This is the order of battle for Chinese People's Volunteer Army during major periods of hostilities in the Korean War. After the People's Republic of China entered the Korean War in October 1950 by designating the People's Liberation Army (PLA) North East Frontier Force as the People's Volunteer Army (PVA),. the PVA spent the next two years and nine months in combat operations and five years and three months in garrison duties. Its last elements did not leave Korea until as late as 1958..
During this period, China paid a huge price for its involvement in the Korean War. According to Chinese archives, about 73 percent of Chinese infantry forces, 67 percent of Chinese artillery forces, 100 percent of Chinese armored forces and 52 percent of Chinese air forces were deployed in Korea at one point or another, alongside 600,000 civilian laborers – in total more than three million civilian and military personnel.. Out of those forces, around 152,000 were killed, 383,500 were wounded, 450,000 were hospitalized, 21,300 were captured and 4,000 were missing. Of the captured 14,190 defected to Taiwan after the ceasefire. China had also consumed 5.6 million tons of war materiel, 399 aircraft and 12,916 vehicles for its war efforts. About a third of the Chinese government's annual budget was spent on the military between 1950 and 1953, totaling 10 billion RMB by the war's end..Equivalent to 3.3 billion USD. See . All in all, the Korean War was the largest foreign war in Chinese military history, despite the fact that no declaration of war ever existed between China and United Nations forces.
For many years, historians found it difficult to provide an accurate order of battle for Chinese troops in Korea because most of the information could only be obtained from prisoner interrogations or captured documents. The constant Chinese troop movements and the reattachment of units between different commands further added to the confusion.. By the 1980s, however, a large number of primary documents, memoirs and scholarly works on Chinese involvement in the Korean War began to appear in China, enabling historians to make a more comprehensive and accurate assessment of Chinese military operations during the war..
As the term "Corps" does not exist in Chinese military terminology, the term "Army" (军) technically means "Corps" in PLA nomenclature, while the term "Army Group" (集团军 or 兵团) means "Army".. For example, the US X Corps is always referred to as the "US 10th Army" (美第10军) among Chinese sources.. As such, this article uses the term "Corps" and "Army" to denote Chinese Army and Army Group formations.
First Phase Campaign (October 25 – November 5, 1950)
Although the Chinese leadership did not make the decision to enter the Korean War until United Nations (UN) forces crossed the 38th Parallel in October 1950,. it had been preparing for the possibility ever since United States intervened in Korea in June 1950... On July 13, 1950, and soon after UN forces entered the Korean War, Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party, Mao Zedong, ordered the People's Liberation Army (PLA) 13th Army—China's strategic reserve stationed in southern China—to form the PLA North East Frontier Force (NEFF) in Manchuria.. Aside from the 38th, 39th and 40th Infantry Corps originally belonged to the 13th Army, the NEFF also included the 42nd Infantry Corps, three artillery divisions, one anti-aircraft regiments and three transport regiments—in total more than 250,000 men.. On October 19, 1950, and under strict secrecy, the NEFF officially crossed the Yalu River under the name Chinese People's Volunteer Army (PVA),. although advance scouting parties had been spotted by UN forces as early as October 13.. On October 23, the PLA 50th and 66th Corps were attached to the PVA 13th Army in order to reinforce the defenses at Sinuiju and Chongju area.. At the same time, the 13th Army Headquarters was disbanded to increase coordination between PVA Headquarters and its field units..
Chinese People's Volunteer Army Headquarters
Commander Peng Dehuai. Commissar Peng Dehuai Chief of Staff Xie Fang Political Director Du Ping
Frontline
PVA Headquarters Subordinate Corps Unit. Commander Sub-units Notes38th CorpsCommander Liang XingchuCommissar Liu Xiyuan112th Division 113th Division 114th DivisionEntered Korea on October 19, 1950..39th CorpsCommander Wu XinquanCommissar Xu Binzhou115th Division 116th Division 117th DivisionEntered Korea on October 19, 1950. Responsible for the destruction of the ROK 15th Infantry Regiment and 3rd Battalion of the US 8th Cavalry Regiment at the Battle of Unsan..40th CorpsCommander Wen YuchengCommissar Yuan Shengping118th Division 119th Division 120th DivisionEntered Korea on October 19, 1950, and the first Chinese unit to make contact with UN forces in Korea.. Responsible for the destruction of ROK 6th Infantry Division at the Battle of Onjong..42nd CorpsCommander Wu RuilinCommissar Zhou Biao124th Division 125th Division 126th DivisionEntered Korea on October 19, 1950. Its 124th Division was reportedly decimated during the November 2–5 engagement with US 1st Marine Division at the south of Chosin Reservoir. UN intelligence indicated the division did not recover as late as January 1951..50th CorpsCommander Zeng ZeshengCommissar Xu Wenlie148th Division 149th Division 150th DivisionEntered Korea on October 26, 1950..66th CorpsCommander Xiao XinhuaiCommissar Wang Zifeng196th Division 197th Division 198th DivisionEntered Korea on October 27, 1950..
Supports
Unit. Commander Sub-units NotesArtillery CommandCommander Kuang YuminCommissar Qiu Chuangcheng1st Artillery Division 2nd Artillery Division 8th Artillery Division 1st Anti-Aircraft Artillery RegimentEngineer Command BureauDirector Chen Zhengfeng4th Engineer Regiment 6th Engineer RegimentFrontline Logistics Command BureauDirector Zhang MingyuanCommissar She Zheheng1st Detachment 2nd DetachmentFormerly PLA Northeast Military Region Logistics Department Forward Command Bureau. Formed in November 1950..
Second Phase Campaign (November 25 – December 24, 1950)
On August 26, 1950, the Chinese Central Military Commission concluded that PVA will eventually be composed of the PLA 9th, 13th and 19th Army—totaling 700,000 men—by the spring of 1951... On October 11, 1950, Mao authorized the PLA 9th Army to be moved from Shandong province to Manchuria as reserves to the 13th Army in Korea.. On November 10, 1950, the PLA 9th Army entered Korea in order to reinforce Chinese forces on the east side of Taebaek Mountains... This development brought the total PVA strength to 450,000,. including 380,000 combat personnel.
Chinese People's Volunteer Army Headquarters
Commander Peng Dehuai. Commissar Peng Dehuai Chief of Staff Xie Fang Political Director Du Ping
Frontline
PVA Headquarters Subordinate Corps Unit. Commander. Sub-units Notes38th CorpsCommander Liang XingchuCommissar Liu Xiyuan112th Division 113th Division 114th DivisionResponsible for the destruction of ROK II Corps, Turkish Brigade and US 2nd Infantry Division at the Battle of the Ch'ongch'on River.. Received the title "Ten Thousand Years Corps" for its achievement..39th CorpsCommander Wu XinquanCommissar Xu Binzhou115th Division 116th Division 117th Division40th CorpsCommander Wen YuchengCommissar Yuan Shengping118th Division 119th Division 120th Division42nd CorpsCommander Wu RuilinCommissar Zhou Biao124th Division 125th Division 126th DivisionResponsible for the destruction of ROK II Corps.. Failed in its attempt to encircle the entire US Eighth Army at the Battle of the Ch'ongch'on River..50th CorpsCommander Zeng ZeshengCommissar Xu Wenlie148th Division 149th Division 150th DivisionUN intelligence also indicated that the 167th Division of the PLA 56th Corps was attached to the 50th Corps during the campaign, but this is not corroborated by Chinese records..66th CorpsCommander Xiao XinhuaiCommissar Wang Zifeng196th Division 197th Division 198th Division
9th Army Commander: Song Shi-Lun. Commissar: Song Shi-Lun Unit Commander Sub-units Notes20th CorpsCommander and Commissar Zhang Yixiang58th Division 59th Division 60th Division 89th DivisionEntered Korea on November 10, 1950.. Destroyed during the Battle of Chosin Reservoir and pulled off the frontline for rest and refit...26th CorpsCommander Zhang RenchuCommissar Li Yaowen76th Division 77th Division 78th Division 88th DivisionEntered Korea on November 12, 1950.. Its 78th and 88th Division did not arrive in time to participate in the Battle of Chosin Reservoir.. Pulled off the frontline for rest and refit in the aftermath of Chosin Reservoir battle.27th CorpsCommander Peng DeqingCommissar Liu Haotian79th Division 80th Division 81st Division 94th DivisionEntered Korea on November 10, 1950, and responsible for the destruction of Task Force Faith.. Destroyed during the Battle of Chosin Reservoir and pulled off the frontline for rest and refit. Its 94th Division was often misidentified as the 90th Division by UN intelligence..
Supports
Unit. Commander Sub-units NotesArtillery CommandCommander Wan YiCommissar Qiu Chuangcheng.1st Artillery Division 2nd Artillery Division 8th Artillery DivisionChinese records and UN intelligence did not indicate any artillery formations were deployed during the campaign..Engineer Command BureauDirector Chen Zhengfeng.4th Engineer Regiment 5th Engineer Regiment 6th Engineer Regiment 8th Engineer RegimentFrontline Logistics Command BureauDirector Zhang MingyuanCommissar She Zheheng1st Detachment 2nd Detachment 3rd Detachment 4th DetachmentRailway EngineersCommander Li Shouxuan 1st Railway Engineer Division Bridging Regiment Independent RegimentEntered Korea in November 1950. In total composed of three bridging regiments, one track regiment and one independent regiment.
Third Phase Campaign (December 31, 1950 – January 8, 1951)
Although the PVA succeeded in expelling UN forces from North Korea during the Second Phase Campaign, about a quarter of its original 450,000 men became casualties in the aftermath of the campaign.. On December 17, Mao ordered the PVA 9th Army to be removed from the front for rest and refit, reducing the PVA combat personnel to 230,000 by the end of December 1950.. UN intelligence, on the other hand, estimated that only 171,117 combat personal were actually available for the PVA on January 1, 1951.. By the end of 1950, however, the North Korean People's Army returned to the front and brought about 75,000 men to make up for the Chinese losses..
Chinese People's Volunteer Army Headquarters
Commander Peng Dehuai. Commissar Peng Dehuai Chief of Staff Xie Fang Political Director Du Ping
Frontline
PVA Headquarters Subordinate Corps Unit. Commander Sub-units Notes38th CorpsCommander Liang XingchuCommissar Liu Xiyuan112th Division 113th Division 114th Division39th CorpsCommander Wu XinquanCommissar Xu Binzhou115th Division 116th Division 117th DivisionFirst Chinese unit to enter Seoul on January 4, 1951..40th CorpsCommander Wen YuchengCommissar Yuan Shengping118th Division 119th Division 120th Division42nd CorpsCommander Wu RuilinCommissar Zhou Biao124th Division 125th Division 126th Division50th CorpsCommander Zeng ZeshengCommissar Xu Wenlie148th Division 149th Division 150th DivisionResponsible for the destruction of British 1st Battalion, Royal Ulster Rifles during the Third Battle of Seoul... UN intelligence also indicated that the 167th Division of the PLA 56th Corps was attached to the 50th Corps during the campaign, but this is not corroborated by Chinese records.66th CorpsCommander Xiao XinhuaiCommissar Wang Zifeng196th Division 197th Division 198th Division
Supports
Unit Commander Sub-units NotesArtillery CommandCommander Wan YiCommissar Qiu Chuangcheng1st Artillery Division 2nd Artillery Division