On April 10, 1951, the U.S. army in the Korean battlefield was engaged in a fierce exchange of fire with our volunteers, and MacArthur, then the commander-in-chief of the U.S. army in the Far East, was commanding the U.S. military operation in Japan. However, after he heard a news broadcast report, he was stunned, and the headquarters that had been receiving the message and was slightly noisy suddenly fell silent.
It turned out that this news report was published by the U.S. government, and its content was that U.S. President Harry Truman had dismissed MacArthur, the commander-in-chief of the Far East, from all his duties. After hearing the news reports, MacArthur could not believe that his military career had ended in such a bad way.
MacArthur was removed from office for a number of reasons, but the most important of them was MacArthur's preparation for the use of atomic bombs in the Korean battlefield, which completely violated the strategic concept of the United States, so the U.S. government decided to remove MacArthur from office.
At the beginning of the war, the United States has always stated that it will use atomic bombs against China, but Chairman Mao has dismissed the clamor of the United States, directly pointing out that the United States cannot use atomic bombs, and also explaining the weakness of the United States on the Korean battlefield.
So what was U.S. President Harry Truman's reaction to MacArthur's idea of using the atomic bomb? What are the shortcomings of the United States that Chairman Mao mentioned?
In the early days of the United States' involvement in the Korean battlefield, the United States did not have the idea of using atomic bombs on the Korean battlefield, believing that the North Korean army could be completely eliminated with the strength of the American forces. But as the war continued, the United States saw that China also had the idea of sending troops, so it began to discuss the possibility of using atomic bombs on the Korean battlefield internally, and Truman began to publicly issue nuclear warnings to China.
In November 1950, Truman said in an interview with reporters: "All necessary measures will be taken to deal with the military situation." Asked by reporters if they would use atomic bombs, Truman replied, "The atomic bomb is one of our weapons, and we will use all weapons when necessary." At the same time, when asked by reporters whether the use of atomic bombs was used against military or civilian targets, Truman replied that it depended on the decision of the military commander on the battlefield.
This is the first time a U.S. president has publicly declared that the United States is considering the use of atomic bombs against China on the Korean battlefield, and hinted that macArthur will decide when to use atomic bombs.
After hearing Truman's remarks at the news conference, MacArthur was greatly encouraged. He asked the U.S. Chief of Staff joint assembly to give him the authority to use the atomic bomb, and he provided the U.S. government with a list of 26 military bases and industrial centers, including North Korea and China, in the hope that the U.S. government would agree to nuclear strikes against those targets.
However, the US government headed by Truman does not intend to start an all-out war with China, and although Truman is also hostile to China, he always believes that the war with China should be limited to a certain range, and a full-scale war should not break out, and the United States should now focus on Europe, and cannot change the general strategic direction because of a small-scale war with China. As a result, MacArthur's proposal was shelved.
After the outbreak of the Korean War, the situation on the Korean battlefield became the most concerned issue between China and the United States. After China decided to send troops, it launched a direct confrontation with the U.S. military on the Korean battlefield.
MacArthur never expected that the Christmas offensive he had formulated would become a big joke when facing the Chinese army. The fighting was expected to end before Christmas, but after fighting with the Chinese Volunteers, more than 36,000 casualties were suffered in just one month, including more than 24,000 American casualties, and MacArthur was also disgraced.
A series of failures further annoyed MacArthur, who believed that the defeat on the Korean battlefield was ultimately due to the restrictions imposed on him by the United States government, and he again proposed to the United States government that B-29 bombers be sent to carry atomic bombs, bomb airfields and other military targets in northeast China, and also drop atomic bombs on the border between China and North Korea, forming a radiation belt to completely cut off the passage between China and North Korea.
At the same time, MacArthur also proposed to spread the war into China and send troops to attack China, even if the Soviet Union sent troops.
But before the U.S. government could agree to this demand, the U.S. allies could not sit still, and Attlee, then British Prime Minister, personally called Truman to show that Britain was firmly opposed to the use of atomic bombs by the United States against China and North Korea, and the leaders of France, the Netherlands, and other countries also called Truman to express their strong dissatisfaction.
The Reaction of European Countries was so drastic because the United States also deployed B-29 bombers in Europe, and once the United States launched a nuclear war, then the Soviet Union was likely to carry out nuclear strikes against these military facilities, so in order not to carry the black pot for the United States, European countries could only vigorously stop the idea of the United States using atomic bombs.
In this case, Truman made a declaration that he would not use the atomic bomb, but secretly ordered that the atomic bomb be dismantled and dismantled to the Far East, and installed on an aircraft carrier ready for a nuclear strike on the Korean area.
Faced with the atomic bomb threats of MacArthur and Truman, the North Korean leadership could not sit still. Kim Il Sung secretly flew to Beijing to meet Chairman Mao and discuss countermeasures for the Korean battlefield.
In fact, Chairman Mao was already prepared for the threat of the AMERICAN atomic bomb.
At the meeting of the Politburo of the Central Committee held on August 4, 1950, Chairman Mao said on the Korean issue: "After the war starts, there are short fights, there are long fights, and there are big fights, and the United States wants to fight the atomic bomb, we don't have this, we still want to fight grenades, but we must also be prepared in the face of the atomic bomb." ”
At a subsequent meeting of the Government Committee, Chairman Mao pointed out the strengths and weaknesses of the United States:
The United States also has many difficulties, internal opinions are not unified, and there are some countries outside that oppose it. They have only one strength in the military, that is, they have more steel, and I can't compare with the country in steel. But they still have three shortcomings: First, the front line is too long, they must not only defend the Soviet Union in Germany, but also fight with us in Korea, and such a long front will also affect the United States. Second, the transport lines are too far, the United States is too far to North Korea, and their supplies and troops are not so easy. Third, the combat effectiveness of American soldiers is too weak, and they are inferior to German and Japanese soldiers, so the United States is not invincible.
Then Chairman Mao also said: "China is used to fighting wars, if the United States wants to fight atomic bombs, then let him fight, he hits him, we hit us, the United States hits the atomic bomb, we will hit grenades, seize the weakness, follow him, and finally defeat him." ”
Chairman Mao's words can be described as whipping them into the ground, pointing out to the point the weaknesses and advantages of our army and the US army, which has also greatly encouraged the commanders and fighters who are about to enter the DPRK and participated in the war, giving them sufficient confidence.
At the same time, Chairman Mao also pointed out that war is dominated by people, and no matter how good weapons are, they are also auxiliary tools for people, and we cannot rely on inferior weapons to defeat them because we do not have good weapons, and when we have atomic bombs, we must fear them, rely on the people, and we can rely on inferior weapons to defeat them.
After Kim Il Sung arrived in Beijing, he met with Chairman Mao and spoke out about the Concerns of the United States about the use of the atomic bomb. Chairman Mao looked indifferent and said to Kim Il Sung: "Don't be afraid, they are just scaring us, we don't eat this set." At the same time, Chairman Mao also pointed out: "The United States does not want to fight a nuclear war at all, the Soviet Union already has atomic bombs, and will not be afraid of their threat." And the countries of Europe will not agree to a big war by the United States, unless the United States is confident that it can defeat the whole world with one country. ”
And the truth is that, as Chairman Mao said, the United States does not want or have the ability to start an all-out war at all, but MacArthur, the commander of the front line, does not think so.
MacArthur always believed that as long as he could win, it was worth paying any price, and in order to defeat China, he was even willing to risk causing a world war, which made MacArthur have a fundamental contradiction with U.S. President Harry S. Truman in terms of strategic concept.
At the same time, due to his achievements in World War II, MacArthur was on his toes in front of everyone, even in the face of Truman. In the face of some policies that are not to his liking, he not only disagrees, but also openly contradicts the US government, and even threatens that the president must accept his opinion. In the face of MacArthur's evil deeds, Truman was already furious, and he repeatedly tolerated him after considering many factors.
In March 1951, Truman decided to settle the dispute on the Korean Peninsula by means of peace talks, and demanded that MacArthur exercise restraint in his next actions to ensure that the peace talks could proceed smoothly.
But Truman's decision was completely inconsistent with MacArthur's vision, and he also wanted to drag more countries into the water so that he could show his fists on the battlefield and defeat China at the same time, adding another big deal to his record.
Instead of following President Truman's instructions, MacArthur replied the next day: "The government should not limit the powers of my commander-in-chief." ”
And he also made a completely opposite statement before Truman that month, without the consent of the U.S. government, which not only disrupted the U.S. government's wrong strategy, but also grossly ignored the president of the United States, which made Truman no longer tolerate MacArthur.
On April 10, 1951, Truman issued a statement at a press conference: "MacArthur could not wholeheartedly support the decisions of the United States Government and the United Nations on some issues, so he decided to remove MacArthur from all his duties and replace him with the commander-in-chief of the Far East." ”
It is worth mentioning that the US government originally planned to send the report of the dismissal to MacArthur before issuing the statement, but for some reasons, MacArthur did not receive the report in advance, but only after hearing the broadcast did not know that he had been removed, and he was also the first general in the history of the United States to receive the news of his dismissal on the radio.
After learning the news of MacArthur's dismissal, Chinese people were very excited, and Chairman Mao also said when talking about this matter: "MacArthur's downfall is a new victory in the struggle of the Chinese and DPRK people to resist the United States, and it is also a victory for the people of the world to resist us hegemonic aggression. ”
Ridgway, who succeeded MacArthur as commander-in-chief of the Far East, did not create any miracles on the Korean battlefield, and could only rely on the powerful firepower of the US military to stalemate with the volunteer army on the 38th parallel.
From the beginning of the U.S. entry into the Korean War, every time the U.S. military got into trouble, Truman would consider using atomic bombs to break the situation, and this idea continued until he left the White House. The nuclear threat against China also became one of the main means used by the Truman administration in the face of the North Korean issue.
Because Truman continued to lose the Korean battlefield during his presidency, Truman stepped down as President of the United States in 1953 and was succeeded by Eisenhower.
Chairman Mao also said at this year's political consultative conference: "We will not decide how long the Korean War will be fought, and we will not make a decision on this; in the past it was Truman and now it is Eisenhower, and no matter what president they are in the future, they will fight as long as they want, and we will accompany them to the end until they are completely victorious." Chairman Mao's words completely show that China is not afraid of the US nuclear threat, and as long as it wants to fight, China will persist in the struggle.
After the end of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea in 1953, China won a great victory. Faced with the powerful firepower of the United States and the threat of atomic bombs, the Chinese volunteer army fought bravely and successfully defeated the American aggressors by relying on the spirit of not being afraid of sacrifice.
In summing up the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, Chairman Mao said: "The imperialist aggressors should have understood that the Chinese people have stood up and that in the face of aggression, we will certainly fight and will fight to the end." Even the enemy is not afraid of the most powerful weapons, because our people are the bravest. ”