People's Volunteer Army
Encyclopedia
The Chinese People's Volunteer Army (PVA or CPV) was the armed forces deployed by the People's Republic of China
during the Korean War
. Although all units in the Chinese People’s Volunteer Army belonged to the People's Liberation Army
(the official name of the Chinese armed forces), the People's Volunteer Army was separately constituted in order to prevent an official war with the United States
. The People’s Volunteer Army entered Korea
on October 19, 1950, and completely withdrew by October 1958. The commander and political commissar
of the CPVA was Peng Dehuai
(彭德怀). The initial (October 25 – November 5, 1950) units in the CPVA included 38th, 39th, 40th, 42nd, 50th, 66th Army (equivalent to western Corps
).
command, this army was officially a United Nations
"police" force. In order to avoid an open war with the US and other UN members, China
deployed the People's Liberation Army
(PLA) under the name "volunteer army". The name was also an homage to the Korean Volunteer Army that had helped the Chinese Communists during the Second Sino-Japanese War
and the Chinese Civil War
, and it managed to deceive the US intelligence about the size and nature of the Chinese forces that entered Korea. Technically speaking, the PVA was the PLA's North East
Frontier Force (NEFF), with other PLA formations transferred under NEFF's command as the Korean War dragged on.
As the UN troops drove to the Yalu River
bordering China, the Chinese, who worried that the UN forces would not stop at the Yalu River, warned Western leaders that such an action would not be tolerated. Many Western leaders, including General Douglas MacArthur
, wanted to invade China. However, President Harry S. Truman
and other leaders disagreed, and MacArthur was ordered to be very cautious when approaching the Chinese border. Eventually, MacArthur disregarded these concerns, arguing that since the North Korean troops were being supplied by bases in Manchuria
/China, those supply depots should be bombed. However, for the most part, UN bombers remained out of northeastern China during the war.
MacArthur refused to believe that the Chinese would really enter the war and ignored warnings from the Indian ambassador.
were above strength. There was also variation in organization and equipment as well as in the quantity and quality of equipment. Some of the PLA's equipment was from the Imperial Japanese Army
or was captured from the Chinese Nationalist Party. Some Czechoslovak equipment was also purchased on the open market. During the initial offensive in the fall of 1950, great numbers of captured American
weapons were also used due to the availability of ammunition and the increasing difficulty of resupply across the Yalu river due to U.N. air interdiction. In addition, the Chinese produced a domestic copy of the American Thompson submachine gun
, many of which found their way into Korea. Later on, after the first year of the Korean War, the Soviet Union
began sending arms and munitions, and the Chinese started to produce copies of some Soviet weapons, such as the PPSh-41
, which they designated Type 50.
Prisoner of War reports stated that some infantry regiments only had 800 personnel armed with weapons such as rifles, carbines, and machine guns. And other infantry regiments had two thirds of their personnel equipped only with hand grenade
s with the expectation that soldiers would acquire personal weapons from the fallen. The initial divisions sent into Korea went without their heavy weapons such as heavy mortars and artillery
with pack animal
s being used to transport weapons and ammunition.
The PLA's communications were deficient in comparison to those of the UN
forces, in that radios were only issued down to regiments who then used field phones, if available, to contact their battalions. Battalions then used bugle
s, whistle
s, and runner
s to talk to each other and their subordinate companies.
, citing national security interests. Truman regarded the warnings as "a bold attempt to blackmail the UN". On October 8, 1950, the day after American troops crossed the parallel, Chairman Mao issued the order for the NEFF to be moved to the Yalu River, ready to cross. Mao Zedong
sought Soviet aid and saw intervention as essentially defensive: "If we allow the U.S. to occupy all of Korea... we must be prepared for the US to declare... war with China", he told Joseph Stalin
. Premier Zhou Enlai
was sent to Moscow to add force to Mao's cabled arguments. Mao delayed his forces while waiting for Soviet help, and the planned attack was thus postponed from 13 October to 19 October. Soviet assistance was limited to providing air support no closer than 60 miles (96 km) from the battlefront. The MiG-15s in PRC colours would be an unpleasant surprise to the UN pilots; they would hold local air superiority against the F-80 Shooting Stars until newer F-86 Sabres were deployed. The Soviet role was known to the U.S. but they kept quiet to avoid any international and potential nuclear incidents. It has been alleged by the Chinese that the Soviets had agreed to full scale air support, which never occurred South of Pyongyang
, and helped accelerate the Sino-Soviet Split
.
On October 15, 1950, Truman went to Wake Island to discuss the possibility of Chinese intervention and his desire to limit the scope of the Korean War. MacArthur reassured Truman that "if the Chinese tried to get down to Pyongyang there would be the greatest slaughter."
On October 19, 1950, Pyongyang, North Korea
's capital, fell to UN forces. On the same day, the PVA formally crossed the Yalu River under strict secrecy.
The Chinese assault began on October 25, 1950, under the command of Peng Dehuai
with 270,000 PVA troops (it was assumed at the time that Lin Biao
was in charge, but this notion had been disproved). The Chinese assault caught the UN troops by surprise, and employing great skill and remarkable camouflage ability, concealed their numerical and divisional strength after the first engagement with the UN. After these initial engagements, the Chinese withdrew into the mountains. UN forces interpreted this withdrawal as a show of weakness; they thought that this initial Chinese attack was all that the Chinese forces were capable of undertaking.
, the Chinese army overran several South Korean divisions and landed an extremely heavy blow into the flank of the remaining UN forces, decimating the 2nd Infantry Division in the process. The resulting withdrawal of the US Eighth Army was the longest retreat of an American unit in history. At the east, at the Battle of Chosin Reservoir
a 3,000 man unit from the 7th Infantry Division, Task Force Faith
, was surrounded by the PVA 80th and the 81st Divisions. Task Force Faith managed to inflicted heavy casualties onto the Chinese divisions, but in the end it was destroyed with 2,000 of their 3,000 men killed or captured, with the loss of all vehicles and most other equipment. The destruction of Task Force Faith was considered by Chinese to be their biggest success of the entire Korean War. The 1st Marine Division fared better; though surrounded and forced to retreat, they inflicted heavy casualties on the Chinese forces, who committed six divisions trying to unsuccessfully destroy the American Marines. Although the Chinese were able to recapture much of North Korea during the Second Phase Campaign, 40 percent of all Chinese forces in Korea were rendered combat ineffective—a loss which the Chinese could not recover from until the start of Chinese Spring Offensive.
UN forces in northeast Korea withdrew to form a defensive perimeter around the port city of Hŭngnam
, where a evacuation was carried out in late December 1950. Approximately 100,000 military personnel and material and another 100,000 North Korean civilians were loaded onto a variety of merchant and military transport ships. General Walton Walker
of the Eighth Army was killed in an accident on December 23, 1950. He was replaced by Lieutenant General Matthew Ridgway
, who led airborne troops
in the Second World War.
, attacking the unprepared Chinese forces at the south of the Han River
. This was followed up with Operation Roundup
by US X Corps in central Korea. Hoping to regain the initiative, the Chinese counterattacked at the Battle of Hoengsong on February 11, stopping US X Corps' advance in the process. But without proper rest and recuperation, the new Chinese offensive soon fizzled out at the Battle of Chipyong-ni
on February 15. With the entire PVA incapable of any further offensive operations, the US Eighth Army launched Operation Killer
on February 21, followed by Operation Ripper
on March 6. A revitalized Eighth Army, restored by Ridgway to fighting trim, soon expelled the North Korean and Chinese troops from Seoul, destroying much of the city with aerial and artillery bombardments in the process.
MacArthur was removed from command by President Truman on April 11, 1951, due to a disagreement over policy. MacArthur was succeeded by Ridgway, who led the UN forces for additional offensives across the 38th parallel. A series of attacks managed to slowly drive back the opposing forces, inflicting heavy casualties on Chinese and North Korean units as UN forces advanced some miles north of the 38th parallel at "Line Kansas".
(22–25 April 1951) and the Battle of Kapyong
(22–25 April 1951), blunting the impetus of the offensive, which was halted at the "No-name Line" north of Seoul. On May 15, 1951, the Chinese commenced the second impulse of the Spring Offensive and attacked the ROK Army and the US X Corps in the east, and initially were successful, yet were halted by May 20. At month's end, the US Eighth Army counterattacked the exhausted Chinese forces, inflicting heavy losses. The destruction of the PVA 180th Division
of the 60th Army
during the UN counterattack has been considered to be the worst Chinese defeat during the entire Korean War. Roughly 3,000 men managed to escape (including the division commander and other high ranking officers), but the majority of the division were killed or captured. During the final days of the Fifth Phase Campaign, the main body of the 180th Division was encircled during a UN counterattack, and after days of hard fighting, the division was fragmented, and the regiments fled in all directions. Soldiers either deserted or were abandoned by their officers during failed attempts to wage guerrilla warfare without support from the local people. Finally, out of ammunition and food, some 5,000 soldiers were captured. The division commander and other officers who escaped were subsequently investigated and demoted on return to China. The UN counterattack halted at "Line Kansas", and subsequent offensive action stand-down began the stalemate that lasted until the armistice of 1953.
on July 10, 1951. Even during the peace negotiations, combat continued. For the South Korean and allied forces, the goal was to recapture all of what had been South Korea before an agreement was reached in order to avoid loss of any territory. The Chinese attempted similar operations at the Battle of the Hook
and the Battle of Kumsong
. A major issue of the negotiations was repatriation of POWs. The Communists agreed to voluntary repatriation, but only if the majority would return to China or North Korea, something that did not occur. The war continued until the Communists eventually dropped this issue.
On November 29, 1952, U.S. President-elect Dwight D. Eisenhower
fulfilled a campaign promise by going to Korea to find out what could be done to end the war. With the UN's and PVA's acceptance of India's proposal for an armistice, fighting ended July 27, 1953, by which time the front line was back around the proximity of the 38th parallel. A demilitarized zone
(DMZ) was established along the Military Demarcation Line, which is patrolled to this day by North Korean troops on one side and South Korean and American troops on the other.
, the popular perception believed that Chinese victories were due to simple human wave tactics. In fact, Chinese forces used rapid attacks on the flanks and rear and infiltration
behind UN lines to give the appearance of vast hordes. This, of course, was augmented by the Chinese tactic of maximizing their forces for the attack
, ensuring a large local numerical superiority over their opponent. The initial Chinese victory along the Yalu River
was a great morale booster for the PVA and the first Chinese victory over the West in modern times. However, by late 1951, overextended supply lines and superior UN firepower had forced a stalemate. The North Koreans that invaded in 1950 had been much better supplied and armed by the Soviets than the Chinese Army had been. The main arms of the PVA were captured Japanese and KMT arms.
Historian and Korean War veteran Bevin Alexander
had this to say about Chinese tactics in his book How Wars Are Won:
Roy Appleman further clarified the initial Chines tactics as:
Historian Bruce Cumings
noted that when Chinese soldiers and officers saw how Americans fought the war, they were surprised by how freely the Americans would resort to what they considered to be excessive and unnecessary force. One Chinese soldier stated that if the Americans encountered a single sniper hiding in a village or house, they would invariably call in massive artillery and air attacks, destroying the entire village and killing everyone in it. He asked, "Why do they do this instead of simply sending in soldiers to kill the sniper
?" American superiority in military hardware had profound consequences for the Korean people on the peninsula as well as the soldiers fighting the war.
Like the Soviet army, political and military officers formed a dual chain of command within the PVA, and this arrangement could be found as low as the company level. Political officers were in charge of the control and the morale of the troops, and they were often expected to act like role models in combat. Unlike other Communist armies of the same period, although the political officers had authority over military officers on combat decisions, the military officers could issue orders without political officers' approval. Similarly, the line between military and political officers were often blurred in PVA, since the political officers often had extensive military experiences while most military officers were senior Party members within a unit.
Besides the political officers, Party members and Party candidates also enforced political controls within the ranks. Squads were often divided into three-man fireteam
s, with each fireteam led by a Party member or a Party candidate. Group meetings were frequently used to maintain unit cohesion
, and within the meetings public shamings and criticisms were conducted to raise morale and to indoctrinate soldiers.
The by-product of the tight political control within the PVA is that it relied on the presence of the Party members within its ranks to be combat effective. A PVA unit could disintegrate once the Party members were either killed or wounded in action. Also, the tight political control had created a general dissatisfaction amongst the Chinese ranks, and it required constant political indoctrination and high peer pressure to maintain high morale for each soldier.
, coined "brainwashing", on US prisoners, while China refused to allow the US to repatriate POWs to Taiwan.
Because the Chinese rarely executed prisoners, the Chinese consider themselves to be more lenient and humane than the North Koreans. However, the Chinese were unprepared for the large influx of POWs after their entry into the war, and a large number of prisoners were crowded into temporary camps for processing. Mass starvation and diseases soon swept through those camps during the winter of 1950-51, while numerous death march
es were conducted by the Chinese to move the prisoners into permanent locations. Although the situation started to improve after permanent camps were established by January 1951, death by starvation still continued until the April of 1951. About 43 percent of all US POWs died from November 1950 to April 1951. In comparison, only 34 percent of all US prisoners died under Japanese captivity during World War II. The Chinese have defended their actions by stating that all Chinese soldiers during this period were also suffering mass starvation and diseases due to the lack of a competent logistics system. The UN POWs, however, pointed out that a lot of the Chinese camps were located near the Sino-Korean border, and claimed that the starvation was used to force the prisoners to accept the communism indoctrinations programs. The starvation and the POW deaths finally stopped by the summer of 1951 after the armistice talk started.
, which he coined as "brainwashing".
The Chinese term 洗腦 (xǐ năo, literally "wash brain
") was originally used to describe methodologies of coercive persuasion used under the Maoist regime in China, which aimed to transform individuals with a reactionary imperialist mindset
into "right-thinking" members of the new Chinese social system. To that end the regime developed techniques that would break down the psychic
integrity of the individual with regard to information processing, information retained in the mind and individual values. Chosen techniques included dehumanizing of individuals by keeping them in filth, sleep deprivation
, partial sensory deprivation
, psychological harassment, inculcation of guilt
and group social pressure
. The term pun
ned on the Taoist custom of "cleansing/washing the heart" (洗心, xǐ xīn) prior to conducting certain ceremonies or entering certain holy places.
Hunter and those who picked up the Chinese term used it to explain why, unlike in earlier wars, a relatively high percentage of American
GIs defected to the enemy side after becoming prisoners-of-war. It was believed that the Chinese in North Korea used such techniques to disrupt the ability of captured troops to effectively organize
and resist their imprisonment. British radio operator Robert W. Ford
and British army Colonel James Carne
also claimed that the Chinese subjected them to brainwashing techniques during their war-era imprisonment.
After the war, two studies of the repatriation
of American prisoners of war by Robert Lifton and by Edgar Schein
concluded that brainwashing (called "thought reform" by Lifton and "coercive persuasion" by Schein) had a transient effect. Both researchers found that the Chinese mainly used coercive persuasion to disrupt the ability of the prisoners to organize and maintain morale and hence to escape. By placing the prisoners under conditions of physical and social deprivation
and disruption, and then by offering them more comfortable situations such as better sleeping quarters, better food, warmer clothes or blankets, the Chinese did succeed in getting some of the prisoners to make anti-American
statements. Nevertheless, the majority of prisoners did not actually adopt Communist beliefs, instead behaving as though they did in order to avoid the plausible threat of extreme physical abuse. Both researchers also concluded that such coercive persuasion succeeded only on a minority of POWs, and that the end-result of such coercion remained very unstable, as most of the individuals reverted to their previous condition soon after they left the coercive environment. In 1961 they both published books expanding on these findings. Schein published Coercive Persuasion and Lifton published Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism. More recent writers including Mikhail Heller have suggested that Lifton's model of brainwashing may throw light on the use of mass propaganda in other communist states such as the former Soviet Union
.
In a summary published in 1963, Edgar Schein
gave a background history of the precursor origins of the brainwashing phenomenon:
Mind-control theories from the Korean War era came under criticism in subsequent years. According to forensic psychologist Dick Anthony
, the CIA invented the concept of "brainwashing" as a propaganda strategy to undercut communist claims that American POWs in Korean communist camps had voluntarily expressed sympathy for communism. Anthony stated that definitive research demonstrated that fear
and duress
, not brainwashing, caused western POWs to collaborate. He argued that the books of Edward Hunter (whom he identified as a secret CIA "psychological warfare specialist" passing as a journalist) pushed the CIA brainwashing theory onto the general public. He further asserted that for twenty years, starting in the early 1950s, the CIA and the Defense Department
conducted secret research (notably including Project MKULTRA
) in an attempt to develop practical brainwashing techniques, and that their attempt failed.
Truce negotiations, the chief stumbling block to the arrangement of a final armistice during the winter of 1951–1952 revolved around the exchange of prisoners. At first glance, there appeared to be nothing to argue about, since the Geneva Conventions of 1949, by which both sides had pledged to abide, called for the immediate and complete exchange of all prisoners upon the conclusion of hostilities. This seemingly straightforward principle, however, disturbed many Americans. To begin with, UN prisoner-of-war camps held over 40,000 South Koreans, many of whom had been impressed into Communist service and who had no desire to be sent north upon the conclusion of the war. Moreover, a considerable number of North Korean and Chinese prisoners had also expressed a desire not to return to their homelands. This was particularly true of the Chinese POWs, some of whom were anti-Communists whom the Communists had forcibly inducted into their army.
in North Korea however still suggests that the war was won by Kim singlehandedly with minor Chinese help. But as with Egypt over the Suez War, the Chinese campaign was heralded as a great victory for China's prestige by the Chinese Communist authorities, in stark comparison to the dismal military performance of the Qing Dynasty
against Europe, Japan and America.
The Soviets played a minor role in the war taking back their promise for air cover just as Chinese forces began crossing the Yalu. The aid they did provide came too late and was expensive. The Korean War was the decisive factor in ensuring that US-China relations remained sour and ensured that China would remain outside the UN.
. An equal number of former ethnic Korean soldiers of Chinese communist IV Field Army who did not participate in the invasion also served in North Korean army in other regions of North Korea. The North Korean invasion force consisted of two corps, the 1st Corps and the 2nd Corps. Jin Xiong (金雄, Kim Woong), the commander-in-chief of the invasion force and the commander of the 1st Corps, was a veteran of Eighth Route Army
, and a former member of Communist Party of China
. Jin Wuting (金武亭, Kim Mu Jong), also known as Wu Ting (武亭, Mu Jong) the commander of 2nd corps, even had more seniority than Jin Xiong (金雄), in that he participated in Guangzhou Uprising
and Long March
. All of these facts are agreed by the Chinese government.
The North Korean invasion force attacked the south on June 25, 1950 consisted of a total of ten divisions, an armored brigade, an armored regiment, and two independent regiments, 150 tanks, over 600 artillery pieces, and 196 aircraft (including 40 fighters and 70 bombers). The North Korean divisions included the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th (later renamed as the 12th), 10th, 13th, and the 15th Divisions. Out of these divisions, three were former Chinese communist IV Field Army divisions, each had the following structure: the division headquarter, a political directorate, a supply directorate, a medical directorate, a security battalion, an artillery battalion, a training / military police group, a propaganda /psychological warfare group and three infantry regiments. Each regiment was consisted of three battalions and each battalion was consisted of three infantry companies, a machine gun
company, an engineering company, a security company, an artillery company, an antitank gun company, and a mortar company. Kim Il-sung
spent over 13.8 million ruble
s to purchase Soviet weaponry to arm his invasion force, which was paid in the form of 9 tons of gold, 40 tons of silver and over 15,000 tons of minerals, but all former ethnic Korean soldiers of Chinese communist IV Field Army carried their own weapons and additionally, the former units of Chinese communist IV Field Army were also transferred to North Korean with all of the weapons. The three former Chinese divisions were:
With the exception of the 2nd and 3rd divisions, which mostly consisted of former-Soviet Union
trained North Korean troops, all other North Korean divisions had at least a former regiment of the Chinese communist IV Field Army, and in addition to the three former Chinese divisions, most of commanders were former commanders of the Chinese communist IV Field army, such as:
Though the Chinese government acknowledged these facts, these early Chinese involvements were kept a secret for more than four decades in China and it was only until late 1990s when such information was finally allowed to be revealed on large scale. The Chinese government, however, argued that these troops were already transferred to North Korean and thus should be strictly considered as the internal affairs of Korea and thus still asserts the Chinese involvement in the Korean War
begun when Chinese People's Volunteer Army join the fight.
the Korean war is generally seen as an honour in Chinese history. People's Volunteer Army is the first Chinese army
in a century that was able to withstand a Western army in a major conflict. They had earned a name "who is the most lovable". Stories of heroism by members of the PVA continue to be promoted by the People's Republic of China government even to this day, and appear in school textbooks. The willingness of China to assist North Korea against the United States, and the show of force they engaged in, heralded that China was once again becoming a major world power.
From official Chinese sources, PVA casualties during the Korean War were 390,000. This breaks down as follows: 110,400 KIA; 21,600 died of wounds; 13,000 died of sickness; 25,600 MIA/POW; and 260,000 more WIA. However, western and other sources estimate that about 400,000 Chinese soldiers were either killed in action or died of disease, starvation, exposure, and accidents with around 486,000 wounded, out of around 2.3 million deployed in the war. Mao Zedong
's only healthy son, Mao Anying
(毛岸英), was also killed as a PVA officer during the war.
It also contributed to the decline of Sino-Soviet relations. Although Chinese had their own reasons to enter the war (i.e. a strategic buffer zone in the Korean peninsula), the view that the Soviets had used them as proxies was shared in the Western bloc. China had to use Soviet loans originally intended to rebuild their shattered economy to pay for Soviet arms.
defected to the Republic of China
(ROC) (the majority of whom were former Republic of China soldiers who fought against the Communists in the Chinese Civil War). In contrast, only 7,110 Chinese POWs opted to return to the PRC. The defectors arrived in Taiwan on January 23, 1954 and were referred to as "Anti-Communist volunteers"(反共義士). In Taiwan January 23 became World Freedom Day
(自由日) in their honor.
The Korean War also led to other long lasting effects. Until the war, the U.S. had largely abandoned the government of Chiang Kai-Shek
, which had retreated to Taiwan, and had no plans to intervene in the Chinese Civil War
. The start of the Korean War rendered untenable any policy that would have caused Taiwan to fall under PRC control. Truman's decision to send American forces to the Taiwan strait further deterred the PRC from making any cross-strait invasion of Taiwan. The anti-communist atmosphere in the West in response to the Korean War and Cold War contributed to the unwillingness to diplomatically recognize the People's Republic of China by the United States until the 1970s. Today, diplomacy between the Republic of China and mainland China remains strained, and mainland China continues to claim the sovereignty of Taiwan
.
. It is considered to be the most famous literary and propaganda
piece produced by China during the Korean War.
Battle on Shangganling Mountain
is a famous Chinese war movie about the Battle of Triangle Hill
. The story is centered around a group of Chinese soldiers that were trapped in a tunnel several days. Short of both food and water, they hold their grounds till the relief troops arrive. The movie's popularity is largely due to the fact it was one of the few movies that were not banned during the Cultural Revolution
.
War Trash
is a novel by the Chinese author Ha Jin
, who has long lived in the United States
and who writes in English
. It takes the form of a memoir written by the fictional character Yu Yuan, a man who eventually becomes a soldier in the Chinese People's Volunteer Army and who is sent to Korea
to fight on the Communist side in the Korean War
. The majority of the "memoir" is devoted to describing this experience, especially after Yu Yuan is captured and imprisoned as a POW. The novel captured the PEN/Faulkner Award and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize
.
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
during the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
. Although all units in the Chinese People’s Volunteer Army belonged to the People's Liberation Army
People's Liberation Army
The People's Liberation Army is the unified military organization of all land, sea, strategic missile and air forces of the People's Republic of China. The PLA was established on August 1, 1927 — celebrated annually as "PLA Day" — as the military arm of the Communist Party of China...
(the official name of the Chinese armed forces), the People's Volunteer Army was separately constituted in order to prevent an official war with the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The People’s Volunteer Army entered Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
on October 19, 1950, and completely withdrew by October 1958. The commander and political commissar
Commissar
Commissar is the English transliteration of an official title used in Russia from the time of Peter the Great.The title was used during the Provisional Government for regional heads of administration, but it is mostly associated with a number of Cheka and military functions in Bolshevik and Soviet...
of the CPVA was Peng Dehuai
Peng Dehuai
Peng Dehuai was a prominent military leader of the Communist Party of China, and China's Defence Minister from 1954 to 1959. Peng was an important commander during the Second Sino-Japanese War, the Chinese civil war and was also the commander-in-chief of People's Volunteer Army in the Korean War...
(彭德怀). The initial (October 25 – November 5, 1950) units in the CPVA included 38th, 39th, 40th, 42nd, 50th, 66th Army (equivalent to western Corps
Corps
A corps is either a large formation, or an administrative grouping of troops within an armed force with a common function such as Artillery or Signals representing an arm of service...
).
Background
Although the UN forces were under AmericanUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
command, this army was officially a United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
"police" force. In order to avoid an open war with the US and other UN members, China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
deployed the People's Liberation Army
People's Liberation Army
The People's Liberation Army is the unified military organization of all land, sea, strategic missile and air forces of the People's Republic of China. The PLA was established on August 1, 1927 — celebrated annually as "PLA Day" — as the military arm of the Communist Party of China...
(PLA) under the name "volunteer army". The name was also an homage to the Korean Volunteer Army that had helped the Chinese Communists during the Second Sino-Japanese War
Second Sino-Japanese War
The Second Sino-Japanese War was a military conflict fought primarily between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. From 1937 to 1941, China fought Japan with some economic help from Germany , the Soviet Union and the United States...
and the Chinese Civil War
Chinese Civil War
The Chinese Civil War was a civil war fought between the Kuomintang , the governing party of the Republic of China, and the Communist Party of China , for the control of China which eventually led to China's division into two Chinas, Republic of China and People's Republic of...
, and it managed to deceive the US intelligence about the size and nature of the Chinese forces that entered Korea. Technically speaking, the PVA was the PLA's North East
Northeast China
Northeast China, historically known in English as Manchuria, is a geographical region of China, consisting of the three provinces of Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang. The region is sometimes called the Three Northeast Provinces...
Frontier Force (NEFF), with other PLA formations transferred under NEFF's command as the Korean War dragged on.
As the UN troops drove to the Yalu River
Yalu River
The Yalu River or the Amnok River is a river on the border between North Korea and the People's Republic of China....
bordering China, the Chinese, who worried that the UN forces would not stop at the Yalu River, warned Western leaders that such an action would not be tolerated. Many Western leaders, including General Douglas MacArthur
Douglas MacArthur
General of the Army Douglas MacArthur was an American general and field marshal of the Philippine Army. He was a Chief of Staff of the United States Army during the 1930s and played a prominent role in the Pacific theater during World War II. He received the Medal of Honor for his service in the...
, wanted to invade China. However, President Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman was the 33rd President of the United States . As President Franklin D. Roosevelt's third vice president and the 34th Vice President of the United States , he succeeded to the presidency on April 12, 1945, when President Roosevelt died less than three months after beginning his...
and other leaders disagreed, and MacArthur was ordered to be very cautious when approaching the Chinese border. Eventually, MacArthur disregarded these concerns, arguing that since the North Korean troops were being supplied by bases in Manchuria
Manchuria
Manchuria is a historical name given to a large geographic region in northeast Asia. Depending on the definition of its extent, Manchuria usually falls entirely within the People's Republic of China, or is sometimes divided between China and Russia. The region is commonly referred to as Northeast...
/China, those supply depots should be bombed. However, for the most part, UN bombers remained out of northeastern China during the war.
MacArthur refused to believe that the Chinese would really enter the war and ignored warnings from the Indian ambassador.
Clothing
The CPVA soldier was reasonably well clothed, in keeping with the PLA's guerrilla origin and egalitarian attitudes. All ranks wore a cotton or woolen green or khaki shirt and trousers combination with leaders' uniforms being different in cut and with red piping and collar tabs. However, their rubber soled canvas shoes provide no protection against the cold and many soldiers' feet froze during the heavy winter rains. The general lightness of their cotton uniforms did not prevent the freezing to death of thousands of soldiers in the extreme cold.Equipment
The nominal strength of a PLA division was 9,500 men, a regiment was near 3,000, and a battalion had about 850 men. However, many divisions were below strength while those divisions opposite TaiwanTaiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
were above strength. There was also variation in organization and equipment as well as in the quantity and quality of equipment. Some of the PLA's equipment was from the Imperial Japanese Army
Imperial Japanese Army
-Foundation:During the Meiji Restoration, the military forces loyal to the Emperor were samurai drawn primarily from the loyalist feudal domains of Satsuma and Chōshū...
or was captured from the Chinese Nationalist Party. Some Czechoslovak equipment was also purchased on the open market. During the initial offensive in the fall of 1950, great numbers of captured American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
weapons were also used due to the availability of ammunition and the increasing difficulty of resupply across the Yalu river due to U.N. air interdiction. In addition, the Chinese produced a domestic copy of the American Thompson submachine gun
Thompson submachine gun
The Thompson is an American submachine gun, invented by John T. Thompson in 1919, that became infamous during the Prohibition era. It was a common sight in the media of the time, being used by both law enforcement officers and criminals...
, many of which found their way into Korea. Later on, after the first year of the Korean War, the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
began sending arms and munitions, and the Chinese started to produce copies of some Soviet weapons, such as the PPSh-41
PPSh-41
The PPSh-41 was a Soviet submachine gun designed by Georgi Shpagin as an inexpensive, simplified alternative to the PPD-40. Intended for use by minimally-trained conscript soldiers, the PPSh was a magazine-fed selective-fire submachine gun using an open-bolt, blowback action...
, which they designated Type 50.
Prisoner of War reports stated that some infantry regiments only had 800 personnel armed with weapons such as rifles, carbines, and machine guns. And other infantry regiments had two thirds of their personnel equipped only with hand grenade
Hand grenade
A hand grenade is any small bomb that can be thrown by hand. Hand grenades are classified into three categories, explosive grenades, chemical and gas grenades. Explosive grenades are the most commonly used in modern warfare, and are designed to detonate after impact or after a set amount of time...
s with the expectation that soldiers would acquire personal weapons from the fallen. The initial divisions sent into Korea went without their heavy weapons such as heavy mortars and artillery
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
with pack animal
Pack animal
A pack animal or beast of burden is a working animal used by humans as means of transporting materials by attaching them so their weight bears on the animal's back; the term may be applied to either an individual animal or a species so employed...
s being used to transport weapons and ammunition.
The PLA's communications were deficient in comparison to those of the UN
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
forces, in that radios were only issued down to regiments who then used field phones, if available, to contact their battalions. Battalions then used bugle
Bugle (instrument)
The bugle is one of the simplest brass instruments, having no valves or other pitch-altering devices. All pitch control is done by varying the player's embouchure, since the bugle has no other mechanism for controlling pitch. Consequently, the bugle is limited to notes within the harmonic series...
s, whistle
Whistle
A whistle or call is a simple aerophone, an instrument which produces sound from a stream of forced air. It may be mouth-operated, or powered by air pressure, steam, or other means...
s, and runner
Courier
A courier is a person or a company who delivers messages, packages, and mail. Couriers are distinguished from ordinary mail services by features such as speed, security, tracking, signature, specialization and individualization of express services, and swift delivery times, which are optional for...
s to talk to each other and their subordinate companies.
First Phase Campaign (October 25 – November 5, 1950)
The People's Republic of China had issued warnings that they would intervene if any non-South Korean forces crossed the 38th parallel38th parallel north
The 38th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 38 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses Europe, the Mediterranean Sea, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, North America, and the Atlantic Ocean...
, citing national security interests. Truman regarded the warnings as "a bold attempt to blackmail the UN". On October 8, 1950, the day after American troops crossed the parallel, Chairman Mao issued the order for the NEFF to be moved to the Yalu River, ready to cross. Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong, also transliterated as Mao Tse-tung , and commonly referred to as Chairman Mao , was a Chinese Communist revolutionary, guerrilla warfare strategist, Marxist political philosopher, and leader of the Chinese Revolution...
sought Soviet aid and saw intervention as essentially defensive: "If we allow the U.S. to occupy all of Korea... we must be prepared for the US to declare... war with China", he told Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
. Premier Zhou Enlai
Zhou Enlai
Zhou Enlai was the first Premier of the People's Republic of China, serving from October 1949 until his death in January 1976...
was sent to Moscow to add force to Mao's cabled arguments. Mao delayed his forces while waiting for Soviet help, and the planned attack was thus postponed from 13 October to 19 October. Soviet assistance was limited to providing air support no closer than 60 miles (96 km) from the battlefront. The MiG-15s in PRC colours would be an unpleasant surprise to the UN pilots; they would hold local air superiority against the F-80 Shooting Stars until newer F-86 Sabres were deployed. The Soviet role was known to the U.S. but they kept quiet to avoid any international and potential nuclear incidents. It has been alleged by the Chinese that the Soviets had agreed to full scale air support, which never occurred South of Pyongyang
Pyongyang
Pyongyang is the capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, commonly known as North Korea, and the largest city in the country. Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River and, according to preliminary results from the 2008 population census, has a population of 3,255,388. The city was...
, and helped accelerate the Sino-Soviet Split
Sino-Soviet split
In political science, the term Sino–Soviet split denotes the worsening of political and ideologic relations between the People's Republic of China and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics during the Cold War...
.
On October 15, 1950, Truman went to Wake Island to discuss the possibility of Chinese intervention and his desire to limit the scope of the Korean War. MacArthur reassured Truman that "if the Chinese tried to get down to Pyongyang there would be the greatest slaughter."
On October 19, 1950, Pyongyang, North Korea
North Korea
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...
's capital, fell to UN forces. On the same day, the PVA formally crossed the Yalu River under strict secrecy.
The Chinese assault began on October 25, 1950, under the command of Peng Dehuai
Peng Dehuai
Peng Dehuai was a prominent military leader of the Communist Party of China, and China's Defence Minister from 1954 to 1959. Peng was an important commander during the Second Sino-Japanese War, the Chinese civil war and was also the commander-in-chief of People's Volunteer Army in the Korean War...
with 270,000 PVA troops (it was assumed at the time that Lin Biao
Lin Biao
Lin Biao was a major Chinese Communist military leader who was pivotal in the communist victory in the Chinese Civil War, especially in Northeastern China...
was in charge, but this notion had been disproved). The Chinese assault caught the UN troops by surprise, and employing great skill and remarkable camouflage ability, concealed their numerical and divisional strength after the first engagement with the UN. After these initial engagements, the Chinese withdrew into the mountains. UN forces interpreted this withdrawal as a show of weakness; they thought that this initial Chinese attack was all that the Chinese forces were capable of undertaking.
Second Phase Campaign (November 25 – December 24, 1950)
On November 25, 1950, the Chinese struck again along the entire Korean front. In the west, at the Battle of the Ch'ongch'on RiverBattle of the Ch'ongch'on River
The Battle of the Ch'ongch'on River, also known as the Battle of the Ch'ongch'on or the Second Phase Campaign Western SectorThe Eastern Sector is the Battle of Chosin Reservoir. , was a decisive battle in the Korean War, and it took place from November 25 to December 2, 1950 along the Ch'ongch'on...
, the Chinese army overran several South Korean divisions and landed an extremely heavy blow into the flank of the remaining UN forces, decimating the 2nd Infantry Division in the process. The resulting withdrawal of the US Eighth Army was the longest retreat of an American unit in history. At the east, at the Battle of Chosin Reservoir
Battle of Chosin Reservoir
The Battle of Chosin Reservoir, also known as the Chosin Reservoir Campaign or the Changjin Lake Campaign ,Official Chinese sources refer to this battle as the Second Phase Campaign Eastern Sector . The Western Sector is the Battle of the Ch'ongch'on River. was a decisive battle in the Korean War...
a 3,000 man unit from the 7th Infantry Division, Task Force Faith
Task Force Faith
Task Force Faith, also known as Task Force Maclean or the Polar Bear Regiment , was a United States Army unit destroyed in fighting at the Battle of Chosin Reservoir during the Korean War between 27 November - 2 December 1950...
, was surrounded by the PVA 80th and the 81st Divisions. Task Force Faith managed to inflicted heavy casualties onto the Chinese divisions, but in the end it was destroyed with 2,000 of their 3,000 men killed or captured, with the loss of all vehicles and most other equipment. The destruction of Task Force Faith was considered by Chinese to be their biggest success of the entire Korean War. The 1st Marine Division fared better; though surrounded and forced to retreat, they inflicted heavy casualties on the Chinese forces, who committed six divisions trying to unsuccessfully destroy the American Marines. Although the Chinese were able to recapture much of North Korea during the Second Phase Campaign, 40 percent of all Chinese forces in Korea were rendered combat ineffective—a loss which the Chinese could not recover from until the start of Chinese Spring Offensive.
UN forces in northeast Korea withdrew to form a defensive perimeter around the port city of Hŭngnam
Hungnam
Hŭngnam was the third largest city in North Korea.It is a port city on the eastern coast, in South Hamgyong Province, on the Sea of Japan . The city covers an area of 250 square kilometers...
, where a evacuation was carried out in late December 1950. Approximately 100,000 military personnel and material and another 100,000 North Korean civilians were loaded onto a variety of merchant and military transport ships. General Walton Walker
Walton Walker
Walton Harris Walker was an American army officer and the first commander of the U.S. Eighth Army during the Korean War.-Biography:...
of the Eighth Army was killed in an accident on December 23, 1950. He was replaced by Lieutenant General Matthew Ridgway
Matthew Ridgway
Matthew Bunker Ridgway was a United States Army General. He held several major commands and was most famous for resurrecting the United Nations war effort during the Korean War. Several historians have credited Ridgway for turning around the war in favor of the UN side...
, who led airborne troops
Airborne forces
Airborne forces are military units, usually light infantry, set up to be moved by aircraft and 'dropped' into battle. Thus they can be placed behind enemy lines, and have an ability to deploy almost anywhere with little warning...
in the Second World War.
Third Phase Campaign (December 31, 1950 – January 8, 1951)
Hoping to pressure the UN into abandoning South Korea, Mao ordered the PVA to attack the UN forces along the 38th parallel. On the last day of 1950, Chinese and North Korean forces destroyed several South Korean division along the parallel, breaching the UN defenses in the process. To avoid another encirclement, UN forces evacuated Seoul on January 3, and Chinese and North Korean forces recaptured Seoul on January 4. Both the US Eighth Army and the US X Corps retreated another 50 miles, but the overextended PVA were completely exhausted after months of nonstop fighting. Ridgway took immediate steps to raise the morale and fighting spirit of the battered Eighth Army, which had fallen to low levels during its retreat from North Korea.Fourth Phase Campaign (January 30 – April 21, 1951)
The overextended PVA were forced to disengage and to recuperate for an extensive period of time, but the UN forces soon returned to the offensive. On January 23, 1951, the US Eighth Army launched Operation ThunderboltOperation Thunderbolt (1951)
Operation Thunderbolt, also known as the Defensive Battle of the Han River Southern Bank , was a US offensive during the Korean War. It represented the first offensive under the new commanding officer of the 8th US Army, General Matthew Ridgway...
, attacking the unprepared Chinese forces at the south of the Han River
Han River (Korea)
The Han River is a major river in South Korea and the fourth longest river on the Korean peninsula after the Amnok, Duman, and Nakdong rivers. It is formed by the confluence of the Namhan River , which originates in Mount Daedeok, and the Bukhan River , which originates on the slopes of Mount...
. This was followed up with Operation Roundup
Operation Roundup (1951)
Operation Roundup was an attack launched on 5 February 1951, during the Korean War.The attack was launched by the United States X Corps toward Hongch'on and P'yonch'ang....
by US X Corps in central Korea. Hoping to regain the initiative, the Chinese counterattacked at the Battle of Hoengsong on February 11, stopping US X Corps' advance in the process. But without proper rest and recuperation, the new Chinese offensive soon fizzled out at the Battle of Chipyong-ni
Battle of Chipyong-ni
The Battle of Chipyong-ni , also known as the Battle of Dipingli , was a decisive battle of the Korean War, and it took place from 13–15 February 1951 between members of the 23rd Infantry Regiment and various units of the Chinese People's Volunteer Army . It took place in the village of...
on February 15. With the entire PVA incapable of any further offensive operations, the US Eighth Army launched Operation Killer
Operation Killer
Operation Killer was the start of the second major counter offensive launched by United Nations forces against the People's Volunteer Army and the North Korean Army during the Korean War between 20 February and 6 March 1951...
on February 21, followed by Operation Ripper
Operation Ripper
Operation Ripper was a United Nations military operation conceived by the commander US Eighth Army, General Matthew B. Ridgway, during the Korean War. The operation was intended to destroy as much as possible of the Chinese communist People's Volunteer Army and North Korean military around Seoul...
on March 6. A revitalized Eighth Army, restored by Ridgway to fighting trim, soon expelled the North Korean and Chinese troops from Seoul, destroying much of the city with aerial and artillery bombardments in the process.
MacArthur was removed from command by President Truman on April 11, 1951, due to a disagreement over policy. MacArthur was succeeded by Ridgway, who led the UN forces for additional offensives across the 38th parallel. A series of attacks managed to slowly drive back the opposing forces, inflicting heavy casualties on Chinese and North Korean units as UN forces advanced some miles north of the 38th parallel at "Line Kansas".
Fifth Phase Campaign (April 22 – June 10, 1951)
The Chinese counterattacked in April 1951 with the Fifth Phase Campaign (also known as the "Chinese Spring Offensive") and with three field armies (approximately 700,000 men). The offensive's first thrust fell upon US I Corps, which fiercely resisted in the Battle of the Imjin RiverBattle of the Imjin River
The Battle of the Imjin River, also known as the Battle of Kumgul-san, P'ap'yong-san and Solma-ri or the Battle of Xuemali , took place 22–25 April 1951 during the Korean War. Forces from People’s Republic of China attacked UN positions on the lower Imjin River in an attempt to achieve a...
(22–25 April 1951) and the Battle of Kapyong
Battle of Kapyong
The Battle of Kapyong , also known as the Battle of Jiaping , was fought during the Korean War between United Nations forces—primarily Australian and Canadian—and the Chinese communist People's Volunteer Army...
(22–25 April 1951), blunting the impetus of the offensive, which was halted at the "No-name Line" north of Seoul. On May 15, 1951, the Chinese commenced the second impulse of the Spring Offensive and attacked the ROK Army and the US X Corps in the east, and initially were successful, yet were halted by May 20. At month's end, the US Eighth Army counterattacked the exhausted Chinese forces, inflicting heavy losses. The destruction of the PVA 180th Division
180th Division (People's Republic of China)
-History:The 180th Division was a military formation of the People's Volunteer Army during the Korean War with a standard strength of approximately 10,000 men. It was a component of the 60th Army...
of the 60th Army
60th Army (People's Republic of China)
-History:The 60th Army was a military formation of the People's Volunteer Army III Army Group, during the Korean War. It comprised at least the 180th Division....
during the UN counterattack has been considered to be the worst Chinese defeat during the entire Korean War. Roughly 3,000 men managed to escape (including the division commander and other high ranking officers), but the majority of the division were killed or captured. During the final days of the Fifth Phase Campaign, the main body of the 180th Division was encircled during a UN counterattack, and after days of hard fighting, the division was fragmented, and the regiments fled in all directions. Soldiers either deserted or were abandoned by their officers during failed attempts to wage guerrilla warfare without support from the local people. Finally, out of ammunition and food, some 5,000 soldiers were captured. The division commander and other officers who escaped were subsequently investigated and demoted on return to China. The UN counterattack halted at "Line Kansas", and subsequent offensive action stand-down began the stalemate that lasted until the armistice of 1953.
Stalemate (June 10, 1951 – July 27, 1953)
The UN counterattack in the aftermath of the Chinese Spring Offensive stabilized the front along the 38th parallel. The rest of the war involved little territory change, large scale bombing of the population in the north, and lengthy peace negotiations, which started in KaesongKaesong
Kaesŏng is a city in North Hwanghae Province, southern North Korea , a former Directly Governed City, and the capital of Korea during the Koryo Dynasty. The city is near Kaesŏng Industrial Region and it contains the remains of the Manwoldae palace. It was formally named Songdo while it was the...
on July 10, 1951. Even during the peace negotiations, combat continued. For the South Korean and allied forces, the goal was to recapture all of what had been South Korea before an agreement was reached in order to avoid loss of any territory. The Chinese attempted similar operations at the Battle of the Hook
Battle of the Hook
The third Battle of the Hook was a battle of the Korean War that took place between a United Nations force, consisting mostly of British troops, supported on their flanks by American and Turkish artillery units against a predominantly Chinese force...
and the Battle of Kumsong
Battle of Kumsong
The Battle of Kumsong, also known as the Jincheng Campaign , was one of the last battles of the Korean War. In July 1953, after the Republic of Korea refused to participate in peace negotiations between the Communist and UN forces, the Chinese forces launched an attack on the Kumsong River Salient...
. A major issue of the negotiations was repatriation of POWs. The Communists agreed to voluntary repatriation, but only if the majority would return to China or North Korea, something that did not occur. The war continued until the Communists eventually dropped this issue.
On November 29, 1952, U.S. President-elect Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. He was a five-star general in the United States Army...
fulfilled a campaign promise by going to Korea to find out what could be done to end the war. With the UN's and PVA's acceptance of India's proposal for an armistice, fighting ended July 27, 1953, by which time the front line was back around the proximity of the 38th parallel. A demilitarized zone
Korean Demilitarized Zone
The Korean Demilitarized Zone is a strip of land running across the Korean Peninsula that serves as a buffer zone between North and South Korea. The DMZ cuts the Korean Peninsula roughly in half, crossing the 38th parallel on an angle, with the west end of the DMZ lying south of the parallel and...
(DMZ) was established along the Military Demarcation Line, which is patrolled to this day by North Korean troops on one side and South Korean and American troops on the other.
Tactics
Similar to Europeans during the Mongol invasionsMongol invasions
Mongol invasions progressed throughout the 13th century, resulting in the vast Mongol Empire which covered much of Asia and Eastern Europe by 1300....
, the popular perception believed that Chinese victories were due to simple human wave tactics. In fact, Chinese forces used rapid attacks on the flanks and rear and infiltration
Infiltration tactics
In warfare, infiltration tactics involve small, lightly equipped infantry forces attacking enemy rear areas while bypassing enemy front line strongpoints and isolating them for attack by follow-up troops with heavier weapons.-Development during World War I:...
behind UN lines to give the appearance of vast hordes. This, of course, was augmented by the Chinese tactic of maximizing their forces for the attack
Force concentration
Force concentration is the practice of concentrating a military force, so as to bring to bear such overwhelming force against a portion of an enemy force that the disparity between the two forces alone acts as a force multiplier, in favour of the concentrated forces.-Mass of decision:Force...
, ensuring a large local numerical superiority over their opponent. The initial Chinese victory along the Yalu River
Yalu River
The Yalu River or the Amnok River is a river on the border between North Korea and the People's Republic of China....
was a great morale booster for the PVA and the first Chinese victory over the West in modern times. However, by late 1951, overextended supply lines and superior UN firepower had forced a stalemate. The North Koreans that invaded in 1950 had been much better supplied and armed by the Soviets than the Chinese Army had been. The main arms of the PVA were captured Japanese and KMT arms.
Historian and Korean War veteran Bevin Alexander
Bevin Alexander
Bevin Alexander is a military historian and author. He served as an officer during the Korean War as part of the 5th Historical Detachment. His book Korea: The First War We Lost was largely influenced by his experiences during the war...
had this to say about Chinese tactics in his book How Wars Are Won:
"The Chinese had no air power and were armed only with rifles, machineguns, hand grenades, and mortars. Against the much more heavily armed Americans, they adapted a technique they had used against the Nationalists in the Chinese civil warChinese Civil WarThe Chinese Civil War was a civil war fought between the Kuomintang , the governing party of the Republic of China, and the Communist Party of China , for the control of China which eventually led to China's division into two Chinas, Republic of China and People's Republic of...
of 1946–49. The Chinese generally attacked at night and tried to close in on a small troop position—generally a platoon—and then attacked it with local superiority in numbers. The usual method was to infiltrate small units, from a platoon of fifty men to a company of 200, split into separate detachments. While one team cut off the escape route of the Americans, the others struck both the front and the flanks in concerted assaults. The attacks continued on all sides until the defenders were destroyed or forced to withdraw. The Chinese then crept forward to the open flank of the next platoon position, and repeated the tactics."
Roy Appleman further clarified the initial Chines tactics as:
"In the First Phase Offensive, highly skilled enemy light infantry troops had carried out the Chinese attacks, generally unaided by any weapons larger than mortars. Their attacks had demonstrated that the Chinese were well-trained disciplined fire fighters, and particularly adept at night fighting. They were masters of the art of camouflage. Their patrols were remarkably successful in locating the positions of the U.N. forces. They planned their attacks to get in the rear of these forces, cut them off from their escape and supply roads, and then send in frontal and flanking attacks to precipitate the battle. They also employed a tactic which they termed Hachi Shiki, which was a V-formation into which they allowed enemy forces to move; the sides of the V then closed around their enemy while another force moved below the mouth of the V to engage any forces attempting to relieve the trapped unit. Such were the tactics the Chinese used with great success at Onjong, Unsan, and Ch'osan, but with only partial success at Pakch'on and the Ch'ongch'on bridgehead."
Historian Bruce Cumings
Bruce Cumings
Bruce Cumings is the Gustavus F. and Ann M. Swift Distinguished Service Professor in History at the University of Chicago and the chairperson of the history department...
noted that when Chinese soldiers and officers saw how Americans fought the war, they were surprised by how freely the Americans would resort to what they considered to be excessive and unnecessary force. One Chinese soldier stated that if the Americans encountered a single sniper hiding in a village or house, they would invariably call in massive artillery and air attacks, destroying the entire village and killing everyone in it. He asked, "Why do they do this instead of simply sending in soldiers to kill the sniper
Sniper
A sniper is a marksman who shoots targets from concealed positions or distances exceeding the capabilities of regular personnel. Snipers typically have specialized training and distinct high-precision rifles....
?" American superiority in military hardware had profound consequences for the Korean people on the peninsula as well as the soldiers fighting the war.
Discipline and political control
Even though the discipline of the PVA was strict by western standards, it is a notable improvement when compared to the Nationalist and warlord armies. Discipline was applied universally within the army, with the Party members expected to be punished more than non-Party soldiers for the same infraction. Beatings and abuses were also forbidden by regulations. Although capital punishments were enforced for disobeying certain orders, it was rarely used in accordance with the Chinese traditions. Normally, public shamings and political indoctrination camps were preferred methods in dealing with serious infractions such as desertion, and the punished are expected to return to for frontline duty with his original unit.Like the Soviet army, political and military officers formed a dual chain of command within the PVA, and this arrangement could be found as low as the company level. Political officers were in charge of the control and the morale of the troops, and they were often expected to act like role models in combat. Unlike other Communist armies of the same period, although the political officers had authority over military officers on combat decisions, the military officers could issue orders without political officers' approval. Similarly, the line between military and political officers were often blurred in PVA, since the political officers often had extensive military experiences while most military officers were senior Party members within a unit.
Besides the political officers, Party members and Party candidates also enforced political controls within the ranks. Squads were often divided into three-man fireteam
Fireteam
A fireteam is a small military unit of infantry. It is the smallest unit in the militaries that use it and is the primary unit upon which infantry organization is based in the British Army, Royal Air Force Regiment, Royal Marines, United States Army, United States Marine Corps, United States Air...
s, with each fireteam led by a Party member or a Party candidate. Group meetings were frequently used to maintain unit cohesion
Unit cohesion
Unit cohesion is a military concept, defined by one former United States Chief of staff in the early 1980s as "the bonding together of soldiers in such a way as to sustain their will and commitment to each other, the unit, and mission accomplishment, despite combat or mission stress"...
, and within the meetings public shamings and criticisms were conducted to raise morale and to indoctrinate soldiers.
The by-product of the tight political control within the PVA is that it relied on the presence of the Party members within its ranks to be combat effective. A PVA unit could disintegrate once the Party members were either killed or wounded in action. Also, the tight political control had created a general dissatisfaction amongst the Chinese ranks, and it required constant political indoctrination and high peer pressure to maintain high morale for each soldier.
Prisoners-of-war (POWs)
Prisoners-of-war (POWs) played a major role in the continuation of the war past 1951. The US accused China of implementing mind controlMind control
Mind control refers to a process in which a group or individual "systematically uses unethically manipulative methods to persuade others to conform to the wishes of the manipulator, often to the detriment of the person being manipulated"...
, coined "brainwashing", on US prisoners, while China refused to allow the US to repatriate POWs to Taiwan.
American POWs
In contrast with their Korean counterparts, executions committed by the Chinese are rather few in number. But according to author Kevin Mahoney in his study of the PVA, executions of POWs did occur during the heat of the battle. Most of the executions appears to be committed by the lower commands without the upper echelons' knowledge, and it is often carried out to prevent the future escapes or rescues of the POWs.Because the Chinese rarely executed prisoners, the Chinese consider themselves to be more lenient and humane than the North Koreans. However, the Chinese were unprepared for the large influx of POWs after their entry into the war, and a large number of prisoners were crowded into temporary camps for processing. Mass starvation and diseases soon swept through those camps during the winter of 1950-51, while numerous death march
Death march
A death march is a forced march of prisoners of war or other captives or deportees. Those marching must walk over long distances for an extremely long period of time and are not supplied with food or water...
es were conducted by the Chinese to move the prisoners into permanent locations. Although the situation started to improve after permanent camps were established by January 1951, death by starvation still continued until the April of 1951. About 43 percent of all US POWs died from November 1950 to April 1951. In comparison, only 34 percent of all US prisoners died under Japanese captivity during World War II. The Chinese have defended their actions by stating that all Chinese soldiers during this period were also suffering mass starvation and diseases due to the lack of a competent logistics system. The UN POWs, however, pointed out that a lot of the Chinese camps were located near the Sino-Korean border, and claimed that the starvation was used to force the prisoners to accept the communism indoctrinations programs. The starvation and the POW deaths finally stopped by the summer of 1951 after the armistice talk started.
Allegations of mind control
During the Korean War, Edward Hunter Hunter, who worked at the time both as a journalist and as a U.S. intelligence agent, wrote a series of books and articles on the allegations of Chinese mind controlMind control
Mind control refers to a process in which a group or individual "systematically uses unethically manipulative methods to persuade others to conform to the wishes of the manipulator, often to the detriment of the person being manipulated"...
, which he coined as "brainwashing".
The Chinese term 洗腦 (xǐ năo, literally "wash brain
Brain
The brain is the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals—only a few primitive invertebrates such as sponges, jellyfish, sea squirts and starfishes do not have one. It is located in the head, usually close to primary sensory apparatus such as vision, hearing,...
") was originally used to describe methodologies of coercive persuasion used under the Maoist regime in China, which aimed to transform individuals with a reactionary imperialist mindset
Mindset
In decision theory and general systems theory, a mindset is a set of assumptions, methods or notations held by one or more people or groups of people which is so established that it creates a powerful incentive within these people or groups to continue to adopt or accept prior behaviors, choices,...
into "right-thinking" members of the new Chinese social system. To that end the regime developed techniques that would break down the psychic
Psyche (psychology)
The word psyche has a long history of use in psychology and philosophy, dating back to ancient times, and has been one of the fundamental concepts for understanding human nature from a scientific point of view. The English word soul is sometimes used synonymously, especially in older...
integrity of the individual with regard to information processing, information retained in the mind and individual values. Chosen techniques included dehumanizing of individuals by keeping them in filth, sleep deprivation
Sleep deprivation
Sleep deprivation is the condition of not having enough sleep; it can be either chronic or acute. A chronic sleep-restricted state can cause fatigue, daytime sleepiness, clumsiness and weight loss or weight gain. It adversely affects the brain and cognitive function. Few studies have compared the...
, partial sensory deprivation
Sensory deprivation
Sensory deprivation or perceptual isolation is the deliberate reduction or removal of stimuli from one or more of the senses. Simple devices such as blindfolds or hoods and earmuffs can cut off sight and hearing respectively, while more complex devices can also cut off the sense of smell, touch,...
, psychological harassment, inculcation of guilt
Guilt
Guilt is the state of being responsible for the commission of an offense. It is also a cognitive or an emotional experience that occurs when a person realizes or believes—accurately or not—that he or she has violated a moral standard, and bears significant responsibility for that...
and group social pressure
Peer pressure
Peer pressure refers to the influence exerted by a peer group in encouraging a person to change his or her attitudes, values, or behavior in order to conform to group norms. Social groups affected include membership groups, when the individual is "formally" a member , or a social clique...
. The term pun
Pun
The pun, also called paronomasia, is a form of word play which suggests two or more meanings, by exploiting multiple meanings of words, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from the intentional use and abuse of homophonic,...
ned on the Taoist custom of "cleansing/washing the heart" (洗心, xǐ xīn) prior to conducting certain ceremonies or entering certain holy places.
Hunter and those who picked up the Chinese term used it to explain why, unlike in earlier wars, a relatively high percentage of American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
GIs defected to the enemy side after becoming prisoners-of-war. It was believed that the Chinese in North Korea used such techniques to disrupt the ability of captured troops to effectively organize
Community organizing
Community organizing is a process where people who live in proximity to each other come together into an organization that acts in their shared self-interest. A core goal of community organizing is to generate durable power for an organization representing the community, allowing it to influence...
and resist their imprisonment. British radio operator Robert W. Ford
Robert W. Ford
Robert Webster Ford was a radio operator and British diplomat who worked in Tibet in the 1950s. He was one of the few Westerners to be appointed by the Government of Tibet at the time of independent Tibet, before the Chinese invasion of 1950...
and British army Colonel James Carne
James Carne
Colonel James Power Carne VC DSO was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.-Early life:...
also claimed that the Chinese subjected them to brainwashing techniques during their war-era imprisonment.
After the war, two studies of the repatriation
Repatriation
Repatriation is the process of returning a person back to one's place of origin or citizenship. This includes the process of returning refugees or soldiers to their place of origin following a war...
of American prisoners of war by Robert Lifton and by Edgar Schein
Edgar Schein
Edgar Henry Schein , a former professor at the MIT Sloan School of Management, has made a notable mark on the field of organizational development in many areas, including career development, group process consultation, and organizational culture. He is generally credited with inventing the term...
concluded that brainwashing (called "thought reform" by Lifton and "coercive persuasion" by Schein) had a transient effect. Both researchers found that the Chinese mainly used coercive persuasion to disrupt the ability of the prisoners to organize and maintain morale and hence to escape. By placing the prisoners under conditions of physical and social deprivation
Deprivation
Deprivation may refer to:* Poverty* Relative deprivation* Sleep deprivation* Maternal deprivation...
and disruption, and then by offering them more comfortable situations such as better sleeping quarters, better food, warmer clothes or blankets, the Chinese did succeed in getting some of the prisoners to make anti-American
Anti-Americanism
The term Anti-Americanism, or Anti-American Sentiment, refers to broad opposition or hostility to the people, policies, culture or government of the United States...
statements. Nevertheless, the majority of prisoners did not actually adopt Communist beliefs, instead behaving as though they did in order to avoid the plausible threat of extreme physical abuse. Both researchers also concluded that such coercive persuasion succeeded only on a minority of POWs, and that the end-result of such coercion remained very unstable, as most of the individuals reverted to their previous condition soon after they left the coercive environment. In 1961 they both published books expanding on these findings. Schein published Coercive Persuasion and Lifton published Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism. More recent writers including Mikhail Heller have suggested that Lifton's model of brainwashing may throw light on the use of mass propaganda in other communist states such as the former Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
.
In a summary published in 1963, Edgar Schein
Edgar Schein
Edgar Henry Schein , a former professor at the MIT Sloan School of Management, has made a notable mark on the field of organizational development in many areas, including career development, group process consultation, and organizational culture. He is generally credited with inventing the term...
gave a background history of the precursor origins of the brainwashing phenomenon:
Thought reform contains elements which are evident in Chinese culture (emphasis on interpersonal sensitivity, learning by rote and self-cultivation); in methods of extracting confessions well known in the Papal Inquisition (13th century) and elaborated through the centuries, especially by the Russian secret police; in methods of organizing corrective prisonPrisonA prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...
s, mental hospitalMental HospitalMental hospital may refer to:*Psychiatric hospital*hospital in Nepal named Mental Hospital...
s and other institutions for producing value change; in methods used by religious sects, fraternal orders, political elites or primitive societies for converting or initiating new members. Thought reform techniques are consistent with psychological principles but were not explicitly derived from such principles.
Mind-control theories from the Korean War era came under criticism in subsequent years. According to forensic psychologist Dick Anthony
Dick Anthony
Dick Anthony is a forensic psychologist noted for his writings on brainwashing, and one of the most prolific researchers of the social and psychological aspects of involvement in new religious movements.-Academic career:...
, the CIA invented the concept of "brainwashing" as a propaganda strategy to undercut communist claims that American POWs in Korean communist camps had voluntarily expressed sympathy for communism. Anthony stated that definitive research demonstrated that fear
Fear
Fear is a distressing negative sensation induced by a perceived threat. It is a basic survival mechanism occurring in response to a specific stimulus, such as pain or the threat of danger...
and duress
Duress
In jurisprudence, duress or coercion refers to a situation whereby a person performs an act as a result of violence, threat or other pressure against the person. Black's Law Dictionary defines duress as "any unlawful threat or coercion used... to induce another to act [or not act] in a manner...
, not brainwashing, caused western POWs to collaborate. He argued that the books of Edward Hunter (whom he identified as a secret CIA "psychological warfare specialist" passing as a journalist) pushed the CIA brainwashing theory onto the general public. He further asserted that for twenty years, starting in the early 1950s, the CIA and the Defense Department
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
conducted secret research (notably including Project MKULTRA
Project MKULTRA
Project MKULTRA, or MK-ULTRA, was the code name for a covert, illegal CIA human experimentation program, run by the CIA's Office of Scientific Intelligence. This official U.S. government program began in the early 1950s, continued at least through the late 1960s, and used U.S...
) in an attempt to develop practical brainwashing techniques, and that their attempt failed.
Chinese POWs
A major source of Chinese POWs were those that were captured from the 180th Division during the Fifth Phase Campaign. They were sent to Koje Island, 25 miles (40.2 km) southwest of Pusan, including the Division Commissar Pei Shan. While there, a fight broke out amongst the Chinese prisoners along party lines. Supporters of Nationalist China openly slaughtered prisoners who refused to go to Taiwan, while Communist sympathizers hung one of their own in secret for betraying the identity of Commissar Pei to the Americans during an interrogation session. Those who decided to return back to China after the war were ultimately regarded as disgraceful cowards who betrayed the Communist Party and their country by not fighting to their last breath. Each soldier was expelled from the Chinese Communist Party, given a dishonorable discharge, and either jailed or sent to labor-reform camps.Anti-Communist POWs in Communist service
During the PanmunjeomPanmunjeom
Panmunjom, located in Gyeonggi Province, is a village on the de facto border between North and South Korea, where the 1953 Korean Armistice Agreement that ended the Korean War was signed. The building where the armistice was signed still stands, though it is on the northern side of the Military...
Truce negotiations, the chief stumbling block to the arrangement of a final armistice during the winter of 1951–1952 revolved around the exchange of prisoners. At first glance, there appeared to be nothing to argue about, since the Geneva Conventions of 1949, by which both sides had pledged to abide, called for the immediate and complete exchange of all prisoners upon the conclusion of hostilities. This seemingly straightforward principle, however, disturbed many Americans. To begin with, UN prisoner-of-war camps held over 40,000 South Koreans, many of whom had been impressed into Communist service and who had no desire to be sent north upon the conclusion of the war. Moreover, a considerable number of North Korean and Chinese prisoners had also expressed a desire not to return to their homelands. This was particularly true of the Chinese POWs, some of whom were anti-Communists whom the Communists had forcibly inducted into their army.
Aftermath of the Korean War
PropagandaPropaganda
Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....
in North Korea however still suggests that the war was won by Kim singlehandedly with minor Chinese help. But as with Egypt over the Suez War, the Chinese campaign was heralded as a great victory for China's prestige by the Chinese Communist authorities, in stark comparison to the dismal military performance of the Qing Dynasty
Qing Dynasty
The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....
against Europe, Japan and America.
The Soviets played a minor role in the war taking back their promise for air cover just as Chinese forces began crossing the Yalu. The aid they did provide came too late and was expensive. The Korean War was the decisive factor in ensuring that US-China relations remained sour and ensured that China would remain outside the UN.
Early Chinese involvement
The stated historical importance of the Chinese People's Volunteer Army's entering the war was that it marked the beginning of Chinese government involvement. However, this is rather from political propaganda needs and there is debate of the time of the beginning of Chinese involvement. Some scholars in the west had argued that the Chinese involvement was much earlier, and in the North Korean invasion on June 25, 1950, out of the 135,000 North Korean invasion force, more than 38,000 were the former ethnic Korean soldiers of Chinese communist IV Field ArmyField army
A Field Army, or Area Army, usually referred to simply as an Army, is a term used by many national military forces for a military formation superior to a corps and beneath an army group....
. An equal number of former ethnic Korean soldiers of Chinese communist IV Field Army who did not participate in the invasion also served in North Korean army in other regions of North Korea. The North Korean invasion force consisted of two corps, the 1st Corps and the 2nd Corps. Jin Xiong (金雄, Kim Woong), the commander-in-chief of the invasion force and the commander of the 1st Corps, was a veteran of Eighth Route Army
Eighth Route Army
The Eighth Route Army was the larger of the two major Chinese communist forces that formed a unit of the National Revolutionary Army of the Republic of China which fought the Japanese from 1937 to 1945. In contrast to most of the National Revolutionary Army, it was controlled by the Communist...
, and a former member of Communist Party of China
Communist Party of China
The Communist Party of China , also known as the Chinese Communist Party , is the founding and ruling political party of the People's Republic of China...
. Jin Wuting (金武亭, Kim Mu Jong), also known as Wu Ting (武亭, Mu Jong) the commander of 2nd corps, even had more seniority than Jin Xiong (金雄), in that he participated in Guangzhou Uprising
Guangzhou Uprising
The Guangzhou Uprising of 1927 was a failed communist uprising in the city of Guangzhou in southern China.On December 11 1927, red guard citizens, directed by communist political leaders, took over Guangzhou . The uprising occurred despite the strong objections of communist military commanders...
and Long March
Long March
The Long March was a massive military retreat undertaken by the Red Army of the Communist Party of China, the forerunner of the People's Liberation Army, to evade the pursuit of the Kuomintang army. There was not one Long March, but a series of marches, as various Communist armies in the south...
. All of these facts are agreed by the Chinese government.
The North Korean invasion force attacked the south on June 25, 1950 consisted of a total of ten divisions, an armored brigade, an armored regiment, and two independent regiments, 150 tanks, over 600 artillery pieces, and 196 aircraft (including 40 fighters and 70 bombers). The North Korean divisions included the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th (later renamed as the 12th), 10th, 13th, and the 15th Divisions. Out of these divisions, three were former Chinese communist IV Field Army divisions, each had the following structure: the division headquarter, a political directorate, a supply directorate, a medical directorate, a security battalion, an artillery battalion, a training / military police group, a propaganda /psychological warfare group and three infantry regiments. Each regiment was consisted of three battalions and each battalion was consisted of three infantry companies, a machine gun
Machine gun
A machine gun is a fully automatic mounted or portable firearm, usually designed to fire rounds in quick succession from an ammunition belt or large-capacity magazine, typically at a rate of several hundred rounds per minute....
company, an engineering company, a security company, an artillery company, an antitank gun company, and a mortar company. Kim Il-sung
Kim Il-sung
Kim Il-sung was a Korean communist politician who led the Democratic People's Republic of Korea from its founding in 1948 until his death in 1994. He held the posts of Prime Minister from 1948 to 1972 and President from 1972 to his death...
spent over 13.8 million ruble
Ruble
The ruble or rouble is a unit of currency. Currently, the currency units of Belarus, Russia, Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Transnistria, and, in the past, the currency units of several other countries, notably countries influenced by Russia and the Soviet Union, are named rubles, though they all are...
s to purchase Soviet weaponry to arm his invasion force, which was paid in the form of 9 tons of gold, 40 tons of silver and over 15,000 tons of minerals, but all former ethnic Korean soldiers of Chinese communist IV Field Army carried their own weapons and additionally, the former units of Chinese communist IV Field Army were also transferred to North Korean with all of the weapons. The three former Chinese divisions were:
- 5th Division: former 164th Division of the Chinese communist IV Field Army. The commander, Li Deshan (李德山), a veteran of Eighth Route Army and former member of Communist Party of ChinaCommunist Party of ChinaThe Communist Party of China , also known as the Chinese Communist Party , is the founding and ruling political party of the People's Republic of China...
, was also the political commissarPolitical commissarThe political commissar is the supervisory political officer responsible for the political education and organisation, and loyalty to the government of the military...
. When the division reached to North Korea on July 20, 1949, its number totaled 10,821. Weaponry brought with them included 5,279 rifleRifleA rifle is a firearm designed to be fired from the shoulder, with a barrel that has a helical groove or pattern of grooves cut into the barrel walls. The raised areas of the rifling are called "lands," which make contact with the projectile , imparting spin around an axis corresponding to the...
s, 588 handgunHandgunA handgun is a firearm designed to be held and operated by one hand. This characteristic differentiates handguns as a general class of firearms from long guns such as rifles and shotguns ....
s, 321 light machine gunLight machine gunA light machine gun is a machine gun designed to be employed by an individual soldier, with or without an assistant, as an infantry support weapon. Light machine guns are often used as squad automatic weapons.-Characteristics:...
s, 104 heavy machine gunHeavy machine gunThe heavy machine gun or HMG is a larger class of machine gun generally recognized to refer to two separate stages of machine gun development. The term was originally used to refer to the early generation of machine guns which came into widespread use in World War I...
s, 206 submachine gunSubmachine gunA submachine gun is an automatic carbine, designed to fire pistol cartridges. It combines the automatic fire of a machine gun with the cartridge of a pistol. The submachine gun was invented during World War I , but the apex of its use was during World War II when millions of the weapon type were...
s, 8 anti-tank rifleAnti-tank rifleAn anti-tank rifle is a rifle designed to penetrate the armour of vehicles, particularly tanks. The usefulness of rifles for this purpose ran from the introduction of tanks in World War I and until the Korean War...
s, 32 grenade launchers, 67 50-mm mortars, 87 60-mm mortars, 26 mortars with calibre of 81-mm or greater, 12 Anti-tank guns, 1 infantry support gunInfantry support gunInfantry support guns are artillery weapons designed and used to increase fire power of infantry units they are intrinsic to, offering immediate tactical response to the needs of the unit's commanding officer. The designs are typically with short low velocity barrels, and light construction...
, 3 other artillery pieces, 3,456 bayonetBayonetA bayonet is a knife, dagger, sword, or spike-shaped weapon designed to fit in, on, over or underneath the muzzle of a rifle, musket or similar weapon, effectively turning the gun into a spear...
s, and 734 horses. - 6th Division: former 166th Division of the Chinese communist IV Field Army. The commander, Fang Fushan (方虎山, Bang Ho San), a veteran of Eighth Route Army and former member of Communist Party of China, was also the political commissarPolitical commissarThe political commissar is the supervisory political officer responsible for the political education and organisation, and loyalty to the government of the military...
. When the division reached to North Korea on July 20, 1949, its number totaled 10,320. Weaponry brought with them included: 6,046 rifleRifleA rifle is a firearm designed to be fired from the shoulder, with a barrel that has a helical groove or pattern of grooves cut into the barrel walls. The raised areas of the rifling are called "lands," which make contact with the projectile , imparting spin around an axis corresponding to the...
s, 722 handgunHandgunA handgun is a firearm designed to be held and operated by one hand. This characteristic differentiates handguns as a general class of firearms from long guns such as rifles and shotguns ....
s, 281 light machine gunLight machine gunA light machine gun is a machine gun designed to be employed by an individual soldier, with or without an assistant, as an infantry support weapon. Light machine guns are often used as squad automatic weapons.-Characteristics:...
s, 91 heavy machine gunHeavy machine gunThe heavy machine gun or HMG is a larger class of machine gun generally recognized to refer to two separate stages of machine gun development. The term was originally used to refer to the early generation of machine guns which came into widespread use in World War I...
s, 878 submachine gunSubmachine gunA submachine gun is an automatic carbine, designed to fire pistol cartridges. It combines the automatic fire of a machine gun with the cartridge of a pistol. The submachine gun was invented during World War I , but the apex of its use was during World War II when millions of the weapon type were...
s, 69 grenade launchers, 31 50-mm mortars, 91 60-mm mortars, 33 mortars with calibre of 81-mm or greater, 10 Anti-tank guns, 3 mountain gunMountain gunMountain guns are artillery pieces designed for use in mountain warfare and areas where usual wheeled transport is not possible. They are similar to infantry support guns, and are generally capable of being broken down into smaller loads .Due to their ability to be broken down into smaller...
s, 3 other artillery pieces, 1,833 bayonetBayonetA bayonet is a knife, dagger, sword, or spike-shaped weapon designed to fit in, on, over or underneath the muzzle of a rifle, musket or similar weapon, effectively turning the gun into a spear...
s, and 945 horses. - 7th (later renamed as the 12th) Division: former 156th Division of the Chinese communist IV Field Army, with additional ethnic Korean soldiers from the 139th, 140th, and 141st Divisions of the Chinese communist IV Field Army. The commander, Cui Ren (崔仁, Chu Yol), a veteran of Eighth Route Army and former member of Communist Party of China, was also the political commissarPolitical commissarThe political commissar is the supervisory political officer responsible for the political education and organisation, and loyalty to the government of the military...
. When the division reached North Korea on April 18, 1950, its number totaled more than 14,000. The weaponry brought into North Korea was greater than that of the other two divisions due to its larger size.
With the exception of the 2nd and 3rd divisions, which mostly consisted of former-Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
trained North Korean troops, all other North Korean divisions had at least a former regiment of the Chinese communist IV Field Army, and in addition to the three former Chinese divisions, most of commanders were former commanders of the Chinese communist IV Field army, such as:
- Commander of the 2nd Division Ch'oe Hyon (崔贤) and chief-of-staff Xu Bo (许波)
- Commander of the 3rd Division Lee Yong Ho (李英镝) and chief-of-staff Zhang Pingshan (张平山)
- Commander of the 4th Division Lee Kwon MuLee Kwon MuLee Kwon Mu, also known as Yi Kwon-mu or Ri Gwon-mu, was a North Korean People's Army general officer during the Korean War...
(李权武)
Though the Chinese government acknowledged these facts, these early Chinese involvements were kept a secret for more than four decades in China and it was only until late 1990s when such information was finally allowed to be revealed on large scale. The Chinese government, however, argued that these troops were already transferred to North Korean and thus should be strictly considered as the internal affairs of Korea and thus still asserts the Chinese involvement in the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
begun when Chinese People's Volunteer Army join the fight.
People's Republic of China
By many ChineseChina
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
the Korean war is generally seen as an honour in Chinese history. People's Volunteer Army is the first Chinese army
Chinese Army
Two modern armies have been known in English as the Chinese Army:* People's Liberation Army of the People's Republic of China* Republic of China Army , which succeeded the National Revolutionary Army in 1947For Chinese armies before 1912, see:...
in a century that was able to withstand a Western army in a major conflict. They had earned a name "who is the most lovable". Stories of heroism by members of the PVA continue to be promoted by the People's Republic of China government even to this day, and appear in school textbooks. The willingness of China to assist North Korea against the United States, and the show of force they engaged in, heralded that China was once again becoming a major world power.
From official Chinese sources, PVA casualties during the Korean War were 390,000. This breaks down as follows: 110,400 KIA; 21,600 died of wounds; 13,000 died of sickness; 25,600 MIA/POW; and 260,000 more WIA. However, western and other sources estimate that about 400,000 Chinese soldiers were either killed in action or died of disease, starvation, exposure, and accidents with around 486,000 wounded, out of around 2.3 million deployed in the war. Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong, also transliterated as Mao Tse-tung , and commonly referred to as Chairman Mao , was a Chinese Communist revolutionary, guerrilla warfare strategist, Marxist political philosopher, and leader of the Chinese Revolution...
's only healthy son, Mao Anying
Mao Anying
Mao Anying was the eldest son of Mao Zedong and Yang Kaihui. Educated in Moscow, he was killed in action by an air strike during the Korean War.-Early life:...
(毛岸英), was also killed as a PVA officer during the war.
It also contributed to the decline of Sino-Soviet relations. Although Chinese had their own reasons to enter the war (i.e. a strategic buffer zone in the Korean peninsula), the view that the Soviets had used them as proxies was shared in the Western bloc. China had to use Soviet loans originally intended to rebuild their shattered economy to pay for Soviet arms.
Republic of China
After the war was over, 14,000 of the Chinese prisoners of war hostile to the People's Republic of ChinaPeople's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
defected to the Republic of China
Republic of China
The Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor...
(ROC) (the majority of whom were former Republic of China soldiers who fought against the Communists in the Chinese Civil War). In contrast, only 7,110 Chinese POWs opted to return to the PRC. The defectors arrived in Taiwan on January 23, 1954 and were referred to as "Anti-Communist volunteers"(反共義士). In Taiwan January 23 became World Freedom Day
World Freedom Day
World Freedom Day is a United States federal observance declared by then-President George W. Bush to commemorate the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of communist rule in Central and Eastern Europe...
(自由日) in their honor.
The Korean War also led to other long lasting effects. Until the war, the U.S. had largely abandoned the government of Chiang Kai-Shek
Chiang Kai-shek
Chiang Kai-shek was a political and military leader of 20th century China. He is known as Jiǎng Jièshí or Jiǎng Zhōngzhèng in Mandarin....
, which had retreated to Taiwan, and had no plans to intervene in the Chinese Civil War
Chinese Civil War
The Chinese Civil War was a civil war fought between the Kuomintang , the governing party of the Republic of China, and the Communist Party of China , for the control of China which eventually led to China's division into two Chinas, Republic of China and People's Republic of...
. The start of the Korean War rendered untenable any policy that would have caused Taiwan to fall under PRC control. Truman's decision to send American forces to the Taiwan strait further deterred the PRC from making any cross-strait invasion of Taiwan. The anti-communist atmosphere in the West in response to the Korean War and Cold War contributed to the unwillingness to diplomatically recognize the People's Republic of China by the United States until the 1970s. Today, diplomacy between the Republic of China and mainland China remains strained, and mainland China continues to claim the sovereignty of Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
.
Media
Who are the Most Beloved People? is the title of an essay by Chinese writer Wei Wei about the Chinese soldiers serving in the Korean WarKorean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
. It is considered to be the most famous literary and propaganda
Propaganda
Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....
piece produced by China during the Korean War.
Battle on Shangganling Mountain
Battle on Shangganling Mountain
Battle on Shangganling Mountain is a 1956 Chinese war film. It is also known as Shangganling Battle.The film depicts the Battle of Triangle Hill during the Korean War which American soldiers recall the battle as especially hard fought...
is a famous Chinese war movie about the Battle of Triangle Hill
Battle of Triangle Hill
The Battle of Triangle Hill, also known as Operation Showdown or the Shangganling Campaign ,Chinese sources often mistranslate Shangganling Campaign as the Battle of Heartbreak Ridge. was a protracted military engagement during the Korean War...
. The story is centered around a group of Chinese soldiers that were trapped in a tunnel several days. Short of both food and water, they hold their grounds till the relief troops arrive. The movie's popularity is largely due to the fact it was one of the few movies that were not banned during the Cultural Revolution
Cultural Revolution
The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, commonly known as the Cultural Revolution , was a socio-political movement that took place in the People's Republic of China from 1966 through 1976...
.
War Trash
War Trash
War Trash is a novel by the Chinese author Ha Jin, who has long lived in the United States and who writes in English. It takes the form of a memoir written by the fictional character Yu Yuan, a man who eventually becomes a soldier in the Chinese People's Volunteer Army and who is sent to Korea to...
is a novel by the Chinese author Ha Jin
Ha Jin
Jīn Xuěfēi is a contemporary Chinese-American writer and novelist using the pen name Ha Jin . Ha comes from his favorite city, Harbin.-Early life:...
, who has long lived in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and who writes in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
. It takes the form of a memoir written by the fictional character Yu Yuan, a man who eventually becomes a soldier in the Chinese People's Volunteer Army and who is sent to Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
to fight on the Communist side in the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
. The majority of the "memoir" is devoted to describing this experience, especially after Yu Yuan is captured and imprisoned as a POW. The novel captured the PEN/Faulkner Award and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
.
External links
- Peng Dehuai's memoirs on the Korean War
- Centurychina.com
- Chinese 50th Anniversiry Korean War Memorial
- http://www.kmike.com/CMH%20MilitaryHistory/ChinaIntervenes.htm
- Korean War: Tearing Up the U.S. Paper Tiger in Korea (Part 1) Revolution
- Korean War: Tearing Up the U.S. Paper Tiger in Korea (Part 2) Revolution
- http://www.quartermaster.army.mil/OQMG/professional_bulletin/2004/Autumn04/Initial_Communist_Chinese_Logistics_in_the_Korean_War.htm
- http://www.paulnoll.com/Korea/War/Peng-Dehuai-book.html