Foreword
Jungle warfare in the Southwest Pacific provided a unique experience for an army only lately thrust into global war; but as The Approach to the Philippines graphically demonstrates, the rules of war, the problems of leadership, and the opportunities for military success pertain in the steaming hills of New Guinea as well as on the broad plains of Normandy.
Sustained interest in small unit warfare and the campaigns of the Pacific war prompted the Center to reprint Robert Ross Smith’s work. Through his efforts the lesser known but significant amphibious and ground operations in 1944 along the New Guinea coast and the southern Palaus are familiar to the military history community. The volume provides painstaking analysis of these complex operations—amphibious landings, carrier-based and land-based air operations, infantry maneuvers, and artillery and armor support—which served as a prelude to the Allied invasion of the Philippines. It also gives a detailed account of the intricacies of inter-service operations. One of the volume’s major contributions is the reconstruction of the logistic and support services in the campaign.
Douglas Kinnard
Brigadier General, USA (Ret.)
Chief of Military History.
Washington, D.C.
1 April 1984
The Author
Robert Ross Smith received his B.A. and M.A. degrees from Duke University. A graduate of the Infantry Officer Candidate School at Fort Benning, Georgia, Mr. Smith served two years in the G-3 Historical Division staff at General MacArthur’s headquarters in the Southwest Pacific. He joined the Center of Military History in 1947 and rose to the position of branch chief before retiring in 1983. He also served as chief historian of U.S. Army, Pacific, during an important phase of the Vietnam War. Mr. Smith has written many works on military history, including Triumph in the Philippines, another volume in the U.S. Army in World War II series. He is a retired lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve.