The Jinan Military Region was a
PLA Military Region
In the People's Republic of China, theater commands () are joint commands responsible for developing strategy, plans, tactics, and policy specific to their assigned area of responsibility. Currently, the PRC subdivides the nation into five th ...
located in the east of 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 ...
, covering the
Shandong and
Henan
Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is al ...
Provinces, which also formed
military district
Military districts (also called military regions) are formations of a state's armed forces (often of the Army) which are responsible for a certain area of territory. They are often more responsible for administrative than operational matters, and ...
s. It appears that
Yang Dezhi
Yang Dezhi (; January 13, 1911 – October 25, 1994) was a Chinese general and politician. He was senior military officer in the North China (or 5th) Field Army, a veteran of the Korean War and commander in China during the Sino–Vietnamese ...
was one of the first commander of the Jinan MR, from 1958. It was considered a strategic reserve. It includes some of the area previously within the
Wuhan Military Region
Wuhan (, ; ; ) is the capital of Hubei Province in the People's Republic of China. It is the largest city in Hubei and the most populous city in Central China, with a population of over eleven million, the ninth-most populous Chinese city and ...
, disbanded in 1985–88.
The
5th Air Corps was established in Weifeng,
Shandong Province, in 1952, possibly from the disbanding
11th Corps, but was moved to
Hangzhou
Hangzhou ( or , ; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), also romanized as Hangchow, is the capital and most populous city of Zhejiang, China. It is located in the northwestern part of the province, sitting at the head of Hangzhou Bay, whic ...
in the
Nanjing Military Region by 1954.
After 1975 the
46th Army was transferred from Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province to Linyi,
Shandong. It was disestablished in 1985. There were previously three Group Armies within the Region, the
20th Group Army
The 20th Group Army is a military formation of the People's Liberation Army Ground Force, stationed in the Jinan Military Region. It consists of two manoeuvre brigades with other attached or otherwise organic units. For some time after its format ...
at
Kaifeng
Kaifeng () is a prefecture-level city in east-central Henan province, China. It is one of the Eight Ancient Capitals of China, having been the capital eight times in history, and is best known for having been the Chinese capital during the No ...
, the
26th Group Army at Weifang, and the
54th in Xinxiang. It previously included the now disbanded
67th Group Army.
The Jinan Military Region was disbanded in the reorganisation of 2015–16, being split between the
Northern Theatre Command and the
Central Theatre Command.
Structure
In 2006, the
International Institute for Strategic Studies
The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) is a British research institute or think tank in the area of international affairs. Since 1997, its headquarters have been Arundel House in London, England.
The 2017 Global Go To Think T ...
attributed the formation with 190,000 personnel, including two armoured divisions, one mechanised infantry division, three motorised infantry divisions, one artillery division, one armoured brigade, one mechanised infantry brigade, four motorised infantry brigades, two artillery brigades, three anti-aircraft brigades, and an anti-tank regiment.
*
20th Group Army
The 20th Group Army is a military formation of the People's Liberation Army Ground Force, stationed in the Jinan Military Region. It consists of two manoeuvre brigades with other attached or otherwise organic units. For some time after its format ...
(Kaifeng, Henan)
**
11th Armoured Brigade with 20th Group Army at Xuchang.
**other units
*
26th Group Army (Weifang, Shandong)
*
54th Group Army (Xinxiang, Henan)
[Blasko, The Chinese Army Today: Tradition and Transformation for the 21st Century, 2013, p.93.]
**
127th Mechanized Infantry Division within 54th Group Army, at
Luoyang
Luoyang is a city located in the confluence area of Luo River (Henan), Luo River and Yellow River in the west of Henan province. Governed as a prefecture-level city, it borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east, Pingdingshan to the ...
, a ready reaction unit
**
162nd Motorized Infantry Division
**
11th Armored Division (Xianyang)
**Artillery Brigade (Jiaozou, Henan)
**1st Air Defence Brigade (Xingyang)
**
1st Army Aviation Regiment (Xinxiang)
In the ''Military Balance 2014,'' the IISS listed the Jinan Military Region Air Force as consisting of the
5th Aviation Division, with two attack regiments; the 12th Fighter Division, with three fighter regiments; the 19th Fighter Division, with two fighter and one training regiment; the
32nd Aviation Division with one fighter and one training regiment; a Flight Instructor Training Base; and four
surface-to-air missile
A surface-to-air missile (SAM), also known as a ground-to-air missile (GTAM) or surface-to-air guided weapon (SAGW), is a missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy aircraft or other missiles. It is one type of anti-aircraft syst ...
battalions. (IISS 2014, 238).
Commanders and commissars, 2010-2015
*
Zhao Zongqi
Zhao Zongqi (; born 1955) is a general ('' shang jiang'') of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) of China and a former Commander of the Western Theater Command.
Zhao was born in Bin County, Heilongjiang province. In his earlier year he was the d ...
(Commander), since November 2012
** Wang Jun (Deputy Commander), since December 2011
** Ji Wenming (Deputy Commander), since July 2014
** Liu Zhigang (Deputy Commander), since December 2014
** Zhang Ming (Chief-of-Staff), since December 2014
*
Du Hengyan (Political Commissar), since July 2010
** Lü Jiancheng (Deputy Political Commissar), since July 2010
** Wu Shezhou (Political Department Director) since December 2014
Nickname
Organizations affiliated with the Jinan Military Region often use the nickname "vanguard" (), including the Vanguard Performance Troupe () and the Vanguard Newspaper ().
Notes
References
*
International Institute for Strategic Studies
The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) is a British research institute or think tank in the area of international affairs. Since 1997, its headquarters have been Arundel House in London, England.
The 2017 Global Go To Think T ...
, The Military Balance 2006
* Chapter 8, PLA Ground Forces, by Dennis J Blasko, in The People's Liberation Army as Organisation, RAND, CF182
* http://www.sinodefence.com
Military regions of the People's Liberation Army
Military units and formations disestablished in 2016
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