In June 1985, the enlarged meeting of the Central Military Commission was held in Beijing. At the meeting, Deng Xiaoping, then chairman of the Central Military Commission, held out a finger and opened the prelude to the million-dollar disarmament. The work of disarmament of the millions is full of complications, mainly two main lines, namely, the abolition of the large military region and the streamlining and downsizing of the army into a group army.
Figure | millions of disarmament
In this context, the old troops with glorious records have also been abolished. For example, the former 55th Army of the Guangzhou Military Region, which annihilated the largest number of enemies in the war against Vietnam, the former 68th Army of the Shenyang Military Region, the former 68th Army of the Shenyang Military Region, the main force of the Four Fields (formerly the 43rd Army of the Wuhan Military Region), which ranked second in the total number of enemy annihilators in the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, were all included in the disarmament list.
Figure | Chen Geng (middle)
However, there are 3 corps that are very exceptional, they are all born out of the Chen Geng Corps, which is the first real corps in the history of our army, formerly known as the 386th Brigade of the 129th Division of the Eighth Route Army.
In July 1947, coinciding with Liu Deng's army advancing into Dabie Mountain, the Central Military Commission established the Chen Geng Corps on the basis of the 4th and 9th Columns, the 38th Army of the Northwest Democratic Coalition Army, and the 22nd Brigade of Taiyue, with a total strength of more than 80,000 troops.
Figure | the sequence of battles at the beginning of the formation of Chen Geng's corps
In February 1949, according to the provisions of the Central Military Commission on the unification of the number of the whole army and the sequence of troops, chen geng corps was clearly defined as the fourth corps, subordinate to Erye, under the jurisdiction of the 13th, 14th, 15th three armies, the battle sequence is as follows:
Corps Command
Chen Geng served as the commander and political commissar of the corps;
Guo Tianmin served as deputy commander and chief of staff;
Liu Zhijian served as deputy political commissar and director of the political department;
Zhao Bingrun and Yang Shirong were appointed as the directors of the Logistics Department and the political commissar respectively;
Tu | military and political commander of the Fourth Corps of the Second Field
13th Army
Based on the 10th and 13th Brigades of the former 4th Column, combined with the troops of the Western Henan Military Region, the 37th, 38th and 39th Divisions were under its jurisdiction;
Zhou Xihan was appointed as the commander of the army;
Liu Youguang served as political commissar;
Deputy Commander Chen Kang;
Liao Guanxian served as deputy political commissar and director of the political department;
Ren Xuegong served as the director of the Logistics Department;
Pictured| Zhou Xihan, commander of the 13th Army
14th Army
Based on the 11th Brigade of the former 4th Column and the 22nd Brigade of the 8th Column, and combined with the Liao Yun Zhoubu who rebelled in the Battle of Huaihai, the 40th, 41st, and 42nd Divisions were under its jurisdiction;
Li Chengfang served as the commander of the army;
Lei Rongtian served as political commissar;
Wang Qiming served as deputy commander and chief of staff;
Pictured| Li Chengfang, commander of the 14th Army
15th Army
Renamed from the former Ninth Column, it administered the 43rd, 44th, and 45th Divisions;
Qin Jiwei was appointed as the commander;
Gu Jingsheng served as political commissar;
Liu Changyi served as deputy commander;
Pictured| Qin Jiwei, commander of the 15th Army
In May 1950, the Central Military Commission abolished the two-level designations of the Field Army and the Corps, and the Fourth Corps was also canceled. Although the Chen Geng Corps no longer existed as a first-class name, it could be subordinated to the 13th, 14th, and 15th Armies, which were retained in successive disarmaments and became the main force of aces.
In particular, since the 15th Army became famous in the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea in the First Sino-Gansuling War, the "Chitose Army" became famous throughout the army, and the entire structure was transferred to the Air Force and renamed the Air Force 15th Army, becoming the only airborne combat unit of our army.
In June 1985, the three corps under the command of Chen Geng Corps were not abolished, but also became the main force of the aces, and the specific reorganization was as follows:
The 13th Army and the 50th Army were combined to form the 13th Army. After the 13th Group Army was formed, it participated in actual combat many times, and it is the only military-level combat unit of our army that has participated in actual combat tasks many times since 1995, and it is also a well-known "tiger in the mountains" of the whole army. The 13th Group Army has produced many famous generals, and General Zhao Zongqi, the first commander of the Western Theater (the former last commander of the Jinan Military Region), is one of the best.
General Zhao Zongqi| (former commander of the 13th Army Group)
The 14th Army was reorganized into the 14th Group Army, which for a long time guarded the great southwest of the motherland and was known as the "Jungle Tiger". The 14th Group Army performed well in the round battle in southern Xinjiang, and emerged honorary units such as the Yinshan Hero Company, the Laoshan Defensive Hero Company, the Laoshan Interspersed Hero Company, the Laoshan Divine Cannon Company, the Laoshan Hero Company, and the Laoshan Hero Regiment.
Pictured| an armored brigade of the 14th Army
The 3 airborne divisions under the jurisdiction of the 15th Air Force were downsized into 3 airborne brigades, and the brigade-battalion system was changed from the division group system to the brigade-battalion system. In this context, the strength of the Air Force 15 was further enhanced, and the number of technical paratroopers rose from 17% to 43%.
Not only that, the 15th Air Force also derived 8 branches of the army, including guidance, reconnaissance, infantry, artillery, engineers, signal troops, anti-chemical warfare troops, and automobile troops, and formed a special forces force composed of 36 specialties.
Picture | old photo of the 15th Army
After entering the war zone era, chen geng corps under the command of 3 corps, in addition to the 14th group army number abolished, the other two army numbers although canceled, but still the main force of the ace.
The 13th Army was abolished and based on this it was reorganized into the 77th Army and assigned to the Western Theater Army.
The number of the 15th Air Force was abolished and it was reorganized into the Chinese Airborne Army, with a number of brigades under its jurisdiction, known as the "Air Group Army".