20th CCF Army—58th, 59th, and 60th Divisions, with the 89th Division of the 30th Army attached;
26th CCF Army—76th, 77th, and 78th Division, with probably the 94th Division of 32d Army attached;
27th CCF Army—79th, 80th, and 81st Divisions, with the 70th Division of 24th Army attached.[655]
[655] A CCF army consisted of three or four divisions and therefore might be considered generally the equivalent of a U. S. corps. This account of CCF units and movements is derived from the MCB Study, II-C-116–125, which in turn is based on an analysis of CCF prisoner interrogations and captured enemy documents. The Board, consisting of senior officers, was given the mission in 1951 of preparing “an evaluation of the influence of Marine Corps forces on the course of the Korean War, 4 Aug 50–15 Dec 50.”
All three armies were major units of the 9th Army Group of the 3d CCF Field Army. In mid-October the leading elements of the 4th CCF Field Army had crossed the Yalu to oppose the U. S. Eighth Army. The operations of X Corps in northeast Korea being considered a threat to the left flank, the 42d Army was detached with a mission of providing flank protection, pending relief by units of the 3d CCF Field Army. Three divisions, the 124th, 125th, and 126th were represented. While the last hovered on the left flank of the 4th Field Army, the 124th was hard hit near Sudong during the first week of November by RCT-7 of the 1st Marine Division.
In order to cover the withdrawal of the remnants, the 125th Division moved south of Hagaru from the Fusen Reservoir area. Both CCF divisions then fell back to Yudam-ni, where they were relieved by units of the 20th Army, 3d Field Army. This ended the operations of the 4th Field Army in northeast Korea.
Shortly after the appearance of the 20th Army in the Yudam-ni area, the 27th Army moved into positions north of the Chosin Reservoir. Thus the enemy had available eight divisions for the attacks of 27–28 November on the Marines in the Yudam-ni area and the three 7th Infantry Division battalions east of the Chosin Reservoir. If it may be assumed that these CCF divisions averaged 7500 men each, or three-fourths of full strength, the enemy had a total of 60,000 men in assault or reserve.
The Chinese, as we know, failed to accomplish their basic mission, which prisoners agreed was the destruction of the 1st Marine Division. In every instance the efforts of the first night were the most formidable, with enemy effectiveness declining sharply after a second or third attack. The explanation seems to be that the 12 divisions were sent into northeast Korea with supplies which would have been sufficient only if the first attempts had succeeded. The following comment by the 26th Army supports this conclusion:
A shortage of transportation and escort personnel makes it impossible to accomplish the mission of supplying the troops. As a result, our soldiers frequently starve. From now on, the organization of our rear service units should be improved.[656]
[656] Translations of CCF documents referred to in this section are found in HQ 500th Military Intelligence Group, Document 204141, “Compilation of Battle Experiences Reported by Various Armies in their Operation Against U. S. Forces in Korea.” Among the units covered are the 20th, 26th, and 27th Armies.