On October 25, 1950, the Chinese Volunteer Army crossed the Yalu River and rushed to the Korean battlefield, setting off the prelude to the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea. From October 1950 to 1953, with the help of the Chinese People's Volunteer Army, the Korean People's Army repelled the attack of the U.S.-led "United Nations Army", forcing it to sign an armistice agreement, and the Korean War was declared over.
We all know this unforgettable history, that our country sent volunteer troops to the DPRK to carry out the "War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea," and that "who is the most lovely person." However, what few people know is that before the volunteer army set out, several divisions originally belonging to the Chinese People's Liberation Army had gone to Korea to support the Korean Resistance.
These soldiers are special in that they are Koreans who joined the Chinese People's Liberation Army, and as Koreans they have made outstanding contributions to China's victory in the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the War of Liberation.
The Korean officers and men in the People's Liberation Army are mainly concentrated in the Fourth Field Army, which is often referred to as the Four Fields, which was formerly known as the famous Northeast Field Army. In the Fourth Field Army alone, there were several divisions of Korean officers and men.
These officers and men, who had experienced the baptism of China's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the War of Liberation, had rich combat experience and extremely high war qualities; after completing the War of Liberation, they actively responded to the call of the central authorities to support the Korean people in winning the national war, resolutely returned to Korea, were incorporated into the Korean People's Army, and made outstanding achievements on the Korean battlefield.
However, for a variety of reasons, even with the help of these elite generals from Siye, the Korean People's Army was once beaten back by the "United Nations Army" and lost its armor.
In the end, only with the help of the Chinese Volunteer Army was it difficult to stabilize the situation. Let's try to explore the historical roots of this phenomenon and the role played by these returning PLA troops on the Korean battlefield.
The history of the Korean troops in the People's Liberation Army
First of all, we should understand the fact that the exchanges between China and the DPRK have not been severed since ancient times, and the exchanges between the people have been frequent, and even if they are affected by the war or political situation, they will continue after the situation improves or after the war is over.
At the beginning of the 18th century, many poor people in Korea came to China for their livelihood, and in the middle of the 19th century, Korea suffered from famine for many years, and a large number of civilians migrated to China to reclaim land in northeast China.
By the end of the Qing Dynasty, these Koreans had gradually taken root in northeast China, forming what is now the Chinese Korean ethnic group. These Chinese Koreans and many Koreans played an important role in the revolutionary wave of modern China.
During the Great Revolution, more than 800 Ethnic Koreans or Koreans in Guangdong participated in the revolution, and Korean revolutionaries were present in all important wars.
After the defeat of the Great Revolution, Korean revolutionaries soon stood with the Chinese Communist Party against the reactionary rule of the Kuomintang, and Korean revolutionaries participated in the Wuchang Uprising.
In addition, there were Korean revolutionaries among the insurrectors at the time of the Guangzhou Uprising, and there were also Korean revolutionaries in the Whampoa Military Academy, many of whom later became the leaders of the Korean Revolution, such as Choe Yong-kin, Li Ying, and Kim Kyu-kwang.
After the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japan, Korean revolutionaries fought heroically on the anti-Japanese battlefield in China. They organized anti-Japanese forces in the northeast and were an important part of the northeast anti-Japanese coalition army.
In October 1938, eight female fighters led by Leng Yun of the Northeast Anti-Japanese Coalition took the initiative to attract the firepower of the Japanese puppet army and covered the retreat of the main force, but they themselves were besieged by the enemy army. Even so, it is still better to die unyieldingly and sink the river collectively, which is the story of the famous "Eight Women Shenjiang" in history.
Among these eight heroines are An Shunfu and Li Fengshan of the Korean ethnic group. Not to mention Korean revolutionaries such as Kim Il Sung, who served as the commander of the First Division in the War of Resistance Against Japan, and Choe Yong-jin, who was chief of staff of the 7th Army.
After the defeat of the Northeast Anti-Japanese League, many Korean revolutionaries withdrew to the Soviet Union and formed the Anti-League Teaching Team, commanded by Zhou Baozhong, Kim Il Sung and other anti-coalition generals. In 1945, the Soviet Union declared war on Japan, and the Red Army marched eastward into northeast China and Korea.
Some of the soldiers in the Anti-Japanese League Teaching Team were led by Kim Il Sung to accompany the Soviet army to counterattack Korea, and the other part was led by Zhou Baozhong to participate in the Liberation War in northeast China. At that time, almost all the armies in Siye had Korean officers and soldiers, and these troops made great achievements in the Liberation War.
Return to the north
As mentioned earlier, long before the Korean War, many Korean revolutionaries were active on the battlefield in China, who either came to China to seek a livelihood or joined China's anti-Japanese united front to resist Japan.
These Koreans or ethnic Koreans experienced the baptism of the War of Resistance Against Japan and the War of Liberation and made great contributions to the peaceful and beautiful life of the Chinese people. Subsequently, due to the outbreak of the Korean War, they reversed course, returned to Korea, and resolutely joined the Korean War against US imperialism and its proxies.
According to the deployment of the army at that time, the People's Liberation Army had three Korean divisions, two of which were stationed in Shenyang and Changchun, which could be handed over to the North Korean government at any time, and if the North Korean side did not need these two divisions now, the Chinese side said that it could be responsible for training and supporting these troops and returning to North Korea when necessary.
Another division was fighting south of the Yangtze River and could only be repatriated after the battle was over. After consultation, in July, the 164th and 166th Divisions officially left the People's Liberation Army and went to Korea.
The 164th Division, with 10,821 men, was organized as the 5th Division of the Korean People's Army upon arrival in Korea; the 166th Division, with 10,320 personnel, was organized as the 6th Division of the Korean People's Army after arriving in Korea. With the addition of these two divisions, the Korean People's Army grew to more than 80,000 people.
In addition to these two divisions, at the end of 1949, the Korean troops fighting in the southern part of China also basically ended the fighting, and at the request of the Korean side, the central government decided to reorganize these Korean troops fighting in the south and prepare to return to Korea.
On the occasion of parting, the North Korean soldiers, who had already formed a deep friendship with the Chinese soldiers, clinging to each other and exchanging gifts with the Chinese soldiers as a souvenir. The soldiers were then organized into a division with a supplementary regiment. The political and military quality of the reorganized troops is extremely high, and there are more than 14,000 combat heroes among the more than 20,000 troops.
Subsequently, some Korean officers and men from all over the country broke away from the PLA sequence and returned to Korea after China's reorganization, and were incorporated into the Korean People's Army sequence.
From July 1949 to August 1950, more than 50,000 officers and soldiers returned to Korea, many of whom later served as senior commanders in the Korean War, and some returned officers and soldiers became elite troops on the Korean battlefield.
Returning troops on the Korean battlefield
In fact, the officers and men who returned to the DPRK performed well on the Korean battlefield.
In the Battle of Nakdonggang, the 12th Division of the Korean People's Army, which was formed on the basis of the units of the former Siye 156th Division, withstood the bombardment of the US army, broke through the resistance of the South Korean troops, combined with the frontal assault and the detour of the flank, captured Andong in one fell swoop, and once tore open the "Busan Defense Circle" carefully arranged by the US army. The division was also awarded the title of "Anton Division".
Also in the Battle of Nakdonggang, the 6th Division of the Korean People's Army, which was formed on the basis of the units of the former Siye 166th Division, undertook the strategic detour task, not only fulfilled the set task excellently, but also ambushed and completely annihilated a battalion of the US army with flexible tactics and tenacious surprise attacks, and defeated the defenders of Jinju to seize the city, almost disrupting the entire battlefield deployment of the US army. The operation of the 6th Division was later described by the U.S. Military as the Korean People's Army's "most perfectly planned and most resolutely implemented" combat operation.
There are many more such examples, which shows that the performance of the returning troops on the Korean battlefield is outstanding. However, even so, the Korean People's Army was still defeated and retreated, and finally relied on the Chinese People's Volunteer Army to resist the United States and aid Korea to stabilize its position.
This shows that: First, there are great problems in the tactical and strategic command system of the entire Korean People's Army, which cannot be solved by one or two elite units; second, even with the addition of elite troops from Shino and Soviet-style equipment, there is still a considerable gap in combat effectiveness between the Korean People's Army and the US military.
brief summary:
The Korean troops in the Chinese People's Liberation Army are the crystallization of the close cooperation between China and the DPRK in the protracted struggle for national independence and liberation.
The return of these troops to the DPRK has demonstrated China's position and views on the DPRK issue, and it also conforms to the expectations of the DPRK people and is completely legitimate and just. The performance of the Korean People's Army has been disappointing for various reasons, but this still cannot hide the heroic and tenacious fighting of these returning troops from Shino.