Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Shangganling

Chapter 600 Side Story: The Legend of General MacArthur

In late October 1950, the Chinese People's Volunteer Army quietly crossed the Yalu River and taught MacArthur a lesson.

After being thoroughly beaten, MacArthur was completely dumbfounded.

He couldn't understand why he had suffered such a crushing defeat.

At this point, MacArthur should have tried to come up with a solution.

As a result, he turned his attention to all his energy and devoted it to the tug-of-war with Washington.

MacArthur sent countless telegrams to Washington, making increasingly unreasonable demands each day.

At first, he simply asked for men and guns, but later he mobilized the entire army and launched a full-scale war.

The White House simply assessed MacArthur's request and decisively rejected the proposal, making it clear that it would not escalate the war in Korea.

Normally, most people would stop here.

But MacArthur was no ordinary man.

Outsiders might not understand Washington's little schemes, but MacArthur knew them perfectly well.

If MacArthur couldn't handle the Chinese People's Volunteers, how could he not handle Washington?

MacArthur then turned around and demanded that the scope of the war be expanded, including blockading the Chinese coast, bombing Chinese industrial areas, and sending troops from the Nationalist army.

They even sent a special telegram stating that without these, the US military in North Korea would be completely annihilated after a period of time.

This nearly drove high-ranking officials in Washington to their wits' end.

Once MacArthur sent this telegram, the blame was shifted to him.

In the future, whether the US military retreats or is defeated, MacArthur can produce a telegram and shift the blame onto them.

This led to a stalemate between the White House and the Pentagon.

Everyone knew MacArthur was playing dirty tricks, but they were powerless to stop him.

After all, MacArthur, who was basking in the glory of the Incheon Miracle, now enjoys the deep trust of the people.

It's quite possible that the White House and the Pentagon will actually have to take the blame for the defeat.

Just when Truman was in a difficult situation, the soldiers of the Southern Dynasty came to his aid.

A Confederate truck ran over and killed Walker, allowing Ridgway to take office.

Ridgway, who was unexpectedly appointed to the post, not only stabilized the situation but also won a series of victories.

He suddenly became Washington's savior.

Regardless of the casualties, the front line was constantly advancing, and that was enough for Washington.

However, while Washington was pleased, MacArthur was in trouble.

When Ridgway took office, MacArthur considered every possibility except that he would win.

Every step Ridgway takes now is like throwing MacArthur's face on the ground and stomping on it.

If he could, MacArthur would have loved to take back all the telegrams he had sent out.

However, the telegrams already in the archives are pieces of evidence.

Evidence proving MacArthur's incompetence.

At this point, the best course of action for MacArthur was to make a polite exit.

Even after leaving the military, with his status as a five-star general, he could still have a place in the Pentagon or the White House.

But as mentioned before, MacArthur was no ordinary man; he had experienced many storms, so this little setback was nothing to him.

In just one night, MacArthur devised a series of countermeasures.

The first step is to muddy the waters and claim victory for oneself.

In any case, MacArthur was the Commander-in-Chief of the United Nations forces. How could the victory not be attributed to him as the Commander-in-Chief?

On February 20, MacArthur took off from Tokyo, taking his first step.

Before February 20th, Ridgway was in a very good mood.

Since Ridgway took office, he has been looking for an opportunity to restore morale in the U.S. military.

At Dijianli, facing the all-out attack of the Chinese People's Volunteer Army, the US military successfully held out for two days.

Finally, reinforcements arrived, and the Chinese People's Volunteer Army withdrew.

This was of great significance to Ridgway and to the entire U.S. military.

This was the first time the Chinese People's Volunteer Army withdrew from the battle without achieving its strategic objectives.

This also means that the US military finally knows how to fight the Chinese People's Volunteer Army.

Of course, what made him happy was not just that the American soldiers in Dijon had survived.

Throughout February, the UN forces advanced quite smoothly northward.

Although it moved as slowly as a tortoise, at least it kept moving forward.

Moreover, apart from the 7th Infantry Division and the 2nd Infantry Division, which suffered casualties of a little over 100 million, the casualties of the other units were within expectations.

Although Ridgway did not know the situation of the Chinese People's Volunteer Army, he only needed to observe the progress of the battle lines to know that the US military now held an absolute advantage.

Ridgway decided to press his advantage.

At this crucial moment when the situation was extremely favorable, Ridgway personally devised an attack plan called "Operation Butcher".

This plan had been brewing since Ridgway took over as commander of the Eighth Army.

Therefore, Ridgway was shocked when MacArthur flew to North Korea on February 20 and held a press conference.

MacArthur announced to numerous cameras that he had just ordered the UN forces to resume their offensive.

Ridgway almost spat out a curse; it was clearly he who had submitted that plan.

It took all of Ridgway's self-control to refrain from jumping up and cursing on the spot.

To Ridgway's dismay, MacArthur once again became a fan of press conferences.

Whenever Ridgway reported the next offensive plan to MacArthur, he would fly to the Korean front immediately.

Of course, MacArthur wasn't there to comfort the soldiers on the front lines; he was there to hold a press conference.

At the press conference, MacArthur said nothing, but repeatedly recounted the victories the UN forces had achieved under his brilliant leadership and what kind of attacks they would launch.

After going back and forth like this a few times, Ridgway couldn't take it anymore.

Stealing credit is one thing, but MacArthur's actions were tantamount to leaking intelligence.

The whole world knows that MacArthur's arrival in Korea means that the US military is about to launch an attack.

Isn't this like holding a megaphone and alerting the enemy right next to their ear?
Left with no other choice, Ridgway had to bite the bullet and approach MacArthur after a press conference.

After a roundabout exchange, Ridgway tactfully offered MacArthur his suggestion.

Ridgway hoped MacArthur could come at a different time, or at least after the war was over.

MacArthur readily agreed to Ridgway's request.

After all, what MacArthur needs now is victory.

This relieved Ridgway.

And MacArthur kept his word, no longer keeping to the exact time, and flew to North Korea precisely the day before the attack was to be launched.

However, Ridgway was clearly relieved too soon.

MacArthur stopped holding press conferences on time, but instead began launching constant attacks in public.

He dismissively called Ridgway's tactic of advancing only a limited distance each day and quickly retreating when faced with strong resistance an accordion-like fighting style.

He also said that Ridgway had wasted his carefully planned offensive strategy.

This nearly made Ridgway die of anger on the spot.

In subsequent press conferences, Ridgway repeatedly emphasized the devastating defeats suffered by MacArthur's forces. However, regardless of Ridgway's explanations, MacArthur possessed years of experience as a troublemaker.

Thanks to MacArthur's efforts, the question of who deserved credit for the Korean War has become a difficult topic to discuss.

Having confirmed that the first step was complete, MacArthur immediately began his next step.

The Korean War must continue, at the very least until MacArthur finds another opportunity to whitewash his image, like the Inchon Landing.

Of course, it would be even better if we could find an opportunity to escalate the scale of the Korean War.

As for how many Americans would die if the war escalated, MacArthur said he didn't care at all.

In any case, it wasn't him who died.

In the following month, the Chinese People's Volunteer Army adopted a mobile defense strategy.

After completing their mission of inflicting casualties and delaying enemy advances on the front lines, the Chinese People's Volunteer Army would withdraw on its own initiative, which allowed the US forces to advance slowly.

After a month of fighting, the U.S. military, at the cost of over 10,000 Confederate casualties, successfully pushed the front line back to the 38th parallel.

At this point, the US government was already eager to end the war.

After being inexplicably dragged into a war in the godforsaken land of North Korea, the US military gained nothing but humiliation and no benefit whatsoever.

The United States needs a stepping stone in East Asia, but it makes no difference whether that stepping stone is half of North Korea or the whole of North Korea.

Even if we continue fighting, what good will it do to reach the Yalu River? It will only make China risk its life to fight us.

If a full-scale war were to break out with China, regardless of the outcome, it would only allow Soviet Russia to reap huge benefits.

In Truman's view, the U.S. military may currently have some advantages, but this is not enough to completely defeat the Chinese People's Volunteer Army.

Now that the US military has returned to where the war began, it is the best time for a ceasefire.

MacArthur was furious when he learned that Washington intended to use diplomatic efforts to find an opportunity for peace talks.

He hasn't cleared his name yet, how can we stop the war now?
Of course, MacArthur also knew that simply opposing it would be useless.

If the Korean War is to continue, we need to use other means.

As a seasoned troublemaker, MacArthur might not be able to win battles, but when it comes to stirring up trouble, he's a master at it.

In late March, MacArthur flew to North Korea again and, at a press conference, issued a statement he called a 'military commentary'.

"China lacks an industrial base and cannot supply the essential materials necessary for modern warfare."

"They cannot supply the equipment necessary for ground combat, such as tanks, heavy artillery, and other new technological weapons."

"They even lacked the raw materials necessary to establish, maintain, and operate a regular navy and air force."

"Because of the huge difference in firepower, the difference in combat effectiveness between the two sides is very obvious."

"This huge gap cannot be overcome by courage or recklessness alone."

"If the UN forces change their decision to confine the war to Korea and extend their military operations to the Chinese coast, then China is in danger of military collapse."

This insulting statement has completely destroyed any remaining possibility of negotiations between the US and China.

Of course, China doesn't really care about this, after all, a dog that bites doesn't usually bark.

It was actually the Washington government that was furious about the statement.

Just before the statement was released, senior officials in Washington had been meeting for several days.

The theme of the meeting was how to facilitate peace talks between the two sides.

Therefore, everyone turned pale after seeing MacArthur's comments.

Truman even cursed on the spot.

This was not the first time MacArthur had defied the government's will, nor was it the second; Truman had lost count of how many times it had done so.

The following day, Truman convened another meeting with all senior officials.

Since the possibility of peace talks has disappeared, the only topic of this meeting is to discuss this matter.

How can MacArthur be removed from his post?

Almost all senior officials agreed to Truman's proposal.

If MacArthur could win the war, people would tolerate whatever he did.

But MacArthur is not only losing the war, he's also causing trouble for the government every day, so he can't be allowed to stay.

However, although everyone agreed to remove MacArthur from his post, it was not an easy task.

For most people, MacArthur was a renowned general who had just accomplished the Miracle of Inchon and had also achieved numerous victories on the Korean battlefield.

If not handled properly, the Truman administration will face severe public criticism.

Just as Truman swallowed his anger and prepared to wait for the right opportunity, MacArthur jumped up again.

On April 5, a Republican congressman read aloud a reply letter from MacArthur to him in the House of Representatives.

The letter explicitly stated that he was preparing to deploy Chang Ruiyuan's troops.

Truman finally managed to swallow his anger and then vomited it out.

If we were to drag Chang Ruiyuan into a counterattack against the mainland at this time, wouldn't that be like starting a world war?
They think the Americans haven't died enough!

At this point, Truman even suspected that MacArthur had been turned by Soviet Russia.

Otherwise, why would they be so eager to drag the United States into a quagmire of war?

After hasty preparations, on April 9, Truman almost abruptly dismissed MacArthur and announced that Ridgway would succeed him as Commander-in-Chief of the United Nations Command.

Soon, Ridgway met MacArthur in Tokyo.

Just as the two sides were handing over the reins, MacArthur said with a grim face, "President Truman has been diagnosed with malignant hypertension."

"This disease is characterized by mental confusion and disordered thinking, and patients do not live more than six months."

"You must think carefully when you receive the president's telegram."

Ridgway didn't say anything; in his mind, it was MacArthur who was mentally ill.

MacArthur was unaware that Truman had actually sent someone to assess MacArthur's mental health before Ridgway took over as commander of the Eighth Army.

After all, the solutions he proposed were not things that a normal person would think of.

Ridgway didn't respond, but MacArthur continued talking, repeatedly emphasizing that Truman was a fool.

MacArthur did not return to the United States on a private plane until his assistant had finished packing his luggage.

Just as the US government had feared, MacArthur was given a grand welcome upon his return to the United States.

This fervor reached its peak when MacArthur delivered his address to both houses of Congress.

MacArthur looked at the crowd applauding wildly and thought this was the beginning of his glorious career.

However, to his utter surprise, the US government soon convened a hearing specifically for him.

A wealth of factual evidence completely shattered MacArthur's aura.

By the time the lengthy hearings ended, MacArthur was essentially ignored.

Even though MacArthur gave speeches everywhere, trying to gain more political capital, the result was the opposite.

Everyone in the US government was increasingly disgusted with MacArthur.

Even Ridgway, who was far away in Tokyo, heard about MacArthur's situation.

"If MacArthur had died the day after the Incheon landing, every city in America would have a school named after him."

"Unfortunately, the longer he lived and the more he talked, the more damage he did to himself."

MacArthur died in 1964 at the age of 84.

Throughout his life, MacArthur sought to prove himself to be a genius unparalleled in the world.

But he spent his whole life proving that he was nothing.

(End of this chapter)