Page 133 - NS-2 Textbook

126 MARITIME HISTORY

DISMISSAL OF MACARTHUR
General MacArthur had hated the limitations placed
upon him after the Chinese intervened. He particularly
wanted to be allowed to follow Chinese aircraft in "hot
pursuit" over the Yalu River into Manchuria and to
bomb Chinese staging bases on the north bank of the
river. The Western European allies put great pressure on
the United States to forbid such action. They feared that
the war would escalate and eventually involve the Sovi-
ets on the basis of the Sino-Soviet Mutual Defense Treaty.
This opinion was shared by the U.S. State Department,
and their view prevailed with the president.
When he ·was unable to persuade President Truman
to accept his reconrrnendations, in March 1951 General
MacArthur sent a letter attacking the president's policies
to Joseph Martin, the minority leader of the House of
Representatives. When Martin made the letter public,
President Truman relieved MacArthur for insubordina-
tion, replacing him with General Ridgway.
In his letter, MacArthur pointed out that "Europe's
war against the Communists was being fought in Asia
with arms, wIllie the diplomats there still fight it with
A mine claims a South Korean minesweeper in Wonsan Harbor dur- words; that if we lose the war to Communism in Asia the
ing the Korean War. It took fifteen days to complete the sweeping fall of Europe is inevitable; win it and Europe most prob-
of mines from Woman, a delay that enabled the North Korean army
to escape following the Inchon landing. ably would avoid war, and yet preserve freedom.
There is no substihlte for victory."

TRUCE TALKS
orderly manner on waiting amphibious vessels in the
greatest U amphibious operation in reverse U ever con- By Jrrne 1951 the severe casualties inflicted on the Chi-
ducted. During the entire time, naval gunfire and carrier nese began to make an impression. The USSR's ambas-
air strikes kept the Communist forces back. This created sador to the United Nations suggested that armistice
a no-man's-land around the Htmgnam defense perime- talks might be held, and the United Nations leaders
ter that the Chinese could not penetrate. On Christmas agreed. Thereafter began over two years of almost fruit-
Eve 1950, the last troops departed and the Navy's Un- less negotiations at Panmunjom, a small village along the
derwater Demolition Teams blew up all port facilities be- thirty-eighth parallel. Meanwhile, fierce fighting contin-
fore leaving. ued, although neither side attempted a major offensive to
The forces evacuated from Hungnam were sped caphrre territory.
southward and reintroduced into the fighting below the During the negotiations, the Chinese Communists
thirty-eighth parallel, where the bulk of United Nations showed no \villingness to compromise. To thenl, a con-
forces had retreated by 15 December. cession was a sign of weakness and an invitation for the
General Matthew Ridgway took command of the other side to make additional demands. Negotiating
Eighth Army on 26 December following the death of with the Communists was clearly shown to be another
General Walker in a jeep accident. TIle Eighth Army battlefield, with the weapons being steadfashless of pol-
slowed its retreat but could not stop the Chinese advance icy, infinite patience, and complete firrrmess.
before losing Seoul again on 4 January 1951. In late Dwight Eisenhower was elected president in No-
January Ridgway began a slow advance toward the vember 1952. A major promise of his campaign was to
Han River south of Seoul, a methodical drive that cul- bring an end to the Korean War. This stimulated new ef-
minated in the recaphrre of the South Korean capital forts in the truce talks, and finally, after more than two
on 15 March. UN forces made more advances in the years of negotiations, an armistice was signed on 27 July
succeeding months, particularly along the east coast, 1953. The agreement divided the two Koreas along a
where they reached a point about 50 nllies north of the frontier near the thirty-eighth parallel, but based on the
thirty-eighth parallel. But there the war bogged down for existing cease-fire line. South Korea kept its freedom,
both sides. gaining in the process about 1,500 square miles of terri-