In 2003, the 23rd Group Army of the veteran powerhouse was withdrawn, what was the situation of various parts of the army?

The year 2003 was an extraordinary year, as our army ushered in another streamlining and reorganization following the 1998 500,000-strong disarmament. This time, the Central Military Commission abolished the headquarters of the 23rd, 24th, and 63rd Group Army. Among them, the 23rd Army is a veteran powerhouse of our army. So, after the withdrawal of the 23rd Army, what was the situation in all parts of the army?

▲Old photo of a certain unit of the 23rd Group Army of the former Shenyang Military Region

In terms of blood inheritance, the 23rd Army is a well-deserved veteran powerhouse, with three Red Army bloodlines:

(1) In 1927, Fang Zhimin and Shao Shiping led the organization of the Yiheng Uprising in Jiangxi Province and developed the Red 10th Army Corps, which was subsequently developed into an independent advancing division of the Fujian and Zhejiang Military Region of the Red Army;

(2) In 1928, Deng Zihui, Zhang Dingcheng and others led the organization of peasant armed riots in Longyan, Yongding, Shanghang and other counties, and created a local Red Army, which was later combined with the 24th Red Division and other units to form the 4th and 5th Detachments of the Red Army in southwestern Fujian to resist Japan and Jiang;

(3) In 1929, the peasant uprising broke out in Zhangzhou, Fujian, and later derived the 3rd Independent Regiment of the Red Army in southern Fujian.

In October 1934, after the strategic transfer of the Central Red Army, the above three Red Armies continued to deal with the enemy, active in southern Zhejiang, southwestern Fujian, and southern Fujian, becoming representatives of the Red Army in the three-year guerrilla war in the south.

In February 1938, the Red Army of southern Fujian and southwestern Fujian was reorganized into the 2nd Detachment of the New Fourth Army, with the 3rd and 4th Regiments under its jurisdiction. Among them, the 4th regiment was the predecessor of the 23rd Army, and the sources of the battalions were as follows:

1st Battalion (formerly 3rd Independent Regiment of Southern Fujian);

2nd Battalion (formerly the 4th and 5th Detachments of the Anti-Japanese Resistance Chiang Kai-shek in Southwestern Fujian);

In April, the 7th Regiment of the 3rd Detachment (formerly the Independent Division of the Fujian-Zhejiang Military Region) was incorporated into the 4th Regiment, and the 3rd Battalion was activated.

In February 1940, with the 4th Regiment of the 2nd Detachment and the 3rd Regiment of the Advancing Column as the base, the Suwan Detachment of the New Fourth Army was established, with Tao Yong and Lu Sheng serving as military and political officers. In July, the Suwan Detachment was expanded into the 3rd Column of the Northern Jiangsu Command of the New Fourth Army, which was shouldered by Tao Yong and the military and government, and administered the 3rd (formerly Suwan Detachment), 7th and 8th Regiments. In October, the 3rd Column took part in the decisive battle of the Yellow Bridge. After the war, the 7th and 8th regiments were separated from the 3rd column and transferred to the 5th regiment of the 1st column.

▲The former site of the Jiangbei Headquarters of the New Fourth Army

In February 1941, the 3rd Column was expanded into the 3rd Brigade of the 1st Division of the New Fourth Army, with Tao Yong and Liu Sheng as military and political officers, and the original 3rd and 5th Regiments were renamed the 7th and 8th Regiments, and transferred to the 3rd Brigade (renamed the 9th Regiment) of the 4th District of Northern Jiangsu and the Nantong Independent Regiment. In January 1945, the 3rd Brigade was expanded into the 3rd Column of the Su-Zhejiang Military Region of the New Fourth Army, with Tao Yong and Ruan Shiping serving as military and political officers, and the sequence of formation was as follows:

7th Detachment (formerly 7th Regiment);

8th Detachment (formerly 4th Special Service Regiment);

Detachment 9 (formerly 1st Special Service Regiment).

It can be seen from the above that the 7th detachment of the 3rd column carried the bloodline of the three Red Army from beginning to end, and little changed in the successive transfers and adjustments. During the War of Resistance Against Japan, the predecessors of the 23rd Army killed, wounded, and captured more than 48,600 enemies in 2,980 large and small battles.

▲Tao Yong (second from left, first commander of the 23rd Army)

In November, the 3rd Column was reorganized into the 8th Column of the Central China Field Army of the New Fourth Army, shouldered by Tao Yong and Junzheng, and the 7th, 8th, and 9th Detachments were reorganized into the 64th, 66th, and 68th Regiments in turn. In addition, the 8th Column also has the 70th Regiment (the Independent 1st Regiment of the Southern Jiangsu Military Region) and the 72nd Regiment (the 3rd Column Special Regiment and the Special Service Regiment of the Soviet and Zhejiang Military Districts).

In May 1946, the 8th Column was reorganized into the 1st Division of the Central China Field Army of the New Fourth Army, with Su Yuqin concurrently serving as the commander and political commissar of the division, and commanding the 1st and 3rd Brigades. In October, the 1st Division was supplemented with the 2nd Brigade. In January 1947, the 1st Division was reorganized into the 4th Column of the East China Field Army, with Tao Yong and Wang Ji as military and political officers, and under the jurisdiction of the 10th, 11th and 12th Divisions.

In January 1949, the 4th Huaye Column was renamed the 23rd Army, with the 67th, 68th and 69th Divisions under its jurisdiction, and the military and political officers were equipped with Tao Yong and Lu Sheng, which belonged to the 7th Corps of Sanye. In August, the 23rd Army was temporarily transferred to the 9th Corps. In October, the 23rd Army was reverted to the 7th Corps. During the Liberation War, the army and its predecessors fought for a long time in the strategic region of East China, and after more than 120 major battles, they killed, wounded, and captured more than 198,000 enemies.

▲ Shelling the cruiser "Purple Quartz"

In particular, during the Battle of Crossing the River, the 23rd Army shelled the British cruiser "Purple Quartz", which showed national prestige and military prestige, ending the humiliating history of imperialist warships flaunting their might in our inland rivers. In August 1952, the headquarters of the 68th Division, the headquarters of the 203rd and 204th Regiments and the 199th Regiment of the 67th Division participated in the formation of the Air Force, and the subordinate parts were transferred to the 67th and 69th Divisions. Later, it was transferred to the 73rd Division of the 25th Army, and the 202nd Regiment of the original 68th Division was transferred to the 67th Division and renamed the 199th Regiment.

The 73rd Division is also the predecessor of the 3rd Battalion of the 5th Regiment of the 3rd Detachment of the New Fourth Army, which carries the blood of the Red Army of northern Fujian during the three-year guerrilla war in the south. In September, the 23rd Army entered Korea and entered the war. During its stay in Korea, the 23rd Army engaged the US-led "United Nations Army" a total of 109 times, annihilating more than 14,000 enemies. In March 1958, the 23rd Army was ordered to return to China and was part of the Shenyang Military Region. In April 1965, the 73rd Division was reorganized into the Independent Division of the Heilongjiang Provincial Military District, separated from the 23rd Army.

In February 1968, the Independent Division of the Heilongjiang Provincial Military District was renamed the 73rd Division and returned to the 23rd Army. In March 1969, Leng Pengfei, commander of the 1st Battalion of the 217th Regiment of the 73rd Division, led his team to participate in the counterattack on Zhenbao Island, which dealt a heavy blow to the enemy's arrogance. In December, the 73rd Division was renamed the 68th Division. In 1985, the 23rd Army implemented the Combined Army formation, the sequence of which is shown in the figure below:

▲Simplified diagram of the 23rd Army's sequence of preparation

In 1998, the 67th and 68th Divisions were organized as motorized infantry brigades, and tank brigades were transformed into armored brigades. In 2003, the structure was adjusted, and the 23rd Army was abolished. The reason why the 23rd Group Army was withdrawn was that compared with the 16th, 39th, and 40th Group Armies of the Shenyang Military Region, the army had a short military history and shallow qualifications. After all, the aforementioned 3 armies without exception have a glorious combat history and have left a strong mark in all periods.

In other words, the Shenyang Military Region is a large military region with the main forces clustered. It is true that the 23rd Army is an old powerhouse, but the other three armies are also heroic units that have been preserved in the big waves. The palms and backs of the hands are meat, and whichever one is cut is a difficult choice. However, our army has been streamlined and reorganized many times in its history, forming a tradition of "leaving the old with the new." Based on this, the withdrawal of the 23rd Army is well understood.

After the withdrawal of the 23rd Army, the 67th Motor Rifle Brigade was announced to be abolished, and the 207th Regiment was reorganized into the 69th Motor Rifle Division. During the same period, the 68th Motor Rifle Brigade and the 69th Motor Rifle Division were transferred to the 16th Group Army and the Army Artillery Brigade was withdrawn. In 2013, the 69th Motor Rifle Division was split into the 67th Special Operations Brigade and the 69th Mechanical Rifle Brigade. It is worth mentioning that in the subsequent development process, the 68th Motor Rifle Brigade was upgraded to the 68th Mechanical Rifle Brigade by changing its equipment, which was promoted to the 68th Mechanical Rifle Brigade in Zenlik Juri and the Blue Army Brigade, which is the famous "Iron Hammer Regiment".

▲ The British model unit of the 78th Army of the Hokuriku "Iron Hammer Regiment"

In January 2016, the 16th Army was transferred to the Northern Theater Army due to the withdrawal of the Shenyang Military Region. At the same time, the bloodline representatives of the 23rd Army were also transferred to the Northern Theater Army. In a new round of military reform in 2017, the 67th Special Operations Brigade and the 68th Mechanical Brigade were reorganized into the "Blood Wolf" Special Operations Brigade and a composite brigade (that is, the 'Iron Hammer Regiment' brigade) of the 78th Group Army of the Northern Land, and the 69th Mechanical Brigade was transferred to the 80th Group Army of the Northern Land, that is, a composite brigade known as the "Tiger Brigade".

—END—