On balance, Bradley said, the limited nature of the war benefited the United States at least as much as it did the Chinese. Vandenberg amplified this point. The port of Pusan is very important to us. George Marshall, the secretary of defense and a five-star general himself, made the same argument. Marshall elaborated. If bombing starts, we have a great many conditions that will be far less advantageous to us.
Joe Collins, the army chief of staff, explained how Communist restraint had prevented an utter American debacle. The Tenth Corps was operating from the base at Hungnam, and our other forces were operating from bases at Pusan and Inchon. As soon as the Chinese attack began we were very much concerned about the fact that we would have to get that Tenth Corps out; and had we permitted the bombing north of the Yalu, we were dreadfully afraid that that might be the thing that would release the Russian planes, and additionally, have them give additional assistance to the Chinese, and might well have subjected the Tenth Corps to bombardment and possibly submarine attack during the perilous evacuation from Hungnam.
Troops evacuating from a port of that character, in commercial ships, are terribly subject to air and underwater attack; and in my judgment, it would be a much too risky procedure. Americans tended to believe that, having won World War II, the American military could dispatch China with one hand and whack Russia with the other.
Other testimony deleted from the published transcript severely undercut the idea that Chiang Kai-shek and the Chinese Nationalists would be of any help in a larger war. Marshall and the others roundly rejected it. The committee inquired. Marshall explained that the Pentagon had sent a reconnaissance team to Formosa to determine the readiness and improvability of the Chinese Nationalists, and it had yet to report back.
He particularly worried about Communist infiltration of the Nationalists. Marshall noted that similar infiltration by German agents and sympathizers had debilitated the French army in ; in the present case the possibility of infiltration rendered any reliance on the Nationalists extremely dubious.
The problem with the Nationalists started at the top, Marshall and the chiefs declared confidentially. It is true some of them are getting tired of the Communists and might be more loyal to him now than they were before, but in my opinion he is not in position to rally the Chinese against the Communists even if we could get him ashore. The secret testimony damaged MacArthur in ways he never understood. While visiting Marathon, Greece, Lord Muncaster of Britain is kidnapped by brigands, almost resulting in war.
The pirates, led by Takos Arvanitakis, were experienced in kidnapping and had used it as a lucrative source of income for many years. However, their capture of Lord On April 11, , the American Third Army liberates the Buchenwald concentration camp, near Weimar, Germany, a camp that will be judged second only to Auschwitz in the horrors it imposed on its prisoners. As American forces closed in on the Nazi concentration camp at Buchenwald, Live TV.
This Day In History. History Vault. Space Exploration. Sign Up. Westward Expansion. Art, Literature, and Film History. World War II. If we were to do these things we would be running a very grave risk of starting a general war. If that were to happen, we would have brought about the exact situation we are trying to prevent. If we were to do these things, we would become entangled in a vast conflict on the continent of Asia and our task would become immeasurably more difficult all over the world.
What would suit the ambitions of the Kremlin better than for our military forces to be committed to a full-scale war with Red China? I believe that we must try to limit the war in Korea for these vital reasons: to make sure that the precious lives of our fighting men are not wasted; to see that the security of our country and the free world is not jeopardized; and to prevent a third world war.
A number of events have made it evident that General MacArthur did not agree with that policy. I have therefore considered it essential to relieve General MacArthur so that there would be no doubt or confusion as to the real purpose and aim of our policy.
It was with the deepest personal regret that I found myself compelled to take this action. General MacArthur is one of our greatest military commanders. But the cause of world peace is more important than any individual. The change in commands in the Far East means no change whatever in the policy of the United States. We will carry on the fight in Korea with vigor and determination in an effort to bring the war to a speedy and successful conclusion.
We are ready, at any time, to negotiate for a restoration of peace in the area. But we will not engage in appeasement. We are only interested in real peace…. In the hard fighting in Korea, we are proving that collective action among nations is not only a high principle but a workable means of resisting aggression. The struggle of the United Nations in Korea is a struggle for peace. The free nations have united their strength in an effort to prevent a third world war.
That war can come if the Communist rulers want it to come. But this Nation and its allies will not be responsible for its coming. We do not want to widen the conflict. We will use every effort to prevent that disaster. And, in so doing, we know that we are following the great principles of peace, freedom, and justice. World War II. Mass Effects in Modern Life. The Lights are Going Out. War Speech. A House of Many Mansions. Blood, Toil, Tears and Sweat. Be Ye Men of Valour.
We Shall Fight on the Beaches. War of the Unkown Warriors. Every Man to His Post. Neville Chamberlain. Third Inaugural Address The Old Lion. Wake Up America! The Hour is Late. Some chicken; some neck. Executive Order No. The Invasion of France. Korematsu v. Victory in Europe. Sinews of Peace Iron Curtain.
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