The Korean War: The Untold Truth

Chapter 18 The Outbreak of War (5)
Acheson quickly reflected on the events that had occurred since receiving the first news briefing on the invasion, a "messy, frustrating report."He then made three recommendations based on discussions with State Department and Defense officials that day:
-- authorizing MacArthur to send weapons and other equipment to the North Koreans outside of the military aid program;
- use air force to cover the retreat of American women and children, and to fire back at all North Korean aircraft and tanks that attempt to obstruct the retreat;
-- ordering the 7th Fleet to move north from the Philippines to prevent the Chinese Communists from attacking Taiwan, while dissuading the Nationalists from taking any action against the mainland.MacArthur should not be allowed to make an investigative visit to Taiwan until he decides to take further steps.Acheson emphasized that the United States should not get too hot with Chiang Kai-shek.He believes that the future of Taiwan will be determined by the United Nations. (Truman chimed in: "Or it's up to the peace treaty with Japan.") Finally, Acheson proposed stepping up aid to French Indochina to support the local government's fight against Communists and anti-French nationalist insurgents.

Then Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Omar Bradley spoke."We've got to draw a line somewhere," he said. It couldn't be better to draw a line in North Korea.He did not think that Russia was ready for war.He agreed with Acheson's proposed actions that fighter jets flying over North Korea could have a "huge morale-boosting effect ... even if they cannot hit North Korean tanks accurately."But Bradley questioned the significance of transporting weapons, such as F-51 fighter jets, because the South Koreans had never been trained to fly them.Any provision must be made "on the grounds of assistance to the United Nations".Finally, Bradley expressed doubts about "the advisability of engaging ground forces, especially on a large scale."

Admiral Sherman agreed with Bradley that the Soviets were not yet willing to fight, "but if they wanted to, they could."He also believed that Chiang Kai-shek should be restrained.He hopes that the 7th Fleet will move north from the Philippines immediately, and can be put into action as soon as it is needed.

General Vandenberg did not believe so categorically as his colleagues that the Russians would stand by.If only the North Korean air force is participating in the battle, then his air force can take care of the North Korean tanks.But if Russian jets were involved, their bases would be much closer to the battlefield than the US bases in Japan.

President Truman asked if the United States could destroy Soviet air bases in the Far East.

"It will take time," said General Vandenberg, but "if we use the atomic bomb, it will work immediately."

Sherman and Vandenberg declared, according to Acheson, "that this is something that the navy and the air force can handle. . , send warships from the coast to support them with heavy artillery bombardment, and the war may be over."Army Chief of Staff Collins felt less sure.According to Acheson recalled: "He thought the problem was much more troublesome than his colleagues in the navy and air force imagined."

Truman turned to civilian secretaries for advice.Pace is skeptical about using ground forces.Matthews stressed the need for immediate action and said the government's decision would have public support."We should take those carefully assessed risks in the hope that our actions will preserve the peace," Finlert said, but he "could only make the necessary decisions" that night.

Johnson suggested that MacArthur should be strictly controlled, and the instructions given to him should be "as detailed as possible, so as not to allow him to play too freely", and MacArthur should not be allowed to exercise presidential authorization.Johnson also opposed sending ground troops to South Korea.

In concluding remarks, Truman approved a series of orders.MacArthur would provide the proposed assistance to the South Koreans and send an observation team; the 7th Fleet sailed to Japan; the Air Force "should proceed to formulate a plan to destroy all air bases in the Soviet Far East."Truman emphasized that this was "not an order to attack, but an order to plan."Finally, the Departments of State and Defense should "carefully assess where ... the Soviet Union will act next."

Truman emphasized that all of these actions were taken within the mandate of a United Nations resolution passed earlier in the day.He is also "undecided" on the appointment of MacArthur as commander-in-chief of North Korea.He instructed that none of this should be revealed to the press, not even background information.Acheson and Johnson should also keep their mouths shut on North Korea during congressional appropriations hearings scheduled for the next day.At 11:[-] p.m., participants quietly left Blair Tower through a side door to avoid the news reporters who had gathered on Pennsylvania Avenue.

The participating military personnel went straight to the Pentagon to hold a telex conference with MacArthur.At the meeting, MacArthur received confirmation that the president had approved four "recommendations" sent earlier in the day.MacArthur was cautioned that "further decisions will be made by high-level agencies in light of developments in the military-political situation"—in other words, the administration still cannot determine the extent to which the United States should be involved.Does MacArthur have anything else to ask for?He replied: "No." A battle report he sent was reassuring.Both Mucho and the Military Advisory Group in South Korea reported that South Korean forces around Seoul were "stabilizing" and that North Koreans who had landed in the eastern coastal city of Gangneung had been repelled.

General Matthew Ridgway, the deputy chief of staff of the Army, had dealt with him briefly when he was an athletic captain under MacArthur at West Point.He didn't fully trust the general, because he knew that MacArthur liked to play on orders and would take advantage of loopholes intentionally or unintentionally.At the telex conference, Ridgway was a silent bystander.On the meeting papers, his name was placed far down the list of "also here."However, based on what MacArthur had done on other occasions, Ridgway believed that his instructions should be more precise.

After the meeting, he approached General Bradley regardless of etiquette and asked whether the instructions issued to MacArthur "intentionally excluded the use of ground forces in North Korea."

"Yes," Bradley replied.

Li Qiwei said nothing more, but felt uneasy.Only days into the war, the Joint Chiefs of Staff had sent MacArthur instructions in such general terms that he could easily use them against the President's will.

Meanwhile, at Blair Tower, Truman asked Acheson and John Hickson of the State Department to discuss some non-North Korean issues.After the discussion, Truman said: "Let's have something to drink, today is too busy."

After pouring bourbon, Truman said with relief: "I hope and pray that I will never have to make decisions like today. But I can't find any other feasible way."

Truman swung his glass of bourbon, turned to Hickson and said, "Now that I have the wine, I'm leaving it all behind."

He said: "All in all, Jack, I'm doing this for the United Nations." He added: "I believed in the League of Nations, but it fell. A lot of people think it fell because we didn't join and didn't support it. ...well, now we have the United Nations. It was our idea, and we cannot allow it to collapse before it is put to its first serious test."

"If a cooperative system under the name of the United Nations is going to work, let it work. Now it's up to the United Nations to call the shots."

american retreat
Throughout Monday, the news from the battlefield north of Seoul continued to be that South Korea was in retreat and that North Korea was closing in.U.S. military advisers doubted whether South Korean troops could hold on to the Han River, the only natural barrier between the 2th Parallel and Seoul.Naval attache Jack Seifert, appointed by Ambassador Mucho to be responsible for the evacuation of American civilians and their families, found a Norwegian cargo ship and a Chinese cargo ship in the port of Incheon, west of Seoul, and the captains of both ships agreed to help transport the asylum By.At [-] o'clock in the morning on Monday, Seoul time, Mucho felt it was time.The embassy's WVTP radio broadcast an instruction: Within an hour, trucks, buses and cars would arrive at pre-designated pick-up locations.Evacuees are only allowed to bring their belongings, and mothers are advised to bring blankets for children.

The vehicles are concentrated in Susha between Seoul and Incheon, which is a logistics center established by the Americans.Chaos is everywhere.According to sources from the embassy, ​​several women drank alcohol to boost their courage, "something went wrong", and a couple had a hysterical fit, so they had to be guarded.At dawn, about 700 people had gathered in Susha City.

According to Seifert's plan, the women were divided between the Norwegian "Lenholt" fertilizer ship and the Chinese freighter.Both ships were moored miles away on the open sea to avoid the silt flats created by the 28-foot tidal drop at the port of Incheon.Two boats of sampans carried the women to the steamer through the narrow channel.As the sampan approached the Chinese ship, the women panicked as they saw Oriental faces looking down at them.According to Noble: "They were terrified in Seoul, and now they are reminded of the forgotten story of the Chinese pirate ship." The ship with only 6 berths was crowded with about 700 people.Every corner of the ship was filled with the stench of chemical fertilizers.Noble's narration has been restrained, but one can still imagine the hysterical atmosphere on board, with the women bickering, swearing, and complaining about injustice.Why is Mrs. X allowed to carry more than a dozen pieces of luggage, while others can only carry a few paper bags and backpacks?
But soldiers and diplomats have a strong sense of leadership and common sense.When everyone was quiet, the "Lenholt" lifted anchor and sailed for Japan.It was obviously an unbearable voyage, as evidenced by the cries of terrified children and the nasty vomiting of seasick men and women.

On Monday morning, MacArthur, from his vantage point in Tokyo, strongly opposed Muccio's decision to evacuate civilians.Itinerant diplomat John Foster Dulles and his entourage, John Allison, visited MacArthur for updates on the war.The general seemed confident that South Korean forces would be able to rally and drive the invaders back.He believes that Muccio's action "is too hasty", but he will still carry out Washington's order and will provide air cover for the evacuation.MacArthur felt "no reason to panic" and he did not think "this was a full-scale attack backed by the Soviet Union."

That night, when Dulles came to MacArthur's residence to attend the banquet, MacArthur was still optimistic.Allison had dinner with his friends.The NBC correspondent in Tokyo, George Foster, had just returned from MacArthur's headquarters and told you "there's nothing to report."But later, an Australian diplomat came over and talked about the content of his call with the Australian embassy in Seoul-the embassy was evacuating personnel, and the South Korean army was retreating across the board.

Surprised, Allison called to ask Mu Qiao, who said that the South Korean army was indeed retreating and the front line was "collapsing".During the call, Allison could still hear the explosion of shells.He kept hanging up the phone and finally found Dulles in the guest room of the embassy.Dulles had just returned from MacArthur's residence, and he must have the latest news.

Allison said right off the bat: "I guess you've heard the bad news about North Korea?"

"What did you say?" replied Dulles, who hadn't heard anything.

"Didn't you have dinner with the general just now?"

"Yes, but we watched a movie after dinner, and no one bothered all night. On the way back, I sat down with Colonel (Sidney) Huff (MacArthur's landline driver) for a while and had a drink. After drinking some wine, he didn't hear anything."

MacArthur's staff received such news that night and did not bother the general who was watching a movie, which surprised Allison.But after hanging up the phone, he recalled what he had heard on other occasions: Watching movies after dinner had always been part of MacArthur's life, and he hated anyone interrupting him at this time.

Late Monday night, when MacArthur fell asleep after watching a movie, President Rhee decided that his troops would not be able to hold on to Seoul.He ordered the transport minister to find special trains for use by cabinet ministers, senior executive officials and members of the National Assembly.The decision to withdraw sparked fierce debate in the National Assembly, which was dominated by Rhee's faction, who accused Rhee and his gang of abandoning the North Korean people and fleeing for their own lives.Moderate sources pointed out that Syngman Rhee's retreat would allow him to continue fighting; if he were captured, the entire republic would cease to exist.After an hour of debate, the National Assembly voted: the majority would stay in Seoul, "with the people".

But Li Chengman insisted on leaving Seoul.Late on Monday night, his subordinates secured two special trains for Rhee, his senior advisers, and their families to flee south from the battlefield.Although Syngman Rhee and Mu Qiao had already spoken the day before, he still didn't want or didn't dare to inform Mu Qiao and slipped away.Mucho recalled: "I didn't know they really left until after he left." But he could use this fact to gain a psychological advantage in the next few months: "He didn't inform me, this incident made me I'm in a good position for the next few months because he left Seoul before me."

growing concern in washington

Modern warfare relies on communications.If information cannot be exchanged quickly, combatants in different places will be ignorant of the actual situation in other places and can only act blindly.The fragile and unreliable field telephone network, the rapidly disabling commercial telegraph system in South Korea, the slow speed of telegraph encryption machines, and the delay of telegrams to the other side of the world, on Monday, June 6, made all parties in the Korean War suffered greatly.

For example, a few hours after President Rhee fled Seoul, President Truman summoned Jang Myon, the North Korean ambassador to the United States, at the White House to cheer him up.Zhang Mian was going to talk about his country's need for tanks, artillery and aircraft.More important, Truman argued, was that South Korean forces must "combat effectively" so that U.S. aid could be used effectively.The war lasted only 48 hours, and Truman told Zhang Mian: "Some fighters and some countries have defended their freedom in a more dangerous situation." Zhang Mian insisted that the South Korean troops fought bravely, but lacked sufficient equipment.Truman repeatedly stated that aid was on the way (actually, a meeting at Blair House would still be needed to decide), and that the North Koreans "must form a strong leadership to get through the crisis."

Zhang Mian left the White House with a slumped face. Richard Strout, a veteran reporter for the Christian Science Monitor, came to the conclusion that the United States intends to let the South Koreans fight alone.

(End of this chapter)