![]() ![]() 4 In addition, Soviet advisors served at the division level. ![]() The number of soldiers with prior service in the Chinese Communist Forces’ war against the Nationalist Chinese and Japanese in WWII was estimated at a third of all North Korean forces. Many North Korean soldiers were combat veterans, having served in WWII and after in the Japanese, Soviet, and Chinese Armies. As one of the most successful tank designs in WWII, the T-34/85 outclassed American armor early in the war.ĭespite the discrepancies in troop levels and unit organization, however, sources do not disagree that the North Korean troops were better trained than their counterparts. troops pass a disabled Soviet-produced T-34/85 tank. 3 At full strength the NKPA infantry divisions-organized on the Soviet model-stood at eleven thousand men with an integral artillery regiment and SU-76 self-propelled gun, medical, signal, anti-tank, engineer, and training battalions. ![]() 2 These soldiers were organized into two Corps consisting of seven assault infantry divisions, an armored brigade, three reserve divisions, a separate infantry regiment, and a motorcycle reconnaissance regiment. 1 The second branch was the North Korean People’s Army (NKPA).Īlthough estimates vary widely (as high as 223,038), most sources in June 1950 report that the NKPA fielded nearly 117,000 troops (in addition to the Border Constabulary) in the invasion force. The ground forces were separated into two “branches.” The first was a heavily indoctrinated 50,000-man internal security force that included an 18,600-man Border Constabulary organized into five brigades, most of which were as well-equipped as the regular infantry forces. Details on its armed forces at the time are spotty. ![]() Unlike either the United States or South Korea, North Korea had been preparing for war since 1946. Likewise, the U.S.-which had not even acknowledged the possibility of war-was caught flatfooted. Although designed from the start to be a defensive force, the South Korean Army was ill-prepared for the task. When war came to the Korean peninsula, only the North was prepared to wage the struggle to unify the two Koreas. ![]()
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