During the
Korean War, the Army was part of the
People's Volunteer Army (Chinese People's Volunteers (CPV) or Chinese Communist Forces (CCF)) XIII Army Group. It was composed of the
124th,
125th, and
126th Divisions. During the
Korean War, the 42nd Army was commanded by Lieutenant General
Wu Ruilin. Major CPV forces did not enter Korea until the night of Oct. 16, 1950, when the
124th Division, of the 42nd Army of the XIIIth Army Group crossed the
Yalu River opposite Manp'ojin. On the 16th it started on foot from Manp'ojin, marching southeast through Kanggye and Yudam-ni to Hagaru-ri. From there its advanced elements proceeded to the point south of the Changjin Reservoir where they met the ROK 26th Regiment on 25 October. The remainder of the division moved up to the point of contact and joined in the battle near Sudong against the
U.S. 1st Marine Division troops that replaced the ROK 26th Regiment. The 42nd Army and the
38th Army were pouring through the broken South Korean lines to
Eighth Army's east and threatening to envelop the entire force. The west flank units of this army, elements of the
125th Division, overlapped into the
Eighth Army zone and apparently constituted the enemy force that dispersed the
ROK 7th Regiment below Ch'osan at the end of October 1950. In October 1952 the
46th Army replaced the 42nd Army and they were rotated back to China. == Organization ==