Our Jungle Road to Tokyo

Description

The Pacific War is often thought of as a series of naval and air battles and amphibious Marine actions. But from the bloody, sweating jungles of Buna in New Guinea, to the victory parades in Tokyo, it was predominately the Army’s war: a war of divisions and corps and, most of all, of mud-spattered, dog-tired, fever-wracked, overloaded, underfed men who plodded thorugh thousands of miles of jungle for three agonizing years.

Our Jungle Road to Tokyo is the story of General Robert L. Eichelberger, commander of the U.S. Eighth Army. It is the story of a tough and effective combat leader who was not afraid to be within range of Japanese mortar fire. Sent initially to Australia as I corps commander, General Eichelberger was given responsibility for the critical Buna front in late 1942. His successes there eventually earned him promotion to command of the newly formed Eighth Army. Under his leadership, much of New Guinea was retaken and most of the southern Philippines was liberated. With victory assured, General Eichelberger was given command of American and Allied occupation forces in the Japanese Home Islands.