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112th Mechanised Infantry Division

At the time of the Korean War, the 38th Group Army included the 112th Division consisted of the 334th, 335th, 336th Regiments. On 01 September 1950 Peng Dehuai establishes his secret army (Chinese Volunteers Army) headquarters at an old Japanese armory in Shenyang (Manchuria). Peng moved in with two battered suitcases and one book on butterflies - his only hobby. By 10 September 1950 Peng Tehuai accelerated his preparation for Korean intervention. He saw that Kim Il Sung was fading fast. Peng was faced with the enormous problem of assembling an army of a quarter of a million troops. Most field officers had no experience of fighting a conventional war against a well-organized army; transportation and communication are virtually non-existent. Mao Zedung thought three weeks would be enough time to place armies in North Korea, but Peng told Mao that it would take him at least 2 months.

Mao gave Peng three field armies - the 38th, the 40th and the 42nd, the finest - of the 4th Army. Two additional field armies - the 27th and the 39th from South China - were also at Peng's disposal. On 14 October 1950 Peng sent the first train load of Chinese soldiers - the 334th Regiment, the 112th Division, the 38th Field Army - across the Yalu at Andong, on the Korea-China border [Some sources attribute the 334th Regiment crossing the Yalu to the 119th Division, of Fifteenth Chinese Field Army]. Soon after, the 42nd Field Army cross the Yalu at Manpojin. Peng's advance army is designated as the 13th Army Group under Gen. Li Tianyu.

White Horse Hill [or Mountain, known as Baekmagoji, Korean for "White Horse"] was on the ROK 9th Infantry Division line about five miles northwest of Chorwon. The hill was the crest of a two-mile long forested hill mass extending northeast-southwest. It dominated the approach to Chorwon through the Yokokchon Valley. If White Horse were lost, The American IX Corps would have to withdraw its forces to the high ground south of the valley. They could no longer use the Chorwon Road, and the Chinese would have an opening for an attack. The battle for White Horse Mountain, otherwise known as Hill 395, was fought mainly by Republic of Korea Army and the Chinese Communist Forces. The battle lasted ten grueling days, with the crest of the hill changing hands no less than ten times during October 1952.

The Chinese begin their battlefield preparation by opening the floodgates of the dam on the Yokokchon River on Oct. 6, hoping it will prevent the 2nd Infantry Division from coming to help the 9th Division. The river floods several feet but never interferes with military operations. Then about a battalion of Chinese attack the French battalion attached to the 2nd ID on Arrowhead (Hill 281) to keep the division occupied. The French held the hill and give the enemy a pasting. The communists attack Arrowhead again Oct. 9 and receive the same battering. In the meantime an intense artillery and mortar barrage tries to soften up the ROK defenses on White Horse. When it lifts, two Chinese battalions fail three times to break the ROK lines. It costs them around 1,500 casualties to the Koreans 300.

By Oct. 8, diversionary actions are largely discontinued and the Chinese rearranges its forces to concentrate on White Horse. Two more fresh battalions are thrown at the hill and parts of the force make it to the crest, only to be thrown back by another nighttime attack by the 28th Regiment. The 334th Regiment, 112nd Division, CCF 38th Army, relieved depleted Chinese forces around White Horse Hill. Chinese Communist Forces (CCF) units involved (combined 33,000 men) included 112th Division, 334th Regiment, 335th Regiment and 336th Regiment.

Richard Fisher noted in early 2013 that "all-wheeled regiments capable of independent operations still appear to be a possible trend for the PLA. For example, an early unit to develop medium wheeled regiments has been the 112th Div. of the 38th Group Army in the Beijing Military Region. Its 335th Regiment is estimated to have 93 ZSL09 8x8 vehicles in three companies. So far, these companies have the infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) version of the ZSL09, armed with a 30-mm cannon turret that also carries the 3,000-meter (9,842-ft.)-range HJ-73 anti-tank missile. The companies also use the command/communication and recovery versions of the ZSL09. The regiment gets fire support from a company of 18 PLL09s, the 122-mm howitzer-armed version of the ZSL09 and a company of 18 PLL05s, a version of the WZ551 6x6 with a 120-mm automatic mortar. Rounding out the regiment is a unit of six new PGZ07 tracked twin-barrel 35-mm cannon AAA, firing a copy of the Rheinmetall Ahead time-fuzed “shotgun” shell."