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MacArthur, Truman and nuclear weapons
Learning all the wrong lessons from Korea, Vietnam-era policymakers never violated that country's partition line. Thus Vietnam's communists had less motivation to seek a ceasefire than did those in Korea. In both countries, a defensible a northern border was required to allow a viable non-communist state to develop in the South. But this line was not necessarily the same as the legal partition line, which in both cases was drawn in a hasty and arbitrary way.
Learning all the wrong lessons from Korea, Vietnam-era policymakers never violated that country's partition line. Thus Vietnam's communists had less motivation to seek a ceasefire than did those in Korea. In both countries, a defensible a northern border was required to allow a viable non-communist state to develop in the South. But this line was not necessarily the same as the legal partition line, which in both cases was drawn in a hasty and arbitrary way.
===Dismissal of MacArthur===
===Dismissal of MacArthur==
Another well-remembered Korean War episode was Truman's dismissal of General [[Douglas MacArthur]] in April 1951. The takeaway for most writers was that a president asserted civilian authority over the military. Truman supposedly saved the world from a nuke-crazed general. In fact, the dispute had nothing to do with nukes. It was triggered by General MacArthur's request to bomb Chinese bases in Manchuria and to use KMT forces from Taiwan. Truman and MacArthur already had a history of disputes of this type. It was MacArthur's decision to go public that led to his dismissal.
The popular narrative about nukes represents a form of blame shifting by pro-Truman historians. In reality, Truman's attitude toward nuclear weapons was, if anything, less responsible than MacArthur's. When asked by a reporter about the use of nuclear weapons in Korea on November 30, 1950, Truman responded, "I'm not a military authority that passes on those things....The military commander in the field will have charge of the use of weapons, as he always has."<ref name="Patterson">Patterson, James T., Oxford History of the United States, vol. 10, chapter 8 "Korea."</ref>
At their meeting at Wake Island on 15 October 1950, MacArthur had assured Truman that the chance of China intervening was "very little." The Eighth Army would be out of Korea by Christmas, he said. The basis for his confidence was not so much intelligence from the field as his understanding of "the Oriental mind." This was egotism posing as strategy. It took only ten days for the Chinese to prove MacArthur wrong at Unsan. In short, Truman had good reason to dismiss MacArthur prior to their dispute about using KMT soldiers.<ref name="Patterson"/>
Among other things, the Truman-MacAuthur episode inspired U.S. President Lyndon Johnson to divide up authority among various generals in Vietnam.
===No more Task Force Smiths!===
===No more Task Force Smiths!===
With the situation in the south finally stabilized, in September, 70,000 UN troops under [[Douglas MacArthur|General MacArthur]], with massive support, landed at [[Inchon]], near [[Seoul]], surprising the exhausted North Koreans. The landings were an extremely risky operation; if any significant resistance had been encountered, the landing craft would probably have been stranded by the extreme [[tide]]s of the landing zone, leaving the forces landed vulnerable to complete annihilation. However, they were lucky and only two days after the capture of Seoul from the 20,000 North Korean defenders was announced, it was actually achieved.
With the situation in the south finally stabilized, in September, 70,000 UN troops under [[Douglas MacArthur|General MacArthur]], with massive support, landed at [[Inchon]], near [[Seoul]], surprising the exhausted North Koreans. The landings were an extremely risky operation; if any significant resistance had been encountered, the landing craft would probably have been stranded by the extreme [[tide]]s of the landing zone, leaving the forces landed vulnerable to complete annihilation. However, they were lucky and only two days after the capture of Seoul from the 20,000 North Korean defenders was announced, it was actually achieved.
=== China attacks ===
=== China intervenes ===
Led by Mao Zedong, the communists captured Nanjing, then the capital of China, from the Chinese Nationalist Party, or KMT, in April 1949. Mao's army was enormous, but he was dependent on money and weapons from Russia. During a trip to Moscow in early May, Mao concluded that only war with America would convince Stalin to continue funding his army.<ref name="Chang"/>
Led by Mao Zedong, the communists captured Nanjing, then the capital of China, from the Chinese Nationalist Party, or KMT, in April 1949. Mao's army was enormous, but he was dependent on money and weapons from Russia. During a trip to Moscow in early May, Mao concluded that only war with America would convince Stalin to continue funding his army.<ref name="Chang"/>
In March 1951, a UN operation recaptured Seoul. In April, General MacArthur asked for permission to bomb Chinese bases in Manchuria and to use KMT forces from Taiwan. When President Truman rejected both of these proposals, MacArthur went public with his criticisms. Truman then replaced MacArthur with Gen. Matthew Ridgeway.
In March 1951, a UN operation recaptured Seoul. In April, General MacArthur asked for permission to bomb Chinese bases in Manchuria and to use KMT forces from Taiwan. When President Truman rejected both of these proposals, MacArthur went public with his criticisms. Truman then replaced MacArthur with Gen. Matthew Ridgeway.
=== Aftermath ===
=== Aftermath ===
[[Image:K-TRUCE53.JPG|thumb|450px|Ike ended the war by threatening to use nuclear weapons against China]]
[[Image:K-TRUCE53.JPG|thumb|Ike ended the war by threatening to use nuclear weapons against China]]
By June the communist forces had had enough and called for a ceasefire, although it took until 1953 before an armistice was signed. As several participants have never formally made peace, the conflict remains technically active today, even though there has been no major combat since 1953; the ceasefire line (Demilitarized Zone) remains heavily fortified and militarized to the present day.
By June the communist forces had had enough and called for a ceasefire, although it took until 1953 before an armistice was signed. As several participants have never formally made peace, the conflict remains technically active today, even though there has been no major combat since 1953; the ceasefire line (Demilitarized Zone) remains heavily fortified and militarized to the present day.