The last Army to be covered in this article is one that to me is the most interesting, that of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, or the PLA. Elements of the PLA had served since the 1930's fighting the Nationalist and/or the Japanese, and their victory in the Chinese Civil War was in spite of the billions of dollars of aid that the United States had given to the Nationalist Chinese. The new Comunist government of China attempted to make contact with the United States during late 1949 and early 1950, but to no avail. The United States government wanted no contact with the Chinese, in no small part of fear of the Chinese Lobby which was already blaming the government for the loss of the mainland. The Chinese government paid no attention at first to the events in Korea, busy as it was attempting to take control of China. Among its actions as mentioned was a demobilization of the army, Including the return to North Korea of the Korean veterans of the PLA. The movement north of the 38th Parallel by the United Nations presented the new Chinese Government with a dilemma. The new government had already indicated that it no problem with a unified Korea, regardless of whether it was controlled by the North or South. However the presence of United Nations forces on the Manchurian border changed everything, for while Nationalist China was still sitting in the United Nations, it could send troops into Korea as part of the UN Force. To make matters worse, elements of the Chinese Lobby in the United States were demanding that course of action be implemented, a view publicly shared by the UN's Commander in Chief, Douglas MacArthur. Starting in October. 1950, elements of the PLA entered Korea, while the Chinese government once again warned Washington of the consequences of their actions. In early November, the Chinese struck against several ROK units, as well as the 8th Cavalry Regiment. The 8th Cavalry was badly mauled, but interestingly enough, many of the prisoners taken by the Chinese were released while the Chinese withdrew. Ignoring the attacks. the UN pressed on for what they viewed as the final drive to the Yalu. The Chinese intervention drove the UN forces out of North Korea, and back down to the 38 Parallel. Though reports of human wave attacks were given wide credence at the time, it appears today that the Chinese victories were due more to their use of force on selected points, and the fact that American Army units tended not to close up in defense. The Chinese recon units were masters of locationing the weakness's of the American positions, a practice they had learned fighting both the Japanese and the Nationalist Chinese. Most of the American defeats ended up being defeats in detail, with the Chinese rolling up the American positions one at a time. The PLA was organized in Armies which corresponded to the American Army Corps. Each Army had from 3 to 4 infantry divisions, with each division having three Infantry Regiments, an Artillery Regiment, and support companies of Engineers, Medical, Signal, and Transport Troops. The PLA units which arrived in Korea left most of their heavier elements behind, including their artillery regiments. For COMMAND DECISION, the following is a suggested TO&E for the Chinese Infantry Regiments. I have not included the divisional/army elements as most of them were not in action at this time.  CHINESE INFANTRY REGIMENT (Veteran, Morale 10) REGIMENTAL HEADQUARTERS: 1 Command Stand GUARD COMPANY: 1 Command Stand and 3 SMG Stands ARTILLERY COMPANY: 1 Limber, 1 Gun Crew (DS), and 1 76.2 Infantry Gun or 75mm. Pack Howitzer MORTAR COMPANY: 3 82mm Mortar Stands (DS) ENGINEER COMPANY: 3 Recon Engineer SMG Stands 3 INFANTRY BATTALIONS, each with HEADQUARTERS 2 Command Stands 1 Recon SMG Stand 1 2.36" Bazooka Stand 3 INFANTRY COMPANIES: Each with; 2 SMG Stands 1 Rifle Stand 1 MACHINE GUN COMPANY 1 MMG Stands NOTES 1. The Chinese should use the Russian/American Data as needed for their Heavy Weapons, and the following for their SMG and MG Stands: SMG Stand ROF 1 2"/4" MMG Stand ROF 2 15"/30" Recon Engineer Stand ROF 2 2"/4 Rifle Stand ROF 1 8"/16" 2. The Chinese Infantry Regiments were numbered consecutively with the 1st Infantry Division having the 1st to 3rd Infantry Regiments. the 2nd Division having the 4th to 6th Infantry Regiments, etc. Back to Table of Contents -- Command Post Korean War Supplement To Command Post Quarterly List of Issues To MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1992 by Greg Novak. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other articles from military history and related magazines are available at http://www.magweb.com