The 77th Group Army (),

Unit Unit may refer to: Arts and entertainment * UNIT, a fictional military organization in the science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' * Unit of action, a discrete piece of action (or beat) in a theatrical presentation Music * ''Unit'' (a ...

31667, formerly the 13th Group Army, is a

military formation Military organization or military organisation is the structuring of the armed forces of a State (polity), state so as to offer such military capability as a military policy, national defense policy may require. In some countries paramilitary ...

of the Chinese

People's Liberation Army Ground Force The People's Liberation Army Ground Force (PLAGF; ) is the land-based service branch of the People's Liberation Army and the largest and oldest branch of the entire Chinese armed forces. The PLAGF can trace its lineage from 1927 as the Chine ...

(PLAGF). The 77th Group Army is one of thirteen 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 two assigned to the nation's

Western Theater Command The Western Theater Command ()is one of the five theater commands of the People's Liberation Army, founded on 1 February 2016. Its jurisdiction includes Sichuan, Tibet, Gansu, Ningxia, Qinghai, Xinjiang, Shaanxi, Yunnan, Chongqing. Guizhou ...

History

The 13th Group Army ( Military Unit Cover Designator (MUCD) 56005) was established in 1985 after the disbandment of the 50th Army. It incorporated the 149th Division, which had been part of the 50th Army. During the

Sino-Vietnamese War The Sino-Vietnamese War (also known by other names) was a border war fought between China and Vietnam in early 1979. China launched an offensive in response to Vietnam's actions against the Khmer Rouge in 1978, which ended the rule of the C ...

, the

Kunming Military Region The Kunming Military Region was a military region of the People's Liberation Army, established in December 1954 or 1955 and disestablished during the 1980s. It was incorporated within the Chengdu Military Region. In the 1954 reorganization that es ...

took responsibility for Chinese operations during the Battle of Lào Cai, which involved the 11th and 13th Armies from the Kunming Military Region itself, and the 14th Army from the

Chengdu Military Region The Chengdu Military Region was one of seven military districts and is located in the southwest of the People's Republic of China, covering Chongqing, Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou, and the Xizang/Tibet Autonomous Region. It includes some of the area ...

, totaling about 125,000 troops. The three armies was followed by the reserve 149th Division of the 50th Army, as well as many support units.Zhang, p. 100. The invasion comprised three prongs of advances: while the 11th Army was assigned to attack Phong Thổ before hooking up to Sa Pa and Lào Cai from the west, the 14th Army was ordered to take Mường Khương and move against Lào Cai from the east; the central thrust was undertaken by the 13th Army, targeting Lào Cai itself, as well as the township of Cam Đường to the south.O'Dowd, p. 62. Blasko 2002, drawing upon the ''Directory of PRC Military Personalities'', 1999 and 2000 editions, wrote that the 13 GA (MUCD 56005), at Chongqing, comprised the 37th Motorized Infantry Division (MUCD 56013), the 149th Motorized Infantry Division (MUCD 56016) at

Emei Mount Emei (; ), alternately Mount Omei, is a mountain in Sichuan Province, China, and is the highest of the Four Sacred Buddhist Mountains of China. Mount Emei sits at the western rim of the Sichuan Basin. The mountains west of it are know ...

Sichuan Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...

, an Armored Brigade (MUCD 56017) at Pengzhou,

, an Artillery Brigade (MUCD 56014) at Chongqing, and an Anti-Aircraft Artillery Brigade (MUCD 56018) at

Mianyang Mianyang (; formerly known as Mienchow) is the second largest prefecture-level city of Sichuan province in Southwest China. Located in north-central Sichuan covering an area of consisting of Jiangyou, a county-level city, five counties, and thr ...

, Sichuan.Blasko RAND 2002, 329. Since 2002, various sources have identified the armored brigade as the 17th Armored Brigade and also added 2nd Helicopter Regiment and a Special Operations Group to the listing.

Organization

* 39th Heavy Combined-Arms Brigade * 40th Mountain Combined-Arms Brigade * 55th Light Combined-Arms Brigade * 139th Heavy Combined-Arms Brigade * 150th Mountain Combined-Arms Brigade * 181st Medium Combined-Arms Brigade * 77th Special Operations Brigade * 77th Army Aviation Brigade * 77th Artillery Brigade * 77th Air Defense Brigade * 77th Engineering Brigade * 77th Chemical Defense Brigade * 77th Service Support Brigade

Leaders

Commanders

* Zhou Xihan: 1949–1952 * Chen Kang: 1952–1956 * Xu Qixiao: 1956–1965 * Wu Xiaomin: 1965–1968 * Gu Yongwu: 1968–1978 * Yan Shouqing: 1978–1980 * An Yufeng: 1980–1983 * Yang Anzhong: 1983–1985 * Chen Shijun: 1985–1994 * Gui Quanzhi: 1994–2000 *

Zhang Youxia Zhang Youxia (; born July 1950) is a general in the People's Liberation Army (PLA) of China and currently the second-ranked Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Central Military Commission (CMC). He previously served as Head ...

: 2000–2005 * Wang Xixin: 2005–2007 *

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 ...

: 2007–2008 * Xu Yong: 2008–2013 * Wang Kai: 2013–2017 * Lin Huomao: 2017–2021 * Wang Suocheng: 2021–present

Political commissars

* Liu Youguang: 1949–1951 * Jin Rubai: 1951–1954 * Zhang Lixiong: 1954–1955 * Kong Junbiao: 1955–1961 * Lei Qiyun: 1961–1969 * Duan Siying: 1965–1969 *

He Yunfeng He Yunfeng () (January 1922 – January 6, 2013) was a People's Republic of China major general and People's Republic of China politician. He was born in Pingchang County, Bazhong, Sichuan Province. In March 1933, at the age of 11, he joined the C ...

: 1969–1970 * Zhao Wei: 1970–1975 * Geng Zhongxian: 1975–1978 * Qiao Xueting: 1978–1982 * Ai Weiren: 1983–1988 * Xiao Huaishu: 1988–1993 * Chen Peizhong: 1993–1996 * Qiu Jian: 1996–2005 * Cui Changjun: 2005–2010 *

Diao Guoxin Diao Guoxin (; born October 1958) is a lieutenant general (''zhong jiang'') of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) of China. He served as Political Commissar of the Tibet Military District from 2012 to 2016. Biography Diao Guoxin was born in O ...

: 2010–2012 * Zheng Xuan: 2013–2017 * Li Zehua： 2017–2021 * Kuang Ming： 2021–present

History

Organization

Leaders

Commanders

Political commissars

References

Further reading