History

The 116th 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 part of the 39th Army

39th Army (People's Republic of China)

The 39th Army is a group army, a formation of roughly corps strength, of the People's Liberation Army.The Army was a military formation of the People's Volunteer Army during the Korean War...

, consisting of the 346th, 347th, and 348th Regiments.

Korean War

The 116th Division was one of the first CCF divisions to attack the UN

United Nations Command (Korea)

The United Nations Command is the unified command structure for the multinational military forces supporting the Republic of Korea during and after the Korean War...

 forces as they approached the Yalu River

Yalu River

The Yalu River or the Amnok River is a river on the border between North Korea and the People's Republic of China....

. It effectively reduced the 8th Cavalry Regiment of the 1st Cavalry Division to a combat ineffective unit, after inflicting severe losses on them at Unsan

Battle of Unsan

The Battle of Unsan , also known as the Battle of Yunshan , was a series of engagements of the Korean War that took place from 25 October to 4 November 1950 near Unsan, North Pyongan province in present-day North Korea...

. In all, over eight hundred men of the 8th Cavalry were killed or captured—almost one-third of the regiment’s strength.

The enemy [Chinese] force that brought tragedy to the 8th Cavalry at Unsan was the CCF’s 116th Division. Elements of the 116th’s 347th Regiment were responsible for the roadblock south of Unsan. Also engaged in the Unsan action was the 115th Division

115th Division (People's Republic of China)

The 115th Division was a military formation of the People's Volunteer Army during the Korean War with a standard strength of approximately 10,000 men...

.

Current

The unit appears to still be active with the 39th Group Army

39th Army (People's Republic of China)

The 39th Army is a group army, a formation of roughly corps strength, of the People's Liberation Army.The Army was a military formation of the People's Volunteer Army during the Korean War...

 in the Shenyang Military Region

Shenyang Military Region

The Shenyang Military Region |16th Group Army]], with three divisions, including an armoured division, in Jilin, the 23rd Group Army headquartered at Harbin, and the 39th Group Army in Liaoning.-Current Officers:* Zhang Youxia , since October 2007...

, as the 116th Mechanised Infantry Division.