The 83rd Group Army (), formerly the 54th Group Army, is a military formation of the Chinese
People's Liberation Army Ground Forces (PLAGF). The 83rd Group Army is one of twelve total
group armies
Group armies () or army groups or combined corps, which are corps-level military formations of the People's Liberation Army Ground Force of China.
Some may use or translate 'Group Army' loosely to mean the same as Army Group through various t ...
of the PLAGF, the largest echelon of ground forces in the
People's Republic of China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
, and one of three assigned to the nation's
Central Theater Command
The Central Theater Command () is one of the five theater commands of the People's Liberation Army of China, and was founded on 1 February 2016. Its predecessors were the Beijing Military Region and Jinan Military Region.
The International I ...
.
History
130th Division took part with the army in the
Korean War
, date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
.
In 1959, it participated in Tibet insurgency operations. It participated in the
Sino-Indian War of 1962
The Sino-Indian War took place between China and India from October to November 1962, as a major flare-up of the Sino-Indian border dispute. There had been a series of violent border skirmishes between the two countries after the 1959 Tib ...
. In 1979, it participated in the
Sino-Vietnamese War
The Sino-Vietnamese War (also known by #Names, other names) was a border war fought between China and Vietnam in early 1979. China launched an offensive in response to Vietnam's Cambodian–Vietnamese War, actions against the Khmer Rouge in 1 ...
along the Western battle line. At that time the 127th division commander was Zhang Wannian, later the vice chairman of the Central Military Commission. The 127th division captured the town of Lang Son, defeating the Vietnamese army main force. In 1985, the 54th Army reorganized into one of the People's Liberation Army's three rapid response (strategic reserve) armies (the other two being the 38th Army and the 39th Army), which belongs to the forces. Troops from the army were deployed into Beijing in June 1989 and participated in the anti-protester clearance operations. In February 2016, the seven military regions were reorganised into five theater commands, as part of the
2015 People's Republic of China military reform, 54th Army belongs to
Central Theater Command
The Central Theater Command () is one of the five theater commands of the People's Liberation Army of China, and was founded on 1 February 2016. Its predecessors were the Beijing Military Region and Jinan Military Region.
The International I ...
. In 2017, in an adjustment and establishment of military units, the 83rd Army was reorganized based on the 54th Army.
Organization
In 1985, the 127th Division transferred into the army. The
161st Division was reorganised as an artillery brigade. After 1998, the 127th Infantry Division was converted to a light mechanized infantry division, and the 160th infantry division reorganised as a motorized brigade. In 2009, the 162nd Infantry Division converted to a mechanized wheeled infantry division, using 8x8 wheeled vehicles.
The army comprises:
*127th Light Mechanized Infantry Division
*Light Mechanized Infantry Division
*160th Mechanized Infantry Brigade (99G main battle tank, 04A type infantry fighting vehicle)
*
11th Armored Brigade
*Artillery brigade (PHL03 300 mm long-range rockets, HJ9 self-anti-tank missiles)
*Air defense brigade
Today it includes the
162nd Motorized Infantry Division, the 127th Lt Mech Infantry Division, the 11th Armored Division (Xinyang, Henan), an artillery brigade, the 1st Air Defense Brigade, and the 1st Army Aviation Regiment.
[Blasko 2013, 95.] The former
160th Infantry Brigade appears to have been deactivated in 2003.
Commanders
*
Ding Sheng (1952.10-1955.12)
*
Ouyang Jiaxiang (1955.12-1957.09)
*Ding Sheng (1957.09-1964.09)
*
Wei Tongtai (1964.09-1969.06)
*
Han Huaizhi (1969.06-1980.05)
*
Li Jiulong
Li Jiulong (; March 1929 – 19 November 2003) was a general (''Jiang (rank), shangjiang'') of the People's Liberation Army (PLA). He was a member of the 12th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, 12th, 13th Central Committee of the Ch ...
(1980.05-1985.06)
*
Zhu Chao (1985.08-1990.06)
*
Liang Guanglie
Liang Guanglie (, also spelled as Liang Kuang-lieh; born December 1940 in Santai, Mianyang, Sichuan) is a retired general and former Minister for National Defense in the People's Republic of China.
Life and career
Liang joined the army in J ...
(1990.06-1993.12)
*
Zhang Xianglin (1993.12-1998.12)
*
Huang Hanbiao (1998.12-2006.08)
*
Song Puxuan
A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetition ...
(2006.08-2009.02)
*
Rong Guiqing
Rong Guiqing (; born May 1958) is a lieutenant general ('' zhongjiang'') in the Chinese People's Liberation Army. He has been Deputy Commander of the PLA Ground Force since December 2015, and previously served as Chief of Staff of the Chengdu Mi ...
(2009.02-2014.12)
*
Shi Zhenglu
Shi Zhenglu (; born February 1963) is a lieutenant general in the People's Liberation Army of China.
He was a representative of the 19th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party. He was an alternate member of the 19th Central Committee ...
(2014.12-2017.04)
*
Xie Zenggang
References
{{Corps and Armies of the People's Liberation Army
Field armies of the People's Liberation Army
Jinan Military Region
Xinxiang