In the previous article, the author talked to you about a series of stories about the various armies of the People's Liberation Army, such as the 63rd Army, the 65th Army, the 67th Army, the 68th Army and so on. Today, we talk about the 69th Army. At that time, the 69th Army belonged to one of several main forces of the Beijing Military Region. However, in the long river of history, there have been 2 69th Army. In February 1967, the 69th Army, which was originally stationed in Baoding City, Hebei Province, was transferred to the west and deployed to Datong City, Shanxi Province. So, why did the 69th Army move west? Today, we're going to talk about that.
First, let's talk about the glorious history of the 69th Army. Among the PLA troops, the 69th Army has appeared twice, so we need to talk about it separately. In the course of the development of the People's Liberation Army, as of the winter of 1948, the four major field armies of the People's Liberation Army and the North China Field Force had a total of 55 columns under its jurisdiction. After entering 1949, with the regularization of the Platon, the PLA's 55 columns plus other units were reorganized into a total of 67 corps. At that time, the People's Liberation Army had a total of 67 corps, but the number was 70 corps.
This is because the three designations of the 56th Army, the 57th Army, and the 59th Army have never been used. As a result, a total of 67 armies and the number of the platoons reached the 70th Army. The 69th Army, which was first established, was formerly known as the 7th Column of the North China Field Force, and the commander of the column was Lieutenant General Sun Yi. In the Liberation War, the North China 7th Column successively participated in a series of battles such as the Battle of Cha'nan, the Battle of Suidong, the Battle of Baobei, the Battle of Defending Shijiazhuang, the Battle of Baoding, and the Battle of Pingjin, and belonged to one of the main columns of the North China Field Force.
In the spring of 1949, with the end of the large-scale war, the PLA troops began to regularize construction. At that time, the 7th Column of the North China Field Force was reorganized into the 69th Army of the People's Liberation Army, which was directly under the management of the North China Military Region and belonged to a mobile unit of the North China Military Region. However, the first appearance of the 69th Army was not long, as our country entered the stage of post-war reconstruction, resumption of production, and recuperation. At this stage, the total number of PLA troops has been excessively problematic.
Beginning in the spring of 1949, some units were abolished, and officers and men were transferred to local areas and put into local production and construction work. In March 1949, the 69th Army was abolished, which is the history of the first 69th Army. As for the second 69th Army, it was formerly known as the 23rd Corps of the People's Liberation Army. In the process of reducing the number of troops, the number of troops at the corps level has been gradually reduced. In December 1952, the 23rd Corps of the People's Liberation Army was abolished and downsized into the 69th Army of the People's Liberation Army, which was the second time that the 69th Army had been established.
After the second establishment of the 69th Army, it was stationed in Baoding City, Hebei Province, and was successively subordinate to the North China Military Region and the Beijing Military Region. Speaking of military regions, we must talk about the number of military regions and the changes in their divisions. Because after understanding the historical development of each military region, the movement of each army will be more intuitive. In the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China, China established 6 major military regions, namely: the Northeast Military Region, the North China Military Region, the East China Military Region, the Central and Southern Military Region, the Southwest Military Region, and the Northwest Military Region.
Judging from the jurisdiction of the six military districts, it basically corresponds to the six local bureaus at that time. For example, the Northwest Bureau, the North China Bureau, and so on, the jurisdiction is basically overlapping. In the mid-1950s, after the various units of the People's Liberation Army entered the regularization construction, in such a big environment, the division of the original six major military regions was not appropriate in all aspects. Thus, in 1955, the 6 major military districts were abolished.
In the same year, 12 military districts were established in the country. In 1956, in view of the actual needs of the southeast coast, the Fuzhou Military Region was established on the basis of some jurisdictions of the Nanjing Military Region. Up to this time, the divisions of China's 13 military regions were formed, namely: Shenyang Military Region, Beijing Military Region, Jinan Military Region, Nanjing Military Region, Guangzhou Military Region, Wuhan Military Region, Chengdu Military Region, Kunming Military Region, Lanzhou Military Region, Xinjiang Military Region, Inner Mongolia Military Region, Tibet Military Region, and Fuzhou Military Region.
In terms of jurisdiction, the jurisdiction of each military region is not large, and there are basically two or three provinces. The Beijing Military Region administered Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, and Shanxi Provinces, while the Jinan Military Region initially administered only Shandong Province. Due to the different objectives, tasks and actual needs, the number of troops stationed in each military region is also completely different. Among the 13 military regions, the Shenyang Military Region and the Nanjing Military Region have a heavy task. The Shenyang Military Region needs to take into account the tasks of several directions at the same time, so a series of troops such as the 23rd Army, the 64th Army, the 40th Army, the 38th Army, and the 39th Army are stationed.
Among them, the 38th Army and the 39th Army are one of the ace units of the whole army. As for the Nanjing Military Region, due to the actual needs of the southeast, a series of troops such as the 12th Army, the 20th Army, and the 27th Army were stationed. Among them, the 27th Army is also one of the ace armies. At that time, the number of troops stationed in the Beijing Military Region was not small, such as the 24th Army, the 63rd Army, the 65th Army, the 66th Army, the 69th Army, and so on. Among them, the 69th Army was stationed in Baoding City. The geographical location of Baoding City is very important, and the name Baoding appeared in the Yuan Dynasty, which means "defending the capital and stabilizing the world".
In ancient history, Baoding City has the reputation of "controlling three passes in the north, reaching nine provinces in the south, four parts in the ground, and Xiongguan Zhongzhou". It is precisely because of the crucial location of Baoding City that it is necessary to station the main force. Until 1958, Baoding was the capital of Hebei Province. Baoding City has a developed economy and perfect urban construction, and is one of the important industrial cities in North China. The railway network in Baoding City is also very perfect, which can be said to be accessible in all directions.
The 69th Army is stationed in Baoding City, and if the actual task requires it, it is very convenient whether it is going north to Inner Mongolia or west to Shanxi. Since the establishment of the 69th Army in 1952, until the late 1960s, the 69th Army has been stationed in Baoding City, Hebei Province for a long time. In the late 1960s, after the Abolition of the Inner Mongolia Military Region and the Tibet Military Region, the number of Military Regions in China was adjusted to 11. Among them, the Inner Mongolia Military Region was merged into the management of the Beijing Military Region. It was precisely in the late 1960s that the external environment of our country underwent great changes.
In the late 1960s, the northern target mobilized more than 50 mechanized infantry divisions, motorized infantry divisions and tank divisions, with a total strength of more than 1.1 million, known as "a million troops pressing the border." "The Lanzhou Military Region, the Beijing Military Region, the Xinjiang Military Region, the Shenyang Military Region, and several other military regions in northern China all need to further strengthen their strength. Therefore, in February 1967, the 21st Army of the People's Liberation Army, which was originally stationed in Datong City and other places in Shanxi Province, was transferred to Shaanxi Province and began to be subordinate to the management of the Lanzhou Military Region.
Datong was also a very important city, as early as the Ming Dynasty, in order to resist the northern nomadic cavalry. From the northeast to the northwest, the Ming Dynasty established nine major towns. Among them, Datong Town and Taiyuan Town were established in Shanxi Province. Datong Town belongs to the first direction, and Taiyuan Town belongs to the second line of defense. The geographical location and topographic structure of Datong City are crucial, and the Ming Dynasty stationed a large number of elite border troops in Datong Town. The standard warrior must fight for the place, Datong City has the reputation of "the key to the north".
In addition to the geographical location and topographic structure are very important, Datong City is one of the major cities in Shanxi Province, and the industrial type is relatively perfect. At the same time, it is also an important mineral base in Shanxi Province, and various mineral resources are very rich. In addition, Datong City is one of the railway hubs in the north of Shanxi Province, and several railways, such as the Tongpu Railway and the Beijing-Baotou Railway, pass through the territory of Datong City.
After the 21st Army was transferred to Shaanxi Province, what should be done about the defense work of Datong City? In 1967, after the 21st Army was transferred to the west, the 69th Army, which was originally stationed in Baoding City, Hebei Province, was transferred to the west and transferred to Datong City, Shanxi Province. Another problem arises, Baoding is also a major heavily fortified city. After the 69th Army was transferred to the west, what should Baoding City do? At the same time that the 69th Army was transferred to the west, the 38th Army, which was originally stationed in the Shenyang Military Region and one of the elite ace armies, went south and transferred to Baoding City and other places, further strengthening the overall strength of the Beijing Military Region.
Since 1967, the 69th Army has been stationed in Datong City and other places for a long time. At the same time, in order to strengthen the overall strength of several military regions in the north, some of the elite troops of several military regions in the south of our country were transferred to the north one after another from the late 1960s to the early 1970s. For example, the 54th Army of the Kunming Military Region, the 28th Army of the Fuzhou Military Region, the 27th Army and the 20th Army of the Nanjing Military Region, and the 43rd army and the 47th Army of the Guangzhou Military Region have successively moved north.
Since the 1980s, the external environment has undergone great changes, and the pressure caused by the northern target has been alleviated. Among them, more than one-third of the troops were transferred back to Eastern Europe and Central Asia from the Far East and Siberia. In several local wars, the shadow of high-tech warfare has appeared. Out of the need to strengthen the army through science and technology and develop in an all-round way, in 1985, China made a decision to disarm 1 million people, and at the same time, it carried out a comprehensive readjustment of the original 11 military regions.
During this period, four military regions, including the Wuhan Military Region, the Fuzhou Military Region, and the Kunming Military Region, were abolished. Of the 35 corps at that time, 11 were abolished and the 69th army was withdrawn. In total, 31 units at or above the military level were abolished, and 4,054 units at the division and regimental levels were abolished. Although the 69th Army was abolished, the contributions made by the 69th Army will never be recorded in history. Of course, the author and everyone talk about history only. After all, after the 21st century, the changes and adjustments of various units are very large, and this is not history.
Here, salute to all the veterans. There are many more stories about the various armies of our country, and the author will slowly talk to you in future articles.