"The Iron Army Went North": In 1969, the 43rd Army was stationed in Guilin, but why did it move to Luoyang?
When many "pseudo-military fans" on the Internet write military history, the most likely mistake they can make is Zhang Guanli Dai. Taking "the Iron Army going north" as an example, the more common saying is that "in 1969, the 54th Army of the 'Iron Army' moved north to Luoyang, Henan Province, and was transferred to the Wuhan Military Region."
This kind of article looks professional, but in fact it makes one of the most basic mistakes:
Before June 1985, the reputation of the "Iron Army" did not belong to the 54th Army, but to the 43rd Army, the "Big Brother of the Army".
For the sake of correct audio-visual, the author will give you a detailed analysis of the ins and outs of the "iron army going north".
The 43rd Army was formed in November 1948 as the 6th Column of the Northeast Field Army. At the beginning of its establishment, the 43rd Army had jurisdiction over the 127th, 128th, 129th, and 156th Divisions, with Hong Xuezhi and Lai Chuanzhu serving as the first military commanders and political commissars respectively, with a total of more than 63,000 troops.
Figure | Ye Ting independent regiment
Among them, the history of the 127th Division can be traced back to the 34th Regiment of the 12th Division of the Fourth Army of the National Revolutionary Army in the Northern Expedition War (
i.e. "Ye Ting Independent Regiment"
）。 The "Ye Ting Independent Regiment" has strict military discipline, outstanding military achievements, and is deeply loved and supported by the common people, and this is also the first armed force in the history of our army directly led by our party.
In January 1927, colleagues of the Wuhan Cantonese Overseas Chinese Friendship Society commissioned the Hanyang Arsenal to make an iron shield engraved with the word "Iron Army" and presented it to the Fourth Army of the National Revolutionary Army, which gave it the name of "Iron Army". After development,
The "Ye Ting Independent Regiment" evolved into the 379th Regiment of the 127th Division of the 43rd Army
。
Figure | "Iron Army" iron shield
Therefore, the 127th Division had the prestige of the "Iron Army Division", and the 43rd Army naturally became the "Iron Army". After the 43rd Army was formed, the 127th Division participated in major battles such as the Battle of Pingjin, the Battle of Xianggan, the Battle of Guangdong, the Battle of Guangxi, and the Battle of Hainan Island.
In July 1950, the 128th Division remained on Hainan Island, and the main force of the 43rd Army returned to the Leizhou Peninsula. In July 1952,
The 43rd Army merged with the Hainan Military Region to form the Hainan Military Region and the 43rd Army.
In November, the Central Military Commission established the Navy West Camp Base (now Zhanjiang Base) based on the headquarters of the 129th Division and the Hainan Island Base.
The picture | old photo of the Hainan Military Region
In December 1960, the 127th Division broke away from the 43rd Army's combat sequence.
It is directly under the Guangzhou Military Region
。 In August 1961, the Hainan Military Region was relieved of the 43rd Army, and the army was abolished, and the 128th Division was transferred to the 42nd Army. This was the first time that the 43rd Army was withdrawn, which led to a military history fault and laid the groundwork for the second time it was later withdrawn.
In July 1968, the Central Military Commission reinstated the 43rd Army in view of the threat of U.S. aggression against Vietnam and our border areas. In this context, the 127th and 128th Divisions were reorganized and transferred to the 220th Division of the 55th Army .
It was later renamed the 129th Division
), the military headquarters is stationed in Guilin, Guangxi. As a result, the 43rd Army once again appeared on the stage of history, still as the "Iron Army" 43rd Army.
Pictured| Treasure Island
In March 1969, an armed conflict broke out between China and the Soviet Union on Zhenbao Island, which was known in history as the "Zhenbao Island Self-Defense Counterattack". With this as a sign, the Soviet army began to deploy millions of troops in our border areas. In order to cope with the possible outbreak of war, the Central Military Commission has made adjustments to the field armies of major military regions.
In October of the same year, the 43rd Army moved from Guilin, Guangxi to Luoyang, Henan, and the 54th army was ordered to move north to defend Xinxiang, Henan, and the two armies were transferred to the Battle Sequence of the Wuhan Military Region.
At that time, the 127th Division was still part of the 43rd Army, and naturally there was no so-called "'Iron Army' 54th Army moving north to defend"
Then, why did the 43rd Army of the "Iron Army" move to Luoyang, Henan? In my opinion, there are no more than two reasons:
1. The Wuhan Military Region is a strategic reserve force that supports other military regions at any time;
The Wuhan Military Region administers Hubei and Henan provinces, and its superior transportation conditions determine the positioning of its strategic reserve. Hubei needless to say, its provincial capital Wuhan is known as the "nine provinces through the Qu". Zhengzhou, the capital of Henan Province, is the intersection of the Longhai Line (east-west direction) and the Beijing-Guangzhou Line (north-south direction), and is a railway transportation hub.
Figure | the intersection of the Longhai Line and the Beijing-Guangzhou Line - Zhengzhou, the capital of Henan Province
The 43rd and 54th Armies were both born in Shino, and their respective predecessors were the main force of the famous figures during the Liberation War. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the 43rd and 54th armies have been trained for a long time and are already aces, stationed in Luoyang and Xinxiang, one is to guard the transportation hub of Zhengzhou, and the other is to support other military regions at any time, especially in the direction of the Beijing Military Region.
2. Luoyang is located in the hinterland of the Central Plains and has a special strategic location;
Luoyang has been a place of contention since ancient times, and li Gefei, a great scholar of the Northern Song Dynasty, has an extremely incisive analysis of the strategic location of Luoyang in the "Book of Luoyang Famous Gardens":
Luoyang is in the middle of the world, holding the obstacle of the kun, when Qin Long's throat, and Zhao Wei's walking set, cover the land that must be contested by the four sides. When there is nothing in the world, it is already over, and if there is a problem, Luoyang will be soldiered first. "The prosperity and decline of Luoyang is also the waiting for chaos in the world." ”
Time passed, and after the founding of New China, Luoyang, the ancient capital of the Thirteen Dynasties, became a heavy industrial city, whether it was the status of national defense or the production capacity of the military industry, its importance was self-evident.
Pictured| Luoyang
When you open the map of China, you will find that Luoyang is located in the middle of the two major cities of Xi'an and Zhengzhou. Based on this, it is not difficult for us to understand why the headquarters of the 43rd Army was placed in Luoyang.
By June 1985, the Wuhan Military Region was withdrawn, and the 43rd Army was included in the disarmament list, and the direction of the divisions under its jurisdiction was shown in the following figure:
The | the direction of the divisions of the 43rd Army
At this point, the "Big Brother of the Army" 43rd Army withdrew from the stage of history, and the 54th Army followed
127th Division
The transfer was officially called by the world
"Iron Army"
。 However, the 54th Army held the reputation of the "Iron Army" for less than 32 years.
In April 2017, the 54th Army, then part of the Central Theater Army, discontinued the old number and used the new number of the 83rd Army. The 127th Division, formerly part of the 54th Army, was transferred to the 82nd Army (the 38th Army of the "Viva Army"). As a result, the "Iron Army" bloodline was passed down to the 82nd Group Army and became the "Iron Army Brigade".
Figure | a certain unit of the "Iron Army Brigade" of the 82nd Group Army
In other words, the current 82nd Army is the "Long Live Army" and the "Iron Army", which can be called the trump card of aces. But then again, the bloodline inheritance of the "Iron Army" has always been circulating in the old troops of The Four Wilds, which also shows from the side that the Four Wilds are indeed the first-class main force in the Liberation War.
Resources
[1] The 43rd Army of the People's Liberation Army of the People's Liberation Army Chinese the Hundred Battles division (Military Shi Lin);
[2] "The Chinese Communist Party's "100,000 Whys" "Why was this unit the only one called the "Iron Army" during the Northern Expedition? (China News Network);
[3] Fifty-fourth Army: The Iron Army in the Iron Army (People's Daily Online);
[4] "The Iron Brigade" of the 82nd Group Army: Bravely Being the "Pioneer" on the Road to a Strong Army" (Jiefangjun Bao).