As pointed out throughout the
small arms section, at the conclusion of WWII,
the Chinese and North Korean Communists inherited
large quantities of Japanese weapons from the
Soviets, who had taken them in
Manchuria/Korea.
North Korea began its assault on
the South well-armed with Soviet weapons like the
PPSh M-1941 7.62mm submachine gun (burp gun), supplemented
substantially by these Japanese weapons. The
Chinese had captured large numbers of weapons
from the Nationalists, mostly 7.92mm, but
including large numbers of US weapons, .30 cal,
.45 cal. and .50 cal, as well as Japanese
weapons. When China entered the Korean War, they
were mostly armed with these weapons with very few
Soviet weapons, and were very inferior to the NK
in that respect. Both CCF and NK troops were
hardened veterans, and of course the CCF had far
larger numbers.
The 6.5mm
Meiji 38 was the standard Japanese infantry
weapon in WWII. Experiences in the Sino-Japanese
fighting in Manchuria, in the 1930s, led to the
opinion that the 6.5mm bullet was insufficiently
lethal and that a heavier cartridge was therefore
desirable. In 1932, a machine-gun had been
introduced firing a semi-rimmed round called the
Type 92, and this cartridge was redesigned to a
rimless form known as the Type 99.
The 7.7mm Type 99 (1939) rifle
was little more than a re-chambered version of
the earlier Meiji 38, although the opportunity
was taken to produce a short rifle in line with
the weapons of contemporary armies abroad, and to
redesign the components to make manufacture less
exacting. The Type 99 was remarkable for being
fitted with a flimsy wire monopod and a most
optimistic sighting device (consisting of folding
lead bars on the rearsight) intended for use
against aircraft!
Two issue weapons still in use in
the Communist Chinese militias are the 7.92
Mauser called the Type 79 Generalissimo and the
Japanese Type 99 in 7.92.
The 7.92 Mauser was apparently
used by the CCF in Chosin, at least against Fox
Company at Toktong Pass. One was reported as
being a 1918 Mauser manufactured in China, and
was apparently very well made and an effective
weapon for snipers.
