World War II – October 2019

THE TWO

BATTLES

OF BUNA

One became the first victory

of the war by an American

ground commander. The other

was far more personal

T

he call came into U.S. I Corps headquarters in the Australian city of Rock-

hampton on a sleepy Sunday afternoon. It was late November 1942 and

General Douglas MacArthur, Allied supreme commander for the Southwest

Pacific Area (SWPA), needed the corps commander to stave off a debacle.

Newly promoted to lieutenant general, Robert L. Eichelberger, 56, had

spent his entire life preparing for this sort of summons. The son of a pros-

perous Urbana, Ohio, lawyer who had pitted his children—especially the

four boys—against one another in competition, Robert grew up thin-skinned,

overly sensitive to criticism and personal slights. He was also an average, if not

uninterested, student. But following an appointment to West Point, he found in

OCTOBER 2019 39

By John C. McManus