In this companion article to the Allied Strategy Considerations, Dan takes a look at the war on the peninsula from north of the DMZ…

In Next War: Korea the invasion of the south is a difficult task that is compounded by the DMZ, restrictive terrain, and defending ROK units. However, the North Koreans have several advantages and the proper use of these will probably mean the difference between victory and defeat. However, make no mistake, to achieve a North Korean victory is very difficult indeed.

Let’s first discuss the forces at start and what our options are with them. The North Korean’s First Operational Echelon is made up of four Corps; the IV, II, V, and I Corps from west to east. These are backed up by two artillery corps; the KGD and 620; and three mechanized Corps of the Second Operational Echelon; the 806, 815, and 820 Corps. The Strategic Reserve include the 425th and 108th Mechanized Corps and three additional infantry corps; the III, IV, and XII. You also have the premier unit in the North Korean arsenal, the PYG Corps, near Pyongyang. Depending on what scenario you are playing you may receive some of the strategic reserve corps to set up initially.

II and IV Corps AO (Area of Operations)

The II Corps has the task of clearing the DMZ hexes in the Kaesong-Munsan approach and then clearing the primary road to Goyang. The defenses here are formidable and since the South Korean player has units directly behind his primary defenses you cannot use your light infantry to infiltrate his positions. The good news is you only have to go through four DMZ hexes. You should also try to capture the three highland hexes northeast of Goyang. There are a couple ways to do this. One, you can simply use attrition attacks and try to bleed his units so he is forced to retreat. This is going to be costly for you. However with a tunnel marker you can stack up on a hex or two to generate as high of odds as possible for your attack. If this is your strategy then rotate your depleted units out of the line so they can receive replacements. Two, you can hold off attacking in this area and hope that attacks in other areas will force the South Korean player to pull the units in his second line out to cover holes elsewhere. Then try to force your way through the line with light infantry infiltrating his positions. You will need to make some attacks to pin the ROK units in front. Either option will require the IV Corps to help out. Move the IV Corps to help the II Corps right away. This will give you seven infantry divisions, two armor brigades, and five light infantry brigades to force the issue. Use your light infantry to move through the rough terrain to cut off ROK units. This area is very open and the infantry will do better initially. Do not feed mechanized units into this area if your Air Detection and SAM values have been reduced significantly; the open and marsh hexes invite air strikes and they will simply melt under US air power. The KGD Artillery Corps can also assist when it gets near Kaesong, assuming you want to use the artillery there.

V Corps AO

The North Korean V Corps has, in my opinion, the most important goal in the initial couple turns of the invasion. They MUST open up the primary north-south road through Yongyang. They also need to take at least one or two of the mountain hexes southeast of Yongyang to keep enemy zones of control from interfering with the follow on mechanized forces that are heading toward the Puk’an River. This is a tall order for one infantry corps. To accomplish this the V Corps has four infantry divisions, one armor brigade, and two light infantry brigades. The good news is the units from the ROK 5^th Corps can be infiltrated by your light infantry and hopefully isolated. Concentrate on the destruction of this ROK Corps. If they are able to fall back and cover the eastern approaches to Uijeongbu they will severely restrict the movement of your Second Echelon mechanized units.  They will probably need a couple of the independent light infantry brigades that are available to assist. All of their attacks are able to be supported by the 620^th Artillery Corps plus the 815^th  and 820^th Mechanized Corps are able to quickly exploit any holes that are made in the ROK lines. Be prepared for the ROK to commit the entire 7^th Corps in the highland area east of Uijeongbu.

I Corps AO

The North Korean I Corps is in an absolute terrible position at start. They are spread out across almost a third of the DMZ and cannot really redeploy either east or west without some difficulty. Your main goal here should be the opening of the east coast road by causing the destruction of the ROK 3^rd Corps and hopefully most of the 8^th Corps. To do this put a covering force in hex 4114 and move the 46^th division along the primary road to the east coast. Shift the 31^st division to the north east to be ready to move into the highland woods hex at 1415. This will allow both divisions to get into the fight by the exploitation phase of the first turn. A couple of the independent light infantry brigades should be used in this to help infiltrate the ROK 3^rd Corps lines and assist in their destruction. Use the light infantry to infiltrate through the mountains, isolate the ROK defenders, and try to capture the airfield northwest of Ganghyeon as soon as possible. You need to get through the DMZ to allow the 806^th and the reinforcing 108^th Mechanized Corps to try to race south to Gangneung. One of your reserve corps that come from Hamhung can try to tackle the ROK 2^nd Corps if they are still in the line. You may be able to force the withdrawal of the ROK 2^nd Corps by getting far enough south along the east coast road.

Additional Forces

The III and XII Corps; which contain three infantry divisions, one mechanized division, one motorized division, and two armor brigades; should head to the area northeast of Kaesong and keep the ROK 6^th Corps occupied. They will have to use the minor roads that go through the DMZ to accomplish this task and it will take a turn to get them into position to make the assault. Chances are if you are doing well with the II and V Corps the ROK 6^th Corps may have to retreat to keep from getting cut off. If you can stop the ROK forces from retreating in good order that will greatly help you with taking Seoul. These two corps should be used to threaten or hopefully destroy or reduce the ROK 6^th Corps and capture Uijeongbu. This may be fairly tough due to the numerous DMZ fort hexes in this area.

In my opinion there is not much finesse in the initial use of the DPRK infantry corps. You must punch through the DMZ line while trying to take as few losses as possible. Your goal should be to destroy one ROK infantry division per combat phase with each of your six infantry type corps. This is a difficult task to be sure. If you can also attack during the exploitation step that is great but be careful doing this especially if you are attacking ROK units still in the DMZ. That is an automatic four shifts to the left which will decimate your forces. Hit each ROK division with an entire corps each combat phase supported by infiltrating light infantry and supporting artillery fire.

Speaking of the light infantry units try to utilize them in a “tag team” type of role. While one is infiltrating a ROK unit another should be moving to do so against another unit in the next movement phase. Remember to utilize their combat modifier as often as possible but try not to use their efficiency rating unless you have to. They are too valuable to use often and will die quickly. The Sniper Brigades are like having three extra attack helicopter units, albeit that have severely reduced range. Use them in areas of the map that your two crummy attack helicopters can’t reach.

Efficiency Ratings

A quick note about your efficiency ratings. You only have a few elite units with a 6 ER, discounting the light infantry brigades. The tank brigades are almost prohibitively expensive to rebuild, costing 4 replacement points to bring back from the dead pile. However, the PYG Corps consists of four elite divisions; with great attack-defense-movement ratings; and are cheaper to replace at 3 replacement points per division. This corps should be used in a spearhead role to try to punch the way through any tough defenses around the Seoul area.

Amphibious Operations

Now, a serious question to ask is if you should conduct an amphibious operation during your invasion of South Korea. If you do so you will have to commit a large amount of your independent light infantry units to this with the possibility of having to commit a few of the light infantry units from your main corps to assist. If all you do is send the two amphibious brigades alone they will not be able to clear any instillations or cities they land near. You either do a big operation or none at all in my opinion. Let’s look at two possible invasion areas.

West Coast

Along the west coast one of the best areas to try for an invasion is south of Incheon. You have two hexes to place your beachhead and both can be reached by air mobile units from the airfield north of Kaesong. This area can also be supported by light infantry using air cushioned vehicles northwest of Gimpo. An attack in this area has the positive effect of tying up the CAP and 7^th ROK Corps. They will be forced to contain and counterattack the invasion zones to keep the port at Incheon secure. You do have the CAP HQ which can cause problems with your air mobile and airborne units trying to reinforce the beachhead. In your first game turn you could theoretically land fifteen brigades in this area by utilizing all available movement options. That is a lot of combat power in one area which would strip the light infantry units from other corps along the front. If it were to work out the ROK player would have a daunting task to remove this threat.

East Coast

Along the east coast two options are presented. Both offer the chance to quickly grab an airfield and the possibility of isolating the ROK 3^rd and 8^th Corps units along the DMZ. This certainly will help in the destruction of these units and will allow the possibility of units being air transported into the airfields to reinforce the air and beachheads. You would have to deal with a HQ unit in the area around Ganghyeon. Plus the east coast is easier for the US Navy to control so you may only have a turn or two before the beachhead is placed out of supply. There is the possibility of landing up to nine light infantry brigades on the first turn in these areas using amphibious assault, airdrop, and air mobile movement options. This does not include air transport which could possibly be used depending on the situation. You will not have to strip light infantry units from other areas of the front and there are not a lot of options for the ROK player to reinforce or contain the bridgehead at least initially. If you can capture the highway’s at Gangneung it will allow your two reinforcing mechanized corps, the 108^th and 806^th, the ability to threaten south or west depending on what is happening in other areas of the map.

Mechanized Forces

The DPRK starts with three mechanized corps plus the PYG Corps. They receive the 425^th and 108^th Mechanized Corps as reinforcements plus a couple of the divisions from the reinforcing VII and VIII Corps are motorized. In total you will receive 11 armor brigades, one mechanized division, 21 mechanized brigades, nine motorized divisions, and one armor division. This is a fantastic amount of combat power that you must employ in some of the worst terrain for tanks and infantry fighting vehicles. There really is not a lot of territory in the northern third of South Korea where you can get the armor or mech bonuses. Once you get south of the Puk’an River the terrain opens up some and a least you are out of the highlands. It really only opens up once you get south of the line Pyeongtaek-Chungju. If you get this far with the North Koreans than chances are the South Koreans are on the ropes. The good news is you are not penalized for attacking urban hexes with armor and mechanized units although you will probably be attacking dug in infantry which is doubled. In my opinion you should commit two mechanized corps along the east coast to try to make it to Gangneung. If the east-west highway is open send those corps to capture Wonju and cut off as many ROK forces as possible. If the highway is closed head south as you will probably be fighting reserve formations which will be easier to eliminate. In the area near Seoul have the mechanized and armor corps try to get south of the city into the rough woods terrain. It will give some protection against US air power and you are not penalized. Then utilize the highways and capture everything you can. Remember to move a supply depot forward and support the attacks with a mobile supply unit. Try to always keep your mechanized/armor units out of flat/marsh terrain. Units in those terrain types become air strike magnets and are eliminated quickly.

SCUDs

Your SCUD’s and other Theater Weapons if available are the North Koreans “Ace in the hole”. This is your main weapon to take out the ROK air force and cause havoc in his rear areas. At the end of game turn one the ROK should have destroyed facilities all throughout the country. You gain VP’s through the destruction of the airbase/airfield, then you gain VP’s through collateral damage, and you may gain more VP’s if you happen to be able to pick the air units with a Air* result. Remember that US air units are worth 5 VP’s, or almost as much as a destroyed division. If you happen to get the PRC cruise missiles use them to attack the US Navy. This is not an easy attack due to the US Carriers AAA ratings but worth the cost if you can remove a carrier from the game for four turns. The US Amphib units are slightly easier to hit and you may cause any US Marines on them to take a loss.

DPRK Air Force

Well…you have an air force, however it is completely outclassed in every way. They will simply be blotted out of the sky and provide the ROK side with cheap victory points. You have forty-six air units worth 23 VP’s to the ROK player. You must contest the air on the first turn and probably the second. After that you may not have much left to do anything with so keep what you have as a force in being. It is difficult for the ROK side to destroy your airbases because they are all hard targets. Your best bet is to constantly keep the the Detection and SAM tracks as high as possible, they are your best defense against the ROK/US aircraft that are trying to destroy your peaceful army. Now if you are using the Chinese aircraft you can probably contest the airspace over Korea for several turns, depending on how the air-to-air battles go. The Chinese air units are worth more victory points than the DPRK units. You will need to balance this against the need to contest the airspace over Korea. (Note: I seem to recall an optional rule where the PRC air units from NW:T can be used in NW:K but can’t find it listed anywhere. If this is available then go whole hog and try to ruin the ROK/US players day. It really makes for a fun game as the US player has to fight against superior air power for several turns.)

Special Operations Forces

Unlike the ROK/US side the DPRK doesn’t really have a need for targeting. Their air forces are not up to the tasks of air striking numerous units and instillations in South Korea. I normally use them to raid the ROK detection track and airbases. If you can destroy the ability for the Allied forces to detect what air units you have you may get a few strikes in against priority units that are holding up your advance. Also, the raids against enemy airbases will reduce the ROK air force which gains you victory points and reduces the amount of air strikes that can be conducted against your troops.

PRC Intervention

If you get the People’s Republic of China units due to the International Posture Matrix or optional rules (remember optional rule 15.15 Increased PRC Commitment) you can receive up to five group armies, three airborne divisions, four naval units, and some air. Their commitment depends on how good or bad the DPRK forces are doing when they finally get to the front lines. The main problems with the PRC units is the high cost in victory points and the fact they come on the map in dribbles. The air units will be desperately needed and the airborne divisions are great for helping the DPRK light infantry brigades do damage behind the lines. The group armies, assuming you can get them through to the front lines and into combat, will attract a lot of US air attention. Those big armor and mechanized divisions will be bombed mercilessly until they are scrap. However, if your air defenses are up to the task the PRC units can really have a big effect on the tide of the game. Do your best to commit them along one or two supporting axis of attack. The 1^st, 12^th, and 38^th Group Armies are especially good at trying to take a few hexes of Seoul with their high attack factors. If you use the PRC units make sure to take the S-300 Air Defense Optional rule from Next War: India-Pakistan. You will need it against the Americans.

So…what do I do next?

You have attacked South Korea, you got hung up in the DMZ for three turns, your air force was butchered on turn three because you thought you could handle the Allied air units for one more turn, you have lost initiative, your main infantry corps have taken a beating, and your mechanized forces are being destroyed by air strikes. Well, the first thing to do is don’t panic. The Allied player now has the job of attacking through the tough terrain and recapturing lost territory. Second, use your vast reserve forces to dig into highland/highland woods/urban hexes and along river lines. The DPRK VII, VIII, IX, X, and XI Corps have four motorized divisions, five infantry divisions, two armor brigades, ten PMTU brigades, and one light infantry brigade not to mention to HQ units. Use these units to build a secondary line, retreat your attacking forces through them, and then rebuild what you can. I would concentrate on rebuilding the PYG Corps, infantry divisions, and light infantry. Try to rebuild units from one or at most two corps but always try to rebuild the PYG Corps, they are elite and can react better to holes in the lines. Remember to garrison your ports with your Red Guard brigades.

Final Thoughts

Hopefully this article has given you some ideas of the many varied strategies that are available to the DPRK side. You must construct a plan to use all of your units to the best of their abilities and then aggressively carry out that plan with ruthlessness. It is not an easy job and you will take massive losses trying to carry it out. Be prepared to adjust your plans to fleeting opportunities and once the tide starts to turn dig in with a smirk on your face and watch as the Allied units batter themselves against your dug in troops.

Good Gaming!!

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