Chinese People’s Volunteers Army
The Chinese People’s Volunteers Army (CPV) was the troops China organized and deployed to the Korean peninsula to support the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) during the Korean War (1950-1953). The troops were categorized as the CPV to avoid an official war with the United States. Commanded by Peng Dehuai (1898-1974), a highly ranked military leader, the CPV entered Korea on October 25, 1950.
The Chinese troops joined the war after the US ignored China’s warning by bringing the gunfire across the 38th parallel, a border between the DPRK and Republic of Korea (ROK). The war can be divided into two parts—the mobile war (1950-1951) and positional warfare (1951-1953). The first part of the war was composed by five phases, in which the CPV and the UN forces confronted each other along the 38th parallel. In the second part of the war, the US air forces bombed frequently in the north during the peace negotiation that started in Kaesong on July 10, 1951. The war ceased on July 27, 1953 after the UN accepted the proposal for a Korean armistice, and the 38th parallel remained the dividing line between the DPRK and ROK. The CPV withdrew from the Korea in 1958 in accordance with the cease-fire agreement.
The Korean War started on June 25, 1950 when the DPRK and ROK exchanged fire on the 38th parallel.
