Alternate Korean War

What if Truman would have agreed with MacArthur as to continuing the war into China during the Korean war?

POD: Monday, October 9, 1950. President Truman and General MacArthur meet on Wake island to discuss how the war in Korea should proceed. MacArthur is able to convince Truman to continue the war against the chinese and North Koreans.

Wha would happen if the war in Korea continued? Would it possibly butterfly away vietnam? I could definatly see China invading Taiwan in this instance as well.
 

MacCaulay

Banned
Wha would happen if the war in Korea continued? Would it possibly butterfly away vietnam? I could definatly see China invading Taiwan in this instance as well.

Well, I don't think there's any circumstances that Truman would've done that under, but for the sake of argument I'll go along with it. I'm a wargaming nut like that.


China couldn't invade Taiwan in the 50s. They didn't have the bluewater capability back then, just like they don't know.

If anything, the chances of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan are even less back then: there's at least 2 carrier groups sitting in the general area. Not only would the Americans have a heyday, the British would be there, too.
 
Nukes fly, the end. Seriously, though, Mao can't hope to defeat the US even with his sheer numbers and I don't see Stalin risking nuclear war with the US to save his ass. I could see a liberal amount of carpet bombing and use of tactical nuclear weapons to defeat the Chinese. Mao doesn't have any defences against this and he's working with inferior equipment (some of it dating back to pre-WW2!) although the war would still last quite long since the Chinese would perceive this as western aggression and won't want a return to the old days when China was still at the west's feet. Also, I could see Chiang Kai-Shek staging a comeback with US support in southern China, using Taiwan as a staging ground for an amphibious invasion.
 
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