Eichelberger in Mindanao: Leadership in Joint Operations

General Robert L. Eichelberger was an extraordinary and brilliant leader. He was a selfless man who loyally and diligently served an egocentric task maker in General Douglas MacArthur. Eichelberger was the American version of the British Field Marshal William Slim of Burma fame. In a six-month period in World War II, Eichelberger’s Eighth US Army made 52 amphibious landings in the Southwest Pacific Theater. In each of those operations, Eichelberger skillfully used US and Allied ground troops, naval forces, and aircraft. While his Army was normally assigned a supporting or mopping-up role, the Mindanao campaign was solely Eichelberger’s. The purpose behind this study is to explore Eichelberger’s leadership in the joint operations on, Mindanao Island in the Philippines.