CHINESE COMMUNIST 54 ARMY, KUMSONG AREA, NORTH KOREA

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00810A004200800003-4
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 8
• Document Creation Date: December 16, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 5, 2005
• Sequence Number: 3
• Publication Date: June 2, 1954
• Content Type: REPORT

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CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
INFORMATION REPORT
SECRET,
COUNTRY Korea/China
SUBJECT
DATE OF INFO.
PLACE ACQUIRED
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635766
This Document contains information affecting the Na-
tional Defense of the United States, within the mean-
ing of Title 18, Sections 798 and 794, of the U.S. Code, as
amended. Its transmission or revelation of its contents
to or receipt by an unauthorized person is prohibited
by law. The reproduction of this form is prohibited.
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Chinese Communist 54 Army,
Kumeong Area, North Korea
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? REPORT NO.
DATE DISTR.
NO. OF PAGES
REQUIREMENT NO.
REFERENCES
2 Junei954
8
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Strength and Location of 54 Army Units
1, In March 1954 the Chinese Communist 54 Army, composed of the 130, 132, 134
and 135 Divisions,' was in the area south of KOmsong (N 38.25, 127_37)
(CT-7953), the Command Post being situated on a hill southwest of Kuryong-ni
(QT.761516). Before the armistice, the divisions of the 54 Army had been
rotated from on line to rear areas once every 6 months, but since July 1953
rotation has been discontinued. In March 1954, units of the 54 Army were
in the following locations:
a. The 130 Division2 (composed of the 388, 389 and 3403 Regiments
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STATE X
was responsible for the sector between
CT.764468 and CT-808441 (Hill 700).
(1) The 388 Regimental Headquarters was at CT-759488, the 1 Battalion
being deployed from CT-798457 to CT-809441, with headquarters at
CT-808443; company locations of the 1 Battalion were as follows;
1 Company, from CT.798457 to CT,806447.
2 Company, from CT.808445 to CT-801444,
3 Company, from CT-793458 to CT-7954520
An 82-mm0 mortar company and a heavy machine gun company, from
CT-806447 to CT...807443.
(2) The 2 Battalion was deployed from CT.779479 to CT-783446.
(3)
(4)
The 3 Battalion was deployed in the W81bong-san (C11.771456) area.
An artillery battalion was deployed from CT-775480 to CT.780464.
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b. The 132 Division4 was responsible for the sector between CT-808411 and
CT-840452.
c. The 134 or 135 Division5 was responsible for the sector between CT-840452
and CT-870456.
2. At the end of July 1953 the 54 Army strength had been reduced to an average
of six to eight men in each infantry squad. By March 19540 new infantry
recruits from the Anhui and Szechuan Provinces had increased the strength to
about 10 or 11 men per squad. Artillery and communications replacements had
also been provided. Calculated on a basis of 10 to 11 men per squad, the
estimated strength of the 388 Regiment is 5,000 men. Total 54 Army strength
is an estimated 1l.9,6006 (See Attachment :A for the Table of Organization of
the 54 Army.)
An 82-mm, mortar company consists of three platoons, each of which has three
seven-man squads.7 An infantry company consists of three infantry platoons
and one 60-mm, mortar platoon. In each infantry platoon are three infantry
squads and one light machine gun squad. Since the armistice the 54 Army has
replaced all the Chinese-made 7.92 light machine guns with Soviet 7.62 light
machine guns. A heavy machine gun company has six Soviet "Maxim" 7/62 heavy
machine guns and three Chinese 7.92 guns. Each 82-mm, mortar platoon has
three 82-mm. mortars. A 60-mm. mortar platoon has three 60-mm. mortars.
Tanks which are organic to the army are assigned to divisions as needed. In
an 82-mm, mortar company, officers, artillery gunners, and others above the
tank of platoon leader carry pistols; squad leaders and couriers0 PPSh's;
individual soldiers are equipped with Soviet rifles, Chinese Communist per-
sonnel handgranades0 and Soviet anti-tank handgrenades.
4. In addition to the commanding officer, each Chinese Communist company has a
deputy commanding officer; a political diKection officer; and his assistant;
a cultural instructor, a chief secretary0? 4 correspondence clerk; and a
courier. The following sections make up the administrative table of
organization in 54 Army headquarters:
a. Military Affairs Section
(Personnel and mobilization)
b. Political Section
c. Communications Section
d. Munitions Section
Military Section
(Military, artillery, and
infantry staffs)
f? Army Political Committee
g.
h,
Army Chinese Socialist Youth
Corps
Army Chinese Communist Party
Chun-wu-ku (6511/0523/5140)
Cheng-chih-ku (2398/3112/5140)
? Tung-hsinku (6639/0207/5140)
Chun7hsu-ku (6511/7194/5140)
Chun-shih-ku .(6511/0057/5140)
? Chun-cheng-chih-weiyuan-Chang-
ch'ing-nien-t'uan (6511/2398/3112/
1201/0765/7022/7230/1628/0957)
? Chun-chung-kuo-she-hui-chu-i (6511/
0022/0948/4357/2585/0031/5030)
? Chun-chung-kuo-kung-ch'an-tang (6511/
0022/0948/0364/3934/7825)
History of the 54 Army
5. Some time after August 19450 the Chinese Communist 54 Army, then the 45 Army09
was created as a local guerilla force in Manchuria. . It first attacked and
occupied the area around Seu-ping-chieh (N 42-32, E125-08) in Manchuria,
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then T'ientsin in China. It then advanced further southward, and by September
1949 occupied the entire province of Kwangtung. There the army recruited and
trained additional troops from the Hunan, &angst, and Kwangtung Provinces.
In December 1952, the 130 Division, as an advance force, left Canton, Kkangtung
Province, and traveled by train through the Hunan and Hupeh Provinces and the
cities of Hankow, Shanghai, and MUkden to Antung where it arrived on 6 or 7
February 1953. 'here were 10 or 11 men per squad, rather than the authorized
stiingth of 12 mea. After 3 days the division crossed the Yalu River into
Sinuiju and marched to Ch'olsan (N 39-46, E 124-40). For the next 3 or 4
months the division was responsible for the defense of a portion of Korea's
western coast. During this time the other divisions of the army also arrived
in Korea. In June 1953 the 54 Army was on line in the Kilms6ng area. In
China the 54 Army belonged to the 4 Field Army of the Chinese Central South
Military Area People's Liberation Forces. After its entry into Korea it
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6. Some time in 1953 Chinese Communist unit designations were changed from Army,
Chun (6511) Division, Shih (1597); Regiment, T')Ian (0957); Battalion, Ying
(3602); Company, Lien (6647); Platoon, P'ai (2226); and Squad, Pan (3803);
to Army, Chun; Division, Tatui (1129;7130); Regiment, Ch'utui (0575/7130);
Battalion, Chung-tui (0022/7130); Company, Fentui (0433/7130); Platoon, P'ai;
and Squad, Pan.
PC)."1nlis
70 Following the armistice the principal activity of the army was political,
cultural, and military training. Political training pertained to reconstruction
of the country according to Communist principles. Cultural training consisted
of reading books on Communism and of reading such newspapers as The People's
News. Military training was devoted to combat drill in the mountain areas in
which the units were situated. The men were also engaged in constructing
trenches and billets with wood procured in the vicinity. In November and
December 1953 the 1 Battalion, 388 Regiment built a road two meters wide from
CT-798457 through the mountains to battalion headquarters at CT-808443. The
road was used to transport supplies by horse and ox carts to the headquarters.
By March 1954 a road had been made passable for motor vehicles from 388
Regiment headquarters at CT-759488 to CT-755510, along the east side of the
mountains. In July 1953 a One-way wooden bridge four feet high was constructed
across the stream at CT-755510. There was no military police checkpoint at the
bridge. Immediately following the armistice, 54 Army sentry posts along the
demarcation line were maintained day and night at 300-meter intervals. In
March 1954 one guard was on duty daring the day and three at night, at 100
meter intervals.
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Personalities
8.- The following officers are assigned to the 54 Army:
a. CO Fu-shun (6392/439517311)9 commanding officer, 388 Regiment, 130
Division, 54 Army.
1/4 HSTgli (6200)(fnu)?10 chief of the 54 Army. Political Committee and of the
Chinese Socialist Youth Corps.11
1
co TING Sheng (0002/4141) commanding general 54 Army.
25X1 In addition to his duties as _commandAng general
of the army he is responsible for all CCP affairs in the army. He Was
forMerly in the Eighth Route Army.
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AmPoliticalanizations
9. Political activity in the Chinese Communist forces (CCF) is carried out by
both the CCP and the Chinese Socialist Youth Corps. Commanders are responsible
for CCP affairs in their respective units, and political commissioners and
political direction officers are responsible for the youth corps organizations.
Squad leaders, assistant squad leaders, and staff officers above the rank of
platoon commander in the 54 Army are CCP members.
10. An enlisted man desiring to join the CCP submits his application to his
platoon commander through his squad leader. The platoon commander, company
commander, and political direction officer and his deputy meet to discuss
the applicant's deportment; accomplishments while in service; and his ideology.
The results of the discuss Ion are forwarded with the application to battalion
level where the papers are studied by the battalion commander; assistant
battalion commander, and political direction officer and his deputy, If the
application is approved at battalion level, the individual becomes a CCP
member. Men from poor families are given priority consideration. A private
who was a CCP member prior to enlisting or who. joins the party soon thereafter
may be appointed squad leader or assistant squad leader. If he continues to
be an enthusiastic Communist and if his military record is good; he may be
promoted, even though he is without education.
11. Members of the Chinese Socialist Youth Corps are between the ages of 18 and
25 years. Application for membership is forwarded from the squad leader
through the platoon commander to the company political direction officer.
The application is then handled at company and at battalion level in the same
manner as is the application for membership in the CCP.
12. Pay in the CCF is 80,000 yuan for enlisted men; 100,000 for squad leaders,
and 150,000 for platoon commanders. In each company articles -from China,
such as the following, are available for sale to the men:
ARTICLE
Soldisr'S diary12
Flashlight
Toilet soap
Towel
Fountain pen
Candy (wheat gluten)(6 kilogrami)
Socks (pair)
PRICE (in Chinese yuan)
4,500
10,000
5,000
4?000
5,000
5,000
7,000
13. Summer uniforms were to be issued on or about 10 May. Clothing was issued at
company level and recorded in the Company Clothing Registration Table which
was kept by the company's chief secretary. No record of issued clothing, of
weapons, or of other supplies was given to individual soldiers. Since
December 1953 soldiers have worn a Comfort Team Commemoration medal usually
pinned on the inner garment. Since the armistice, CCF soldiers have worn on
the left chest of the outer garment a white cloth patch about 3-1/2 by 1-1/2
inches in size. It is either sewn on or hooked to the uniform. On the front
are Chinese characters in black ink which read "Chinese People's Volunteer
Forces." About an eighth of an inch in from the hem on four sides is a border
line in red ink. Stamped on the reverse side in Chinese characters are the
individual's branch of service, his duty assignment, the characters Kung
Yuan (0361/0337), the soldier's serial number which consists of a Roman
letter followed by a four or five-digit number and another Roman letter, and
the year. Stamped in red ink is the chop of the issuing authority. The
soldier's name and the month and day of issue of the patch are written in
black brush strokes. The reverse side of the patch appears as follows:
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:Branch of
Service
C 00000 C
Name
.........1.=
Duty
Commander's
Chop
...----...
Kung Yuan
--
' Year, month, day
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14. The only documentation provided to the men of the 388 Regiment after their
entry into Korea was an innoculation certificate issued in Nity 1953. A
soldier leaving his unit area on official business was given an exit certi-
ficate, a printed form bearing the name of the commanding officer. The exit
certificate was good for travel within a radius of 10 to 30 li.
15. In November 1953 North Korean families began moving into the KI1Ms6ng area from
the north, to resettle and farm. Troops stationed nearby were mobilized to
help build grassroofed houses for the farmers.. (See Attachment B for sketch
showing the areas which have been opened to the civilian population.)
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'Comment. As of 6 April, according to a weekly field publication of
another American agency, the 54 Army is composed of the 130,135, and the
161 Divisions; the 134 Division having been redesignated as the 161. As
of 14 April the same publication reported the 130 Division as being
deployed from approximately CT-7244 to CT-8344; the 135 Division north
of the demilitarized zone from 0T-8345 to the Pukhan River (CT-9245)
and the 161 Division in the 54 Army reserve. As of February, according
to available information, the 132 Division is subordinate to, the 43 Army,
on Hainan Island, Kwangtung. The 130 and 132 Divisions were subordinate
to the 14.14. Army prior to that army's deactivation in October 1952. Some
of the personnel of the 132 Division were believed to have been integrated
at that time into the 54 Army. I
Comment. During combat the 130 is one of the offensive divisions.
[Comment. Possibly 390 Regiment is meant.
11.1 jcpmmQ]ato This division has been a defensive force and has never
engaged in combat.
7
'Comment,.
lall CCF armies in Korea are accepted at 85 percent
of T/0 strength (40,400 per army; 11,800 per division). The AFFE
Summary,. Change 2, dated 22 Narch 1R540 assessed the strength of the
54 Army at 4,441.1 liakting identified four, rather than
three, divisions in the 54 Army accounts in part for the fact that
strength estimate is unusually large.
laanzat. In the 388 Regiment, from the armistice until March
1954, strength of the 82-mm. mortar company was only five or six men per
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9.
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Comment. The chief secretary (So Mu-chang) is a
member of the
finance. He is
Army was changed
company
treated
Staff and is responsible for administration and
as an officer.
[Ccument. The exact date when the name of the 45
to 54 Army
is unknown.
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3omment.
According to AFFE Listings of the Chinese
Communist
Section)
Ground
Forces in Korea, IISIEH Ming is chief of the Political
Headquarters,
54 Army.
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11.
'Comment. The name of the New Democratic Youth League
was changed
to the
Chinese Socialist Youth Corps in January 1954 because
Communist
China has
progressed to the stage of Socialist construction
(sic).
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12.
Comment. A notebook, referred to as a soldier's
diary, was owned
by many
soldiers. The troops could also purchase other
notg!books with
red leather or plastic covers, which contained pictures of MAO 2se-tung,
CHU Teh, and others.
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54 Army
Headquarters
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MEM.
1
En
m 135 134 132
w Division Division Division
1-3
130
Division
ATTACHIFERT A
54 Army Table of Organization
Radio Commmnications Company
Telephone Communications Company
Guard Company
Cultural Activity Unit
Sanitation Company
Reconnaisoance Battalion
Motor Vehicle Transportation Battalion
Tank Unit
A illery 340 3 388
Regiment Regiment Regiment Regiment
Artillery
Battalion
- 1
3 Infantry
Battalion
1
82-mm. Mortar
t
?ta
Platoons
- f
Squads
Heavy 'Machine
2 IAfantry
Battalion
Raaio Communications Company
Telephone Communications Company
Guard Platoon
Cultural Activity Unit
Sanitation Company
Reconnaissance Company
Motor Vehicle Transportation Company
lAfantry
Battalion
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1
[i -4
Radio -and Telephone Communications Company i
Guard Squad
Sanitation Company (includes litters)
Engineer Company (includes reconnaissance platoon)
Motor Vehicle Transportation Platoon
IIHorse and Ox Cart Transportation Platoon
Telephone Squad
Sanitation Squad
Fire Squad
(
4 InfLitry 3 Infantry 2 Infrantry 1 Infantry
Gyn I Cqmpaiy Company Company Company Company
i
6b-mm. Mortar 3 1 1
Platoon Platoons
Platoons
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LighilMachine S---1
Gun Squad Squada
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ATTACHMENT B
Locations of Civilian Resettlement in the CT Area
75 77
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Map scale: 1:50;000
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