hoot72 wrote: ↑08 Apr 2021 01:48
One of the less discussed topics I feel is the distrust and "politics" behind the scenes between senior leaderships of the allies in the Pacific, in particular the British and the Australians who at times, simply did not get along on some issues and were going over each other to get approvals or appointments done or decisions made. I find this happening a fair bit in 1944 and 1945, in particular when it comes to air missions against Japanese targets by RAAF pilots. There is from my recollection, even a mutiny by RAAF pilots on Morotai, as an example, as they are operating less and/or are being assigned non crucial missions that may cost lives. And they protest and mutiny.
After the end in Singapore early in 1942 and before the BPF basing decision was made late in 1944, there wasn't much for the British and Australians to "get along" about, however; other than the three squadrons of RAF Spitfires that deployed to Australia, there were a lot more Australian air and naval units of various types deployed under British command in the Indian Ocean, MTO, and Atlantic then the other way around, even after the 9th Division went back to Australia early in 1943.
The only allied operations of significance to Australia for most of 1942-44 were those of the US, and given that US troops, air, and sea power were what defeated the Japanese, that's pretty much to be expected.
The Australian-led operations against the various Japanese enclaves left as the Allied offensive moved north, west, and north, eventually to the Philippines, were, for the most part, the Australians' decision to pursue (or not); whether the RAAF - or any other Australian forces - were used or not used in the rear areas of the SWPA, or against the Japanese-occupied NEI, was up to the Australians. The RAAF squadrons on Morotai were under Australian command, and the mutiny (less than a dozen officers threatened to resign) was, frankly, probably symptomatic of the RAAF's rather fractured leadership and internal disputes over its roles and missions; the Jones-Bostock dispute is another example, as were the various leadership fights that led to the Williams/Ellington/Goble/Burnett saga...