The Untold History of the United States (№ 456491)

The Korean police operation has been going on for two and a half years and has escalated into a full-scale war. The United States fought fierce battles for useless hills and suffered heavy losses. This is very similar to what will happen in Vietnam fifteen years later. Troops under the command of General MacArthur fought the North Koreans, armed with the participation of the USSR. The Americans moved closer and closer to the border of China. Despite regular warnings from Beijing, MacArthur assured Truman that China would never go to war. In the late fall of 1950, hundreds of thousands of Chinese soldiers poured south across the Yalu River. The Americans and their allies had to retreat in disorder. The Marines did not take this threat seriously at first. "No retreat," their commander reported, "we're just advancing in the other direction." TIME magazine called it the worst defeat in US history. Truman wrote in his diary: "World War III is on the verge."