IKS Lecture: Steve Taaffe, "Failure in Command: Army Combat Leaders at the Beginning of the Korean War"

October 21, 2019

1:00PM - 2:30PM

Mendenhall Lab Room 115 (125 S Oval Mall)

Add to Calendar 2019-10-21 13:00:00 2019-10-21 14:30:00 IKS Lecture: Steve Taaffe, "Failure in Command: Army Combat Leaders at the Beginning of the Korean War" The Institute for Korean Studies presents:Steve TaaffeProfessor of HistoryStephen F. Austin State UniversityTitle: Failure in Command: Army Combat Leaders at the Beginning of the Korean WarFlyer: Taaffe Flyer Abstract: The US army did not fight well during the first months of the Korean War. In engagement after engagement, the North Koreans pushed the American army southward and inflicted heavy casualties on it. There were plenty of reasons for this, but one important one was the mediocre quality of the army’s high-ranking combat commanders. This was surprising because the army had plenty of capable generals who proven themselves leading divisions and corps during World War Two. However, a combination of army personnel policy and interpersonal conflict initially interfered with the army’s efforts to find the best men to lead its combat units. Although the army eventually overcame these problems and transferred better generals to Korea, it did so only after the North Koreans, and later the Chinese, almost drove it off the Korean peninsula. Bio: Steve Taaffe is the author of seven books, including MacArthur’s Korean War Generals. He received his bachelor’s degree in political science and Spanish from Grove City College, his master’s degrees in international affairs (Latin American emphasis) and political science from Ohio University, and his doctorate in history from Ohio University. He is currently a professor of history at Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas, where he teaches American history. He lives with his wife, Cynthia, and their four children. He is currently working on a manuscript on US Marine Corps generals in World War Two. Free and Open to the PublicThis event is co-sponsored by OSU's Department of History and is supported by a U.S. Department of Education title VI grant to The Ohio State University East Asian Studies Center. Mendenhall Lab Room 115 (125 S Oval Mall) OSU ASC Drupal 8 ascwebservices@osu.edu America/New_York public

Add to Calendar 2019-10-21 13:00:00 2019-10-21 14:30:00 IKS Lecture: Steve Taaffe, "Failure in Command: Army Combat Leaders at the Beginning of the Korean War" The Institute for Korean Studies presents:Steve TaaffeProfessor of HistoryStephen F. Austin State UniversityTitle: Failure in Command: Army Combat Leaders at the Beginning of the Korean WarFlyer: Taaffe Flyer Abstract: The US army did not fight well during the first months of the Korean War.  In engagement after engagement, the North Koreans pushed the American army southward and inflicted heavy casualties on it.  There were plenty of reasons for this, but one important one was the mediocre quality of the army’s high-ranking combat commanders.  This was surprising because the army had plenty of capable generals who proven themselves leading divisions and corps during World War Two.  However, a combination of army personnel policy and interpersonal conflict initially interfered with the army’s efforts to find the best men to lead its combat units.  Although the army eventually overcame these problems and transferred better generals to Korea, it did so only after the North Koreans, and later the Chinese, almost drove it off the Korean peninsula. Bio: Steve Taaffe is the author of seven books, including MacArthur’s Korean War Generals.  He received his bachelor’s degree in political science and Spanish from Grove City College, his master’s degrees in international affairs (Latin American emphasis) and political science from Ohio University, and his doctorate in history from Ohio University.  He is currently a professor of history at Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas, where he teaches American history.  He lives with his wife, Cynthia, and their four children.  He is currently working on a manuscript on US Marine Corps generals in World War Two. Free and Open to the PublicThis event is co-sponsored by OSU's Department of History and is supported by a U.S. Department of Education title VI grant to The Ohio State University East Asian Studies Center.  Mendenhall Lab Room 115 (125 S Oval Mall) Department of East Asian Languages and Literature deall@osu.edu America/New_York public

The Institute for Korean Studies presents:

Steve Taaffe
Professor of History
Stephen F. Austin State University

Title: Failure in Command: Army Combat Leaders at the Beginning of the Korean War

Flyer: Taaffe Flyer

Abstract: The US army did not fight well during the first months of the Korean War. In engagement after engagement, the North Koreans pushed the American army southward and inflicted heavy casualties on it. There were plenty of reasons for this, but one important one was the mediocre quality of the army’s high-ranking combat commanders. This was surprising because the army had plenty of capable generals who proven themselves leading divisions and corps during World War Two. However, a combination of army personnel policy and interpersonal conflict initially interfered with the army’s efforts to find the best men to lead its combat units. Although the army eventually overcame these problems and transferred better generals to Korea, it did so only after the North Koreans, and later the Chinese, almost drove it off the Korean peninsula.

Bio: Steve Taaffe is the author of seven books, including MacArthur’s Korean War Generals. He received his bachelor’s degree in political science and Spanish from Grove City College, his master’s degrees in international affairs (Latin American emphasis) and political science from Ohio University, and his doctorate in history from Ohio University. He is currently a professor of history at Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas, where he teaches American history. He lives with his wife, Cynthia, and their four children. He is currently working on a manuscript on US Marine Corps generals in World War Two.

Free and Open to the Public

This event is co-sponsored by OSU's Department of History and is supported by a U.S. Department of Education title VI grant to The Ohio State University East Asian Studies Center.