The 17th Corps (), later the 17th Army Corps, was a military formation of the
People's Republic of China's
People's Liberation Army
The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the principal military force of the People's Republic of China and the armed wing of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The PLA consists of five service branches: the Ground Force, Navy, Air Force, ...
from 1949–50 and 1968–73.
1st Formation
The 17th Corps was activated in February 1949 from 11th Column, Zhongyuan Field Army. The Corps was composed of the
49th Division,
50th Division 50th Division or 50th Infantry Division may refer to:
Infantry divisions:
* 50th Division (1st Formation)(People's Republic of China)
* 50th Infantry Division (German Empire)
* 50th Reserve Division (German Empire)
* 50th Infantry Division Regina ...
and
51st Division. It became part of
Yang Yong's 5th Army of the
Second Field Army.
The Corps took part in the
Chinese Civil War, especially the
Huaihai Campaign.
In March 1950 the corps was inactivated and converted as Guizhou Military District (later Guizhou Provincial Military District).
2nd Formation
On August 26, 1968, 17th Army Corps() was activated in
Huayuanzhen,
Xiaochang,
Hubei province. Army corps commander:
Zhang Zhiyin Zhang may refer to:
Chinese culture, etc.
* Zhang (surname) (張/张), common Chinese surname
** Zhang (surname 章), a rarer Chinese surname
* Zhang County (漳县), of Dingxi, Gansu
* Zhang River (漳河), a river flowing mainly in Henan
* Zhang ...
(), commissar -
Zhang Zhaojian(), who was the divisional commissar of 29th Army Division during the
Wuhan Incident of the
Cultural Revolution.
As of its activation, the army corps was composed of:
*
29th Army Division;
*
1st Independent Division of Henan Provincial Military District, which redesignated as 50th Army Division;
*
Independent Division of Hubei Provincial Military District, which redesignated as 51st Army Division.
The formation of the army corps was a result of
Wuhan Incident. After the incident, the mutinous
Independent Division of Hubei Provincial Military District was quickly disarmed and taken control by
15th Airborne Corps of the
PLAAF and affiliated
29th Army Division that under great influence by
Lin Biao. The formation of 17th Army Corps was to "strain" the "rogue" independent divisions with "modest" 29th Army Division, and was a footstep forward by the
PLAAF to further Lin's influence to the PLA ground force.
In December 1969, 29th Army Division became 49th Army Division.
After the
Lin Biao incident, all of Lin's "janissaries" were quickly put under arrest or investigation, including the corps commissar
Zhang Zhaojian. In March 1973 the army corps was formally disbanded.
*49th Army Division maintained in Xiaochang. Some sources declared that the division was renamed as Independent Division of Wuhan Military Region before it moved to
Gansu
Gansu (, ; alternately romanized as Kansu) is a province in Northwest China. Its capital and largest city is Lanzhou, in the southeast part of the province.
The seventh-largest administrative district by area at , Gansu lies between the Tibet ...
and became
56th Army Division;
*50th Army Division was reorganized as 1st Independent Division of Henan Provincial Military District;
*51st Army Division was reorganized as Independent Division of Hubei Provincial Military District.
References
*中国人民解放军历史上的70个军及其简史, https://web.archive.org/web/20170729094201/http://www.360doc.com/content/06/1128/16/13961_275728.shtml
17
Military units and formations established in 1949
Military units and formations disestablished in 1973
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