At 15:00 on April 10, 1951, U.S. President Truman signed two documents (see attachment at the end of the article), one to the Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in Japan, the Commander-in-Chief of the United Nations Forces, and the Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. Forces in the Far East , U.S. Army Far East Commander Douglas MacArthur's order informing him that he would be relieved of his above duties and transferred to Lieutenant General Matthew Ridgway, with immediate effect; the other was a public statement submitted to the press regarding MacArthur's dismissal. Both documents are official, and the disclosure of either one means the dismissal order takes effect.

MacArthur’s dismissal was an important event for both warring parties at the time and for countries paying attention to the Korean War.

Official materials published by China in recent years (such as "Chronicle of the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea" compiled by the Military Museum, *** Press, 2000 edition) only mention MacArthur's dismissal without any comment. However, in folk discourse and literary books and periodicals, the keyword associated with MacArthur's dismissal is "defeat of the U.S. military." This may stem from the propaganda materials of the year, such as:

[Xinhua News Agency, 13th] MacArthur, Commander-in-Chief of the US Far East Invasion Force, has resigned because he suffered severe blows from the armed forces of North Korea and China during the war of aggression against North Korea. This is a victory for the Chinese and Korean people in their struggle against the United States.

"People's Daily" commented on April 15, "MacArthur's resignation is a new victory for the Chinese and North Korean people in their struggle against the United States, and it is also a victory for the people of the world to oppose the war of aggression and safeguard world peace...Obviously, MacArthur fell under the iron fist of the anti-U.S. struggle of the Chinese and Korean people; it marked the failure of the U.S. imperialist policy of aggression and war, and the victory of the people of the world in opposing U.S. aggression and safeguarding world peace. ”

The United States has a long story about the reasons for MacArthur's dismissal. There are countless relevant written materials and files. Simply put, it is that the commander-in-chief and the front-line commander cannot cooperate.

The dismissal of high-ranking officials has occurred at home and abroad throughout the ages. Here I will only talk about the methods used to dismiss MacArthur and what happened after his dismissal.

The White House decided to let MacArthur himself know the news of his dismissal earlier than his subordinates and the public. The White House issued a presidential statement after confirming that MacArthur personally received the order of dismissal. Not only that, it was also decided to send a special person to deliver the dismissal order in person, instead of having the Tokyo Army Communications Department deliver the received White House telegram to MacArthur's adjutant, who would then deliver it to MacArthur.

Truman’s approach of not asking MacArthur to resign but ordering his dismissal actually had a slightly punitive meaning. In September 1950, Truman believed that Secretary of Defense Johnson was not qualified for the job and adopted a gentle approach, that is, letting MacArthur be dismissed from his post. Johnson resigned and was replaced by Marshall. However, stipulating the method of delivering and taking effect of the order obviously took care of MacArthur's face. Secretary of War Pace was in Tokyo at the time and was the appropriate person to deliver the message. Secretary of Defense Marshall informed Pace to go to North Korea immediately and wait for further instructions. The dismissal telegram bypassed the Army communication system and was sent by the State Department to the U.S. Ambassador Mucho in Busan. Mucho handed it to Pace, and then Pace flew back to Tokyo and handed it to MacArthur in person. .

The reason why the White House handles the dismissal matter so carefully is because of the particularity of the MacArthur issue:

1. MacArthur is senior and has high prestige. He served in the U.S. Expeditionary Force in Europe during World War I. He served as brigade commander, division commander and other positions. After World War I, he served as president of West Point Military Academy and chief of staff of the Army (1930-1935). During World War II, he served as the Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Southwest Pacific Theater and after World War II, he served as the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Forces in Japan. MacArthur is one of the four remaining five-star generals in the US military. According to Army Secretary Pace, "I was still in a prep school in Pennsylvania when MacArthur was the Army Chief of Staff." Of course, Pace thought that sending a dismissal order to MacArthur was a very bad thing. He imagined sending the letter like this: I go to MacArthur's headquarters, press the doorbell, stuff the dismissal order at the door, and then run away as fast as I can.

2. MacArthur shouldered the great responsibility of occupying Japan on behalf of the Allies and directing the ongoing Korean War.

By comparison, Germany was occupied by four major powers. The United States, the Soviet Union, and the United Kingdom all sent their top military commanders during the war—Eisenhower, Zhukov, and Montgomery—as commanders-in-chief of the occupying forces, but they only served for at most one year. ; But MacArthur is the only Japanese "Emperor", and has been for 5 years and 7 months.

3. Because of his seniority and power, MacArthur was known for his unruly nature. In 1937, while serving as a military adviser in the Philippines, MacArthur returned to China to get married and never returned to China again. During World War II and the Korean War, the two presidents called him back to the country many times to report on his duties, but he always declined because of his military duties. At MacArthur's request, the compromise reached was to meet with the President at a location between Washington and MacArthur's headquarters: The meeting with Roosevelt was in Honolulu in July 1944. The President, along with Chief of Staff Leahy, met with General MacArthur, Commander-in-Chief of the Southwest Pacific Theater, and the Pacific Theater Command Commander-in-Chief Nimitz studied the battlefield situation; the only meeting with Truman in his life was held on Wake Island in October 1950, which lasted only three hours. MacArthur even declined Truman’s invitation to have lunch and hurriedly flew back to Tokyo. .

What actually happened after Truman signed the two documents regarding MacArthur’s dismissal was:

Due to technical reasons, the State Department’s telegram to Ambassador Mucho in Busan was delayed. can be reached;

As time dragged on, the press seemed to be aware that MacArthur would be dismissed. A reporter from the "Chicago Tribune" even pressed White House Press Secretary Short in order to extract information that could be immediately provided. Published Materials. After consulting with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Bradley, Short suspected that the dismissal order might be leaked;

Considering that MacArthur might have been dismissed before his dismissal took effect (that is, the personal telegram had not been delivered and the White House press conference had not been held). Proposing to resign in order to resist the White House order, Truman decided to change the scheduled procedure: immediately send the dismissal order to MacArthur himself at the Allied Forces Headquarters in Tokyo through the Army communication system, and then hold a press conference to announce the presidential statement at 1:00 on April 11 (Washington time);

A reporter in Tokyo called MacArthur’s adjutant Hef to pay attention to the news broadcast at 15:00 (i.e. 1:00 Washington time). He believed that there would be news about MacArthur’s dismissal;

A shocked Hef After listening to the news broadcast that started at 15:00, the husband immediately called MacArthur’s wife, Jenny;

Jenny told MacArthur, who was entertaining guests, about the dismissal;

Soon after, the Alliance The signal corps of the Army Headquarters delivered the just-received telegram to Huff, who immediately drove to MacArthur;

MacArthur personally opened the envelope and read the dismissal order message.

Some of the above plots have different accounts, and even MacArthur's biography cannot accurately describe them. For example, MacArthur famously said after learning that he was dismissed: "Jenny, we can finally go home!" There are multiple versions of when and on what occasion he said it.

But what is certain is that news spread faster than military telegraphs, and the expected procedures were reversed. The problem lies in the short time left between Truman's instruction to send a military telegram directly to MacArthur himself and the 1:00 o'clock press conference on April 11. How short is this time? The author has not seen any information saying so. You can imagine the dilemma for the White House - any delay in the press conference will increase the possibility that the official news will be later than the media news, and the advance of the press conference will make the public and subordinates know that MacArthur has been dismissed, while MacArthur himself is still in the dark. inside.

MacArthur’s dismissal caused an uproar***. The Japanese cabinet considered resigning as president to express dissatisfaction with the dismissal of their "savior". Emperor Hirohito went to the U.S. Embassy to bid farewell to MacArthur. On the day MacArthur left for home, hundreds of thousands of Japanese lined up to see him off on the road leading to the airport.

After his dismissal, MacArthur and his family were welcomed by 200,000 people when they flew from Tokyo to Honolulu, and more than 300,000 people were welcomed in San Francisco. When they arrived in Washington, Defense Secretary Marshall and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Blake DeLay, Chief of Staff of the Army Collins, Chief of Naval Operations Sherman, Chief of Staff of the Air Force Vandenberg and many generals of the three services were waiting at the airport. (A note needs to be added here: Bradley and the heads of the three services unanimously recommended that the President remove MacArthur before taking office. Marshall, who had been absent from office due to illness for half a year, came to the conclusion after the president asked him to review the telegrams exchanged between Washington and Tokyo since the war that MacArthur should have been fired as early as two years ago). On April 19, MacArthur was invited to deliver an exciting speech in Congress. At the end of the speech, it was said that "no one on the Democratic side was not in tears, and on the other side of the Communist Party, no face was dry." Afterwards, MacArthur was invited to give lectures in some cities. In New York City, he welcomed 7 million people and used tons of ribbons, confetti, and streamers.

At the same time, the public expressed strong confusion and dissatisfaction with the White House. People could not forgive the president's rude behavior towards their hero. According to statistics from the White House Press Office, they have received nearly 30,000 letters and telegrams from the public in total, more than 95% of which criticized the president's decision to dismiss. A Gallup poll showed that 69% of the country supported MacArthur, while only 29% supported the president's actions.

Beginning on May 3, the Senate Armed Services Committee and the Foreign Affairs Committee jointly held hearings on the Korean War. MacArthur was the first to testify. His testimony lasted more than 20 hours. The chief counter-witness present for *** was Marshall. Two Army five-star generals with the same seniority, but who were educated at West Point and Virginia Military Academy respectively, had a face-to-face debate, followed by Bradley, Collins, Sherman, and Vanden. Fort came to the scene to testify one after another, of course, as MacArthur's opponent.

The Senate hearing lasted until June 25, and there was no conclusion. After that, MacArthur's lecture tour also faded. In Dallas, there were only 27,000 people in the audience, and some people scoffed that it was not as attractive as a middle school football game. Apparently the public and public opinion have finally figured out that the president did not make a big mistake in dismissing him. As for MacArthur's legendary 52-year military career and unique charm, that is another matter.

The story of MacArthur's dismissal is roughly like this. Literary figures have long imagined, speculated, and exaggerated it with wonderful pens to form a grand view of various "secrets," "reveals," "inside stories," and "big dismissals." and so on. Leaving aside the literary bubble, what is interesting are some of the game rules and institutional factors revealed in this story:

1. There are always various difficulties in removing a high-ranking official from his position, but this time there was no trouble. The president personally has the power to remove the commander-in-chief of a war zone. This is known to both the government and the public. The superior-subordinate relationship between the state and the military must be very clear. Any official should know who is responsible to the superiors and who can be directed and dismissed by the subordinates. Although the president has no superiors, he may be impeached by Congress if he does something inappropriate. Truman actually consulted with all major officials and even personal friends before making decisions.

2. The effective effect of the dismissal order is unequivocal. There is no situation where someone is nominally dismissed but is actually in office, nor is there a situation where he is nominally still in office but actually has no authority or is isolated or under supervision.

3. No matter which way MacArthur was informed of his dismissal, he was freely present at the scene. There was no need to bring him into a special place to announce in person, or to announce it in some way first. Isolate him from his subordinates and family members and let the new commander actually take responsibility.

4. The dismissal order stated that "the reasons for the replacement will be announced when the above message is sent to you." On the one hand, it shows that the most important and urgent issue is the smooth transfer of command rather than the reasons for the removal. On the other hand, On the one hand, it shows that there is only one version of the reason for the removal, and there is nothing to explain behind the scenes or exchange opinions privately.

5. The Senate hearing was held less than a month after MacArthur's dismissal, instead of hanging it up or "freezing" it first.

6. For more than two months, the public and the media enthusiastically pursued MacArthur and strongly criticized Truman ***. It is conceivable that Truman, White House officials, and military leaders were frustrated.

However, it is uncomfortable, and the government and the army are still operating.

7. No matter how powerful the public and media are in resisting, they cannot directly bring down the president. Although the president, the government, and military officials may have strong resentment towards the public and the media, they have absolutely no right to interfere with the public. Express your wishes to the media.

8. The two presidents summoned MacArthur back to China to report on his duties but failed. Truman’s order did not mention MacArthur’s arrangements or whereabouts after his dismissal. However, on April 16, four days after his dismissal, MacArthur set off to return home after an absence of 14 years. year’s motherland. None of the information the author has seen explores this bizarre phenomenon. The rough guess is that five-star General MacArthur knew that he had a lifelong active-duty military status and reported to the War Department.

9. The dismissal order was cold, but Truman also granted MacArthur the last power in a very humane way: "You have the authority to give orders necessary to go to the place of your choice." < /p>

10. The White House’s complicated planning to issue the dismissal order, temporary changes due to changes in circumstances, and the topsy-turvy way in which the final dismissal order came into effect seemed to be in a state of confusion and confusion. However, because no matter what happens, it is still above the bottom line of the system and rules, so the "MacArthur dismissal incident" can generally withstand the test of history.

Attached is a Presidential Order

To General MacArthur in Tokyo:

As President and Commander-in-Chief of the United States Armed Forces, it is my responsibility to replace you, Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Allies and Commander-in-Chief of the United Nations Forces. Commander, Commander-in-Chief in the Far East, and Commander of U.S. Army Forces in the Far East, deeply regret this.

You shall transfer all of your duties to Lieutenant General Matthew Ridgway, effective immediately. You have the authority to give the orders necessary to travel to a place of your choosing.

The reasons for the withdrawal will be announced when the above message is sent to you.

Attachment 2 Presidential Statement

I deeply regret to announce that Army Five-Star General Douglas MacArthur cannot wholeheartedly support the policies and policies of the United States Army on matters related to his official duties. United Nations policy. In accordance with the special responsibilities entrusted to me by the United States Constitution and the responsibilities specifically entrusted to me by the United Nations, I have decided to change the Commander-in-Chief of the Far East. I have therefore relieved MacArthur of all commands and have appointed Lieutenant General Matthew B. Ridgway to succeed him.

Comprehensive and vigorous debate about relevant national policies is a vital element of our liberal democratic constitutional system. However, it is a fundamental principle that military commanders must abide by the policies and instructions issued to them in accordance with the provisions of our country's laws and constitution. In times of crisis, this consideration is especially necessary.

General MacArthur has fully confirmed his place in history. The people of the country are deeply grateful for his outstanding and extraordinary contributions to the country in his position of great responsibility. For this reason, I again regret the actions that had to be taken against him. ? (Source: People's Daily Online, author: Huang Limin)