The military of each country has its own highest rank, the mainland side is the "marshal", the United States and other countries are the "five-star general". Both marshals and five-star generals were awarded in wartime and never retired for life.
The "Ten Marshals" of the mainland are well known to everyone, and the United States has nine "five-star generals." One of the most well-known to the people of the mainland is probably Douglas MacArthur, who was the commander-in-chief of the "United Nations Army" during the Korean War.
In the film and television dramas related to the theme of the mainland's War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, MacArthur was a person who could not be avoided. His trademark pipes, as well as his arrogant demeanor, are impressive. And how arrogant is this "Pipe General"?
In the early days of the Korean War, he arrogantly suggested dropping 20 to 30 atomic bombs to bomb China, and more dramatically, he was removed from his post as commander-in-chief of the "United Nations Army" just hours after saying this.
So what kind of person was MacArthur, and what happened to his "atomic bomb theory" and his removal?
MacArthur
Outstanding in battle, with arrogant capital
Let's start with a brief look at General MacArthur.
The world knows his arrogance, but he does have the capital of arrogance.
MacArthur was born into a military family in Little Rock, Arkansas, USA, and was influenced by his family, studying hard from an early age and determined to enter the military camp. In 1899, at the age of 18, MacArthur was admitted to the famous United States Military Academy at West Point, and when he graduated, he set a record for the graduation score of West Point Military Academy with a score of 98.43 points, and successfully entered the US military circles.
MacArthur's military career in his youth was quite brilliant, and he was promoted to lieutenant of the Engineer Corps shortly after graduation, and during his time as a cadet in the U.S. Army Engineering School, he also served as a military aide-de-camp to U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt.
In 1917, the United States officially participated in World War I, drawing personnel from the National Guard of various states to form the 42nd Infantry Division to go to the French battlefield, MacArthur served as the chief of staff of the division, fought bravely in the European battlefield, commanded well, and was promoted by his superiors.
Shortly after returning home after World War I, the 39-year-old MacArthur became president of West Point, becoming the youngest principal in the school's history.
MacArthur
In November 1930, MacArthur accepted the provisional rank of four-star general in the Army and was sworn in as chief of staff of the United States Army.
During his tenure, he mainly introduced several reforms, the most important of which were the replacement of the traditional cavalry with mechanized equipment and the establishment of an air force headquarters to improve the coordination efficiency of ground and air forces. These reforms were applied later in World War II, dramatically improving the mechanical capabilities of U.S. Army units.
Beginning in 1937, MacArthur became the head of the U.S. military in the Asia-Pacific theater, serving as commander-in-chief of the Philippine Army and single-handedly forming the Philippine Army.
During World War II, he fought against the Japanese army in the southwest Pacific, and became the commander of the US Far East Army and the commander of the Allied forces in the Southwest Pacific Theater.
In 1944, at the age of 64, MacArthur was awarded the rank of five-star general, the first time in U.S. history that he was awarded a five-star general. MacArthur's rise to the list shows his position and influence in the U.S. military.
MacArthur
On September 3, 1945, MacArthur signed the Japan Unconditional Surrender Instrument as an Allied representative, a ceremony that marked the end of World War II. The American media commented on MacArthur: "World War II ended on his hands." ”
With such a wealth of experience and military achievements, MacArthur's temper was naturally very large, even to the point of arrogance.
He was always late in every military meeting, wearing sunglasses and a pipe, never having to look at people in the eye. An American general in the movie "Lake Chosin" also said that he was "blind to no one", and many people were waiting to see his jokes.
How crazy was MacArthur? U.S. President Harry S. Truman did not meet MacArthur until 5.5 years after he took office.
MacArthur
Because of MacArthur's long expectations in Japan, Truman always wanted to meet the famous veteran general, but the arrogant MacArthur twice refused the president's invitation.
It wasn't until October 15, 1950, that President Truman "got what he wanted" to see MacArthur.
Before the Korean War, MacArthur served as the supreme commander of the Allied forces in Japan, and in his domineering way, he greatly weakened the armament of the defeated Country of Japan, and made a series of reforms to turn Japan into a "vassal state" and "pawn" of the United States in the Pacific.
Perhaps because he did a very good job in Japan, after the outbreak of the Korean War, the U.S. military decided to appoint him as the supreme commander of the United States, the commander-in-chief of the "United Nations Army", to lead the U.S. military to the Korean front.
Until now, MacArthur's military career has been flawed on the whole.
MacArthur (front row in front)
A series of misjudgments and decisions led to his dismissal
The United States sent troops to the Korean battlefield, which caused a major reversal in the situation between the north and the south of the Korean Peninsula in an instant. The North Korean People's Army, which had been in full swing, almost drove South Korean troops into the Pacific, and when the U.S. army began the Inchon Landing, the northern advantage ceased to exist.
As the most developed industrial country in the world, the United States has formed a dimensional reduction strike against the North Korean People's Army, and under the crushed situation, North Korea began to seek military help from the mainland.
To fight North Korea is to fight China, and MacArthur would not fail to understand this truth. Frenzied, he declared that he would "win a complete victory in Korea" and said that he wanted to let the US soldiers "go home for Christmas", but behind his back, he also carried out a series of operations.
In analyzing whether China would send troops to the DPRK to help, he asserted that the new Chinese government was unable to send troops and planned to arrange for Chiang Kai-shek's forces in Taiwan to enter the DPRK to help.
The United States sent troops to North Korea
MacArthur put it this way:
"How likely is it that China will intervene? If they had intervened in the first month or two, it might have been decisive, but they missed the moment and we don't have to be respectful to them...
They don't have an air force, and now that our air force has a base in Korea, if Chinese try to advance to Pyongyang, they will suffer the heaviest war casualties in human history. ”
In order to make the situation bigger, MacArthur called Chiang Kai-shek on the eve of the US military's invasion of Korea, inviting the other side to send troops to aid Korea.
Chiang Kai-shek had been thinking about "counterattacking the mainland" since the defeat of Taiwan, and seeing that MacArthur's invitation was a little hesitant, after all, it was a request from "allies", so he agreed first and planned to send his ace army, the 52nd Army, to reinforce at any time.
MacArthur
The 52nd Army was the first of the Nationalist army to become a US ordnance unit, well-equipped, originally belonged to Liao Yaoxiang of the Northeast Army, but during the Liaoshen Campaign, it did not follow Liao Yaoxiang to the west, retreated in Yingkou, and later became the only ace army stationed in Taiwan by Chiang Kai-shek.
However, Chiang Kai-shek was reluctant to send reinforcements to this force, and his original intention was to defend his sphere of influence in the Taiwan Strait.
In order to reassure Chiang Kai-shek, at the end of July 1950, MacArthur even personally flew to Taiwan to meet Chiang Kai-shek, and the photo of the two shaking hands made headlines in the local media.
The main purpose of MacArthur's visit was to examine the strength of the 52nd Army and assess the possibility of its entry into the war in North Korea, and the two sides seemed to be about to hit it off.
However, the then US Secretary of State Acheson believed that the geopolitics of Taiwan Island faced great risks, the US military still needed to send warships to "protect", and MacArthur actually arranged for them to send troops, which was somewhat absurd.
Chiang Kai-shek
Truman heeded Acheson's advice and did not allow Taiwan to send troops, Chiang Kai-shek did not want to wade through this muddy water, and after seeing the US demand, he just went down the donkey, which made MacArthur very angry, and the two sides broke up unhappily.
In hindsight, MacArthur's trick was a faint move.
A very important principle in the US Asia-Pacific strategy is to retain the advantages of all aspects and gain more demands politically. His plan is purely from the military level, not from the actual situation, and only wants to disturb the situation in China.
Losing foreign aid and thus fighting the president, MacArthur did not start well in The Korean Theater. Even after touching the nail, the "megalomaniac" MacArthur continued to do his own thing, and he continued to be arrogant and dizzy.
After the Inchon landing, the situation in the Korean War was reversed, and the situation was very good for the United States. At this time, he made a provocative move against the mainland, asserting that our side would not send troops to aid the DPRK, and also bombed the Dandong area on the mainland's border with the DPRK, causing some civilian casualties.
Truman
What happened next is clear to us: on October 19, 1950, the volunteers crossed the Yalu River and began to attack the American army from the 25th. Until the end of the third campaign in January 1951, the American army was gradually defeated on the battlefield and was driven south of the 38th Parallel.
At this point, MacArthur, as commander-in-chief, could not sit still. Perhaps because he couldn't keep his face hanging on, or maybe he was too eager to contain the development of China and the Soviet Union, he made one of the most wrong decisions of his career:
On April 11, 1951, MacArthur gave a speech in which he would carry out a nuclear strike on the northeastern part of the mainland bordering North Korea, and even advocated "throwing 20 to 30 nuclear bombs at China."
Declassified U.S. Army archives after the war showed that at the end of 1950, MacArthur submitted a list of "retarded targets" estimating that 26 atomic bombs were needed, of which 4 were used to bomb "enemy attacking forces" and 4 atomic bombs to attack "important assembly areas of enemy air forces" with atomic bombs.
As soon as MacArthur's speech was published, it caused an uproar, and Truman directly opposed it, because it would bring in the Soviet Union, which had been watching from the other side, to participate in the war.
But MacArthur, who had lost face and was so arrogant that he was somewhat ignorant, had already killed the red eye, and he publicly opposed President Truman's decision and arranged for reconnaissance planes to fly into Chinese airspace and inspect the terrain to launch an attack, which caused dissatisfaction among the entire US military and political circles.
Volunteers crossed the Yalu River
Battlefield disobedience is a taboo, and no matter how great a general you are, you have no right to interfere in the president's decisions.
Coupled with the defeat of MacArthur's "United Nations Army" in the Korean battlefield, Truman believed that MacArthur "lacked the effective means to unify the Korean Peninsula."
And at this time, after General Ridgway became the commander of the Eighth Army, the U.S. military began to gradually turn the tide of the war, and the U.S. Department of Defense considered Ridgway to be a qualified candidate for the commander-in-chief, and the situation was becoming more and more unfavorable to MacArthur.
So, just hours after MacArthur's speech, on the afternoon of April 11, President Truman removed MacArthur from his post as "Commander-in-Chief of the United Nations Forces" and was replaced by Ridgway, citing "failure to fully support U.S. and United Nations policies."
Ridgway
Disagreement with the top kept MacArthur away from the center of power
MacArthur was removed from office for many reasons, but in comparison, arrogance became the most inconspicuous of all the reasons.
At that time, there were many arrogant people in the US generals, most of whom participated in World War II and fought in the tragic European theater, the harsh Conditions of North Africa and the Pacific Theater.
On the other hand, it is precisely because of their outstanding military achievements that they have been blinded, and many problems of attitude have been covered up. Truman naturally knew the temper of these generals, you are crazy, don't delay the battle.
The problem was that MacArthur, as a military general, was involved in political struggles, and his ideas were contrary to the strategic goals of President Truman and the entire American political community.
In short, MacArthur's goal was to strike China hard, to deter the Soviet Union, and to take North Korea through a war of attrition.
The basic premise of the United States to unify Korea by force is to quickly end the war without the intervention of either China and the Soviet Union.
Pacific War
On November 8, 1950, half a month after the Volunteers entered the Korean War, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) analyzed the volunteers' operational objectives in a report to the White House, pointing out: "China's intervention is a 'transitional military operation with limited objectives', so the United States should not fight a long war of attrition on the Korean Peninsula." ”
According to this information, the purpose of the US military was to concentrate the volunteer forces in North Korea to complete the attack, and did not intend to burn the war to the Chinese mainland.
At this time, MacArthur, however, kept asking the U.S. government to expand its air operations. On 25 November, MacArthur commanded the Un Army in the Christmas Offensive, and the next day the Volunteers launched the second campaign of the Invasion of Korea.
During this period, there were many familiar events, such as the Battle of Chosin Lake, the Battle of Shuimen Bridge, and the sacrifice of the martyrs of Mao Anying.
The second campaign ended on 24 December, and almost all the U.N. troops were driven south of the 38th Parallel, and instead of achieving the strategic objectives of the U.S. side, they withdrew the front south, which almost broke MacArthur's mentality.
Battle of Chosin Lake
He urgently called the Joint Chiefs of Staff that the Chinese army's combat goal was to completely annihilate the United Nations army, and his troops could no longer cope with the "new war" with full force.
The best way to divert internal contradictions is to transfer the flames of war to another battlefield. So he decided to make a public statement in an attempt to use public opinion to exert pressure on the U.S. government to allow him to expand the scale of the war even further.
Because the current situation was unfavorable to the United States, MacArthur's opinions began to be considered by the American decision-making level, and Truman once publicly expressed that he was "actively considering the use of atomic bombs", but later gave up because of the opposition of allies from Europe.
After many meetings and consultations, the decision-making level of the US government finally reached an agreement on the issue of the Korean War: "The United States does not need or have the possibility of reunifying Korea by force, and the goal of the war is to achieve a stable situation on the Korean Peninsula." ”
Korean Battlefield
MacArthur, however, was adamantly opposed to abandoning the goal of reunifying Korea by force.
On March 24, 1951, he issued a statement saying that the U.S. decision-making hierarchy was "very weak" and that its military defeat was due to the government's constraints, and that if military operations were allowed to expand beyond North Korea, China could "immediately collapse militarily."
To that end, he said, he would not hesitate to "have an all-out war with China and even the Soviet Union." ”
It's crazy. The United States had intended only to intervene militarily on the Korean Peninsula (a semi-aggressive war), and his intention to throw atomic bombs at China and bring the Soviet Union into battle would change the nature of the entire war, from military action to a war of aggression, invading Korea, China, and even the territory of the Soviet Union.
MacArthur
Soon after, he made remarks that he was "ready to throw 20 to 30 atomic bombs at China" and was removed from his post on the same day.
The US Government advocates the partialization of the war in order not to harm the strategic interests of the United States. Because the strategic focus of the United States has always been on Europe, during the Cold War, they have focused more on the Soviet Union, and the Asian part should not be the center of the Global Strategy of the United States.
And MacArthur was bent on going to war with China and the Soviet Union and escalating the war in an all-round way. It seemed, just to save face for him as Commander-in-Chief of the Allied forces.
However, some experts have analyzed that MacArthur is making political preparations for his future election as president of the United States.
Because there are still many militants in the United States, and the U.S. state apparatus operates in a military-industrial integration model, MacArthur hopes to use this move to increase political leverage and win the support of more voters.
MacArthur
As for some people who say that MacArthur was far-sighted and predicted in advance that China would become the biggest opponent of the United States in the future, this evaluation really overestimated MacArthur's political level.
At that time, the mainland had just been established for a year, and it was in ruins waiting to be rebuilt, and the gap with the Soviet Union was still very large, let alone comparable to the United States.
MacArthur had a huge grudge against the Red regime, and since the beginning of the Cold War, the ideological struggle around the world has never stopped.
The most important reason, of course, is the development and growth of socialist countries, which has shaken the dominance of the old capitalist countries in the West in the world and threatened their core interests.
MacArthur (second from right)
MacArthur's arrogance only unabashedly revealed the arrogant and empty-eyed side of US imperialism.
The U.S. government is not a fool. The significance of the Cold War was to encircle and suppress the emerging socialist countries (mainly against the Soviet Union and China) by all means other than war, and "hot war" was not a means, let alone an end.
If the atomic bomb had been thrown at China, as MacArthur had said, what was about to break out would not have been a mere Third World War, but a nuclear war that would have destroyed human society. In this way, it is not only the interests of the United States itself that are shaken, but the interests of all mankind that are destroyed.
This is something that Truman and the U.S. government cannot tolerate. As a result, MacArthur was removed.
MacArthur and Truman
From this incident, we can also see the importance of the mainland's independent development of atomic bombs
During the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, the us military's aircraft were able to frighten the volunteer soldiers who did not have air supremacy, not to mention that the other side had to come down from a high position with a nuclear bomb to provoke.
Fortunately, Chinese soldiers are not afraid of suffering and death, and with correct and appropriate strategies and tactics and a strong and indomitable will to fight, they have played a great power on the Korean battlefield and poured out the arrogance of US imperialism.
Many years later, with tenacious and hard work, he developed atomic bombs and hydrogen bombs and successfully tested them. Since then, no other country has dared to resort to nuclear deterrence against us. As an American soldier, MacArthur experienced a life of high and low. A young man, the peak of middle age, but in his later years he planted a big heel on the Korean battlefield.
In May 1951, at the age of 71, MacArthur gave a speech after being dismissed from his post by U.S. President Harry S. Truman, which ended with the famous phrase "Veterans don't die, they just wither away."
He had 50 years of practical military experience, and his last time he led a war of aggression was dragged down by his personality and political ability. Such an arrogant and stupid general, you do not wither who withers?
Resources
[1] Zhao Kai." Ending the War at Christmas": The Capital Behind MacArthur's "Arrogance"[J].National Humanities and History, 2021-19(036-045).
Huang Limin. Why the legendary general MacArthur was suddenly dismissed[J].Love Marriage and Family (Influential People), 2011-06(018-019).
Wang Zuning. MacArthur's Fatal Mistake in the Korean Battlefield in the Coldest Winter[J].Science Grand View Garden, 2010-23(048-049).
Qiu Shilin. A Brief Analysis of MacArthur and the U.S. Government's Strategic Analysis of the Korean War[J].Journal of Shandong Normal University (Humanities and Social Sciences Edition), 2010-06(113-116).
Li Qingshan. Pinnacle Showdown: Peng Dehuai gives MacArthur a fatal blow[J].Lantai Inside and Outside, 2010-02(046-047).