Quote:
Originally Posted by Doug M.
....This is of course true in any war - the nature of the conditions vary, but the hardships are constant. For good measure, the learning curve about gear and functionality are often far behind.
|
And keep in mind the main issue: This wasn't supposed to be a winter war, and just like for the Germans in Russia 1941, clothing and equipment hadn't been prepared for it.
As was mentioned already, the United Nations troops in 1950 consisted mostly of US occupation troops rushed to Korea from Japan and the Philippines. After Inchon and the North Korean rout, by October the war was considered almost over. While the Chinese were infiltrating tens of thousands of troops across the Yalu, in a spectacular combination of intelligence failure and bad judgment MacArthur was declaring victory, sitting warm and safe in Tokyo. The result: The most devastating defeat ever of US land forces in any war. Custer at least had the good grace to die with his men; for political reasons, MacArthur got a victory parade out of it after he was finally fired by Truman.