Re: China

["Mike Yared" <mike_yared@hotmail.com>]

Two notes:
Dictionary of Contemporary Chinese Military History
by Larry Wortzel (Greenwood Press, 1999)
p.52-53
Chinese People's Volunteers..., in 1950, there were six armies (38th, 39th, 
40th, 42nd, 50th, 66th), plus 3artillery divisions and a logistics command, 
all with over 250,000 personnel.
by July 1953, the CPV consisted of 20 infantry armies (60 divisions), 10 
artillery divisions, 4 tank regiment, and 10 air force divisions.

Korean War: handbook of the Literature and Research.
editied by Lester Brune (Greenwood Press, 1996).
chapter 11, "Chinese Policy and the Korean War" by Chen Jian, p.189-205, has 
a lot of sources.
statistics were:
1.35 million Chinese forces in North Korea
152,000 deaths
230,000 combat deaths
expenditures 10 billion yuan (2.7 billion dollars)
(Chen Jian is a history professor at SIU at Carbondale, Illinois. He wrote 
China's Road to the Korean War (1994).

PS. Years ago, I was helping someone who want informations about the 
Portugal Airborne Troops. I found useful informations in articles and books 
about the Portugal Air Force. IIRC, Portugal and China are the only 
countries with airborne troops in their Air Force. Maybe there are mo info 
in articles/books about the PLAAF.

>From: "Joseph S. Bermudez Jr." <jbermudez@qwest.net>
>Reply-To: KOREAN-WAR-L@raven.cc.ku.edu
>To: KOREAN-WAR-L@raven.cc.ku.edu
>Subject: Re: China
>Date: Wed, 05 Dec 2001 21:32:27 -0700
>
>Mike,
>
> > In China's Defence Modernisation and Military Leadership by Nhok Lee (
> > 1989), p. 69, there is this sentence, "Forerunners of the PLA's Airborne
> > Forces too part in the Korean War during the early 1950s. (footnote 104:
> > JFJHB, No.4, April 1984, p.16-17. JFJHB might be Liberation Army Daily.
>
>This is interesting. I just wonder what the author means by "Forerunners"?
>In my research I have found no reference to CPV/PLA paratroops in Korea
>during or in the years immediately following the war. Granted US
>intelligence didn't know everything by Chinese airborne troops was a least
>something they were looking at. I guess it is always possible that a small
>component may have been deployed to Korea. Alternately, the author could
>simply be wrong.
>
>A 1952 FEC G2 report on "Chinese Communist Paratroops" states the 
>following,
>
>------------
>
>The Chinese Communists possessed no airborne troops whatsoever until late
>1948 when the Chinese Nationalist 3d Parachute Regiment defected en mass.
>The Communists used some of its officers and men as instructors and cadre 
>to
>staff the newly formed paratroop schools; however, the bulk of the regiment
>appears to have been "shelved" by its new masters and possibly is no longer
>an effective combat unit.
>
>Concerted efforts on the part of the Chinese Communists to develop an
>airborne force can be traced to mid-1949 when rather extensive training
>facilities were established in the Chiamussu region of northern Manchuria.
>Apparently no additional training facilities were available until late in
>1950, when a training center was established at Kaifeng, Honan Province. At
>least two additional paratroop schools probably were established during
>1951.
>
>Chiamussu is believed to be the largest paratroop training complex. By the
>end of 1951 some 20,000 paratroops reportedly had graduated from Chiamussu
>while an additional 14,000 were said to be in various stages of training.
>Reports indicate there are separate installations at Kaifeng, Sian, and
>Loyang; however, they may well be considered part of one complex, centered
>at Kaifeng. This training center reportedly turned out more than 12,000
>qualified jumpers by the end of 1951 and allegedly is capable of handling
>approximately 10,000 trainees at one time. One of the newer establishments,
>the jump school in the Peking-Tientsin area reportedly has approximately
>10,000 trainees to various stages of training, while the facility termed a
>"jump-training preparatory school,² located at Hsiaokan, north of Hankou,
>probably is capable of handling some 1,000 trainees. After completion of 
>the
>course at Hsiaokan, personnel from this school may advance to other 
>training
>installations. Paratroop training installations, some of which may be
>schools for preliminary airborne training, have been reported, in Manchuria
>at Tsitsihar, Mukden and Yenchi, in China at Ining, Paotao, Chengtu,
>Hsuchou, Nanking, Nanchang, Kueiyang and Sanya-Yulin, but as yet these
>facilities are not accepted.
>
>There can be little doubt that the training as well as the equipping of
>Chinese Communist parachute troops is under Soviet sponsorship and guidance
>if not outright supervision. The major portion of Chinese Communist
>paratroop trainees appear to have been selected from the regular field
>forces, particularly from units of the Third and Fourth Field Armies. The
>trainees, in all likelihood, are screened as thoroughly for political
>reliability as for physical qualifications.
>
>It is estimated that the Chinese Communists currently possess a paratroop
>force of from 20,000 to 35,000 qualified jumpers and an additional 20,000 
>to
>30,000 students in various stages of jump training. Probably not more than
>half of the qualified jumpers are presently organized into tactical
>formations which could participate in large-scale tactical airborne
>operations; nevertheless, it is logical that qualified jumpers as yet not
>assigned to units could be used as intelligence agents, guerrilla
>coordinators and saboteurs. The lack or sufficient transport aircraft is
>probably a primary reason for the delay in organization of additional
>airborne or parachute units.
>
>Several airborne numerical designations referring to battalion, regimental,
>brigade, divisional, and corps echelons have been reported; however, some 
>of
>these echelons probably do not exist. Although it is believed that the
>Chinese Communists are organizing their airborne troops into regiments 
>which
>in turn may be subordinated, at a later date, to divisions. Pending the
>receipt of additional information, no Chinese Communist airborne unit
>designation is accepted.
>
>Indications are that the current potential of Chinese Communist airborne
>elements is rather limited; nevertheless, substantial progress in the
>development of a modern airborne force has been made. Further progress is 
>to
>be expected, and a Chinese Communist airborne force of significant
>proportions and combat potential could emerge in the not-too-distant 
>future.
>
>------------
>
>Additionally, none of the postwar OOBs for North Korea or CPV/PLA forces in
>Korea mention anything about paratroops. In postwar PLA OOBs there are
>several mentions of the three PLA parachute divisions,
>
>1st Parachute Division, strength 7,000, Kai-fong, Honan
>2nd Parachute Division, strength 7,000, Chia-ma-ssu, Heillungkiang
>3rd Parachute Division, strength 7,000, Hankow, Hupeh
>
>It would be interesting if anyone else can turn up any information on the
>subject.
>
>Regards,
>Joe
>
>Joseph S. Bermudez Jr.
>


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