The 76th Division () was created in February 1949 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 22nd Division, 8th Column of the Huadong Field Army. Its history can be traced to the 4th Division of Shandong Military District, formed in August 1945.
The division was then a part of
26th Corps. Under the flag of 76th it took part in several major battles during 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 November 1950 the division entered Korea with the Corps HQ as a part of the
People's Volunteer Army, consisting of the
226th,
227th, and the
228th Regiments.
During its deployment in Korea, the division took part in the 2nd, 4th and 5th Offensive of the PVA, and suffered heavy losses during the
Battle of Chosin Reservoir
The Battle of Chosin Reservoir, also known as the Chosin Reservoir Campaign or the Battle of Lake Changjin (), was an important battle in the Korean War. The name "Chosin" is derived from the Japanese pronunciation "''Chōshin'', instead of t ...
.
In June 1952 the division pulled out of Korea and stationed in
Shandong
Shandong ( , ; ; alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region.
Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilizati ...
. From 1952 to 1960 the division was named as 76th Infantry Division(). In September 1952 356th Artillery Regiment and 281st Tank Self-Propelled Artillery Regiment were activated.
From 1952 to 1968, the division was composed of:
*226th Infantry Regiment;
*227th Infantry Regiment;
*228th Infantry Regiment;
*281st Tank Self-Propelled Artillery Regiment;
*356th Artillery Regiment.
In April 1960 the division was renamed as 76th Army Division().
In January 1961, the division became one of the first ten combat alert divisions of the People's Liberation Army, made it a fully manned and equipped "big" division under PLA glossary, composing of 12457 personnel. In 1962 the division was temporarily moved to
Fujian
Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capi ...
for emergency alert mission, and shortly after returned to its garrison.
In July 1967 the division moved to
Jiangxi
Jiangxi (; ; formerly romanized as Kiangsi or Chianghsi) is a landlocked province in the east of the People's Republic of China. Its major cities include Nanchang and Jiujiang. Spanning from the banks of the Yangtze river in the north int ...
.
In August 1968, 281st Tank Self-Propelled Artillery Regiment was detached and transferred to newly formed
8th Tank Division
8 (eight) is the natural number following 7 and preceding 9.
In mathematics
8 is:
* a composite number, its proper divisors being , , and . It is twice 4 or four times 2.
* a power of two, being 2 (two cubed), and is the first number of t ...
as 29th Tank Regiment.
In October 1969, the division formally detached from the
26th Army Corps and was put under control of Jiangxi Provincial Military District. In December the division was renamed as 88th Army Division(), and all its regiments were re-designated as follows:
*262nd Infantry Regiment (formed 226th);
*263rd Infantry Regiment (formed 227th);
*264th Infantry Regiment (formed 228th);
*Artillery Regiment (former 356th).
In April 1975, the division moved to
Lianjiang,
Fujian
Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capi ...
and was transferred to
29th Army Corps and renamed as 86th Army Division(), and all its regiments were renamed again as:
* 256th Infantry Regiment (former 262nd);
* 257th Infantry Regiment (former 263rd);
* 258th Infantry Regiment (former 264th);
* Artillery Regiment.
In 1985 the division was renamed as 86th Motorized Infantry Division () and transferred to
31st Army following 29th's disbandment. From 1985 to 1998 the division maintained as a ''southern motorized infantry division'', which was composed of:
*256th Motorized Infantry Regiment;
*257th Motorized Infantry Regiment;
*258th Motorized Infantry Regiment;
*Artillery Regiment;
*Anti-Aircraft Artillery Regiment.
In 1998 258th Motorized Infantry Regiment was inactivated; The main part of Tank Regiment,
79th Motorized Infantry Division and 258th Infantry Regiment were converted to Armored Regiment, 86th Motorized Infantry Division. Since then the division was composed of:
*256th Motorized Infantry Regiment;
*257th Motorized Infantry Regiment;
*Armored Regiment;
*Artillery Regiment;
*Anti-Aircraft Artillery Regiment.
The division is now still a maneuver part of
31st Army, and an amphibious motorized infantry unit that may take part in the invasion of
Kinmen
Kinmen, alternatively known as Quemoy, is a group of islands governed as a county by the Republic of China (Taiwan), off the southeastern coast of mainland China. It lies roughly east of the city of Xiamen in Fujian, from which it is separate ...
in an upcoming war with Taiwan.
References
*中国人民解放军各步兵师沿革，http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_a3f74a990101cp1q.html
Infantry divisions of the People's Volunteer Army
086
Military units and formations established in 1949
{{Structure of People's Liberation Army Ground Force since 2017