260,000 brave and fearless sons and daughters of China resolutely bid farewell to their relatives and set foot on a foreign land, their return journey is full of unknowns and uncertainties. From 6:30 p.m. to 4 a.m. the next morning, the volunteer soldiers silently crossed the river, and after approaching North Korea, they marched at night to avoid the enemy's eyes and ears.
In the early morning of October 21, Mr. Peng finally arrived at the building, a small village in Daeyu-dong, near Tokucheon, to meet with Kim Il Sung. Kim Il Sung wanted General Peng to set up a command post here, and proposed that he should take unified command of the Chinese and North Korean armies. However, the tactical style and equipment level of the North Korean and Chinese armies are very different, and the command style of the North Korean generals cannot control the volunteer army, which makes unified command a complex and thorny problem.
The Volunteer Army excelled at maneuverability, night combat, and close combat, while the North Korean Army was more inclined to fire suppression. In addition, the North Korean army was still young and experienced generals were scarce, while the volunteer army had a large number of troops. Kim Il Sung realized that it was not realistic to command the Volunteer Army, so he retreated to the next best thing and proposed the merger of the command posts of the two sides.
The issue of the unified command of the Chinese and DPRK armies has never been properly resolved, and the two sides are fighting their own battles and lack clear coordination. This led to many problems in actual combat, such as frequent incidents of accidental attacks between the volunteers and the North Korean army, and the efficiency of the march was greatly reduced.
Mr. Peng deeply felt that if the Chinese and North Korean armies did not unify their command as soon as possible, the consequences would be unimaginable. He actively communicated with Kim Il Sung, hoping that the DPRK army headquarters would be closer to the headquarters of the Volunteer Army so that they could better coordinate operations. However, during the talks, although Kim Il Sung agreed to allow some of his troops to participate in guerrilla warfare behind enemy lines, he still had reservations about the issue of coordination between the two armies, and only agreed to send staff officers to conduct communication and liaison, and was unwilling to let the headquarters of the two armies get closer. The issue of unity of command has thus reached an impasse.
In order to safeguard the unity and common interests of China and the DPRK, Chairman Mao decided to make concessions. Through a telegram drafted by Zhou Enlai, he proposed that a three-person team be formed by President Peng, Kim Il Sung, and Soviet adviser Shtkov to jointly formulate military policy. Stalin highly recognized Peng's command ability and agreed to be under the unified command of the Chinese comrades.
Kim Il Sung and Shtkov were invited to the headquarters of the Chinese People's Volunteer Army, and after in-depth discussions, Shtykov made it clear that the Chinese side should be under unified command. Kim Il Sung, after much deliberation, also finally accepted this decision.
On December 3, Kim Il Sung personally came to Beijing to meet with Mao Zedong. During the talks, he explicitly agreed to the unified command of the two armies, with the Chinese side as the main force and the DPRK side as the auxiliary. This decision indicates that the issue of joint operations between the Chinese and DPRK militaries has been satisfactorily resolved.
Eventually, the two countries established a joint command of the Chinese People's Volunteers and the People's Army, under the unified command of the Chinese side for operations and all activities on the front line, and under the unified jurisdiction of the DPRK government for mobilization, training, military administration, and security in the rear. Peng Dehuai served as commander and political commissar, while Kim Hung-wei served as deputy commander and Pak Il-woo served as deputy political commissar on the North Korean side. This decision has not only strengthened the ability of the Chinese and DPRK militaries to coordinate operations, but also laid a solid foundation for friendship and unity between the two countries.