, no Ike anyway as President.

In the Pacific, Nimitz sounds logical because of his strategy to just go straight through the Central Pacific, from what another thread said; actually, if Japan surrenders earlier, the Soviets don't decalre war and there's no North Korea anyway w/no division of Korea.

Thakns for letting me bring this thread forward so much; it's almost like it's in a time warp itself :)

(BTW, I should note that because the prime focus is baseball history, I am using an "inevitability" theory if you will where unless it's absolutely impossible for a person to have been born, their parents would meet and the sperm and egg would connect as in OTL; it's not the most common theory, but what baseball fan wants to read about totally fictional players? Fans what to read how their favorites might have done in such a universe where the game is integrted very erly and stays that way. So, Ike and others would also be born.)
 
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Larrikin

Banned
Dead Doug

MacArthur was not an inspiring leader, but rather a competent divisional level staff officer whose political connections and relentless self aggrandizement got him way beyond his military level of competence. Him getting whacked in WWI would or could have led to a whole raft load of more positive outcomes over the next 35 years.

No use of US Cavalry against demonstrating veterans in Washington, the possible (according to some sources probable) adoption of a common round in the 6.5-6.8mm range for the US and BC (and the BC's use of a Garand-like rifle during WWII), properly trained and effective Phillipino troops and no 11 day rout back to Bataan (ignore the pro-Doug proaganda, his command was a total clusterf*ck in the Phillipines), no wastage of US and Aust resources and lives in New Guinea beyond stabilising Papua in 42, a properly structured strategically effective campaign against Japanese oil supplies during 43-44, no waste of resources and lives going back to the Phillipines, and proerly trained US troops in the opening days of the Korean War.

Inchon, whilst a no-brainer in many ways, could have been a complete and total disaster if the NK command had been halfway competent or the wind had changed.

It goes on and on, Doug was a legend in his own mind, but managed to sell his own fantasies to the world at large because he controlled the communications apparatus.
 
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