Wednesday, January 11, 2012
61 Years and a Month Ago
A normal lifetime ago, UN forces (almost all of them American--1st Marine Division, 3rd and 7th Infantry Divisions--with a few British Royal Marines and ROK policemen) were stopped in their *I keep having trouble using General Smith's preferred vocabulary.
Labels: Korean War
Sunday, November 30, 2008
This Day in the History of Injudicious Uses of the Foreign Policy Bluff
On this day in 1950, President Truman declared the United States would use the atom bomb to get peace in Korea. So he was thinking about doing the right thing, but he didn't use them and the UN forces lost nearly 40,000; the Chinese lost perhaps as many as 400,000 and both North and South Koreans suffered, mainly the North Koreans over the past 58 years. If you say you're going to take Vienna, take Vienna. It appears that my criticism of Truman is 180 degrees from most peoples' criticism of Truman. I fault him for not using the bomb.
Labels: Korean War
Thursday, November 20, 2008
This Day in the History of Near Complete But False Victories
On this day in 1950, U.S. Marines followed Republic of Korea troops and pushed to the Yalu River, within five miles of Manchuria. The utter defeat of the guys who started the war in June, the Communist North Koreans, was already accomplished and had we prevented China from entering the war with the strategic use of nuclear weapons against Chinese troop concentrations, North Korea would have remained free (as free as South Korea) and the rest of the world would have noticed that we carried a very big stick indeed. How that perception would have changed subsequent military history in Southeast Asia is unknowable. Would the Russians have started a nuclear war with us over our keeping Chinese forces out of North Korea? That's the question which stopped President Truman from going 'all in' and allowed for unimaginable North Korean suffering for half a century or more. The Soviets and the Chicoms were never tight. In fact, Russia waged a lukewarm border war with China in 1969. I'm not saying we wouldn't have gotten our hair mussed, but I do believe the Soviets would have ultimately had only harsh language in response to our nuking Chinese divisions in Manchuria and North Korea.
Labels: Korean War
Friday, June 27, 2008
This Day in the History of Americans Fighting for the Freedom of Others
On this day in 1950, President Truman ordered the U.S. Navy and Air Force into the Korean conflict following a call from the United Nations Security Council for member nations to help South Korea repel an invasion from the North. The first American ground forces to arrive were called Task Force Smith, which units barely slowed the advance of North Korean forces and, even reinforced, barely held the Pusan section until the end-around landing at Inchon, which cut off the North Koreans in the South, liberated Seoul, and routed the rest of the Godless Commies up almost to the Yalu. We should have nuked the Chi Com forces who entered the war in November and dared the Soviets to do anything about it. Alas, Truman was only for limited gains and that's what he got. The North Koreans got 6 decades of suffering and the Soviets and Chi Coms tried to advance their pernicious, anti human nature, never worked once, economic system to other places. Had we freed North Korea and shredded everyone coming to their aid, the Cold War might well have lasted a lot shorter period with fewer nations coming under Communism's decaying sway.
Labels: Korean War
Friday, November 30, 2007
This Day in the History of Big Talk
On this day in 1950, President Truman declared the United States would use atomic weapons to achieve peace in Korea. It was the right thing to do, but it never happened. We fought WWII to win, since then we've pretty consistently pulled our punches to the benefit of none.
Labels: Korean War
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
This Day in the History of Great Victories, Just Before Disaster
On this day in 1950, having crushed the North Korean Army starting with the amphibious landing at Inchon on September 15, 1950, U.S. troops, the major part of the UN contingent, pushed to the Yalu River, within miles of Manchuria in northwest North Korea. The Chinese would enter the war with attacks on American forces within days and kick us out of North Korea (and from Seoul, for a while), committing ultimately about 780,000 troops of which 400,00 would be killed (they admit to 'only' 148,000). The photo is part of the destruction of Hungnam in December when we bugged out of North Korea.
Labels: Korean War
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
This Day in American History
On this day in 1950, President Truman ordered the Air Force and Navy into the Korean conflict. He did so with the blessings of the United Nations Security Council which had asked for member nations to help South Korea repel the invasion from the North. What he did not have was a declaration of war from Congress. The Korean War was on, man, and it never ended (although there was a cease fire agreement on July 27, 1953).
Task Force Smith contained the first American troops to enter the fight, on July 5, 1950 and they got the snot kicked out of them by superior numbers of excellent troops and, even reinforced, were almost pushed off the peninsula. Although MacArthur brilliantly and completed defeated North Korea and occupied two thirds of that young country by Thanksgiving, when the Chinese entered the war in force, Truman foolishly forgot the lesson he seemed to have learned with Hiroshima and Nagasaki, namely, that nuclear weapons save lives in the bigger picture and longer run. We were sent packing and then fought hard just to get back to the original dividing line, the 38th parallel. The last years of fighting were the mid-20th Century version of trench warfare.
We should have nuked all along the Yalu as soon as we recognized the Chinese involvement and then all the military targets in Manchuria until the Chinese backed the heck out. We should have unified Korea and set the precedent/motto: Nemo me impune lacessit or perhaps an updating of the 1775 slogan: Don't tread on me, by adding unless you don't mind glowing in the dark. History would have been a lot different and better, at least for the North Koreans.
Ah, hindsight.
Task Force Smith contained the first American troops to enter the fight, on July 5, 1950 and they got the snot kicked out of them by superior numbers of excellent troops and, even reinforced, were almost pushed off the peninsula. Although MacArthur brilliantly and completed defeated North Korea and occupied two thirds of that young country by Thanksgiving, when the Chinese entered the war in force, Truman foolishly forgot the lesson he seemed to have learned with Hiroshima and Nagasaki, namely, that nuclear weapons save lives in the bigger picture and longer run. We were sent packing and then fought hard just to get back to the original dividing line, the 38th parallel. The last years of fighting were the mid-20th Century version of trench warfare.
We should have nuked all along the Yalu as soon as we recognized the Chinese involvement and then all the military targets in Manchuria until the Chinese backed the heck out. We should have unified Korea and set the precedent/motto: Nemo me impune lacessit or perhaps an updating of the 1775 slogan: Don't tread on me, by adding unless you don't mind glowing in the dark. History would have been a lot different and better, at least for the North Koreans.
Ah, hindsight.
Labels: Korean War
