The Third Field Army was one of the five main forces of the Communist Party'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, ...

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 ...

. It was established in early 1949. Initially known as the East China Field Army, it was formed by the

New Fourth Army The New Fourth Army () was a unit of the National Revolutionary Army of the Republic of China established in 1937. In contrast to most of the National Revolutionary Army, it was controlled by the Chinese Communist Party and not by the ruling Ku ...

and the

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troops 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 ...

Province, a gradual adaptation of the expansion. It took control of the troops in eastern China, with

Chen Yi Chen Yi may refer to: * Xuanzang (602–664), born as Chen Yi, Chinese Buddhist monk in Tang Dynasty * Chen Yi (Kuomintang) Chen Yi (; courtesy names Gongxia (公俠) and later Gongqia (公洽), sobriquet Tuisu (退素); May 3, 1883 – June ...

as its commander. It comprised the 7th, 8th, 9th, and 10th Armies plus the headquarters of the special technical troops, with a total of 580,000 men. Forces associated with the Third Field Army included:See Witson 1972 *The 7th Army, Commander Wang Jian'an, political commissar

Tan Qilong Tan Qilong (; 3 January 1913 – 22 January 2003) was a politician in the People's Republic of China. Over his long career, he served as the Communist Party Chief, the top government official, of four different provinces: Zhejiang (twice), Shand ...

, chief of staff Li Yingxi: **21st Corps (including 61, 62, 63rd Divisions), commander Teng Haiqing, political commissar Kang Zhiqiang **22nd Corps (including the 64th, 65th, 66th Divisions), commander Sun Jixian, political commissar Ding Qiusheng ** 23rd Corps (including 67th, 68th, 69th Divisions), commander Tao Yong, political commissar Lu Sheng **35th Corps (including 103, 104, 105th Divisions), commander Wu Huawen, political commissar He Kexi *The 8th Army, Commander Chen Shiju, political commissar Yuan Zhongxian, chief of staff He Yixiang ** 24th Corps (including the 70, 71, 72 Divisions), commander Wang Bicheng, political commissar Liao Haiguang **25th Corps (including the 73rd, 74th and 75th divisions), commander Cheng Jun, political commissar Huang Huoxing ** 26th Corps (including 76, 77, 78th Divisions), commander Zhang Renchu, political commissar Wang Yiping **34th Corps (including the first 100, 101, 102 Divisions), commander He Jifeng, political commissar Zhao Qimin *The 9th Army, Commander

Song Shilun Song Shilun (; 1907–1991), né Song Jirao (宋际尧, named from Chinese legendary King Yao), alternative name Song Zhiguang (宋之光), born September 10, 1907 in Liling, Hunan Province, was a general of the People's Liberation Army of the P ...

, political commissar Guo Huaruo, chief of staff Qin Jian ** 20th Corps (including 58, 59, 60th Divisions), commander Liu Fei, political commissar Chen Shifu ** 27th Corps (including the 79, 80, 81 divisions), commander

Nie Fengzhi Nie Fengzhi (; 7 September 1913 – 3 April 1992) was a general of the People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) of the People's Republic of China. Biography Nie was born in Dawu County, Hubei in 1913 or 1914. He belonged to the dominant Han e ...

, political commissar Liu Haotian ** 30th Army(including 88, 89, 90th Divisions), commander Xie Zhenhua, political commissar Li Ganhui **33rd Army (including the 97th, 98th, 99th Divisions), commander Zhang Kexia, political commissar Han Nianlong *The 10th Army, Commander

Ye Fei Ye Fei (; 7 May 1914 – 18 April 1999) was a Philippine-born Chinese military general and politician of the People's Republic of China. Born Sixto Mercado Tiongco in the Philippines to a Chinese father and a Filipino mother, he joined the Chi ...

, political commissar

Wei Guoqing Wei Guoqing (; Zhuang: Veiz Gozcing; 2 September 1913 – 14 June 1989) was a Chinese government official, military officer and political commissar of Zhuang ethnicity. He served as the Chairman of Guangxi from 1958 to 1975 and on the Chines ...

, Chief of Staff Chen Qingxian ** 28th Corps (including the 82nd, 83rd, 84th Divisions), commander Zhu Shaoqing ** 29th Corps (including 85, 86, 87th Divisions), commander Hu Bingyun, political commissar Zhang Fan ** 31st Corps (including 91st, 92, 93rd Divisions), commander Zhou Zhijian, political commissar Chen Huatang *Directly under the jurisdiction of Third Field Army ** 32nd Corps (including the 94th Division, 95th Division), commander Tan Xilin, political commissar Peng Lin **Special forces column, commander Chen Ruiting, political commissar Zhang Kai **Guangdong-Guangxi Column (March 1947 - March 1949), commander

Zeng Sheng Zeng Sheng ( zh, 曾生, 19 December 1910 – 20 November 1995), born Zeng Zhensheng (), was a Chinese military officer and politician. His name is also spelt as Tsang Sang, Tsang Shang, Jung Sung and Chung Sung in various sources. Tsang is best ...

, political commissar Lei Jingtian In August 1950 the force was redesignated the East China Military Region.

References

External links

*https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP82-00457R006400280009-6.pdf - dispositions of the Third Field Army, October 1950 {{Corps and Armies of the People's Liberation Army Field armies of the People's Liberation Army Military units and formations established in 1949