63rd Group Army
The 63rd Group Army, headquartered in Taiyuan, Shanxi, is comprised of the 188th Motorized Infantry Division, an armored brigade, a motorized infantry brigade, an infantry brigade, an anti-aircraft artillery brigade, an artillery brigade, and a communications regiment in addition to logistics and support units.
The 63rd Group Army was established following the Sino-Japanese War (World War II, or the War of Liberation). The unit was initially comprised of guerrilla and non-regular forces operating in the Hebei region. The 63rd traces its lineage to the 3rd Column (Xinhui from China Defense.com identifies this unit as the 3rd Garrison Force of the Hebei Military Region, our label of the 3rd Column comes from Whitson) established around 1946 and commanded by the Chang Wei-shan. The unit was reorganized and redesignated as the 63rd Corps around 1949 still under the command of Chang Wei-shan. Following its establishement the unit was involved in post-conflict liberation and stabalization activities in Northern China. It also took part in the North-Western and Beijing-Tianjin campaign.
In 1949 the 63rd was comprised of the 187th, 188th and 189th Divisions.
China Defense.com indicates that the unit was reconstituted as part of the 19th Army Group in 1951 and took part in the Korean War.
Following the Korean War in 1954 the 63rd Corps was stationed in Hopei. (Whitson p. 356)
During the 1960s the unit was stationed in the Shanxi area and reportedly helped construct the Mt. Taihang defensive line.
In September 2003 Hong Kong's Wen Wei Po reported that as part of the 200,000 troop reduction announced by the Chinese government, the 63rd Group Army would be inactivated along with two other group armies, the 23rd and the 24th. It is not clear if the troop reduction will include the inactivation of the Group Army's subordinate units.
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
