On November 30, 1950, U.S. President Harry S. Truman attended a press conference, and of course, as president, the war on the Korean Peninsula on the other side of the ocean certainly did not escape the reporter's questions. But in answering these questions, Truman's words caused a huge international storm:
"The use of the atomic bomb against China has been actively considered..."
U.S. President Harry S. Truman
Truman's deep-seated reason for saying this at that time is no longer verifiable, but it is a naked nuclear blackmail against China from the point of view of time, because at this time in the Korean battlefield, MacArthur is paying for his arrogance.
"Heaven desires its death, and it will make it mad"
。
This is true, because MacArthur, the head of the UN army, is a crazy man.
In the first battle victory, MacArthur believed that under the eyes of the powerful US Air Force, it was impossible for a large-scale Chinese army to survive the Yalu River, and a small number of "People's Volunteers" were voluntary and small. However, the fact is that by this time the main combat force of a corps has reached the land of the Korean Peninsula.
The People's Volunteers crossed the Yalu River
This frenzied energy, Peng Dehuai saw in his eyes, joy in his heart. Peng Dehuai decided to invite Jun into the urn to comprehensively expand the results of the battle.
It was planned to lure the "United Nations Army" to the daedadong, Oni, Myokasan, and Pingnan towns on the western front, and lure them to the takutsu and Chosin lines on the eastern front, and then concentrate their forces to annihilate them.
Although the second campaign began in early November, the real battle began in late November, and it took a long time to lure the enemy deeper.
On November 21, the "United Nations Army" troops on the western front advanced to the jiashan and Longshan caves to tokugawa and Ningyuan, and the main us marine division on the eastern front entered the Chosin Lake area, where they were lured into the planned battlefield by the volunteers.
At this time, MacArthur was even more arrogant by Peng Dehuai's suspicious tactics, threatening not only to let the soldiers eat turkey on Thanksgiving, but also to end the Korean War before Christmas, which was known as the Christmas Offensive.
On November 24, the "United Nations Forces" launched a "general offensive" to end the Korean War before Christmas. At dusk on the 25th, the volunteers first launched a campaign counterattack on the Western Front, and the real contest of the second campaign had just begun.
After 5 days of competition, the battlefield on the Western Front was under the heroic battle of the 38th Army, the 39th Army, the 40th Army, the 42nd Army and other volunteer soldiers
Surrounded by the U.S. Ninth Army on three sides, on the 29th, the U.S. 8th Army began to retreat in its entirety, and the U.S. 1st Army also withdrew to the Anju area.
Although the battle on the Eastern Front had just begun and the battle on the Western Front was not over, the results achieved on the Western Front were enough to panic the Americans, including MacArthur and Truman.
MacArthur, a war maniac who grew up from World War I, began the war by clamoring for the outbreak of World War III in the Asia-Pacific region and making a big fuss about dropping atomic bombs on Chinese soil.
Truman, on the other hand, is the only man in the world who presses the nuclear button twice:
Japanese fascism was defeated, but Japan did not accept unconditional surrender to the world. On August 6, the U.S. military dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, and on August 9, the U.S. military dropped an atomic bomb on Nagasaki, Japan, and finally, Japan announced its unconditional surrender.
The two atomic bombs have shown the world the great power of this new type of weapon, and also let the United States have the heart to carry the atomic bomb to make the world, but based on humanitarian and world public opinion pressure, and then a jealous attitude of the Soviet Union, another nuclear-weapon country, until the end of the Korean War, the United States did not use atomic bombs on the Korean Peninsula.
However, Truman's words that were considering the use of atomic bombs against China were so lethal that as soon as Truman's speech ended, many European ambassadors to the United Nations surrounded Austin, the American ambassador, asking whether Austin had a chance to avoid the expansion of the war.
Although in World War II, many countries and the United States were allies, defeated German and Italian fascism, and the United States became the "protector" of Europe, but at this time, the United States and European countries had fundamental differences of interests.
The Korean War can be said to be a tragedy of the Cold War mentality, the United States can not let the Soviet Union alone, and the United States has never been invaded by foreign enemies, and the United States with a strong industrial system, World War II achieved its status as the world hegemon.
But what about Europe? After the baptism of World War II, many countries have become ruins, full of waste, and then as a small European country, its main potential opponent is the Soviet Union across the Eurasian continent, so these small European countries do not want to be involved in the Korean War in the Asia-Pacific region, even the European power Britain, the loyal ally of the United States.
Because Britain, once an old "sun never sets" empire, was already very injured after the end of World War II, more than a hundred parliamentarians jointly wrote to Attlee, who succeeded Churchill after the end of World War II, firmly opposing the "use of atomic bombs in any situation", because the use of atomic bombs means the expansion of the war, and Britain does not want to intervene in a major war far in the East.
Attlee (first from left)
Former Prime Minister Winston Churchill also believed that expanding the war in Asia would weaken Europe's defenses and threaten the security of the United States. It is also true that after the outbreak of the Korean War, a large number of NATO officers and veterans were transferred to the Asian battlefield, and this situation will continue if the war continues to expand.
Faced with enormous pressure, British Prime Minister Attlee flew to Washington to meet with Truman. This meeting was a rare tit-for-tat moment between the hardcore brothers of the United States and Britain.
After several days of meetings, Attlee and Truman had a fierce confrontation, and finally Truman promised not to use atomic bombs on the Korean battlefield, but did not reach a clear consensus on the withdrawal of Troops from Korea, but with Truman's commitment not to use atomic bombs, the United States did not stop the war under favorable conditions, and the resolution not to withdraw troops, Attlee was able to give an account after returning home.
Although throughout the Korean War, the United States did not use atomic bombs because of allied obstruction, humanitarian pressure, and fear of the Soviet Union, but used all weapons except atomic bombs, but did not take victory from the Korean battlefield!
The nuclear blackmail of the United States has also prompted China to put the development of nuclear weapons on the agenda as soon as possible, and finally successfully developed two bombs and one satellite, and is no longer afraid of nuclear blackmail and nuclear deterrence of other countries.