The 135th Division () was created in November 1948 under ''the Regulation of the Redesignations of All Organizations and Units of the Army'', issued by Central Military Commission on November 1, 1948, basing on the 24th Division, 8th Column of the
Northeastern Field Army. Its history can be traced to the 27th Brigade of Jireliao Military Region, formed in November 1945. Its first commander was
Ding Sheng.
The division was part of
45th Army. Under the flag of 135th division it took part in several major battles in the
Chinese Civil War
The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led government of the Republic of China and forces of the Chinese Communist Party, continuing intermittently since 1 August 1927 until 7 December 1949 with a Communist victory on m ...
.
In October 1952 45th Corps was re-organized as
54th Corps, and the division stayed under the command of the Corps.
[中国人民解放军第45军军史, http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_104200e70100k834.html]
In May 1953 the division entered Korea as a part of
People's Volunteer Army. The division was involved in the
Battle of Kumsong
The Battle of Kumsong, also known as the Jincheng Campaign (), was one of the last battles of the Korean War. During the ceasefire negotiations seeking to end the Korean War, the United Nations Command (UNC) and Chinese and North Korean forces wer ...
.
In 1953 the division was renamed as 135th Infantry Division().
In July 1958 the division pulled out from Korea. In April 1960 the division was renamed as 135th Army Division().
In January 1963 the division became a
combat alert
Combat ( French for ''fight'') is a purposeful violent conflict meant to physically harm or kill the opposition. Combat may be armed (using weapons) or unarmed ( not using weapons). Combat is sometimes resorted to as a method of self-defense, or ...
unit, making it a ''big'' division in PLA glossaries that was fully manned and equipped. By then the division was composed of:
*403rd Infantry Regiment;
*404th Infantry Regiment;
*405th Infantry Regiment;
*542nd Artillery Regiment.
In December 1969 the division was renamed as 162nd Army Division(). All its regiments were renamed as follows:
*484th Infantry Regiment (former 403rd);
*485th Infantry Regiment (former 404th);
*486th Infantry Regiment (former 405th);
*Artillery Regiment (former 542nd).
In February 1979 the division took part in the
Sino-Vietnam War under the command of the Corps. During the war it inflicted 2085 casualties to the confronting
PAVN
The People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN; vi, Quân đội nhân dân Việt Nam, QĐNDVN), also recognized as the Vietnam People's Army (VPA) or the Vietnamese Army (), is the military force of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the armed win ...
units.
In November 1985 the division was renamed as 162nd Motorized Infantry Division(). Tank Regiment and Antiaircraft Artillery Regiment activated. From 1985 to 1998 the division maintained as a ''Northern Motorized Infantry Division, Catalogue A''. In April 1989 it became one of the first Emergency Mobile Operations divisions. By then the division was composed of:
*484th Motorized Infantry Regiment;
*485th Motorized Infantry Regiment;
*486th Motorized Infantry Regiment;
*Tank Regiment (former Tank Regiment, 54th Army Corps);
*Artillery Regiment;
*Antiaircraft Artillery Regiment.
In 1998 Tank Regiment was renamed as Armored Regiment. Since then the division was composed of:
*484th Motorized Infantry Regiment;
*485th Motorized Infantry Regiment;
*486th Motorized Infantry Regiment;
*Armored Regiment;
*Artillery Regiment;
*Antiaircraft Artillery Regiment.
The division is now one of the only two six-regiment infantry divisions in PLA ground force. The other one is
61st Motorized Infantry Division of the
21st Army.
References
*中国人民解放军各步兵师沿革, http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_a3f74a990101cp1q.html
{{Structure of People's Liberation Army Ground Force since 2017
Infantry divisions of the People's Liberation Army
Military units and formations established in 1948