MiG Alley

Air Force Magazine ^ | 4/2/2010 | John T. Correll

[ErnstStavroBlofeld]

The American F-86 Sabres stopped the MiG-15s—and their Russian pilots—at the Yalu. In August 1950, a Soviet air division with 122 MiG-15 jet fighters arrived in northeastern China and set up headquarters at Antung on the Yalu River, the dividing line between Chinese Manchuria and North Korea. On Oct. 18, an American RB-29 reconnaissance aircraft spotted 75 fighters on the ramp at Antung, but that did not raise much alarm for Gen. Douglas MacArthur’s United Nations Command or the US Far East Air Forces.

Nor was there any great concern on Nov. 1 when a flight of F-51 Mustangs was intercepted by six MiGs in Chinese markings on the Korean side of the Yalu. The Mustangs escaped without harm. US intelligence thought there were only a few of the MiG-15s, and that they were flown by Chinese and North Korean pilots. Intelligence was wrong in both assumptions.

MacArthur and his advisors believed that the Korean War was almost over and that they had won. In the brief time since North Korea invaded South Korea on June 25, the battle lines had swung back and forth for the entire length of the peninsula. UN forces, mainly from the United States, had come to the aid of South Korea, but the first round went to the invaders. By Aug. 5, they had overrun nearly all of Korea. The UN forces, their backs to the sea, held only a small enclave in the southeastern corner, behind a defensive line called the “Pusan Perimeter.”

[InABunkerUnderSF]

MacArthur met with President Truman on Wake Island on Oct. 15. He told Truman that North Korean resistance would end by Thanksgiving and that the US Third Infantry Division would be “back in Ft. Benning for Christmas dinner.” He said there was little or no chance of Chinese intervention.

MacArthur continued to ignore intelligence and believe that it was "too late" for the Chinese to intervene until several days AFTER Peng DeHuai's half a million troops attacked in strength and three of MacArthur's divisions were being cut to pieces by human waves of Chinese conscripts. Between Truman's parsimony, Atchison's bumbling and MacArthur's arrogance it's a wonder that we didn't loose that war.

[VR-21]

Interesting article...thanks.

[21twelve]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=GB&hl=en-GB&v=pzPQZNH1hHs&feature=related

Interesting History Channel interview plus film.

[Yorlik803]

We didnt win the war. It isnt even over yet. No peace treaty has ever been signed with the NK.
MacArther was the most over rated general we ever had. IMHO.

[steelyourfaith]

BTTT ; very interesting.

[american_ranger]

Can you believe that Mac got the Medal of Honor for losing the Philippines?

[Yorlik803]

They said Patton was an egomanic. At least Patton knew how to fight and never backed down, even when it got him in trouble. The way he turned to fight in the Battle of the Bulge should have gotten him a the medal.He drove in a open staff car, with only a blanket on him lap and lead his men. He was everywhere at once.
And another great thing about Patton, he never wanted anything to do with politics. That alone makes him a better general.

[calex59]

In July 1951, the war entered a new phase. Both sides gave up on the idea of decisive victory and the objective became an armistice on favorable terms. The ground battle line settled into a stalemate near the border between North and South Korea. For the next two years, the goals were to negotiate from a position of strength in the truce talks and to secure advantageous force dispositions and deployments approaching the armistice.,/I>

And this is the reason the war drug on and has never officially ended and the reason we had to fight in Vietnam. Had Truman used his frickin' brain and fought the bas***** to a victory Vietnam would never have happened. As arrogant as McArthur was he was a military genius, one who made some mistakes, sure, but at the same time he was right and Truman was wrong.

[2nd Bn, 11th Mar]

Just FYI

A couple of decent war films about air combat over Korea: 1) the Hunters and 2) The Bridges at Toko-ri

[ops33]

MacArthur’s award of the Medal of Honor was for service in the Phillipine Insurrection.

[InABunkerUnderSF]

We won the Korean War. Look at a night time satellite map of the Korean Peninsula.

The sad truth is that throughout history most wars have ended the way the Korean War did - indecisively. Wars that end like the US Civil War, WWI and WWII are the exception not the rule. Even WWII didn’t really end until August of 1991. The dance just took a breather for a couple of years while everyone changed partners.

As for your comments on MacArthur I have to agree. Look at his actions in 1932 during the Bonus March battles, December 8, 1941 when he left the largest force of B17s the US had sitting on the ground to be destroyed by a “surprise” Japanese attack that happened hours after Perl Harbor - instead of using them to strike the Japanese on Formosa as soon as hostilities began. His entire handling of the Korean War was a travesty - from Task Force Smith (The gooks will run at the first sight of a white face so take a couple of companies and half a battery of 105s and go stop 9 NK divistions. Oh yea, they have tanks...) to “The time for the Chinese to intervene is past”.

His (Admiral Barby’s) campaign in New Guinea was brilliant. General Kenney’s use of air power in the South West Pacific was innovative and the Philippines campaigns were generally will handled but none of this negates the fact that at key moments in history the man just failed.

[Yorlik803]

The Bonus army assault was a PR stunt. Ike was there in his civilian clothes because he didnt want it to make it look like a military action. Mac showed up in full uniform and posed for pictures. Ike served under macArthur and hated every minute of it. Ike thought he was vain and pompus, and on this, Ike was right on the money.