Truman vs MacArthur

The first disagreement came over the battle at Inchon. MacArthur, a brilliant commander with an enormous ego and a supreme sense of self-confidence, demanded permission for an amphibious operation twenty-five miles west of Seoul, at Inchon. The Joint Chiefs of Staff had been opposed to the amphibious operation, warning MacArthur that Inchon had some of the highest tides in the world and that the city itself was pro

At the end of October, US intelligence confirmed that the Chinese forces had entered North Korea and in early November, UN forces encountered Chinese troops for the first time. This worried Truman but MacArthur was quick to dismiss the Chinese action and he continued the UN march northward, even promising on November 24th to have American troops home for Christmas. Two days later, the Chinese struck in massive numbers against the overextended, ill-equipped, and outnumbered UN troops, inflicting one of the worst defeats an American army has ever suffered. This was now an entirely new war, and the White House was quick to blame General MacArthur.

Truman had deferred to MacArthur’s expertise on numerous occasions and he overlooked errors on MacArthur’s part. The war could have ended after the victorious battle at Inchon, but due to MacArthur’s persuasion, the White House decided to continue the northern advance beyond the 38th parallel in the hopes of driving communism out of Korea.

Truman was concerned about the Chinese intervening. Although MacArthur had assured the President that the Chinese wouldn’t intervene, MacArthur didn’t care if they had. He welcomed the Chinese, MacArthur wanted to rid the world of communism and felt that the US should bomb China if they intervened in the war.

In my opinion President Truman was very courageous in the dismissal of General Douglas MacArthur because the war had the potential to escalate into a global conflict following too closely on the heels of World War II. The threat of a war with China and the Soviet Union was becoming increasingly unpopular in the United States. In the long run, the risks were too great. Truman had to weigh the possibility of ending Communism with involving the United States and probably other nations in years of war. Once he made his decision, it was imperative that he relieve General MacArthur and replace him with a commander who would not go against the policies established by his civilian and military superiors.

Despite the Chinese intervention in the war, General MacArthur had continued to strongly oppose anything short of total victory. The White House no longer shared

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