What did the declassified documents reveal?

This episode presents a declassified Central Intelligence Agency assessment titled “Communist China Ground Forces,” a National Intelligence Survey, Section 81, dated July 1965. The document is notable for its detailed enumeration of the People’s Liberation Army’s organization, strength and equipment during the height of the Cold War. It is hosted on the Black Vault archive. The record was released to the public through a Freedom of Information Act request filed with the National Archives and Records Administration. The declassification authority is noted as NND 49:597, and the document was cleared for public release on the date indicated in the file header. The source material is available in full at the Black Vault URL https://archive.org/download/us-china-intel-CI01686/CI01686djvu.txt. The document opens with a classification warning: “WARNING – This material contains information affecting the national defense of the United States. Title 18, United States Code, Sections 793 and 794, the transmission or revelation of which in any manner to an unauthorized person is prohibited by law.” The survey is identified as “NIS 39A – National Intelligence Survey, Section 81 – Communist China Ground Forces,” prepared under the NIS maintenance program and superseding a previous Section 81 dated April 1958. The text notes that copies of the earlier version should be destroyed. The table of contents lists extensive sections covering administrative organization, high command, territorial organization, arms and services, tactical organization, staff organization, combat units, service units, order of battle, strength, dispositions, strategy and defenses, tactics, personnel, ranks, pay, procurement, reserve and mobilization, training, logistics, materiel, personalities, and quasi‑military forces. Figures include charts of the armed forces, military regions, theater of operations, army structure, infantry and armored divisions, artillery, personnel estimates, maps of dispositions, rank and pay tables, uniform sketches, insignia and decorations. The substantive excerpt reads: “General – Chinese Communist armed forces, known collectively as the People’s Liberation Army, consist of ground, naval, and air elements. The total strength of the PLA is estimated at 2,535,000 personnel. The ground element, the Chinese Communist Army, is the preponderant force with an estimated strength of 2,311,000, or over ninety percent of the total. In effect, the PLA is a huge ground‑force organization with much smaller, less experienced, and generally less effective naval and air elements. The CCA is the largest ground force in the world in terms of personnel strength. Just as the CCA constitutes the preponderant portion of the PLA, the infantry is the preponderant arm of the CCA. Of the one hundred sixty divisions in the ground force, one hundred seventeen are line divisions, of which one hundred six are infantry. The other line divisions consist of three airborne, five armored, and…

Why was this case declassified?

This material entered the public record through the U.S. declassification and Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) process. The originating source document is linked on this page so the citation chain is auditable.

CIA Communist China Ground Forces

◆ BLUF — The short version

This episode presents a declassified Central Intelligence Agency assessment titled “Communist China Ground Forces,” a National Intelligence Survey, Section 81, dated July 1965. The document is notable for its detailed enumeration of the People’s Liberation Army’s organization, strength and equipment during the height of the Cold War.

Date: AUG 20 · 2026
Release: Declassified · U.S. public record (FOIA)
Source document: View the primary source document

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What was CIA Communist China Ground Forces about?: This episode presents a declassified Central Intelligence Agency assessment titled “Communist China Ground Forces,” a National Intelligence Survey, Section 81, dated July 1965. The document is notable for its detailed enumeration of the People’s Liberation Army’s organization, strength and equipment during the height of the Cold War.
Why was this case declassified?: This material entered the public record through the U.S. declassification and Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) process. Storyflo narrates it directly from the public release.

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