The 29th Division, now as the 56th Heavy Combined Arms Brigade is a military formation of the

People's Liberation Army The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the military of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the People's Republic of China (PRC). It consists of four Military branch, services—People's Liberation Army Ground Force, Ground Force, People's ...

of the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. It is now one of six combined arms brigades of the PLA

76th Group Army The 76th Group Army (), Military unit cover designator, Unit 31665, formerly the 21st Group Army, is a military formation of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Ground Force (PLAGF). The 76th Group Army is one of thirteen total Group army (militar ...

. It is the unit that experienced the most times of unit transferring in the PLA Ground Force. The 29th 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 6th Brigade, 2nd Column of PLA Zhongyuan Field Army. Its history could be traced to 1st Regiment of Eastern Forward Column, 129th Division of

Eighth Route Army The Eighth Route Army (), officially titled as the List of Army Groups of the National Revolutionary Army, 18th Group Army, was a Field army, group army nominally under the banner of the National Revolutionary Army (NRA) of the Republic of Ch ...

, formed in December 1937. The division is part of 10th Corps. Under the flag of 29th division it took part in several major battles in the

Chinese civil war The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led Nationalist government, government of the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China and the forces of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Armed conflict continued intermitt ...

. In January 1951 the division was transferred to 15th Corps and entered Korea as a part of

People's Volunteer Army The People's Volunteer Army (PVA), officially the Chinese People's Volunteers (CPV), was the armed expeditionary forces China in the Korean War, deployed by the History of the People's Republic of China (1949–1976), People's Republic of Chi ...

. The division took part in the

Fifth Phase Offensive The Chinese spring offensive (), also known as the Chinese Fifth Phase Offensive (), was a military operation conducted by the Chinese People's Volunteer Army (PVA) during the Korean War. Mobilizing three field armies totaling 700,000 men for th ...

in 1951 and the

Battle of Triangle Hill The Battle of Triangle Hill, also known as Operation Showdown or the Shangganling Campaign (),Chinese sources often mistranslates Shangganling Campaign as the Battle of Heartbreak Ridge. was a protracted military engagement during the Korea ...

in 1952 during its deployment in Korea and allegedly inflicted 17714 casualties to UN Forces. A soldier from 29th Division, Qiu Shaoyun, was posthumously honored as a "First-Class Hero of the Chinese People's Volunteers Army" as he adhered to ambush discipline in order to veil the position of the platoon and burned to death by

napalm Napalm is an incendiary mixture of a gelling agent and a volatile petrochemical (usually gasoline or diesel fuel). The name is a portmanteau of two of the constituents of the original thickening and gelling agents: coprecipitated aluminium ...

bombs. In May 1954 the division returned from Korea with the Corps HQ and renamed as the 29th Infantry Division () of the National Defense Force. The division stationed at Huayuan,

Hubei Hubei is a province of China, province in Central China. It has the List of Chinese provincial-level divisions by GDP, seventh-largest economy among Chinese provinces, the second-largest within Central China, and the third-largest among inland ...

province. In May 1958 the division received 45th Tank Self-Propelled Artillery Regiment from 45th Army Division. By then the division was composed of: *85th Infantry Regiment; *86th Infantry Regiment; *87th Infantry Regiment; *45th Tank Self-Propelled Artillery Regiment. *323rd Artillery Regiment (from 149th Regiment of 50th Division). In July 1960 the division was detached from 15th Corps and was put under control of

Wuhan Military Region Wuhan; is the capital of Hubei, China. With a population of over eleven million, it is the most populous city in Hubei and the eighth-most-populous city in China. It is also one of the nine national central cities and the second most livabl ...

. In the same year the division was renamed as the 29th Army Division (). In July 1967 a detachment from this division took part in the Wuhan Incident, guarding Mao's hotel from mutinous Independent Division of Hubei Provincial Military District. From August 1967 to October 1968 the division was returned to now

15th Airborne Corps The People's Liberation Army Air Force Airborne Corps, also referred to as the People's Liberation Army Airborne Corps () is a corps grade airborne and air assault force subordinated to People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) headquarters ...

, becoming an Army unit under the control of Air Force. In October 1968 the division was transferred to newly formed 17th Army Corps, and its 45th Tank Self-Propelled Artillery Regiment was detached and transferred to 11th Tank Division. In December 1969 the division was renamed as the 49th Army Division (). All its regiments renamed as follows: *145th Infantry Regiment (former 85th); *146th Infantry Regiment (former 86th); *147th Infantry Regiment (former 87th); *Artillery Regiment (former 323rd). In November 1972 the division was detached from the Corps and was put under control of

again after 17th Army Corps' disbandment. In March 1976 the division moved to

Wuwei, Gansu Wuwei ( zh, c=武威 , p=Wǔwēi) is a prefecture-level city in northwest central Gansu province. In the north it borders Inner Mongolia, in the southwest, Qinghai. Its central location between three western capitals, Lanzhou, Xining, and Yinc ...

and was transferred to 19th Army Corps, renaming as the 56th Army Division ().All its regiments renamed as follows: *166th Infantry Regiment (former 145th); *167th Infantry Regiment (former 146th); *168th Infantry Regiment (former 147th); *Artillery Regiment. In September 1985, the division was renamed as the 56th Infantry Division () and was transferred to

47th Army The 47th Army () was a field army of the Red Army during World War II, active from 1941 to 1946. History The 47th Army was formed in late July 1941 in the Transcaucasian Military District as part of the Soviet Union's border defenses with Iran. O ...

after 19th Corps' disbandment. The division maintained as a ''Northern Infantry Division, Catalogue B'' from 1985 to 1998. In December 1989 its 168th Regiment was re-organized as a special security regiment. In October 1998 the division was reduced and re-organized as the 56th Motorized Infantry Brigade (). In April 2017 the brigade was redesignated as the 56th Heavy Combined Arms Brigade ().

References

{{Structure of People's Liberation Army Ground Force since 2017 Infantry brigades of the People's Liberation Army Military units and formations established in 1949 1949 establishments in China Brigade grade units of the armed forces of China