Evening star., 1951-11-28
Gen. WIEoughby Calls Six Newsmen inaccurate, Biased

services overnight. The Far Eas
Command had not previously beer
responsible for Korea and Man.
churia."
Mr.. Boyle's November 30 dis.
lpatch reported information hi
obtained from Army officers il
Korea and which he felt. from
first-hand observation and check.
ing, were accurate. The Asso-
iciated Press correspondents story
included these items. on which
Gen. Willoughby's article did not
comment:
/. Some of the American COM
manders were doubtful of the sue
cess of the "Home-by- Christmas
offensive before it started.
2. An American division COM
lmander feared a Chinese trap
and. before the Chinese assault
correctly pin-pointed the spot
where it probably would hit.
3. A South Korean general cor
frectly estimated the number OF
Chinese confronting him, but his
report was dismissed by American
intelligence as exaggerated.
Mr. Bigart's response from Paris
today. covering the same points
said this:
"Willoughby cannot disguise the
fact that little over a year ago,
Macarthur ordered the ill-starred
offensive that promptly backfired
into major defeat. This offensive
was undertaken by Macarthur
only three weeks after our troops
had been thrown back by the sur
prise entry of Chinese forces. It
was undertaken without first but
toning up our units scattered
across Northern Korea.
Hits Ivory Tower" Strategy.
"A huge gap existed between the
Corps in Northeast Korea and the
Corps in the Northwest. In view
of the known fact that large num-
bers of Chinese had invaded Ko-
rea, this disposition of troops was
crazy. There weren't enough
troops to fill the holes.
Having spent con siderable
more time at the front than Will
loughby. who seldom left his ivory
tower in Tokyo, this observer met
combat officers who were equally
skeptical Of the grand plan for
ending the war by Christmas
1850.
After the debacle, Willoughby
claimed he knew all along there
had been an enormous buildup of
Chinese forces in Manchuria dur
ing August and September. In an
article in Stars and Stripes Will
loughby said he knew, on Novem-
ber Is. that there were $4,000
Chinese troops in Manchuria and
Korea. But right up to November
81. correspondents at Macarthur S
headquarters were told that not
more than $4,000 to 10000 Chinese
had crossed the Yalu."
While the U. N. forces were In
full retreat. Gen. Willoughby
charges that the correspondents
and the news magazines exag-
gerated the size of the defeat and
the casualties. He wrote:
Constant references to tides of
wounded and overf1owing field
hospitals have almost psyche
pathic significance. With the
painting eagerness Of a sidewalk
huckster and the unctuous con-
cern of an undertaken. the reports
especially those of the weekly di-
gests) dwelt perversely on the sta
tistics of death.
This braZen Juggling Of fig
ures and the inferential if not
calculated deception of the public
are easily demonstrable. News
week was one of the worst Of
tenders. Time, occasionally more
reliable. ran a close second"
Executives of the two magazines
said they had no comment.
Gen. Willoughby said Joseph
lAlsop then enthusiastically joined
the Greek chorus. chanting disas-
ter in lugubrious basso." Mr.
Alsop had asserted that Gen.