Engaging a determined enemy across a broad range of conditions, the U.S. Army inWorld War II's Southwest Pacific Area (SWPA) played an important role in the defeat of Japan.How units fought and learned in SWPA and how they adapted to the evolving challenges of theirenvironment is the focus of this dissertation. The subject remains largely unexplored, especiallyin contrast to the attention the European theater has received. An examination of the 112th'sperformance not only illuminates an understudied area in the historiography of World War II butalso offers relevant lessons for contemporary military organizations.Mining a rich collection of primary sources, this study analyzes the development of the112th Cavalry Regiment and sheds light on how American units in SWPA prepared for andconducted combat operations. A National Guard unit federalized in 1940 and sent to the Pacifictheater in 1942, the 112th performed garrison duties on New Caledonia and Woodlark Island andeventually fought in New Britain, New Guinea, and the Philippines. Before deactivating, theregiment also served in Japan during the first months of the occupation.Concentrating on one unit illustrates the extent to which ground forces in SWPA weredriven to learn and adapt. The 112th had mixed success when it came to carrying out itsassigned missions effectively. The same was true of its efforts to learn and improve. The unit'sgradual introduction to combat worked to its advantage, but learning was not simply a matter of building on experience. It also involved responding to unexpected challenges. Experiencetended to help, but the variety of circumstances in which the cavalrymen fought imposed limitson the applicability of that experience. Different situations demanded that learning occur indifferent ways. Learning also occurred differently across the organization's multiple levels.Moreover, failure to learn in one area did not, as a matter of course, undermine advancement inall. Much depended on the presence of conditions that facilitated or disrupted the learningprocess, such as the intricacy of the tasks involved, the part higher headquarters played, and theenemy's own responses to the changing environment.
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