39th Mechanized Group Army
The 39th Group Army (Mechanized), is headquartered in Liaoyang, and is comprised of three mechanized infantry divisions, an armored division, a AAA brigade, an artillery brigade, an ACW regiment, and a helicopter regiment. The 39th Group Army is a Category A unit.
The 39th Group Army traces its origins to the formation of the 15th Army in the Fall or 1935. In 1937 elements of the 15th Army were reorganized and redesignated as the 344th Brigade. By October 1945 the 344th was reorganized and redesignated as the 3rd Division of the North Kiangsu Military Region, and was comprised of the 3rd, 7th and 10th Brigade. Some time between November 1945 and June 1947 the 10th Brigade was reorganized and redesignated as the 2nd Column under the Fourth Field Army, and in 1949 the unit was again reorganized and redesignated, this time as the 39th Corps of the 13th Army. The 39th Corps was comprised of the 115th, 116th and 117th Divisions.
In mid-June 1949, during the Civil War, the 39th along with two other corps encircled Ich'ang, Hupei and seized the city. The 39th Corps was one of the first units to cross into Korea to support operations against UN forces.
Elements of the 39th Group Army took part in the suppression of the student demonstrations in Tiananmen Square in June 1989.
