Kim Ilsung accused Peng of over-caution bordering on incompetence and cowardice while Peng agonized over the staggering loss of his men. After the failure to annihilate the X Corp in Hamhung, Peng blamed himself and offered to resign.
Peng Dehuai was born in 1898 in Xiang-tan, Hunan Province. He graduated from the Hunan Army Jiang-wa School. He commanded a battalion and later a regiment in the National Revolutionary Army.
In 1927, Peng joined the Communist Party of China. In 1928, he led the Pini-jiang army mutiny during Mao Zedong's Agrarian Revolutionary War and participated in the Long March of 1934-36. He led the Fifth Red Army and the Third Red Army. He was vice president of the Military Commission of the Central committee. He was Mao's best general and in 1937, he became the 2nd in command of the Eighth Route Army of Chu Teh.
In 1949, Peng became the first secretary of the Northwest Bureau of the Party, chairman of the political Committee of the Northwest Army, commander of the Northwest military area, vice president of the Military Commission of the central Committee and the National Defense Committee.
Sept. 10, 1950 - Shenyang: Peng Tehuai speeds up his preparation for Korean intervention. He sees that Kim Il Sung is fast fading away. Peng is faced with the enormous problem of assembling an army of a quarter of a million: most field officers have no experience of fighting a conventional war against a well-organized army; transportation and communication are virtually non-existent. Mao Zedung thinks 3 weeks will be enough to place armies in N Korea, but Peng tells Mao that it will take him at least 2 months.
Mao gives Peng three field armies - the 38th, the 40th and the 42nd, the finest - of the 4th Army. Two additional field armies - the 27th and the 39th from South China are also at Peng's disposal.
Oct. 14,1950: Andong (Korea-China border): Peng sends the first train load of Chinese soldiers - the 334th Regiment, the 112th Division, the 38th Field Army - across the Yalu. Soon after, the 42nd Field Army cross the Yalu at Manpojin. Peng's advance army is designated as the 13th Army Group under Gen. Li Tianyu.
The 13th is ordered to stop MacArthur at a line just north of Chungchon River. Another field army, the 42nd, would move into regions east of the 13th to protect its flank and the temporary capital of N Korea, Kangye. Two additional field armies, the 50th and the 66th would move into Korea to reinforce the advance units. The latter armies would be designated as the 9th Army Group under Song Shilun. Peng has a total of 380,000 men under his control.
Oct. 18, 1950 - Beijing: Mao orders Peng to start his move next day (Oct. 19, 1950). Chou Enlai informs Stalin that: "I have just received a telegram from Mao Zedong and the Politburo. Our Central Committee has taken the decision to march troops into Korea at once!"
1. In order to support the Korean people's war of liberation and to resist the attacks of U.S. imperialism and its running dogs, thereby safeguarding the interests of the people of Korea, China and all the other countries in the East, I herewith order the Chinese People's Volunteers to march speedily to Korea and join the Korean comrades in fighting the aggressors and winning a glorious victory.
2. While in Korea, the Chinese People's Volunteers must show fraternal feelings and respect for the people, the People's Army, the Democratic Government, the Workers' Party and the other democratic parties of Korea as well as for Comrade Kim Il Sung, the leader of the Korean people, and strictly observe military and political discipline. This is a most important political basis for ensuring the fulfillment of your military task.
3. You must fully anticipate various possible and inevitable difficulties and be prepared to overcome them with great enthusiasm, courage, care and stamina. At present, the international and domestic situation as a whole is favorable to us, not to the aggressors. So long as you comrades are firm and brave and are good at uniting with the people there and at fighting the aggressors, final victory will be ours.
Mao Zedong
Chairman of the Chinese People's Revolutionary Military Commission
October 8, 1950, Peking
Stalin is impressed: "The Chinese comrades are good after all". Stalin promises to send 2 air divisions as soon as he can.
Oct. 21, 1950 - Kim Il Sung meets with Peng and works out common understandings on Sino-Korean war objectives. Peng and Kim agree to wage a guerrilla warfare if Peng failed to stop MacArthur. Peng's first objective is to stop further advances by the US forces and then envelope them into a giant trap and kill as many Americans as he can.
Nov. 6, 1950 - Peng orders his men to break all active combats with the enemy forces and withdraw to their mountain sanctuaries. Peng hopes that MacArthur has gotten the message and get out of N Korea without further losses. Peng needs to rest and resupply his troops. Peng needs time to assess battle performance of the enemy and refine his tactics.
Nov. 13 - The 7th Marine Regiment occupies Hagaru. The Chinese disengage and disappear. Peng replaces his front line troops with fresh ones for the second major offensive. The Chinese army works on a "five-days to fight and 10 days to replenish" schedule due to their limited resupply capability. Fresh troops are loaded up in a rear area and then march forward to replace the exhausted and out-of supply front-line troops.
Nov. 15, 1950 - Shenyang, China: The worst winter in 200 years rages through Manchuria and Korea. Pen Dehuai welcomes this unexpected help from mother nature. Peng knows that the Americans are not prepared for winter combats.
Peng rises at 5:30 A.M. and does an old-man's 'tai chi' exercise by his bed. He does a short run-around in the courtyard - rain or shine - for about 20 min. At 6:30 A.M., Peng leads his staff on a jog around the command area, a distance of about 2 km. Peng eats breakfast of tea and a bowl of spicy rice gruel. He goes over cables and reports while eating. He attends the first staff meeting at 8:00 A.M. Meetings last all day and night until about midnight.
Peng states: "First, although we were able to succeed in our initial attack operations, the enemy's main force units were not damaged. Since the main force units of the Chinese Peoples Volunteers had not appeared, the enemy were anticipating an attack. Second, the enemy was counting on his air power to cut our communications and food supply."
"This gave us an opportunity to deceive the enemy with regard to our intentions. Since we only sent a few troops, we were able to plant the impression that our food and supplies were insufficient. Third, because the enemy was armed with aircraft and tanks, it would be difficult for us to win if we fought directly with such an enemy."
Peng's next move is to smash Ned Almond's US X Corps in Hamgyon Namdo. This task falls on the 120,000 volunteers of the 9th Army Group commanded by Song Shilung. In the western front, the 13th Army Group lead by Li Tianyu will take Seoul and move southward as far as it can go. Peng tells his generals.
"The enemy has learned nothing over the past few weeks. They continue to advance recklessly. To that extent, our first-phase offensive has been a failure. My strategy may have been overly cautious. But in an encounter of this nature, with so many unknown possibilities, it seemed essential to get into position and deliver deterrent attacks upon the Americans without provoking a level of retaliation that would escalate the Korean conflict into another world war."
"But all we seem to have accomplished is to convince the Americans that Chinese troops have not entered Korea in any strength. This is unfortunate, because China now has no alternative but to teach the imperialists a lesson."
"And when it comes, the Chinese People's Volunteers will counterattack with all available force. The 9th Army Group will encircle and exterminate the US Marines around the Changjin Reservoir. Other enemy forces in that area will be mopped up along the coast. This should be possible, bearing in mind the enemy's scattered dispositions across difficult country."
Nov. 18, 1950 - Peng's generals ask for artillery, air support, tanks and more food and ammunition. Stalin's promised help begins to materialize. Russian burp guns and machine guns arrive in huge numbers for Peng's army. Two Soviet air divisions move to Manchuria. One air defense division is on its way. Peng's people could use better communications - anything better than the runners and 2,000-year old methods (bugles, flags, flares, etc.) in use.
Dec. 11, 1950 - Pyongyang: A mass rally welcomes a small contingent of the N Korean Army led by Kim Il Sung, who officially thanks Peng. Peng traveled from Manchuria to Pyongyang in a brand-new Russian Molotov truck. Kim Il Sung throws a gala party for his guests. Most Russian diplomats and advisers are back in Pyongyang. Peng attends the party in frayed and patched-up.
Dec. 12, 1950 - Peng visits the 50th Field Army commanded by Zeng Zesheng, a former Chiang Kai Sek's general. Zeng's troops are mostly former Nationalist soldiers. Peng ask:
"Tell me, Comrade Zeng, how long will it take you to reach Seoul?"
Zeng answers - "One month."
Peng retorts: "A month is too long. There's is a vacuum down there. We have got to fill it while there is time."
Peng's original plan was to regroup the 13th Army Group to south of the Taedong River while the US X Corps in the east front is eliminated by the 9th Army Group. The 8th US Army has collapsed much earlier and faster than Peng had anticipated and there is huge no-man's area between Pyongyang and Seoul. The table has turned on MacArthur. Kim Il Sung and Mao Zedung want to liberate South Korea. Peng Dehuai orders his men to invade S Korea.
Peng does not blame Song or his officers for their failure to wipe out the X Corps, but instead, he blames himself for the failure of his troops. Peng flies to Beijing and tells Mao that unless Stalin made good on his promised assistance, the Chinese Army will suffer huge losses. Peng wants to know why the Chinese Air Force, equipped with fancy Russian MIG's, is not doing its share of fighting - American war ships and supply trains are sitting ducks waiting to be bombed.
Peng wants to resign but Mao manages to calm him down. Mao let Peng know that new Chinese armies equipped with Soviet arms are ready to replace Peng's old armies. Heavy artillery, tanks, modern communications gear, trucks, and air support are on the way. Peng is satisfied and returns to his headquarters in Shenyang.
Peng the people's general.
Dec. 18, 1950 - Peng issues the Third Campaign battle orders. The 260,000 men of the 13th Army Group are on the march again to wipe out the US 8th Army once for all. Mao Zedung is happy and so is Kim Il Sung. But Peng has serious reservations. He sees no problem in capturing Seoul, but going beyond Seoul will play into the enemy's game plan.
His surprise attacks on the 8th Army has yielded huge war supplies which eased his supply problems; but from this point on, there will not be surprises and the enemy will be fighting from well defended positions. The Rear Services Department has 180,000 coolies to move war materiel. Chinese railroad engineers are being brought from China to repair N Korean railways. In addition, some 6,000 trucks are in Korea.
The 13th Army Group needs 1,000 tons of supply each day. Each Chinese soldier needs 10 pounds of food and ammunition a day. By comparison, an American GI needs 60 pounds of supplies (food, cigarettes, beverages, clothing, ammunition, mail, etc.) a day. N Koreans share one bitter lesson they have learned in S Korea - tanks are not worth the trouble of supplying and maintaining them.
Heavy snow and freezing rain impede the 13th Army Group. The soldiers loaded down with 10-days of ration cannot move far in the blinding snow storms. There is not much Peng can do about the bad weather.
July 19, 1953 - Armistice: North Korean Gen. Namil initializes the document, and Peng and Kim Il Sung affix their signatures. Peng states: "This is a happy day for our people. Through three years of fighting together, the Volunteers had forged a comradeship in blood with the North Korean people and their army - a friendship which further deepened and strengthened our international feelings." Peng's ordeal in Korea is over.
In 1954, Peng becomes Minister of Defense and a member of the Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party.
In 1955, he is made a Field Marshal of the Chinese People's Army.
In 1959, he challenges Mao's Great Leap Forward, for which he is attacked by the Red Guards and arrested.
In 1974, Peng dies from a long illness. His jailers refuse to give him any medical treatment.
In 1978, Peng is restored posthumous to his place of honor in the Chinese history.