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Assessment by General Yi
of the PLA 26th and 27th Armies
December 29, 1950, Chinhung-ni , near Hamhung
The Chinese 9th Army Group headquarters unit occupies a school building.
A partially damaged church is made into a field hospital. A column of trucks
transport wounded soldiers to a railway station for the long journey to China.
Chen, shown left in his uniform as a Marshal, was later in 1955 promoted to the
rank of Marshal. General Chen Yi, the former commander of the armies making up
the 9th Field Army arrives on a fact-finding mission. Mao Zedong sent him to
find out why the 9th Field Army has performed so miserably. Yi meets with the
front field army commanders, Zhang Renchu of the 26th Field Army (lower left)
and Nie Fengzhi of the 27th Field Army (lower right).
General Yi concludes that the failure was due to:
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Bad weather - the Chinese armies were not properly clothed for the extreme cold
and tens of thousands froze to death;
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Inadequate supply - soldiers ran out of ammunition and grenades at critical
points and had to break off.
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Lack of air cover resulted in unnecessary delays and deaths.
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Lack of artillery - the troops had to rely on small arms, grenades and satchel
charges that often failed to explode.
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