From March 1951 the division entered Korea as a part of the People's Volunteer Army during the Korean War with a standard strength of approximately 10,000 men.
During what the Chinese call the 5th campaign (22 April 1951 – 10 June 1951), the PVA/CPV suffered its largest loss during the war: the 180th Division of the 60th Army was destroyed.
Soldiers either deserted or were abandoned by their officers during failed attempts to wage guerilla warfare without support from locals.
Since many of the officers were former Nationalist Chinese Army Military cadets many chose to join their former units and complete their training in Taiwan.
The 540th Infantry and 560th Artillery Regiments formed the basis for the Independent Division of Anhui Provincial Military District.