멈추지 말고 계속 해나가기만 한다면 늦어도 상관없다

How slowly you go matters not, so long as you do not stop.

A Lanternlit Tent, Kaesong, August 27th, 1951

General Kang Gon, the Chief of the General Staff, was bedraggled, hungover, and exhausted. Supplying an army in Korea was something like eating rice a single grain at a time. That is to say, it took an age. The Japanese had allowed the Koreans railways, if mostly for their own military purpose. Paving roads, however, was not on the Japanese agenda, outside of the large cities. Pyongyang and Seoul, after all, had positively luxurious paved roads compared to the tiny dirt roads that crisscrossed the peninsula. To that end, the railroads bore a considerable amount of the brunt of supplying the Korean People's Army on its march south.

Yet it was simply not enough. It was simply not enough to be running a tight schedule down to the minute, to be putting every locomotive in the north to work on military trains, to be running the signalling system with military personnel. No, it would require the use of the roads, and massive convoys of trucks running south as much as possible.

It was to that end that General Kang Gon, in concert with the Minister of Transportation Ho Nam-Hui and the Minister of Railways Pak Ui-wan that the Rear Services of the Korean People's Army was created, based largely on the Soviet model. Commanded by Colonel General (Sangjang) Ri Chong, the Rear Services were arranged as:

Railway Troops

Railway personnel in charge of the complete running and maintenance of the railway system. To this end, they operate as engineers, guards, signalmen and maintenance personnel. Much of this personnel consists of conscripted civilian workers.

Road Troops

The Road Troops have perhaps the hardest job, in charge of maintaining the road system in the north and repairing any damage to it. To that end, they are in charge of maintaining and repairing bridges, as well as ensuring proper drainage and the maintenance of the road surface. Sidelined and rather poorly funded, the Road Troops nonetheless constitute large amounts of formerly civilian construction workers.

Automotive Troops

An experiment in organization, the Automotive Troops supply all of the drivers and maintenance personnel for the Rear Service's fleet of trucks, necessary for keeping up the large supply network over the poor roads in Korea. These mostly consist of conscripted civilian experts, as well.

In addition, Food, Clothing, Medical, and Post Services are managed on the whole by the Rear Services. Traffic Regulation and Security is provided by the Military Automotive Guards, within the Rear Services.

With that plan in place, General Kang Gon brought it forth a meeting behind the front at Kaesong. The General Staff immediately protested.

"Where will we get the men?," the commander of the 3rd Corps asked. "With our casualties, we will be unable to staff the combat divisions soon!"

It took a long beratement by the other Generals before Chief Commander Yong Gon held up his hand. "This is a valid question," he said with measure.

"Women," General Kang Gon replied.

The officers looked to each other.

"Women can be drivers. Women can be mechanics. Women can be engineers."

The general staff seemed about to launch into another tirade against Kang Gon before the Chief Commander stood.

"It will be done," he said with finality. "It will free men we need at the front, as reinforcements."

Thus General Kang Gon's next phone call was directly to Ho Jong-suk, the Culture and Propaganda Minister, and one of the first women in the Cabinet. "Women called up? It is well," she replied. "My office will assure this succeeds."

To be continued...