In January 1941, the intelligence officer (
G-2) of the Philippine Department recommended, to his superior in
Washington, D.C., that an American high command in the Far East be created, with the commander of the Philippine Department as its designated commander. It does not appear this idea was seriously considered until
Douglas MacArthur suggested, to the
Chief of Staff of the United States Army, that such a command be created with MacArthur as the Far Eastern Commander. On 6 June, Acting Chief of the War Plans Division Brigadier General
Leonard T. Gerow noted that he saw no need for such a command, as US Forces in the Far East were concentrated in the
Philippines. As such, Gerow argued that should a "crisis" occur, then MacArthur should become the commander of, not some new command, but rather, of the Philippine Department itself. being trained at
Fort William McKinley on a
37 mm (M3) anti-tank gun. On 20 June,
Army Chief of Staff George C. Marshall informed MacArthur, "Both the
Secretary of War (
Stimson) and I are much concerned about the situation in the Far East. Your qualifications and experience make you the logical selection for the Army Commander in the Far East should the situation approach a crisis. The Secretary has delayed recommending your appointment as he does not feel the time has arrived for such action. At the proper time, he will recommend to the
President that you be so appointed." of the Philippine Scouts moves past a
M3 Stuart tank, into
Pozorrubio, in an attempt to repel Japanese forces. , March 1942 On 17 July, Gerow made the following recommendations: • The President should call into the service of the United States all organized military forces of the Commonwealth of the Philippines; • General MacArthur should be called to active duty as a
Major General and assigned as commander of Army Forces in the Far East; •
$10,000,000, from the
President's Emergency Fund should be allotted to cover the costs of mobilization and training of the Philippine Army; • Training of the Philippine Army be financed from the sugar excise fund, or from other funds; and • 425 U.S. Army reserve officers be sent to the Philippines to assist in
mobilization and training. On 25 July, Secretary of War
Henry L. Stimson requested that President Roosevelt issue orders calling the military forces of the Commonwealth into active service for the United States. Stimson explains, "All practical steps should be taken to increase the defensive strength of the Philippine Islands". The following day, Roosevelt froze all Japanese assets within the United States and issued the orders to absorb the forces of the Philippine Army. That same day, the
United States Department of War created the USAFFE command, with jurisdiction over the Philippine Department and the military forces of
Commonwealth of the Philippines (seemingly the
Philippine Army, with two regular and ten reserve
divisions, and the
Philippine Army Air Corps). At the same time, MacArthur was recalled to active duty, with the rank of
lieutenant general, as the USAFFE commander, from his positions as military advisor to the Philippine government and
Field Marshal of the Philippine Army. On 4 November 1941 USAFFE formally created the
North Luzon Force,
South Luzon Force, and the
Visayas-Mindanao Force. Actually all had been in existence for several months. Following the Japanese invasion of the Philippines in December 1941, the short-lived
American-British-Dutch-Australian Command (ABDACOM) was formed on 1 January 1942, to control all
Allied forces in
South East Asia and the
South West Pacific. ABDACOM nominally controlled USAFFE forces, although the latter was effectively an independent force. In February 1942, the US Army established
United States Army Forces in Australia under Lieutenant General
George Brett under the authority of General MacArthur. Australia will the launching area for supplies and reinforcements in the Philippines. This expanded USAFFE to a theater of Operations command rather than being only within the Philippines. US Army Forces in Dutch East Indies under
MGen. Elliot S. Thorpe, was also established as Air Fields are created for the fighters escorting ships or Cargo planes. In March, due to the worsening Allied position in Asia and the Pacific, Roosevelt ordered MacArthur to relocate his command to Australia. MacArthur's famous speech regarding the Philippines, in which he said, "I came out of
Bataan and I shall return" was made on 20 March at
Terowie, South Australia during his first contact with the press in Australia. General
Jonathan Wainwright officially assumed control of the remaining forces in the Philippines, now known as
United States Forces in the Philippines (USFIP) on 23 March. On 18 April 1942, ABDACOM was replaced by
General Headquarters (GHQ), Southwest Pacific Area (SWPA) in
Melbourne, including USFIP. MacArthur was appointed Supreme Commander, SWPA. USFIP, with the exception of some ad hoc
guerilla and resistance outfits, had surrendered to Japanese by 8 May. MacArthur formally reconstituted USAFFE in Australia in February 1943, to assume responsibility for all administrative staff duties pertaining to U.S. Army units in the SWPA, as well as control of guerrilla forces in the Philippines. On 20 October 1944, the
recapture of the Philippines commenced when Allied forces
landed in Leyte Gulf. The campaign was declared completed on 4 July 1945 Major General
Richard J. Marshall assumed command and MacArthur assumed
Allied Powers in Asia Pacific command in preparation for the Invasion of Japan. USAFFE was absorbed by
US Army, Western Pacific under Lieutenant General Robert Richardson, even before end of war and since bulk of US Army was stationed in Japan it was formally dissolved in the lead-up to
Philippine independence on 4 July 1946. In 1947, the term was revitalized with the creation of
Far East Command under General MacArthur in Tokyo. "General MacArthur, however, retained direct command of Army components, wearing a second hat as Commanding General, Army Forces Far East (CG AFFE)." "In 1952, after General MacArthur had left.. the headquarters of Army Forces Far East was fully staffed and placed on a par with the other two component commands, and the Far East Command was given a truly joint staff." ==Order of battle==