He said: The United States should not only look at the local interests of the Korean Peninsula, but ignore the interests of the United States in global strategy. If Truman approves Bald Chiang to send troops, it may anger China, which has a large population, and trigger a new war.
At that time, the United States will have to deal with wars in two regions at the same time while being far away from home.
Acheson also cited an ancient Chinese proverb - He who chases two rabbits will rarely find one rabbit to explain his reasons for opposing Bald Chiang's participation in the war.
Acheson's view was quite reasonable, and Truman decided to put aside the controversy and discuss it next time.
There has been no result on Truman's part.
However, after MacArthur, who was inspecting South Korea, saw the tragic situation of the South Korean army, he sent another telegram to urge Truman to agree to arrange for Chiang Kai-shek's troops to enter Korea as soon as possible. However, Acheson withheld MacArthur's telegram without authorization.
Two diametrically opposed views emerged in the American military and political circles. Truman was in a dilemma. For this reason, he summoned Gu Weijun and Hu Shi to the White House to listen to their opinions.
Soon after, MacArthur sent another telegram to urge him, and sent his Air Force Chief of Staff Vandenberg to personally rush back to Washington to state his opinions to Truman.
Truman then convened another meeting to study whether to approve Chiang's military entry into the DPRK.
U.S. military representatives headed by Johnson, Bradley and Collins all agreed to use Chiang Kai-shek's 52nd Army. They believed that this would not only stabilize the war situation as quickly as possible, but also reduce U.S. military casualties and enable U.S. ground forces to respond in emergencies.
Use it to other more important places - Europe.
However, Acheson remained firmly opposed.
Acheson said: "If Bald Chiang's troops march into North Korea to attack the North Korean Communist Army, there is no doubt that the Chinese Communist Party will redouble its counterattack. In that case, the Korean War will soon expand, and the development of the situation will inevitably be difficult to control.
, as a result, not only will the United States be deeply trapped, but it will also scare our allies away."
"This involves worldwide impacts, and we must consider the possibility that this move will polarize countries in the United Nations that share our position, leading to the isolation of the United States."
"The Commonwealth countries may be completely unable to accept the idea of their own troops fighting side by side with Chiang Kai-shek's troops. Our country's leadership in the Far East is being seriously weakened by the United Nations, so we must be cautious to avoid splitting our alliance within the organization."
Under Acheson's firm opposition, Truman finally decided not to let Chiang's army go to war.
After the news reached Tokyo, MacArthur was greatly dissatisfied. U.S. Secretary of Defense Johnson announced his resignation. For a time, Acheson became the focus of criticism from the U.S. Congress and the American public.
Baldy Chiang, who was entrenched on the isolated island, was also very angry about this. He scolded the Truman administration in front of everyone for repeating Chamberlain's tactics, and said that sooner or later they would pay the price for their stupid actions.
Although MacArthur was dissatisfied, he had no choice but to integrate existing forces and prepare for battle.
Shortly after this incident, some quarters mistakenly attempted to introduce additional reasons as to why Baldy Chiang's offer of support had not been accepted.
Some untrue remarks claim that the value of Chiang Kai-shek's troops is questionable because they are not only overage and poorly trained, but also have worrying loyalty. They may defect when they first come into contact with the Chinese army.
MacArthur had the opportunity to inspect Chiang Kai-shek's army during his visit to Taiwan, and left a clear impression.
That is, they are well-equipped, well-trained, and have an overall quality that is comparable to that of Chinese soldiers. They all voluntarily joined the Chiang Kai-shek Army, so they are naturally trustworthy and will undoubtedly be a force of tigers and wolves in battle.
All member governments of the United Nations refused to use these self-volunteer fresh troops provided by Chiang Kai-shek, and no other parties provided sizable reinforcements in the short term.
MacArthur had no choice but to curse those bastards in Washington in his heart.
However, what made him even more angry was that he allowed the Eighth Army to stabilize a position in central Korea, and the enemy's supply line capabilities gradually deteriorated, which had a fatal impact on it.
Walker's skilful retreat was so rapid that many ignorant reporters described the troops as running for their lives in a panic. Nothing could be further from the truth. The troops were well organized, with close coordination between units, and their morale was high and in good condition.
After completing the task of covering Walker's right flank from being encircled by the enemy, the Tenth Army followed MacArthur's instructions and retreated by sea to join the Eighth Army in Pusan.
The 1st Marine Division and the 2nd and 7th Infantry Divisions under Almond successfully blocked the three Chinese armies. The evacuation of Xingnan was a classic example.
This action was achieved by the unparalleled coordination of the land, sea and air forces. MacArthur also received many congratulatory messages from home for his retreat in the second battle.
There are those of President Truman, Secretary of War Pace, Chief of Staff of the Army Collins, and Secretary of Naval Operations Sherman.
Almond wrote in his report on December 24: “The Tenth Army successfully evacuated Xingnan through air and sea transport, along with 350,000 tons of supplies and equipment, leaving the enemy completely empty. Including
105,000 soldiers, including the South Korean army, and about 100,000 refugees successfully evacuated to safe points in South Korea."
"Any buildings that may have been used for military purposes by the enemy have been destroyed. The enemy tried to interfere with our military's operations and paid a heavy price for this."
"Relatively speaking, our army's losses were relatively light."
Looking at the report written by Almond, MacArthur, who was standing on the deck, looked lighter. He believed that his troops had lifted their feet to break away from the Communist army, escaped from danger, and successfully saved 100,000 lives.
He lived up to the soldiers' trust in him.
This chapter is not over, please click on the next page to continue reading! This is a great comfort to MacArthur, who has suffered consecutive defeats.
Until now, the basic policies and decisions that have bound the United Nations forces in fighting the North Korean army are still valid. However, the situation has changed dramatically, and this is no longer a simple war.
It's a whole new war.
MacArthur returned to his residence and wrote on paper: "What we are facing is China's almost unlimited military potential. After half a century of war, their potential scares me. At the moment, I not only need more
More troops, more equipment and more supplies also require precise policies to adapt to the new situation. However, Washington is once again hesitant and does not know what to do."
As he wrote this, he was very worried.
If he fails in this war, it will directly affect his reputation in the country.
The telegram sent to MacArthur by the Joint Chiefs of Staff made him even more worried:
"From various assessments, if China decides to expel the United Nations troops from the Korean Peninsula, they have the ability to do so. All we can do is to make the enemy pay a high price for every step forward. Maybe the enemy will
So give up.”
"Another option is to massively increase the number of U.N. troops on the Korean battlefield, but this will seriously endanger other missions, including Japan's defense. It is unrealistic to obtain sizable reinforcements from other U.N. member states. I think North Korea
It’s not the place for a big battlefield.”
"With the threat of a full-scale war becoming increasingly closer, it is even more important to avoid using the only remaining available ground forces to confront the Chinese army on the Korean peninsula."
Seeing this, MacArthur's heart was already lifted.
He knew very well that the United States valued the interests of Europe more than the interests of the Far East.
At present, the Soviet Union has not participated in the war. If China alone forces them to increase their investment in troops, the next situation will become more difficult.
Especially now that the Soviet Union's focus is on Europe, while they increase their military strength, they will weaken their garrisons in other places.
If the Soviet Union loses the control of the United States, they will become more unscrupulous in Europe.
This may be a situation that the Soviet Union wants to see, but it is definitely not a situation that the United States wants to see.
"However, if we can successfully resist the aggression of China and North Korea on the Korean Peninsula with relatively small losses, thereby weakening China's military and political prestige on the Korean Peninsula, it will be of great significance to our country's national interests."
"In view of the current situation, the basic instructions given to you before need to be adjusted. Now you should consider that Japan will also be threatened, implement echelon defense in some positions, and at the same time determine an appropriate opportunity in advance so that our army can finally
Orderly evacuation.”
"We all agree that if you retreat from the defense line roughly east of Jinjiang River to a position near the river, and the Chinese Communist Party launches a massive attack there with enough momentum to drive the United Nations troops out of the Korean Peninsula, you must be ordered to retreat to Japan.
In view of the above situation, we will be forced to make the decision to withdraw our troops!"
"Especially considering that you continue to fulfill your primary mission of defending Japan, and only Eighth Army troops are available, we need to know your opinion."
Turn over the back.
Gone.
MacArthur dropped the message.
This cable has shown that the authorities have lost all will to win on the Korean issue. President Truman was determined to liberate this threatened land and reunite it.
However, the original determination to be unyielding has almost turned into surrender.
Washington's planning was not focused on how to fight back, but on finding the best way to escape.
The authorities have not considered the issue of reinforcements, or even the question of whether to use Chiang Kai-shek's army, and have not given any solution. Washington has only unrealistically placed hope that these forces have already fought and won a battle, and are now engaged in another large-scale war.
In many wars, soldiers have struggled to support themselves.
It was impossible to expect these soldiers to perform miracles, MacArthur believed.
After these two battles, he had already seen that the gap between their soldiers and Chinese soldiers was very large.
The most incredible thing is that the Eighth Army was already overwhelmed by the Chinese army with huge military superiority, and Washington still wanted to count on the Eighth Army to shoulder the additional burden of Japan's defense when the Soviet Union intervened.
MacArthur really wanted to split the heads of those politicians in Washington to see if there was any brain inside.
When he called back to Washington, saying that everything was going well on the Korean battlefield, it was just a matter of saving his own face.
Otherwise, the media will publicize and add fuel to the fire, and the public opinion storm may affect his influence in the United States. Washington doesn't understand. Does it mean that he must speak clearly?
What's more, MacArthur never considered that Korea would end in defeat.
A newly established country has a weak industrial foundation and backward weapons and equipment. Even the aircraft are antiques from the last century, not to mention their powerful ships and guns. It is not an exaggeration to say that they are just a bunch of fishing boats.
How could this war be lost!
MacArthur always believed that if Washington's restrictions on him could be lifted and he could unleash all his military strength, he would not only be able to save South Korea, but also deal a devastating blow to the newly established country and completely destroy it to launch a war of aggression.
capabilities so that it will not pose a threat to peace in Asia for generations to come.
He even thought arrogantly.
Turn this newly formed country into Japan.
In response to the telegram sent to him by the Joint Chiefs of Staff, MacArthur thought about it all night and responded to the issue of North Korean troop withdrawal.
"Based on the current situation, we have clearly seen that all of China's military resources and its logistical support from the Soviet Union have been used to the greatest extent against the United Nations forces. For this reason, a large number of Chinese troops have gathered in the northeastern region of the China-North Korea border.
, this will lead to the gradual loss of defense in certain areas of China due to the deployment of troops to support operations in North Korea."
"At the same time, under the current restrictions, our naval and air forces have only been partially utilized."
"The huge potential of the Chiang Kai-shek army in Taiwan and the guerrilla activities that still exist in China have also been ignored. Various situations show that the advantage lies with us, and China's power only reaches its peak in the initial period of time. When the spring of the next year begins, the ice and snow melt.
, our army’s mechanized troops will have powerful assault capabilities.”
MacArthur proposed several targeted actions.
(1) Blockade China’s coastal areas.
(2) Use naval artillery or air force bombing to destroy China’s industrial production capabilities for war.
(3) If we are determined to continue fighting for this peninsula, we must mobilize Taiwan and Chiang Kai-shek garrison reinforcements to enhance our military presence in North Korea.
(4) Lift the existing restrictions imposed on Taiwan’s garrison forces and allow them to carry out diversionary activities, and perhaps counterattack areas where China’s defenses are weak!
"I believe that as long as the above measures are taken, China's ability to launch aggressive wars can be seriously paralyzed and basically eliminated, and Asia will be saved from being engulfed! And I think that achieving this only requires the use of a small part of the overall military strength of our military."
"There is no doubt that this action can immediately relieve the pressure on our military in North Korea. At that time, we can decide whether to continue fighting in the area or make strategic mobilization of troops, thereby strengthening our defense on the coastal island chain!"
MacArthur wrote a lot, including his thoughts on the Korean War, and sent them to the chiefs of staff liaison meeting, and then waited for a reply.