Chapter 5 3. MacArthur's Guarantee

Before MacArthur received Directive No. 91801 from the Joint Chiefs of Staff authorizing the "United Nations Army" to operate north of the 38th parallel, he could not wait to direct the US military to deploy in the 38th parallel area, preparing to invade the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. On September 28, MacArthur made a brief plan to cross the 38th Parallel and advance northward according to the instructions of the Joint Chiefs of Staff: (1) The 8th Army has crossed the 38th parallel with its existing forces, and its main attack direction is the Kaesong-Sariwon-Pyongyang axis, with the goal of capturing Pyongyang; (2) The 10th Army has implemented an amphibious attack in Wonsan with its existing forces Land, then attack west along the Wonsan-Pyongyang axis to join the 8th Army; (3) 3rd Infantry Division is located in Japan as a reserve of the General Headquarters; (4) After occupying the Pyongyang-Wonsan line , Dingzhou-Ningyuan-Hamhung operations north of the line will be carried out by the South Korean army; (5) The Eighth Army's offensive date is tentatively set to be October 5 at the earliest and no later than October 30 at the latest.

On September 29, Marshall was very disturbed when he heard that Walker had ordered the Eighth Army to stop at the 38th Parallel, probably to wait for the approval of the United Nations to cross the 38th Parallel. He immediately drafted a telegram to MacArthur, which stated that there are currently The report said that the Eighth Army had announced that South Korean divisions would stop at the 38th parallel to regroup.On this point, we want you to realize that you are not limited either tactically or strategically in advancing north of the 38th Parallel.The statement mentioned above risks embarrassing the United Nations, where there is a clear reluctance to have to vote on crossing the 38th parallel.Instead, people want to see that you have a military proven need to do so.

On September 30, MacArthur replied that he doubted whether Walker had made such a statement, but he wanted to remind Walker not to raise issues related to the 38th Parallel.MacArthur said: In military terms, the 38th parallel is not a factor that affects our use of troops.The logistical supply of my troops was the main problem preventing our rapid advance.In order to take advantage of the enemy's defeat, our troops can attack across the 38th parallel at any time.You know my general strategic plan in North Korea.Until the enemy surrenders, I think we can conduct military operations throughout North Korea.

On September 31, the Joint Chiefs of Staff formally approved MacArthur's northward plan. On October 2, MacArthur issued an order to the 8th Army Commander Walker to cross the 38th Parallel with the No. 2 combat order of the "United Nations Army" Command.The main content of the order is that the 8th Army advances from the land and occupies Pyongyang; during this period, the 10th Army lands at Wonsan.Afterwards, the two troops converged at the waist of Pyongyang-Wonsanfeng to cut off the retreat of the People's Army. When the United Nations Army reached the Dingzhou-Ningyuan-Xingnan line, the battle from the north of this line to the border line was only carried out by the South Korean army. serve.

On October 1, the day before MacArthur issued the order to the Eighth Army to cross the 38th Parallel, the divisions of the South Korean 1st Army Corps on the Eastern Front had already crossed the 38th Parallel.The South Korean 3rd Division arrived at the Zhumunjin-Jiangling line on October 1, crossed the 38th parallel on the same day, occupied Xiangyang on the 3rd, and continued northward in an attempt to occupy Wonsan.The Capital Division reached the 38th Parallel on October 1 and crossed the 38th Parallel in the northwest area of ​​Zhuwenjin. On October 1, the divisions of the South Korean Army on the western front arrived at the 38th parallel.The South Korean 6th Division occupied Hongcheon at 10:30 on the same day, Yangpyeong on the 2nd, and continued to march north after gathering in Chuncheon on the 3rd.The South Korean 7th Division set off from Chungju on the 2nd and attacked Wonju.The South Korean 8th Division arrived in Yangpyeong on the 3rd, and turned to Uijeongbu on the 4th to assemble.

After receiving MacArthur's order to cross the 38th Parallel, Walker immediately ordered the 1st U.S. Army under his jurisdiction to occupy the line west of the Linjin River with less than one division. The main assault force carried out the combat mission of marching north.The 24th U.S. Infantry Division and the 1st South Korean Infantry Division secured its flanks and served as reserves.The 1st U.S. Cavalry Division was ordered to advance to the north of Seoul on October 5 to ensure the safety of the U.S. 1st Army's assembly area near the 38th parallel.The 1st Cavalry Division was divided into three reinforced regiments (regiment-level combat teams) and deployed on the south side of the 38th parallel near Kaesong. On October 7, the patrol of the 1st Cavalry Division crossed the 38th parallel.

On October 9, MacArthur arrogantly urged the Korean People's Army to surrender. He threatened: "In order to implement the UN resolution with the least loss of life and property, I, as the commander-in-chief of the UN Army, ask you and the troops under your command for the last time, no matter where you are located. Wherever North Korea lays down its weapons and ceases hostilities, it will immediately take necessary military action to implement UN resolutions." On that day, the 1st Division of the U.S. Cavalry all crossed the northern border of Kaesong and reached the 38th Parallel.Near the 38th parallel, the 1st Cavalry Division encountered stubborn resistance from the Korean People's Army.From the fierce battle to the 11th, all the 1st Division of the U.S. Cavalry crossed the 38th parallel and invaded the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.Following the 1st U.S. Cavalry Division, the 2nd U.S. Infantry Division, the 24th Infantry Division, the 27th British Infantry Brigade, and the 1st South Korean Infantry Division aggressively crossed the 38th parallel and attacked Pyongyang in multiple ways. On the 14th, the 1st Division of the US Cavalry captured Jinchuan and continued to approach Pyongyang.

After the "United Nations Army" crossed the 38th Parallel on a large scale on October 7, it aggressively advanced northward.At this time, the main force of the Korean People's Army was retreating northward. Due to being divided and surrounded by the "United Nations Army", ammunition and supplies could not be replenished. losing contact.The People's Army units responsible for the defense of the 38th parallel were forced to retreat to the border between China and North Korea under the multi-pronged offensive of the "United Nations Army". As the People's Army's resistance waned, U.S. forces quickly advanced aggressively toward the Sino-North Korean border.At this time, Truman began to pay attention to the attitudes of China and the Soviet Union towards the expansion of the war by the United States, and was a little worried that Chinese or Soviet troops would intervene in North Korea.

On October 9, with Truman's approval, the Joint Chiefs of Staff issued new instructions to MacArthur.The instruction stated: "In view of the possibility of Chinese Communist forces interfering in North Korea, Zet made the following supplements to our instructions on September 27, and Shang Xi complied with them. In the future, if the Chinese Communist Party does not make a prior statement, it will use it openly or covertly anywhere in North Korea. With a large number of troops, you should use your own judgment to proceed as long as the forces under your control are likely to be victorious. In any case, any military action against targets in China must be obtained in advance from Washington approval."

Despite repeated warnings from the Chinese government, the United States is expanding its war, while the United Nations General Assembly is supporting the US aggression.In this regard, the Chinese government once again issued a warning. On October 10, the People's Republic of China issued a statement sternly pointing out that the proposal adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on October 7 under the control of the United States, including Britain and Australia, was completely illegal and violated the will of the vast majority of people in the world. .At present, the United States is actively deploying a large-scale crossing of the 38th parallel in an attempt to spread the flames of the war of aggression to the border of China.The statement concluded by pointing out: The Chinese people oppose the dangerous trend of expanding aggression by the United States and its accomplice countries, which cannot be ignored.

The British government has been sensitive to the fact that the Chinese government may send troops into North Korea after it has repeatedly issued warnings. After learning of China’s diplomatic statement, the British government immediately sent a letter to the US Secretary of State Acheson, saying: While we can't take China's statement at face value, we can't ignore it completely either, ... Once China intervenes openly, I think it's very important that MacArthur doesn't act outside North Korean territory until President Truman approves .I am sure that of course no approval of this kind will be made until the United States Government has discussed it with Her Majesty's Government. Bevin emphasized that the UK has the right to ask MacArthur to negotiate (with the UK) before conducting military operations against China outside of North Korea.He believes that "our wrong actions will force China to be involved in the war. Although the consequences are unpredictable, they must be very serious." Truman had to pay attention to the Chinese government's increasingly severe warnings and the strong reaction of the allies. On October 12, he received two authoritative reports from the CIA.One report is "Report on the Possibility of Chinese Intervention in North Korea."The report argues that Chinese military intervention in the absence of air and sea support may be effective but not necessarily decisive.Despite Zhou Enlai's statement that Chinese forces were moving toward Manchuria, there was no convincing evidence that the CCP really intended to fully intervene in North Korea.The report concluded that the Chinese would not enter North Korea to confront UN forces. Another CIA report, "Report on the Possibility of Soviet Military Intervention in North Korea," concluded that Soviet troops in the Far East were capable of effective intervention in North Korea without warning.But Soviet leaders fully expected that their open intervention would lead to a direct confrontation between the Soviet Union and the United States and other United Nations forces.The Soviet leadership could not guarantee that the combat of Soviet forces against American forces would be limited to North Korea or the Far East, and the result could be a global war with the United States. Although judging from various signs, the possibility of China or the Soviet Union intervening in North Korea is very small, but after all, the US military has already crossed the 38th parallel in a large scale.Truman made a decision to conduct face-to-face consultations with MacArthur. In the early morning of October 15, Truman arrived at Wake Island on the "Independence" presidential plane.The entourage included Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Bradley, Secretary of the Army Frank Pace, Commander of the Pacific Fleet Arthur Redford and Assistant Secretary of State Dean Rusk. MacArthur greeted Truman at the airport.Truman walked down the gangway, hugged MacArthur affectionately, and said, "I've been looking forward to seeing you for a long time, General." MacArthur said jokingly: "I hope the next meeting won't take too long." Afterwards, they drove to a villa by the sea.In the conference hall, MacArthur first reported the situation to Truman, confidently assuring Truman that the war would be over by Thanksgiving.He said: "It is wishful thinking for the North Korean army to hold off the UN forces and go on the offensive. They have only 100,000 people left. These troops are poorly trained and equipped. They are fighting stubbornly just for face." MacArthur reported his battle plan confidently: "The 1st Cavalry Division is being ordered to go straight to Pyongyang, and the 10th Army is landing at Wonsan, which has already been occupied. The army can cross the Korean peninsula to Pyongyang within a week. I think Once again the North Koreans made the fatal mistake of not deploying their forces in depth. What happened in the south of Korea will happen in the north once the U.S. forces join forces in Pyongyang. The 8th Army can be withdrawn by Christmas (Dec. 25) Japan, only need to keep the US 2nd Division, 3rd Division and other national troops in North Korea until after the elections are held there. I hope that the 'elections' will be held next year to avoid military occupation." MacArthur finally added: "All occupations are failures." After listening to MacArthur's report, Truman was very satisfied, but he was still a little worried about the intervention of China or the Soviet Union, and asked: "Will China or the Soviet Union intervene?" "Very small. If they (after the outbreak of the war) first or Intervene in the second month, that will play a decisive role. Now we are no longer worried about their intervention. We are no longer timid." MacArthur's tone was very affirmative, "China has 300,000 troops in Manchuria. Among them, they are deployed in the Yalu River. probably less than 100,000 to 125,000, and only 50,000 to 60,000 who can cross the Yalu River. They don't have an air force. Since we have an air base in North Korea, if the Chinese try to go south to Pyongyang, it will be a problem for them mass murder." MacArthur went on to say: "As for the Russians, the situation is slightly different. They have an air force in Siberia, and they are of good quality, with excellent pilots, equipped with advanced aircraft. They can put in 1,000 aircraft. But Russia has no For the ground troops in North Korea, because it is difficult to send ground troops to the Korean battlefield. It takes six weeks for a division to go to North Korea, and after six weeks, winter will come. The only feasible way is for the Russian air force to support the Chinese ground troops in operations But the coordination between the Russian air force and the Chinese ground forces will be very difficult, I think the Russians will drop as many bombs on the Chinese as they will on us. Air cover is very difficult, untrained It is impossible for the air force and ground forces to conduct air cover without a lot of joint training. I believe that the Chinese ground force and the Russian air force cannot do air cover well, and we are the best." Truman appreciated MacArthur's first-hand authoritative analysis and judgment very much.He added a fourth Oak Leaf to MacArthur's Distinguished Service Medal before taking off from Wake Island.As he boarded the plane, he told MacArthur: "I think we have had a very satisfying meeting." Bradley later said in his memoirs: Rarely have I seen him (Truman) in such high spirits.We are all relieved that the Korean War will soon be over.We can now proceed to the important task of building NATO. On October 17, Truman delivered a national broadcast speech in San Francisco, claiming that the meeting on Wake Island was "very satisfying". Solved the problem. He has a wealth of information that will help all of us to make policy decisions correctly at this critical time." Truman confidently declared: "The strength of the United Nations Army is growing day by day, and they are currently far superior to the enemy forces. The effective resistance of the Korean Communists will soon come to an end..." As soon as the talks on Wake Island ended, MacArthur ordered the "United Nations Army" to speed up the attack on the border between China and North Korea. As the resistance of the Korean People's Army gradually weakened, the ground forces of the "United Nations Army", with the support of the sea and air force, aggressively advanced northward, approaching the border between China and North Korea.At this time, the Workers' Party of Korea and the government were forced to organize party and government agencies and troops to transfer to Sinuiju and Gangjie, and moved the temporary capital to Gangjie. On October 17, MacArthur changed the original plan that the east and west troops would converge on the Pyongyang-Wonsan line, and canceled the prohibition on the use of non-Korean troops in the area north of the Dingju-Ningyuan-Hamxing limit line , ordered all the troops of the "United Nations Army" to continue northward in separate routes, pushing the front to the border between China and North Korea. On October 19, the 1st and 24th U.S. Cavalry Divisions and the 1st South Korean Division occupied Pyongyang. On October 20, the 1st Marine Division and the 7th Infantry Division under the command of the US 10th Army were shipped from Incheon and Busan to the waters of Wonsan Port respectively, ready to land.The capital division of the 1st Army Corps of South Korea marched south and north from Hamhung and Hsing, occupying Beiqing and Hsinghing.On the same day, the 187th U.S. Airborne Regiment airborne in the Sucheon and Suncheon areas. MacArthur took a helicopter and watched the airborne in person.As the airborne neared its end, MacArthur's plane flew directly to Pyongyang. At Pyongyang Airport, surrounded by a group of reporters, MacArthur declared with a smile: "This airborne is decisive. The encirclement of the enemy has been completed. Half of the surviving soldiers of the North Korean Army are surrounded." Then, MacArthur said in a relaxed tone: "I have ordered the United Nations to advance at full speed, block the retreat of the Korean People's Army, destroy the Korean People's Army, destroy the Korean People's regime, and occupy the entire North Korea as soon as possible." At this time, the total strength of the "United Nations Army" had reached 420,000, with more than 1,100 aircraft and more than 300 warships of various types.The ground force has five armies, fifteen divisions and two brigades, with more than 230,000 people. Among them, six divisions of the three armies of the United States (each division is equipped with 149 tanks, 35 armored vehicles, and 959 guns) about 12 There are 90,000 troops in two regiments and nine divisions of the South Korean Army (each division is equipped with 219 artillery pieces of various calibers), and there are more than 12,000 troops from Britain, Turkey, Australia, Thailand, the Philippines and other countries.Since the "United Nations Army" with modern equipment did not encounter strong resistance during the northward march, the advancing speed was very fast.From the 20th to the 24th, the "United Nations Army" has advanced more than 100 kilometers, and it is less than 100 kilometers away from the nearest border between North Korea and China. On October 24, MacArthur issued an order to cancel all restrictions on the use of the "United Nations Army" ground forces in northern North Korea, requiring his troops to advance to the limit of the northern border of North Korea. After the 24th, all units of the "United Nations Army" that crossed the 38th parallel took divisions or even regiments or battalions as units, with vehicle-mounted infantry as the forerunner, regardless of the 80-kilometer gap that appeared between the troops on the east and west lines , The troops were divided into multiple routes and advanced towards the border between North Korea and China at a high speed. While the U.S. ground forces are aggressively advancing towards the border between China and North Korea, combat aircraft from the U.S. Navy and Air Force continue to invade China’s airspace, bombing and strafing.According to incomplete statistics, from August 27, 1950 to October 25, 1950, the U.S. military dispatched 31 sorties, invaded the airspace of northeast China, and carried out bombing and strafing, causing 38 Chinese casualties and destroying a large number of residents. houses.The flames of war burned to the peaceful land of China.The Chinese people, who are still immersed in the joyful atmosphere of celebrating the first anniversary of the founding of New China, feel more and more that the war is approaching.