억강부약

Suppressing the strong, helping the weak.

Potonggang, Pyongyang, May 15th, 1950

Organizing an army was a process that was far more fitting to accountants than to proud warriors. Yet every general, even the guerillas, knew that getting your fighters where they needed to go, providing them housing, weapons and ammunition was the activity that comprised most of war. Most of a war was marching and waiting. Hours, days or weeks of boredom, interspersed with moments of the most sheer terror you could ever experience.

Choe Yong-gon had been fighting for communism since the late 1920s, and he had long ago learned how to delegate powers effectively. It was in this spirit that the formation of the Korean People's Army was formalized.

Order of Battle

• 1st Corps
  • 1st Division
  • 3rd Division
  • 4th Division
  • 6th Division (Ex PLA)
  • 13th Division (Reserve)
  • 107th Armoured Regiment
  • 205th Armoured Regiment
  • 243rd Armoured Regiment (Reserve)
  • 412th Self-Propelled Antitank Regiment
  • 702nd Rocket Artillery Regiment
• 2nd Corps
  • 2nd Division
  • 5th Division (Ex PLA)
  • 12th Division (Ex PLA)
  • 15th Division (Reserve)
  • 203rd Armoured Regiment
  • 207th Armoured Regiment (Reserve)
  • 766th Infantry Regiment (Motorized)
  • 413th Self-Propelled Antitank Regiment
  • 701st Rocket Artillery Regiment
• 3rd Corps
  • 8th Division
  • 9th Division
  • 16th Division (Ex PLA)
  • 109th Armoured Regiment
  • 113th Armoured Regiment
  • 115th Armoured Regiment
  • 112th Heavy Armoured Regiment "Bulgae"
  • 206th Mechanized Infantry Brigade
  • 703rd Rocket Artillery Regiment
• 38th Parallel Guard
  • 1st Guard Brigade
  • 3rd Guard Brigade
  • 240th Armoured Regiment
  • 549th Infantry Regiment (Motorized)
  • 414th Self-Propelled Antitank Regiment
• Northern Border Guard
  • 10th Division

Armoured Regiments

The creation of a modern, armoured force from nothing was an almost herculean task over the last half-decade. It was only with extensive Soviet assistance and intense interest from the forces that formed the KPA that the following collection of vehicles was able to be assembled:

• 28 T-34-76
• 418 T-34-85
• 270 SU-76M
• 40 IS-2
• 100 SU-85
• 1500 trucks, including Czech, Yugoslav, Soviet and locally produced models
• 120 Katyusha

Each armoured regiment was allocated 45 medium (T-34-85) tanks and 20 SU-76M self-propelled artillery. Separate self-propelled antitank regiments was allocated 24 SU-85s and one T-34-85 (or a T-34-76) to serve as a command tank. The single Heavy Armoured Regiment possessed 40 IS-2s. Each rocket artillery regiment possesses 36 Katyushas. While the large number of tanks arrayed was impressive on paper, much of the strength was on paper due to the training needs of the tank crews, and much of the regiments still had very little experience in early 1950.

Infantry Divisions

For infantry divisions, Soviet-style triangular organization was adopted. Each division had three rifle regiments, split into three battalions, which split into three companies, which split into three platoons, which split into three squads. The vast majority of equipment was Soviet, most being equipped with the M1897 Nagant-type rifle. One of the three battalions of each division was equipped as a submachine gun battalion, equipped entirely with PPSh submachine guns for additional close-range firepower. Each rifle company had a weapons platoon equipped with four 61mm mortars and two DP-27 light machine guns. Each regiment had its own antitank company equipped with four 45mm anti-tank guns, a mortar company equipped with six 120mm mortars and a regimental artillery battalion equipped with five 76mm artillery guns. Each battalion had an organic heavy weapons company, equipped with two additional 45mm antitank guns, two tank destroyer squads armed with three PTRD (Type 51) antitank rifles each, and a mortar platoon equipped with nine 81mm mortars. Each division possessed a headquarters company, a reconnaissance company, an artillery regiment with three artillery battalions, an antitank battalion, an antiaircraft battalion, a heavy machine gun battalion, an engineer battalion, transportation and guard detachments, and an intelligence platoon. One each of the artillery battalions possessed twelve 76mm divisional howitzers, twelve 122mm howitzers, and twelve SU-76M self-propelled howitzers. The antitank battalion possessed twelve 45mm antitank guns, the antiaircraft battalion possesses nine 37mm antiaircraft cannons, and the heavy machine gun battalion possessed forty 12.7mm DShK (Type 51) machine guns.

The guard brigade consists of garrison-type troops, equipped with additional light machine guns, antitank rifles, and fewer trucks. The motorized regiments were equipped heavily with trucks, mostly the foreign-produced Czech and Yugoslav types, and somewhat more heavy weapons than their non-motorized counterparts. The mechanized infantry brigade is similarly motorized, but a larger organization and includes organic tanks and self-propelled artillery.