The 105th Guards Seoul Ryu Kyong-Su Armored Division is a military formation of the

Korean People's Army The Korean People's Army (KPA; ) is the military force of North Korea and the armed wing of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK). Under the ''Songun'' policy, it is the central institution of North Korean society. Currently, WPK General Sec ...

. It was North Korea's first armored unit and took part with

T-34-85 The T-34 is a Soviet medium tank introduced in 1940. When introduced its 76.2 mm (3 in) tank gun was less powerful than its contemporaries while its 60-degree sloped armour provided good protection against anti-tank weapons. The Chri ...

tanks in the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

Formation and structure

The division was established in October 1948 as the "105th Armored Battalion" and given its unit colors by

Kim Il-sung Kim Il-sung (; , ; born Kim Song-ju, ; 15 April 1912 – 8 July 1994) was a North Korean politician and the founder of North Korea, which he ruled from the country's establishment in 1948 until his death in 1994. He held the posts of ...

a month later. It increased to regimental strength in May 1949. By June 1950, the "105th Armored Regiment" had become the "105th Armored Brigade" with a strength of 6,000 men and 120 T-34 tanks. Its equipment – tanks, weapons and vehicles – was Soviet-made. The brigade had three tank regiments – the 107th, 109th, and 203rd – and a mechanized infantry regiment, the 206th. The "83d Motorized Regiment" was also part of the division during the Korean War. Each tank regiment had three medium tank battalions, each having 13 tanks. Each tank battalion had three tank companies with four tanks to a company. Tank crews consisted of five men. Battalion, regimental, and divisional commanders each had a personal tank. The mechanized infantry regiment had a strength of about 2,500 men. The

SU-76 The SU-76 ('' Samokhodnaya Ustanovka 76'') was a Soviet light self-propelled gun used during and after World War II. The SU-76 was based on a lengthened version of the T-70 light tank chassis and armed with the 76 mm divisional gun M1942 (ZiS-3) ...

tanks were equipped and tank crews of four men. Under the command of Major General Ryu Kyong-Su, the 105th Armored Brigade reached

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...

on 28 June. It was then raised to division status and renamed the "105th Guards Seoul Ryu Kyong-Su Armored Division" before crossing the Han River to continue the attack southward. The 105th Armored Division is at present equipped with

Chonma-ho The Ch'ŏnma-ho or spelled as Chonma-ho (Hangul, Chosŏn'gŭl: 천마호; Hanja: 天馬號 meaning 'Pegasus') is one of North Korea's secretive indigenous main battle tank designs. The tank is also known by the name of 천리마 전차 (千里� ...

and

Pokpung-ho The P'okp'ung-ho, officially the Chonma-215 and Chonma-216 are North Korean main battle tanks (MBT) developed in the 1990s. The tank may incorporate technology found in the T-62, T-72, and Ch'onma-ho MBTs.Yoon Min Hyeok.북한군 폭풍호전차� ...

tanks.

Korean War

During the Korean War, it was part of the North Korean advance from Seoul to

Taejon Daejeon () is South Korea's list of cities in South Korea, fifth-largest metropolis, with a population of 1.5 million as of 2019. Located in the central-west region of South Korea alongside forested hills and the Geum River, the city is kno ...

and subsequent

Battle of Pusan Perimeter The Battle of the Pusan Perimeter ( ko, 부산 교두보 전투) was a large-scale battle between United Nations Command (UN) and North Korean forces lasting from August 4 to September 18, 1950. It was one of the first major engagements of the ...

between August and September 1950. The 107th Tank Regiment, equipped with T-34 tanks, defeated

Task Force Smith The Battle of Osan ( ko, 오산 전투) was the first engagement between the United States and North Korea during the Korean War. On July 5, 1950, Task Force Smith, an American task force of 540 infantry supported by an artillery battery, was m ...

during the initial advances of the

. The regiment then fought with the rest of the division in the

. After taking part in the

Great Naktong Offensive The Great Naktong Offensive was a North Korean military offensive against United Nations Command (UN) forces early in the Korean War, taking place from September 1–15, 1950. It was the North Korean Korean People's Army (KPA)'s unsuccessful f ...

, the 105th Armored Division was partly reconstituted and at the end of October and the first week of November 1950, it was committed to help the

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...

. The division used its tanks to provide fire support on a few occasions, but it played a negligible role in the fighting that followed and the U.S.

Fifth Air Force The Fifth Air Force (5 AF) is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Pacific Air Forces (PACAF). It is headquartered at Yokota Air Base, Japan. It is the U.S. Air Force's oldest continuously serving Numbered Air Force. The organiza ...

destroyed most of its tanks behind the battle front. On November 7, U.N. aircraft reportedly destroyed six tanks, three armored cars, and 45 vehicles in

Pakchon Pakch'ŏn County is a ''kun'', or county, in southern North P'yŏngan province, North Korea. It is bordered to the north by T'aech'ŏn, to the east and southeast by Nyŏngbyŏn, and to the west by Unjŏn counties. To the south, it looks across ...

and the area eastward.

References

{{reflist ArmDiv0105 ArmDiv0105NK Military units and formations established in 1948