The focus shifted from military operations after President Truman suddenly relieved General MacArthur of all his military commands. The President took this step following five days of consultation with his chief military and civilian advisers. The culmination came on 10 April when he directed General Bradley to send General MacArthur a message stating:
I deeply regret that it becomes my duty as President and Commander
in Chief of the United States Military Forces to replace you as
Supreme Commander, Allied Powers; Commander in Chief, United
Nations Command; Commander in Chief, Far East; and Commanding
General United States Army, Far East. You will turn over your
commands, effective at once, to Lieutenant General Matthew B.
Ridgway. [1]
The abrupt dismissal of so distinguished a soldier as General MacArthur aroused considerable furor in the United States and elsewhere. Charges of "cavalier treatment" and "foreign pressure" as well as broad hints of political machination followed his dismissal. The entire matter was aired extensively between May and August 1951 before the Committee on Armed Services and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the United States Senate. No definite conclusions were drawn, but testimony given the committees provided some indication of the reasons which impelled President Truman's decision. [2] Charges that MacArthur's removal was fostered, and actually engineered, by certain nations allied with the United States in Korea, particularly the British, were not well founded. While these nations, through press media and even through official channels, criticized General MacArthur's conduct of the campaign and expressed
[1] Rad, JCS 88180, Bradley (Personal) for MacArthur, 11 Apr. 51.
[2] The Joint Committee on Armed Services and Foreign Relations which conducted these hearings was composed of Senator Richard B. Russell, Chairman; Senator Styles Bridges; Senator Alexander Wiley, Senator H. Alexander Smith; Senator Bourke B. Hickenlooper; Senator William F. Knowland; Senator Harry P. Cain; Senator Owen Brewster; and Senator Ralph E. Flanders. Witnesses appearing before the committee included General MacArthur; Secretary of Defense Marshall; General Bradley; General Collins; General Vandenberg; Admiral Sherman; Secretary of State Acheson; General Wedemeyer; and former Secretary of Defense Johnson. Among its indefinite conclusions the committee reached the following: "The removal of General MacArthur was within the constitutional powers of the President but the circumstances were a shock to the national pride," and "There was no serious disagreement between General MacArthur and the Joint Chiefs of Staff as to military strategy in Korea." See MacArthur Hearings, pp. 3601-02.
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