On June 25, 1950, war resumed on the Korean Peninsula. United States President Harry S. Truman stood in front of the window of the Oval Office of the White House, his brow furrowed. He had just received a telegram from the outbreak of the Korean War, and a great drama was about to be staged that would change the pattern of East Asia. At this time, Truman did not know how much this war would cost United States.
The United States stepped into the quagmire, and 2.83 million soldiers were caught in the Korean War
Just a few years after the end of World War II, the United States was embroiled in another war of unprecedented proportions. As the main force of the "United Nations Army", United States invested an astonishing number of troops on the Korean battlefield. According to the latest statistics, 2.834 million people in the United States Army alone participated in the war. This figure is far beyond the imagination of many and has even taken some experts by surprise.
The "holy war" in the eyes of United States, but no one wants to be cannon fodder
In the early days of the Korean War, United States public opinion generally regarded it as a "decisive battle between the democratic camp and communism." Many United States are clamoring to "teach the Chinese a hard lesson." However, when the conscription order was issued, these impassioned patriots began to look for all kinds of excuses to evade military service.
An United States general once complained: "Many people usually receive training allowances, and when they hear that they are going to war, they try to evade their responsibilities." These 'shrewd patriots' would only wave handkerchiefs at the train station to bid farewell to young people who had actually gone to fight in Korea. "
This phenomenon reflects the complex attitude of United States society towards the Korean War. On the surface, the crowd is outraged, but in reality they are unwilling to pay the actual price. This also laid the groundwork for the large-scale rotation system of the US military later.
In turns, the number of US troops has been rising
In order to maintain combat effectiveness and at the same time calm domestic anti-war sentiment, the US military adopted a strategy of frequent rotation. Front-line combatants can generally return to China within six months to a year, while logistics support personnel are rotated once a year to a year and a half.
This system led to a surge in the total number of U.S. troops participating in the war. It's like a pool that never dries up, with a steady stream of new recruits coming in. In the end, the total number of U.S. troops participating in the war even exceeded that of the Chinese volunteers.
In addition to the rotation system, the variety of US troops participating in the war is also staggering. The Army alone involved four armies, including the 8th Army and its subordinate 1st, 9th, and 10th armies, as well as the 16th Army (later the 14th Army) of the Far Eastern General Reserve. And that's not counting the Marine Corps and Air Force.
The 8th Army alone has more than 80 battalion-level combat units, covering infantry, artillery, tanks, engineers, and other arms. With such a large military machine, it's no wonder that so many troops are needed to keep it running.
How can the "army on paper" become a real combat force?
With so many U.S. troops invested, is it true that they are all fighting on the front line? This is not the case. The US military has adopted a "1:1:1" troop configuration: one-third are front-line combat units, one-third are logistics support units in Korea, and one-third are logistics and reserve units stationed in Japan.
This configuration may seem bloated, but it is actually the key to the strong combat effectiveness of the US military. Take, for example, the May 1951 onslaught of volunteers on the U.S. military in Korea. At that time, the 2nd Division of the U.S. Army withstood the fierce attack of the 15th Army of the Volunteer Army in the area of Peace Valley. It seems to be a heroic battle of the front-line troops, but in fact it is a great contribution made by the logistics troops.
It turned out that the 52nd Automobile Battalion of the US Army transported 1,810 tons of ammunition per day to the front line. It was this continuous supply of ammunition that allowed the American artillery to carry out uninterrupted fire coverage, and finally thwarted the offensive of the volunteers. The 15th Army of the Volunteer Army suffered heavy losses, and there was even a peculiar scene of indiscriminate bombardment by US artillery and failure of the infantry to fire a single shot.
This example vividly illustrates the strength of the US military's logistics system. Those seemingly bloated logistics units played an irreplaceable role at a critical moment. It is this strong logistical support that has allowed the US military to maintain long-term operations on the Korean battlefield.
However, the huge logistics system also brings huge manpower consumption. In order to ensure the operation of one division on the front line, the rear needs to invest logistics personnel equivalent to one division. This also explains why the total number of U.S. troops participating in the war was so large.
The helplessness behind the U.S. military's numbers game
The figure of 2.83 million is not only a cold statistical result, but also reflects the embarrassing situation of United States in the Korean War.
On the one hand, the United States needs to devote a lot of troops to sustain the war and show its superpower status. On the other hand, anti-war sentiment is growing in the country, and the government has had to reassure the people through frequent rotations. As a result, the total number of participants in the war continued to rise, eventually reaching this staggering number.
The war also exposed some problems with the U.S. military. For example, to explain the defeat in positional warfare, the US military once claimed that its artillery was insufficient. However, the fact is that the US military has 66 artillery battalions on the Korean battlefield, which is far more than the operational needs. This practice of "selective blindness" reflects the psychological adjustment of the US military in the face of defeat.
Looking back at the Korean War, the figure of 2.83 million troops invested by the U.S. military tells us that just because there are many people, we may not be able to win the war. Although the U.S. military was outnumbered, it was unable to achieve a decisive victory on the Korean battlefield. On the contrary, maintaining such a large military machine for a long time has brought a heavy economic burden to the United States.
This history teaches us that when assessing a war, one cannot just look at the numbers. It is more important to analyze the political, economic, and social factors behind it. United States committed so many troops in the Korean War not so much as military necessity as political calculations.
Looking back at this period of history today, we should reflect on how to avoid war and how to seek peace in conflict. After all, no matter how many troops are committed by either side, the ultimate victims of war will always be ordinary people. This is perhaps the most important lesson we should learn from this protracted war. #头条首发大赛#