On April 10, 1951, U.S. President Harry S. Truman abruptly announced the removal of MacArthur from his post as Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. Forces in the Far East and the appointment of Lieutenant General Ridgway to succeed him.
For this reason, Truman gave the reason: "MacArthur cannot wholeheartedly support the policies of the United States Government and the United Nations in matters relating to official duties." ”
Even so, as soon as this decision came out, many people were puzzled, and public opinion was in an uproar for a while!
So what was the truth about MacArthur's dismissal? Is it really the reluctance to wholeheartedly support the policies of the United States and the "United Nations," as Truman said?
This article will briefly analyze the causes of this incident and explore what is the inside story of MacArthur's dismissal from Truman. Of course, if there is any inaccuracy or impropriety, please criticize and correct it!
MacArthur, commander-in-chief of the "United Nations Army"
MacArthur's "sudden" dismissal was not due to Truman's whim, but was premeditated.
In fact, from the beginning of the Korean War, Truman had already planned to remove MacArthur, but in the end, due to the problem of the situation, he repeatedly tolerated him!
The reason why Truman removed MacArthur, in my opinion, is three reasons!
First, MacArthur and Truman had a fundamental conflict over strategic issues
The first and most typical is the "Taiwan issue"!
On June 25, 1950, the Korean War broke out. On the second day of the outbreak of the Korean War, the first reaction of the United States was not to rush to the aid of South Korea, but to "blockade the Taiwan Strait by force"!
Why, then, was the United States so sensitive to the Taiwan issue after the outbreak of the Korean War?
To this end, MacArthur once made a corresponding explanation:
"If Taiwan falls into the hands of the Chinese Communists and can be used by the Soviet Union, it will be equivalent to giving our opponents a fleet of dozens of aircraft carriers, and we can give the United States bases in Okinawa and the Philippines an 'army.'"
To put it bluntly, the United States was concerned that the Soviet Union would use Taiwan to attack and even control their interests in the Far East.
The outbreak of the Korean War was a "desperate situation" for Chiang Kai-shek, who had been defeated and retreated to Taiwan. Because in this way, not only will the island of Taiwan be temporarily safe, but the Korean War is likely to cause the "Third World War" that he has been looking forward to.
If this is the case, then it is possible that he will use the power of the United States to realize his dream in the future. To this end, Chiang Kai-shek also proposed to the United States to send 33,000 troops to Korea to help the war, but was rejected by the US Secretary of State Acheson.
Acheson's reason was simple: he thought Chiang Kai-shek's unit was unreliable and poorly trained, and that "perhaps they would cause you more trouble later than they could help."
Truman, on the other hand, was more direct, believing that Chiang Kai-shek's troops "have always been useless" and even declaring: "If you want to send Chiang Kai-shek's troops to Korea to help in the war, I will not let this happen under any circumstances." ”
All in all, the Truman administration would not have allowed Chiang Kai-shek to send troops to the war under any circumstances.
MacArthur and Chiang Kai-shek
But MacArthur did not think so, and he insisted that Chiang Kai-shek's army participate in the war, in the words of Feld, the head of MacArthur's military liaison group in Taiwan at that time:
"If we cannot get timely reinforcements from Taiwan's army, and if we cannot immediately transfer troops from Japan to fight in South Korea, then the fate of South Korea will be extremely dangerous."
In order to show his determination to let Chiang Kai-shek's army enter the DPRK, MacArthur not only personally went to Taiwan to interview Chiang Kai-shek without the consent of the White House, but also specially transferred nearly 100,000 tons of surplus military equipment and ammunition from the US military in World War II to Taiwan from Okinawa and the Philippines.
On August 4, 1950, when Harry Emman traveled to Tokyo to convey his Taiwan policy to MacArthur, he repeatedly stressed that he should not stand with Chiang Kai-shek.
In addition, in order to make MacArthur more clear about the opinion of the White House, the Joint Chiefs of Staff even informed MacArthur in writing:
"The U.S. operations there are limited to auxiliary operations, do not intend to use taiwan's armed forces, and cannot accede to Chiang Kai-shek's request, so as not to cause China to enter the war and get involved in a world war."
However, despite Truman's repeated emphasis, MacArthur still "did not buy it", and he still regarded Taiwan as very important, in his words: "Taiwan is an unsinkable aircraft carrier." ”
So you see, the positions of MacArthur and the Truman administration are actually contradictory. Although MacArthur, known as the "Emperor of Asia", enjoyed a high reputation, he was only a military general himself, and it was naturally unrealistic to follow his own ideas in everything, and he had to obey his government, otherwise everyone would be like him.
So much so that on December 6, 1950, Truman gave MacArthur an extremely severe order: first, to prohibit him from taking any unauthorized action, and second, to prohibit him from making any unauthorized policy statement.
Since then, MacArthur, whose heart was filled with anger, has repeatedly issued public statements attacking Truman's policies.
Therefore, It is only a matter of time before Truman removes him!
U.S. President Harry S. Truman
In addition to the Taiwan issue, macArthur and the Truman administration also held opposite views on The Asian and European issues.
According to the view of Western geopolitics, Europe is the "heartland" of the world, and whoever "occupies" Europe can dominate the world. In short, Europe has an extremely important strategic position.
Both the United States and the Soviet Union had significant political and economic interests in Europe, especially after World War II, when the Soviet Union controlled Eastern Europe and the United States controlled Western Europe, thus gradually evolving into "two different camps", the socialist camp and the capitalist camp. The two different ideologies began to develop sharp opposition.
At that time, the Soviet Union took advantage of its own convenience in the center of the world island to try to dominate the world; and the United States naturally did not want to show weakness, they implemented the Truman Doctrine politically, implemented the Marshall Plan economically, and established a NATO organization militarily, so as to achieve control of Europe and contain the Soviet Union, so as to achieve their goal of global domination.
In the view of the Truman administration, Western Europe, whether it is industry, technology or resources, is very important to the United States, especially Western Europe is inseparable from the United States in terms of blood and culture.
For the United States, once Europe is lost, then the situation will immediately move in favor of the Soviet Union, NATO is likely to face the danger of disintegration, if so, the United States will be isolated.
Therefore, the foreign policy of the Truman administration has always adhered to the strategy of "Europe first, Asia second".
In fact, this point was well represented throughout the Korean War. For the United States at the time, the Soviet Union was their main rival. But the opponent they encountered on the Korean battlefield was not the Soviet Union, but China.
Throughout the Korean War, the United States had invested a lot of manpower and material resources, but not only did not achieve substantial results, but also suffered heavy losses, while the Soviet Union was still recuperating, which had to worry the Truman administration.
Most importantly, of course, this is not in the interest of the United States, which is even more contrary to the global strategic priorities of the United States.
Bradley, then chairman of the Us Joint Chiefs of Staff, famously said: "If the war is really extended to the Asian continent, it is a wrong war at the wrong time and in the wrong place." ”
However, the commander-in-chief of the "United Nations Army", MacArthur, known as the "emperor" of Asia, did not think so, and he insisted that Asia was the focus of the US global strategy. As he put it: "The future fate of the world will be determined in Asia." ”
Realistically speaking, if you look at it today, what MacArthur said is still very reasonable, and this person is indeed far-sighted. However, in that environment, his remarks were completely "rebellious words", because they were completely inconsistent with the interests of his own country at that time.
Since then, MacArthur has attacked and condemned the Truman administration in different forms. In a letter to Rep. Martin on March 20, 1951, MacArthur condemned the U.S. leadership so sharply that the Truman administration considered MacArthur's letter "sufficient to pose a challenge to existing national policy." ”
So it's not hard to see from here that MacArthur acted in this way, and it was only natural that he was eventually removed.
Map of the situation in the Korean War
Finally, there is the question of the expansion and restriction of the Korean War!
For MacArthur, the "war maniac", he naturally wanted to expand the war, especially after the "United Nations Army" he led was hit hard by the Chinese and North Korean troops and driven back to the "38th Line".
In order to realize this vision, he constantly asked Truman to expand the war, even the use of atomic bombs, etc.
However, the Truman administration has always advocated that the war should be limited to the Korean Peninsula, and now as far as the local war is concerned, the United States has invested a huge amount, and if the war is expanded, it is unimaginable how much manpower and material resources it will be invested. Besides, if we are deeply trapped in Asia, will the Western European camp maintained by the United States collapse once the Soviet side attacks Europe?
That's why Truman said, "We can't let North Korea's actions expand into a big war... It is not worth it to be plunged into a world war for the Korean Peninsula. ”
However, MacArthur, who had long been accustomed to wandering outside the U.S. government, paid no attention to the Truman administration's strategy of restricting war. On March 2, 1951, he issued a statement in the hope of changing the ban on war in Korea and extending military operations to China's coastal areas.
To this end, Truman replied with great indignation:
"It is highly unusual for a military commander of the United Nations to make such a statement on his own initiative. This is a complete disregard for the directive not to make any declaration on foreign policy. This is a blatant disobedience to the orders I have issued as President and Supreme Commander. This is a challenge to the powers that the Constitution gives to the president. It is also a floutation of United Nations policy. ”
So it was the strategic clashes between MacArthur and the Truman administration that led to his eventual removal.
MacArthur and Truman
Second, the pressure of "allies"
The vast majority of the "United Nations forces" on the Korean battlefield were devastated by World War II, and they themselves were scarred, and the reason why they sent troops to participate in the Korean War with the United States was only from their own political and ideological considerations. After all, the boss has spoken, as a younger brother, even if he is unwilling, he must symbolically express it.
Therefore, we will find that in the entire Korean War, the "United Nations Army" led by the US military, the US military sent 510,000 troops, the South Korean army was 540,000 people, and the rest of the countries sent less than 50,000 troops.
For these so-called "slave states" in the United States, their intention is not to participate in war, on the contrary, many of them are willing to establish good relations with China, and the most direct advantage of this is that they can counteract the soviet union's power in Asia.
But MacArthur's series of words and deeds in the Korean War exacerbated the tension between the United States and its allies. Especially when MacArthur pleaded for an expansion of the war, the reaction of America's "allies" became stronger.
For for them, if the United States expands the war, causing the local war between the two camps to escalate into the third world war, so that the war spreads to their own countries, then they will not be able to continue to support it.
Among them, the most uneasy about the United States is the United Kingdom.
United Nations Security Council
To this end, British Prime Minister Attlee also went to Washington to meet with Truman tirelessly, trying to persuade the United States not to expand the war and seek a way to solve the Korean War in a political way. As an ally of the United States, Britain was very worried that the war would expand and affect its own country.
Of course, the Truman administration was also well aware of the importance of its allies to the United States, because it wanted to maintain its authority and position in Western Europe as a way to confront the Soviet Union, so it had to take into account the attitude of these allies. On the other hand, if the United States insists on going its own way, it will become a lonely person.
The Truman administration repeatedly made its position clear to its allies, declaring that it would never expand the war and would not abandon or weaken its obligations in Europe because of the Korean War.
However, MacArthur, as the commander-in-chief of the "United Nations Army", completely disregarded the attitude of these "allies" and repeatedly issued unauthorized statements to expand the war and a series of statements that were not conducive to the relations between the allies, thus complicating the relations between the United States and the allies.
In particular, MacArthur's March 2, 1951 statement, which western countries called "檄文," exploded in the Circle of Allies, so much so that allies called the Truman administration to ask if it had changed its policy.
At this point, the pressure from the Truman administration was conceivable, and if MacArthur's words and deeds led to the collapse of relations between the United States and its allies, the consequences would be unimaginable.
To this end, Truman also angrily accused MacArthur of "sacrificing our allies and undermining our unity with the peoples of the free nations of the world." ”
So, under pressure from the Allies, Truman had to make the decision to remove MacArthur.
Third, MacArthur's arrogant and indomitable personality
MacArthur's arrogant, unassuming, and self-absorbed personality is no secret. Of course, the reason for his character is basically because of his outstanding exploits in World War II.
Because of this, whether he is talking or doing things, he is a look of arrogance and arrogance. This is also an important reason for his feud with Truman!
One of the most typical is the "Wake Island Talks"!
As the situation in Korea continues to change, Truman, as President of the United States, urgently needs to talk to MacArthur to understand the latest war situation in North Korea and to observe MacArthur's attitude.
As a rule, the President of the Nation summons a subordinate officer, no matter how high the officer's position or rank, and no matter where he is stationed at the moment, he must arrive at the President's office on time to salute him and follow his instructions.
However, MacArthur was not an ordinary American officer, and he was known as the "emperor" of Asia, and he would not return to the United States to see the president under any circumstances, because he had not returned to the United States for six years. In the words of Secretary of State Acheson:
"MacArthur at this moment is actually a head of state, he is the emperor of Japan and the emperor of Korea."
Finally, seeing that MacArthur's proposal to return to Washington was rejected, he decided to meet in Hawaii, because the two men flew almost equal distances. That is to say, MacArthur was somehow on an equal footing with Truman, who was president.
But this proposal was not agreed to by MacArthur in the end. Truman and Acheson knew what MacArthur wanted, so they proposed that the location of the meeting be changed to "Wake Island." Truman flew 4,700 miles for this, while MacArthur only needed to fly 1,900 miles to get there.
This decision made many White House officials at the time very dissatisfied, they all thought that the president's concessions were too big, and MacArthur was too ignorant. Acheson even angrily said, "This is murder!" Not even for a dog! ”
Acheson's words are also funny, does this mean that old Du is not even as good as a dog?
Despite this, MacArthur didn't buy it, because he didn't want to be in the talks from the start, and he was extremely disgusted by Truman's meddling in "his war" because he thought it was tying his hands and feet.
Of course, in the end, MacArthur still went, and the two also had corresponding talks. Since the meeting was held in secret, no one knew exactly what they were talking about, but one thing was certain that MacArthur's arrogance had bore Truman.
According to Truman's daughter Margaret, MacArthur was a grumpy man who liked to brag and show off, and President Truman was very dissatisfied with him, thinking that he was a disobedient and difficult general.
Therefore, in the long run, there will inevitably be discord and contradictions between the two people, and it is only natural to have a grudge. In fact, these can be seen from the content above.
Wake Island
On April 10, 1951, Truman finally ordered macArthur's dismissal and appointment of Ridgway to succeed him as commander-in-chief of the United Nations Army.
It is worth mentioning that, in view of MacArthur's prominent reputation, Truman originally wanted to submit the dismissal order to him in a more dignified way, but he encountered trouble in the process of passing the dismissal order! First, the transmitter malfunctioned, secondly, the Secretary of War, Pest, who was responsible for handing over the dismissal order, was inspecting the Korean front, and finally, the reporter was looking around for information to leak.
Truman was deeply aware of the gravity of the situation, and in order to prevent MacArthur from using his resignation to win politically, he hastily adopted a response strategy, that is, on the one hand, he used the military line to directly issue a dismissal order to MacArthur, and on the other hand, he held a press conference to issue a dismissal order before the media announced it.
Finally, MacArthur first heard the news of his dismissal on the news broadcast, and only received the order an hour later. MacArthur's decades of glorious military career ended in such a hasty end, which is really sad and regrettable!
In summary, it is a brief summary of the inside truth about MacArthur's dismissal by Truman, and the reason for this is actually four words - blame yourself!