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History

The '42nd Army' was a military formation of the People's Volunteer Army (Chinese People's Volunteers (CPV) or Chinese Communist Forces (CCF)) XIII Army Group, during the Korean War. It was comprised of the 124th, 125th, and 126th Divisions.^[1]
During the Korean War, the '42nd Army' was commanded by Lieutenant General Wu Ruilin.^[2]
Major CPV forces did not enter Korea until the night of Oct. 16, 1950, when the 124th Division, of the 42nd Army of the XIIIth Army Group crossed the Yalu River opposite Manp'ojin.^[3] On the 16th it started on foot from Manp'ojin, marching southeast through Kanggye and Yudam-ni to Hagaru-ri. From there its advanced elements proceeded to the point south of the Changjin Reservoir where they met the ROK 26th Regiment on 25 October. The remainder of the division moved up to the point of contact and joined in the battle near Sudong against the U.S. 1st Marine Division troops that replaced the ROK 26th Regiment.^[4]
The '42nd Army' and the 38th Army were pouring through the broken South Korean lines to Eighth Army’s east and threatening to envelop the entire force.^[5]
The west flank units of this army, elements of the '125th Division', overlapped into the Eighth Army zone and apparently constituted the enemy force that dispersed the ROK 7th Regiment below Ch'osan at the end of October 1950.^[6]
In October 1952 the 46th Army replaced the '42nd Army' and they were rotated back to China.

Current

The unit appears to still be active as the 42nd Group Army in the Guangzhou Military Region.^[7]

References

1. Appleman, Roy E. ''"South to the Naktong, North to the Yalu"'', pg 768
2. Chinese Lieutenant General Wu Ruilin, Activities in Korean War]
3. Korean War FAQ, from CenturyChina.com
4. Appleman, Roy E. ''"South to the Naktong, North to the Yalu"'', pg 719
5. The Korean War: The Chinese Intervention, pg 12
6. Appleman, Roy E. ''"South to the Naktong, North to the Yalu"'', pg 767
7. PLA Ground Forces