F I E S T A
H a p p y B i r t h d a y !
K A R E N
love
Tom
Tuesday, August 26, 2025
Sunday, August 24, 2025
Saturday, August 23, 2025
Korean Redux
The army America sent to Korea in 1950, arrived
trained and equipped to fight World War 2.
U.S. political and military leaders called for nothing
less than unconditional surrender from their enemy.
Uncle Sam had the overwhelming advantage in
tanks, artillery and planes, despite the fact
these weapons bordered on museum vintage.
The soldiers, of course, hoped to be home
by Christmas.
World War II brings to mind battles where tanks
rushed to gain deadly advantage, and bombers turned
cities to rubble. Victory required the vanquished to
sign a surrender, granting them no rights, no dignity.
General Douglas MacArthur would destroy the forces
of communism, pursuing North Korea's troops all the
way to the Yalu river. The banks of the river's far side
belonged to China. Her army of a million volunteers
were huddled nearby, waiting for the signal to rise up
and crush the men of Yankee aggression.
25 June, 1950.
Another Pearl Harbor.
This time it was the North Koreans striking that first,
devastating blow. America never saw it coming.
Washington was absorbed with Berlin, Stalin and
the Red Army in Europe. Political leaders thought
about strategy. Intelligence gathering was the job
of the spy. They were to inform the Oval Office
of the likelihood of a threat turning real.
Where? When?
Pyongyang's invasion South totally blindsided Truman.
Spies aren't supposed to let the quarterback be sacked.
Korea is a peninsula that nearly connects the Asian
mainland with Japan. One hundred and fifty miles
of cold, choppy water is all that separates Asia
from linking up with the Japanese.
Truman's people in the State Department failed to
mention South Korea when they listed the names
of nations they considered important to U.S. security.
Stalin noticed. What he took to be policy was, in
fact, only a bureaucratic oversight.
The war was on.
It was now up to Truman to clean up the mess.
The American people would be called upon to
show resolve and fight the forces of aggression.
Douglas MacArthur oversaw the occupation of Japan
following the war. He made sure enormous quantities
of military equipment and supplies were stockpiled
on the island nation. Japan's skilled workforce was
kept busy refurbishing, modifying and maintaining
everything military for Uncle Sam.
The revenue produced from this industry proved
to be a significant factor in reviving the
Japanese economy.
America's military had the need for roads.
Quickly getting from one place to the next
made mobility a critical strength for the U.S. Army.
Even artillery could be whisked most everywhere,
all at once. This was necessary for the battlefield win.
So long as you were fighting in Europe.
Korea is a narrow peninsula of rugged mountain ranges.
The roads there were narrow and unpaved. They followed
the valleys rather than scale the surrounding mountains.
Military trucks and tanks were confined to these roads
by rugged terrain. This left them vulnerable to ambush
from the surrounding hills.
The high ground belonged to foot soldiers -
the infantry. These were mostly Chinese,
experienced at fighting amidst rocky peaks.
The trick behind a devastating ambush was to
begin by knocking out the first and last vehicles
of the convoy, blocking any further movement.
The enemy could now leisurely pick off those
below, who refused to surrender.
This wasn't how it was supposed to happen.
Defeat wasn't in the script.
* * * * *
© Tom Taylor
OVER EASY
Sunday, August 17, 2025
Saturday, August 16, 2025
Up The Ante
1949 was a banner year for the Communists.
Stalin exploded an atomic bomb, ending America's
monopoly on nuclear weapons. Then Chiang's
pro-American government in China was overthrown
by the Marxist forces of Mao Zedong.
U.S. global dominance was brought into question.
What next?
Truman brought in the new year, 1950, with an order
to develop a bomb many times more powerful than
the bomb dropped on Hiroshima to end the Second
World War. The world's first hydrogen bomb was
detonated four years later on the Bikini Atoll in the
South Pacific. It had a full 1,000 times the power of
the Hiroshima bomb. Here was a weapon that truly
could vaporize a large city like Moscow or New York.
Soon the Russians fired off their own H-Bomb, launching
the emerging superpower arms race into an
all systems go frenzy.
Mao came to Moscow in February, 1950, to secure
Stalin's support for his regime. Two months later he
returned to Beijing with the alliance he wanted from
the Soviets. From here on Chairman Mao would
follow Stalin's lead, in return for the Kremlin's
assurance of aid and military support for China.
Mao understood he was Junior in this relationship.
Stalin finally gave Kim the GO! to invade south
and unify Korea under Marxist rule. In the weeks
leading up to the invasion date, a steady supply
of military equipment sped across Mao's China
and into neighboring North Korea;
tanks, artillery, machine guns and planes -
here was everything the North would need to
overwhelm Rhee's forces south of the 38th Parallel.
Sunday, June 25th.
An artillery barrage at dawn reined confusion down
upon South Korea's defenders. A line of fast moving
tanks swept over the disorganized defense once
the shelling lifted. Seven fully equipped combat
divisions followed behind the tanks, mopping up
the survivors of this surprise attack.
Stalin was certain Uncle Sam wouldn't stick his nose
into this Korean scrape, being it so far from home
and just next door to Mao.
South Korea's troops were at a fatal disadvantage
without tanks of their own. This was because
Washington did not trust Rhee to use them responsibly.
That doesn't explain why Rhee's troops had no effective
anti-tank weapons for their own defense. The soldiers
might as well have been throwing rocks.
They were mowed down for their effort.
The defenders of the West were once again routed.
They abandoned their posts and their equipment,
before joining up with refugees that were already
streaming south.
Stalin miscalculated.
This will not stand...
to quote Harry Truman.
Call up the troops and do what it takes to win,
but don't bother Congress with a Declaration
of War. This is a United Nations police action,
not a war. We don't have wars, what with
nuclear bombs being so readily available.
Maybe small wars.
Nothing big. Nothing that really counts.
* * * * *
© Tom Taylor
OVER EASY
Sunday, August 10, 2025
Saturday, August 9, 2025
Korea
Japan invaded the Korean peninsula at the turn
of the 20th century, ending Korea's independence.
Forty years of occupation ended with Japan's surrender
to the Allies at the end of World War 2.
The peninsula would now be divided between the globe's
two opposing superpowers, the US and Russia.
They established a capitalist proxy south of the 38th parallel
and a communist one in the north.
What could possibly go wrong?
Roosevelt had big plans for China once the war
ended. They would have a seat on the UN Security
Council along with the world's other leading big shots -
France, Britain, Russia and the U.S.
They would influence the course of history.
Then the unthinkable occurred.
Mao's peasant army was beating up Chiang's military,
the one fortified with $2 billion in American weaponry.
China may go communist but there would be no
Security Council invitation sent to Mao.
If Chiang had only a rowboat to paddle,
he would be awarded China's place at the UN
over Mao and his misguided followers.
Korea's importance to Washington grew as Chiang's
fortunes in China slid towards desperation.
Syngman Rhee was America's choice to lead
South Korea. He was Harvard educated,
conservative and a fervid anticommunist.
He had spent the past thirty-five years living
in the U.S. and could not be accused of
collaboration with the Japanese occupiers,
unlike many of his rivals.
Rhee also had ambitions for wealth and power.
He became both corrupt and intolerant of opposition.
Washington refused him tanks because they feared
Rhee would quickly use them to invade the north.
Kim IL Sung was charismatic, a resistance fighter,
a dedicated communist and the Kremlin's man
to lead Korea, once he unified it.
Stalin repeatedly refused Kim the authority to
attack the South, though. The time was never right.
Like Rhee, Kim was held on a short leash.
Chiang's Nationalist government steadily shrank,
until it ruled over only a few isolated cities strung
along the Chinese coast. The war for control of the
mainland has been decided. Chiang's forces were
dispersed and vulnerable. The Nationalist
government's only hope for survival was a retreat
to the nearby island of Taiwan.
The People's Republic of China was declared from
some government steps in Beijing by Mao Zedong,
October 1, 1949. Now began the process of Asia's
rapid change.
In 1950 Stalin finally agreed to back Kim's plan
to invade South Korea and unify the peninsula.
The time was right. China was now ruled by
a communist government, willing and eager to aid
Kim in his goal of ridding Korea of American influence.
A real game changer though, was Stalin now had
the Bomb. Both superpowers were now armed
with the atom. The playing field was level.
Stalin didn't believe America would go to war
over Kim's attack. Most Americans had never
heard of South Korea and couldn't care less
about some scrap going on in this distant outpost.
Was Truman really going to pull Dad from his
wife and kids, put him back in uniform and ship
him off to Asia to fight over an unknown land
where the winters were subzero?
Not on your life.
* * * * *
© Tom Taylor
OVER EASY
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