81st Group Army

The 81st Group Army, formerly the 65th Group Army, is a military formation of China's People's Liberation Army and one of three active group armies belonging to the Beijing Military Region. It is based in Zhangjiakou, Hebei and is composed of the 193rd Division, an artillery division, an armored brigade, two motorized infantry brigades, and an anti-aircraft artillery brigade. Its unit ID number is 66455.

81st Group Army
Active1949 - present
Country China
Part ofCentral Theatre Command
Garrison/HQZhangjiakou, Hebei
Commanders
Current
commander		Major General Huang Ming, Fang Yongxiang

History

The 65th Group Army traces its lineage to its original incarnation, the 5th Column of the North China Field Army established sometime around 1946. It was initially composed of three brigades, the 13th, 14th, and 15th. In 1949 the unit was reorganized and redesignated as the 65th Army under the command of Hsiao Ying-t'ang. In 1949 the 65th Army was composed of the 193rd, 194th and 195th Divisions.

The 65th Army was deployed to Korea in 1951. Following the Korean War the 65th Army was redeployed to Hebei in 1953.

In October 1960, the 195th Army Division, except its 575th Artillery Regiment, were transferred to the Engineer Troops and reorganized as 102nd Engineer District Command.

Formed in 1969, the 195th Division (Second Formation) was disbanded in 1985.

In May 1989, the 65th Army’s 193rd and 194th Infantry Divisions along with the 3rd Reserved Division were deployed to Beijing to enforce martial law and suppress the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989.[1]

In 2002, the formation's ID number was changed from 50156 to 66455.

In 2013 Blasko listed the formations of the army as:[2]

It appears that the 193rd Division has now become the 193rd Mechanized Infantry Brigade, and the 194th Motorized Infantry Brigade has disbanded.

See also

References
  1. Based on Wu Renhua's study. (Chinese)Wu Renhua, "进京的戒严部队和进京路线" 《1989天安门事件二十周年祭》系列之十二 Accessed 2013-06-29
  2. Blasko, Tradition and Transformation in the PLA, 2013, Table 4.3, p.91
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