[Raellus]

I'll say it a third time, the Allies would not have defeated the Axis Powers without any one of the Big Three, and possibly China.

The numbers don't lie. Simply looking at war production figures, the Commonwealth did not, and almost certainly could not, out-produce the Axis. GB could not have produced enough to cover it's own losses AND supply the Soviet Union. The Soviet mechanized offensives of 1943-'45 would not have been possible without American-made trucks, tractors, and armored vehicles. Without the USN, GB did not stand any chance at regaining it's empire in Asia. The Coral Sea battle and the Guadalcanal campaign (land and sea) quite possibly saved Australia from a Japanese invasion.

A lot of the arguments that the Commonwealth could have won the war without direct American involvement smacks of fantasist jingoism. It's one thing to not like America- fair play, there- but it's another to assert that it did not play a crucial role in the Allied victory.

As an aside, I will agree that MacArthur was a total ass-hat. He and Montgomery are two of the most overrated senior generals of the Western allies. Both were egomaniacs and, at best, average field commanders. If they hadn't been such great self-promoters with allies in the press, it's hard to see how either could have risen as high as they need. It's debatable as to who was worse, but if I had to pick one of them for my team, I'd probably go with Monty. I can't think of one redeeming quality of MacArthur. The only good thing he did in his career was supervise the occupation and rebuilding of Japan. Everything else, before and after WWII, is a study in mediocrity.