210: The Pacific War 1944: From the Cairo Conference to the Marianas Turkey Shoot
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What was the significance of the Cairo Conference for China, the U.S., and Britain?
Hello friends, Professor Jackson here. I want to introduce our newly launched show, Government That Doesn't Suck. I know across the aisle, even, some, if not many of you are already thinking, but our government does suck. I get it. And yet, if that's our mindset, how can we ever improve it? That question is exactly what drives our new show. Government that doesn't suck explores the ways our American system of government functions or fails to. Each episode blends historical narrative with insightful conversations featuring experts. You can catch these new episodes during the off weeks of History That Doesn't Suck. Our upcoming schedule features topics like space exploration, the interstate and highway safety, the development of the Internet, and the National Weather Service.
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It's December twentieth, nineteen forty one. We're in southwestern China, in the Yunnan province's capital city of Kunming, and Claire Lee Chinault is at his newly established headquarters, likely pouring over maps and charts, doing all he can to make sure his volunteer pilots are ready to strike the Japanese Air Force the moment they get the chance. See Clare, or Old Leatherface, as the nearly fifty year old hard of hearing World War I vet and feisty Louisianan is known. May have been pressed to retire from the US Army Air Corps a few years back, but he was quick to accept an offer abroad. Now he holds the rank of Colonel in the Chinese Air Force. Nor is he the only American here. Back in April, President Franklin Roosevelt quietly authorized reserve officers and enlisted men in the U.S.
military to resign if they wanted to join the ranks of old Leatherface's flyboys in China. The American Volunteer Group, or the AVG. With Japan having laid waste to China for years at this point, as we learned back in episode one ninety-three, it was a slick way to get American flyers into Chinese skies without the US declaring war on Japan. That loophole doesn't feel so important a little less than two weeks out from the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, but no matter. What's important in the moment is this. The AVG is in China, and now, with Kunming still reeling from a deadly bombing just two days ago, Old Leatherface has brought his boys to town, ready to give Japan a fight if they again dare to strike this vital city through which American Len Lease and other foreign supplies supporting the embattled Republic of China flow.
At nine forty five AM, Claire's phone rings. It's commander of the Chinese Fifth Air Force and Chief of Staff for the AVG, Colonel Wang Xu Ming. Ten Japanese bombers crossed the Yunnan border at Laokai, heading northwest. Claire snaps to it as his pilots scramble. This is it. This is the American Volunteer Group's moment. It's time to inspire the beleaguered Chinese people with a forceful show of American might. Or to confirm that the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor was but the beginning of the end for all who oppose the Empire of the Rising Sun. No pressure. Old Leatherface has a red flare fired. The signal for takeoff. And with that, 8 to 10 Curtis P-40s from the Panda Bear, aka 2nd Squadron, each one likely wearing the APG's fierce shark-tooth paint job under its roaring single-engine.
Tear down the runner. Taken to the sky, they form two formations, one of which ascends to provide top cover, patrolling over the city, the other off to hunt. Both groups soon disappear into the clouds. On the ground, Claire listens as one of his squad leaders, Jack Newkirk, radios back. Sharp fin blue calling base. Bandit sighted, 60 miles east. Attack him. Then Silence. Minutes pass. Still silence. With a heavy heart, Claire calls up the Adam and Eve's first squadron.
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Chapters
5 chapters
1
What was the significance of the Cairo Conference for China, the U.S., and Britain?
0:00–6:07
2
How did the American Volunteer Group (Flying Tigers) impact the air war over China in early 1942?
6:07–20:24
3
Why did the Allies create Merrill’s Marauders and what role did they play in the Burma campaign?
20:24–38:33
4
How did Operation Cartwheel isolate Rabaul and set the stage for the Central Pacific offensive?
38:33–56:06
5
What strategic decisions led General Douglas MacArthur and Admiral Halsey to target the Mariana Islands?
56:06–1:02:17
Speakers
1 identifiedMore from History That Doesn't Suck
212: The European Theater, 1943
15 (Second Edition): “We the People:” Constitution Making in Philly
211: Pacific Theater Epilogue with Capt. Mac Caldwell
209: The Pacific War 1943: Operation Cartwheel, Tarawa, & Eleanor Roosevelt's Pacific Tour
208: The Pacific War, 1942–43: Guadalcanal, the Aleutians, and Operation Vengeance
Introducing: Government That Doesn't Suck! with Professors Greg Jackson and Lindsey Cormack