MacArthur's last stubbornness

At the end of March 1951, the United Nations Army advanced to the 38th Parallel for the second time, opening up another opportunity for the Truman administration to propose a ceasefire to China.

This time it is not a retreat, but a push to the 38th parallel, even if it is not in a dominant position, but at least it can negotiate with China from the perspective of strength (this sentence is familiar). Of course, this was Truman's idea.

On March 19, the U.S. Chiefs of State discussed a draft with Secretary of State Acheson and Secretary of Defense Marshall. In the days that followed, the draft was circulated among a number of United Nations members and received their support.

Just when this draft ceasefire is still under discussion. On March 20, the American Federation of Chiefs of Staff called MacArthur, who was far away in Tokyo, and said: First, the current situation is good and worthy of praise. Secondly, we are ready for ceasefire negotiations. Your authority to exercise full freedom of movement in the coming weeks will ensure the safety of the army and to continue to maintain contact with your adversaries. And we hope you have an opinion on this. (The cable explains that it is necessary not to move around for the time being, to ensure the safety of the troops, and to wait for the next action to wait for the order.) ）

MacArthur listened, and his breath did not come out. Who are you, when I carry the gun, you are not weaned. A joint board of directors, and dare to restrict my right to move.

The reply to the cable said: It is recommended that no further restrictions on military security be imposed on united nations forces. Your restrictions on the range of action of the Air Force and Navy have resulted in our military defeat. Due to various restrictions, it is impossible for our army to sweep away the Northern Korean troops, nor is it possible to make more coordination plans to achieve this goal.

MacArthur said nothing about the ceasefire talks in his reply. It wasn't that MacArthur had forgotten, but that he had another idea. Of course, all these cable conversations were highly confidential at the time and were not known to the outside world.

Three days later, on March 24, MacArthur issued a statement in Tokyo.

The main content of the statement is that China has proved completely incapable of controlling the situation on the peninsula. If the United Nations decides to change its previous tolerant attitude, then China will not have the opportunity to seek peace. If military operations are extended to China's coastal and inland areas, they are doomed to collapse quickly. I am also willing to negotiate with my opponents at any time to achieve the political objectives of the United Nations in North Korea in a bloodless manner. And these targets have no reason for any country to object.

This statement is a naked threat of power. Without peace, the war will continue to expand. A statement sealed the door to a possible ceasefire. And then there is the fact that whether this is the intention of the Truman administration draft or not, at least it shouldn't be sent by you MacArthur.

It was Truman who was angry. As Truman later wrote: "The government has repeatedly ordered that it should not make any statements on its own foreign policy, in flagrant defiance of my orders as President and Commander-in-Chief..."

On April 9, after several days of discussions with a series of senior officials, Truman decided that MacArthur would be relieved of command. At this point, Truman revealed to Acheson, Marshall, Harriman, and Bradley that on March 24 I had decided to remove MacArthur.

Interestingly, after a series of government riots, MacArthur actually got the news of his dismissal from the media first, but fortunately there was no other incident.

By this time, the aura of MacArthur's landing at Inchon had vanished, and the military reputation of a lifetime of military service had been tarnished. What made him lose was not a military failure, but because of his political incompetence.

MacArthur returned to the United States on April 17. MacArthur was replaced by Ridgway, and it was Li Qiwei who replaced Him. Fleet.