The Day the Chinese Attacked: Korea, 1950: The Story of the Failure of America's China Policy

Korea 1950---"The Day The Chinese Attacked" is a well written book by Edwin P. Hoyt, who attempts to tell truly and clearly the failure of America's China Policy and its effect on the war in Korea, 1950. Edwin P. Hoyt's book describe how America had taken upon itself the task of protecting the status quo of Colonial powers at the end of World War ll; this was at a time when the colonial powers were divesting themselves or being divested of empires in Asia and later the world. Hoyt describes how General Douglas MacArthur, Commander of American occupation forces in Japan, talked too much publicly, and so doing, telegraphed his coming campaign and its aims to Beijing, apparently with no thought at all about what the Chinese reaction would be. Results: The American tragedy of Korea is symbolized by the American casualty figures---142,091 people, 33,629 of them killed-- plus the thousand of dead and wounded from other UN Nations. The End of MacArthur--Chapter 21, page 189. Hoyt's book describe in detail the conflict between President Harry S. Truman, The 33rd U.S. President,[1945-53] and General Douglas MacArthur regarding the direction of the Korean War. Specifically, Hoyt's book outline in detail how C.I.A. Agents in Tokyo reported that the general was conducting conversations with many foreign diplomats trying to use various pressure to force the Truman Administration to give General MacArthur his head. To President Truman, this was disloyalty and intolerable actions. Consequently, General MacArthur was recalled to America, fired by President Truman. It is to be noted, that General Douglas MacArthur's father, Brigadier General, Arthur MacArthur, suffered a similar rejection of his Leadership after he was appointed military Governor of The Philippine, right after the Spanish-American war of 1898, by William McKinley, 25th U.S. President [1897-1901] assassinated. In this regard, General Arthur MacArthur spent the next several years attempting to suppress Philippine insurgents, who preferred independence to U.S. Colonial rule. General Arthur MacArthur soon clashed with the top American Civilian Official in The Philippine, William Howard Taft, who later became the 27th U.S. President [1909-13] and Chief Justice of The U.S.Supreme Court. The Taft-Arthur MacArthur clash foreshadowed the similar clash, that Arthur's son, Douglas MacArthur, would have with President Harry S. Truman, during the Korean War- and with the same result: General Arthur MacArthur was relieved of Command in the Philippines, just as Douglas would be in Korea 50 years later. [ See Arthur MacArthur,Jr, Philippine-American war 1898-1913 ] Wikipedia. ORG Based on my review of this book, Hoyt has awakened the interest of the average reader on Korean War History 1950; whereas not too many other professional historian has been able to do so. Accordingly, I highly recommend this book as an excellent source on China/Korean War History 1950, vis-a-vis The United States