History

The 180th Division was a military formation of the People's Volunteer Army

People's Volunteer Army

The Chinese People's Volunteer Army was the armed forces deployed by the People's Republic of China during the Korean War. Although all units in the Chinese People’s Volunteer Army belonged to the People's Liberation Army , the People's Volunteer Army was separately constituted in order to...

 (Chinese People's Volunteers (CPV) or Chinese Communist Forces (CCF)) during the Korean War

Korean War

The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...

 with a standard strength of approximately 10,000 men. It was a component of the 60th Army

60th Army (People's Republic of China)

-History:The 60th Army was a military formation of the People's Volunteer Army III Army Group, during the Korean War. It comprised at least the 180th Division....

. Before the Korean War they stationed in Chengdu

Chengdu

Chengdu , formerly transliterated Chengtu, is the capital of Sichuan province in Southwest China. It holds sub-provincial administrative status...

, Szechuan.

During what the Chinese call the 5th campaign (22 April 1951- 10 June 1951), the CPV suffered its largest loss during the war: the 180th Division of the 60th Army was totally destroyed. Roughly 3,000 men escaped earlier (including the division commander and other high ranking officers), but the majority of the division were killed or captured. During the final days of the 5th campaign, the main body of the 180th Division was encircled during a UN counterattack, and after a few days of hard fighting, the division was fragmented, and regiments fled in all directions. Soldiers either deserted or were abandoned by their officers during failed attempts to wage guerilla warfare without support from locals. Finally, out of ammunition and food, some 5,000 soldiers were captured. The division commander and other officers who escaped were subsequently investigated and demoted back in China.

Most of those captured from the 180th Division were sent to Koje Island, 25 miles southwest of Pusan, including the Division Commissar Pei Shan.