In October 1950, MacArthur met with Truman and said he would not believe Chinese would invade. Then, in November and December 1950, Chinese troops crossed into North Korea and flung themselves against the American lines, driving the U.S. troops back into South Korea.
MacArthur then asked for permission to bomb communist China and use Nationalist Chinese forces from Taiwan against the People’s Republic of China. Truman refused these requests because he remained committed to keeping the conflict in Korea a “limited war.”
President Truman fired MacArthur and replaced him with Gen. Matthew Ridgeway, in April 1951.
