On the night of October 19, 1950, in Tokyo, Japan, the headquarters of the "United Nations Forces" was brightly lit. At this time, Tokyo had not fully recovered its pre-war appearance, and there were only a few lights in the dark night, and only the light of the headquarters illuminated the silent night sky.
In the spacious war room, a man with a pipe stands in front of a map of North Korea, his eyes gradually falling on one place: Pyongyang, his eyes gradually revealing greed and ferocity.
A short time later, a soldier trotted into the war room, holding a telegram that had just been delivered. After saluting the man, he immediately read aloud: "Report to the commander, the 1st Cavalry Division has captured Pyongyang today!"
Hearing this, the man could no longer contain his joy, laughed loudly at the map, and took a glass of whiskey on the table and drank it down.
He was the commander-in-chief of the "United Nations Forces" MacArthur, and he had personally planned the Inchon landing a month earlier, and as a result, the 1st U.S. Cavalry Division had occupied Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea, in a month.
He fantasizes about his triumphant return to China after taking North Korea, and maybe he will succeed in running for president because of this, and he will become famous......
Inadvertently, he glanced at a corner of a pile of documents on the table, which was an intelligence analysis of "China may send troops to North Korea", but MacArthur, who was immersed in the joy of victory, did not pay too much attention to these details, the current victory is the most celebrated, it seems that tonight is another sleepless night of carnival.
Many years later, MacArthur, who was already dying, recalled this scene, and at this time he had no waves in his heart, and he confessed: "At that time, at the beginning, I prayed day and night, hoping that China would enter the ......war as soon as possible."
Why did MacArthur think this way? What good would it do him if China entered the war at an early date?
MacArthur's Inflation
In June 1950, the Korean Civil War broke out. South Korea is an independent country with the support of the United States, and its strategic location is extremely important, so the United States will naturally not sit idly by and watch South Korea be annexed by North Korea.
The actual situation at that time was that the Korean People's Army was devastating all the way and quickly routed the South Korean army.
Faced with this crisis situation, US President Harry S. Truman quickly issued a statement ordering the US military to provide cover and support to Syngman Rhee's army, and to mobilize the Seventh Fleet to the Taiwan Strait to prevent the PLA from liberating Taiwan and preparing for armed intervention in the Korean civil war.
In the early days of the Korean Civil War, the Korean People's Army had a very obvious advantage, and in the two months after the war began, the Korean People's Army successively launched the Seoul Campaign, the Suwon Campaign, and the Daejeon Campaign, which defeated the US and South Korean armies. The Korean People's Army was in full swing, liberating more than 90 percent of South Korea's land in one fell swoop, and Syngman Rhee's army and American troops were almost driven out into the sea.
At that time, the U.S. Army and Syngman Rhee's army were besieged in Busan, and the port of Busan was the last bastion of the U.S. and South Korean forces. MacArthur, who was in Japan at this time, was officially appointed commander-in-chief of the "United Nations Forces" and planned to send troops directly to the Korean Peninsula.
MacArthur calculated that if he sent troops directly to Busan, even if he could relieve the trapped American and South Korean troops, he would have to pay a great price.
With this in mind, MacArthur instantly thought of a bold idea, that is, to launch a large-scale amphibious landing war behind the back of the Korean People's Army with the superiority of the United States in land, sea and air.
Landing warfare was MacArthur's master's skill, and as early as World War II, MacArthur commanded many successful landing battles and achieved good results.
MacArthur believed that in the war situation at that time, Inchon was the most suitable location for landing operations, because it was relatively close to Seoul, and the "United Nations Army" would directly take Seoul after landing from here, so that it would not only be able to win a fixed stronghold for the coalition forces, but would also deal a huge blow to the Korean People's Army.
More importantly, Inchon is located in the middle of the Korean Peninsula, and landing from here can directly cut off the supply lines of the Korean People's Army, which will bring great psychological pressure to the Korean People's Army.
MacArthur's operational deployment was quickly approved by the US Congress and President Harry Truman, and various units of the "United Nations Forces" quickly drew up specific operational arrangements.
On September 14, 1950, the Incheon landings officially began.
Naturally, the results were very good, and everything was as MacArthur had expected, and the "United Nations Army" took the Korean People's Army by surprise, and the situation of the Korean war was reversed in an instant.
In the face of such a great victory, MacArthur was in fact inflated, and he ordered the "United Nations Army" to encircle and annihilate the North Korean troops in the south of the 38th Parallel, and then immediately advance to the 38th Parallel.
It was at this time that China issued a solemn warning to the United States that it was "not allowed to cross the 38th parallel."
MacArthur was now basking in the joy of victory, ignoring China's warnings.
In fact, speculations and rehearsals about whether China and even the Soviet Union would send troops to North Korea have been repeatedly studied in the United States and even in the Frontline Operations Department, but they finally believe that although China will send troops, the number of troops will never be too large, and it will not change the situation on the battlefield.
MacArthur was even more contemptuous and arrogant, after all, he had personally visited Taiwan not long before to meet Chiang Kai-shek.
In his impression, the Chinese army was roughly similar to Chiang Kai-shek's Kuomintang army, with lax armament, backward equipment, and low combat effectiveness, as evidenced by the fact that the Seventh Fleet had entered the Taiwan Strait, and that the mainland had not taken any further action against Taiwan.
Moreover, at that time, the United States was providing military support to Chiang Kai-shek in Taiwan to support his counterattack on the mainland, and in order to deal with Chiang Kai-shek, the mainland would have to choose between national reunification and sending troops to Korea.
Although he did not think that China would send troops to North Korea, he prayed day and night that China would send troops as soon as possible.
After the Inchon landing, the "United Nations Army" captured Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea, in less than a month.
At this time, the "United Nations Army" was in full swing, and the smooth progress of the war situation also made MacArthur complacent.
MacArthur was a fanatical and belligerent anti-communist who wanted to expand the war to a full-scale war, and was even prepared to fight the Soviets in Korea after the Soviets sent troops.
Therefore, he wanted to see the arrival of the Chinese army, and he wanted to completely defeat the Chinese army on the Korean battlefield in order to establish his supreme feat.
In stark contrast to MacArthur's arrogance, there was the cautiousness of the Chinese leadership, and the fact that China's military presence in Korea had been studied many times and finally made a great deal of determination.
China sends troops to North Korea
As early as when the Korean People's Army was smashing a blow at the South Korean puppet army, China was already paying close attention to the Korean war situation, and Chairman Mao and other party Central leaders analyzed the map of the DPRK day and night, and closely followed the movements of the US military in light of the situation at that time.
Just as the Korean People's Army was compressing the US and South Korean troops to the area around the port of Busan, Chairman Mao made a judgment: The United States might carry out a landing operation in the Inchon area to completely turn the tide of the war. This judgment was then telegraphed to Kim Il Sung.
It's just that the Korean People's Army was fighting on the front line at that time, and the front line was too long, so it was impossible to focus on Incheon for a while.
Soon after, the landing at Inchon was successful, and the situation faced by the KPA took a sharp turn for the worse.
In the face of the possible bad consequences, Chairman Mao made two preparations: First, he warned the "United Nations Army" by diplomatic means that it was not allowed to cross the 38th parallel, otherwise China would definitely intervene; on the other hand, he transferred the 13 th Corps to the northeast of Kaifu from the Central South Military Region to form a northeast frontier army to deal with a possible crisis in the Korean war.
The situation on the battlefield in Korea is already very critical, and the central authorities need to make an early decision on whether or not to send troops to help the DPRK.
At that time, the domestic situation was not optimistic; although the Kuomintang had already retreated to Taiwan, the mainland had not yet been completely liberated, and a large number of enemy elements and bandits had colluded with each other to deliberately sabotage the nascent people's political power; the country's economic construction had just begun, and the use of troops abroad would bring a heavy burden to the economy.
Just as Chairman Mao said to Mr. Peng: "Comrade Dehuai, this determination of mine is not easy! As soon as the three armies are ordered to be dispatched, it will affect the lives of hundreds of thousands of people, and people's lives are at stake! If you fight well, there is nothing to say, and if you fight badly, you will endanger the political situation and even lose the country, then Mao Zedong will not be able to explain to history and the people!"
But even so, in the face of the aggressiveness of the United States, Chairman Mao still made a painful decision: to resist US aggression and aid Korea, and to defend the country.
Chairman Mao also knew very well that China's weapons and equipment were not as good as those of the US military, and that China had no planes and tanks, while the United States was an all-mechanized army, and the pressure to fight was very high.
In order to reduce the casualties of the volunteers, Chairman Mao specially instructed Premier Zhou to seek help from the Soviet Union.
The Soviet Union supported China's dispatch of troops to Korea, and at the beginning of the Korean Civil War, it was made clear that if China sent troops, the Soviet Union would be responsible for providing weapons and air cover for the volunteers.
However, when it was time to really send troops, the Soviet Union informed Premier Zhou through the Chinese Embassy in the Soviet Union that the Soviet Union had originally planned to send air force units to cooperate with the Chinese army into North Korea, but the air force was not prepared for the time being.
This is a life-threatening matter for China, and without the cover of the Soviet Air Force, the Chinese volunteers will become a live target for the US military on the ground. In order to enlist the help of the Soviet Union, Premier Zhou personally went to Moscow to communicate with Stalin.
Even so, however, Stalin did not agree to provide air support to the Volunteers. Just when Premier Zhou was at a loss, Chairman Mao sent a telegram from Beijing, which was very long, and the summary was: We must enter the war, with or without the help of the Soviet Union, we must enter the war.
Premier Zhou stared at the telegram, amazed and excited. He can imagine that Chairman Mao must have gone through a very big ideological struggle in making such a decision, and Chairman Mao's courage and courage made him admire him very much.
On October 19, 1950, the volunteers crossed the Yalu River and embarked on the journey of resisting US aggression and aiding Korea and defending the country. At this time, MacArthur did not know what kind of heavy price the "United Nations Army" would pay because of his arrogance.
MacArthur's miscalculation
On the question of whether and how many troops China will send troops, the US intelligence services and even US President Harry S. Truman were very concerned about the beginning of the war.
On October 15, 1950, Truman flew more than 4,000 kilometers to Wake Island to meet with MacArthur and asked him in person whether China would send troops.
And MacArthur replied with great confidence: "Absolutely not." ”
MacArthur believed that the best time for China to send troops was when the American troops were trapped in Pusan or Inchon landing, and now that the front line had almost been pushed to the Yalu River, it was extremely unfavorable for China to send troops at this time, and no commander would choose to fight the American troops at such a time.
Compared with MacArthur's blind self-confidence, Willoughby, the head of intelligence at the "United Nations" command, was obviously much more sober. The day before MacArthur met with Truman, Willoughby received the Air Force's reconnaissance report on China's northeast region, which showed that China had concentrated 38 divisions in the northeast.
However, at this critical juncture, the blind worship of MacArthur prevailed over Willoughby's reason, and he firmly believed MacArthur's judgment that the Chinese army would not intervene on a large scale.
On the day that the "United Nations Army" captured Pyongyang, the first batch of 260,000 volunteers had already left for North Korea.
In order to avoid the detection of the US Air Force, the volunteers marched day and night, and removed all the identification marks that might reveal their identities on their coats in advance, and quietly approached the defense line of the "United Nations Army".
Six days after the volunteers entered Korea, Mr. Peng's pre-war deployment was already in place, and the first battle to resist US aggression and aid Korea officially began. During the first six days of the first battle, the Volunteers mainly dealt a head-on blow to the South Korean army, and spread the battle line along the lines of Gujunyeong-dong, Tadong, Unsan, Onjeong, and Heecheon.
At this time, the South Korean 6th and 8th Divisions were almost devastated, but after the information was transmitted to the United Nations Headquarters, Willoughby's analysis finally came to the conclusion that most of the Chinese troops participating in the war were small units below the regimental level, and in his report to MacArthur, Willoughby specifically mentioned that "there is no conclusive evidence of the Chinese army's entry into Korea."
Soon after, China issued a statement to resist US aggression and aid Korea, and the US Pentagon sent an urgent telegram to MacArthur: "I suspect that the Chinese army has officially entered the war, and I would like to hear your opinion." ”
But MacArthur replied, "It's too early to draw conclusions." ”
It was not until the end of the first battle, when MacArthur looked at the astonishing losses in front of him, that he suddenly realized that the Chinese army had entered the war. However, he blindly believed that the Chinese army entered Korea only to defend the Yalu River, and would not take large-scale battles.
As it turned out, MacArthur had misjudged again.
Soon after, the second battle began, and the "United Nations Army" was forced to abandon Pyongyang, Wonsan and other important cities under the powerful offensive of the Volunteer Army, and retreated all the way to the south of the 38th parallel.
At this time, MacArthur regretted it too late.
MacArthur was a brilliant military strategist, but he lacked sufficient political vision.
In the face of the surging volunteer army, he actually tried to expand the Korean War, which conflicted with Truman's theory of "limited war".
On April 11, 1951, MacArthur was removed from his post as commander-in-chief of the "United Nations Forces".
His blind self-confidence not only cost the US military a great price, but even he himself had to be held responsible.