Matthew Ridgway: the general who saved Korea

When the Korean War seemed all but lost after China's intervention, Matthew Ridgway took command of a demoralised, retreating army and, in a matter of weeks, made it fight again. A hard-driving airborne general of the Second World War, he is remembered as one of the great battlefield leaders of the twentieth century.

Airborne pioneer

Born in 1895, Ridgway helped build the US Army's airborne forces¹ in the Second World War, commanding the 82nd Airborne Division in the invasions of Sicily and Italy and jumping into the Normandy campaign², then leading an airborne corps through the fighting in northwest Europe¹, including the Battle of the Bulge.

Turning Korea around

In late 1950, after the Chinese intervention and the ordeal at the Chosin Reservoir, the UN forces in Korea were reeling³. Ridgway took command of the Eighth Army and transformed it, restoring its confidence, tightening its tactics⁴, and leading it back onto the offensive to stabilise the front⁵ near the prewar border.

Command and conscience

When President Truman relieved Douglas MacArthur in 1951, Ridgway succeeded him as UN commander⁵, and later became Army Chief of Staff¹. In that role he is remembered for cautioning against deeper American involvement in Indochina⁶. He died in 1993, widely regarded as a soldier's general who could rescue a losing campaign.