Why was China able to battle the USA to a standstill in Korea? Weren't they a mostly small arms army?

There was no standstill until the truce negotiations began in July, 1951. Next, the PLA was a combined arms army with artillery and tanks. Their logistics were not the best as we had control of the air. However, we could only bomb within Korea, and as the border ran down the middle of the Yalu River, this meant we could just attack the south end of the bridges crossing the Yalu River, and we could not bomb the dams at all. That allowed the Chinese to get more supplies across than would otherwise have been possible.

Another factor was that the U.S. demobilized much too quickly after WW2, and the U.S. armed forces were only a shadow of their former self. We were all set to enjoy peace while Stalin and Mao had different ideas. The U.S. had to scramble when Truman decided to intervene in Korea. MacArthur had to cobble together whatever he could out of insufficient, under equipped and unprepared military assets to stem the tide of the North Korean invasion. That he was able to hold the Pusan perimeter and launch a surprise counterstroke at Inchon showed great skill. Later, the disbelief in the intervention of substantial Chinese force was a big mistake. A belief shared by General Almond, Commander of X Corps, but not by Major General Smith commander of 1st Marine Division nor by Chesty Puller in command of 1st Marines who fortified the area around Koto-ri with Smith’s approval. (1) This kept the road open for units at Yudam-ni and 1st Division headquarters at Hagaru-ri enabling the successful withdrawal of 1st Marine Division to Hungnam despite heavy Chinese opposition.

In April, 1951, I was assigned to Weapons Company, 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division. Both the Chinese and North Koreans seemed to have plenty of artillery as we were on the receiving end several times a day, and not infrequently at night. That said, the 11th Marines were very good at counter battery fire. I also saw a number of knocked out Russian T-34 tanks as we advanced into North Korea for the second time.

(1) Chesty - The Story of Lieutenant General Lewis B, Puller, USMC by Colonel Jon T. Hoffman, USMCR in my library.

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