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PLA 15th Army

The predecessor of the 15th Army of the Chinese People's Liberation Army was the 9th Column of the Central Plains Field Army. The column was developed by armed forces in parts of the Taihang Military Region during the Anti-Japanese War.

From the end of 1946 to the beginning of 1947, the independent first and second brigades of the Taihang Military Region were formed in Lin County, Henan. The Independent 1st Brigade was composed of the 34th Regiment of the 1st Army Division of the Taihang and the 38th and 39th Regiments of the 2nd Army Division. The Independent 2nd Brigade was composed of the 43rd, 45th Regiment and Division 48 of the 4th Army Division in the Taihang Military Region The regiment was formed. After the formation of the two brigades, they participated in the northern part of Henan under the command of the front command post in the Taihang Military Region.

On August 15, 1947, based on the front command post of the Taihang Military Region and the two independent brigades, the 9th Column of the Jin-Ji-Lu-Yu Field Army was formed in Bo'ai County, Henan Province. Commander Qin Jiwei, Political Commissioner Huang Zhen, Deputy Commander Huang Xinyou, Chief of Staff He Wenwen, and Director of the Political Department Gu Jingsheng. The independent 1st Brigade was designated the 25th Brigade; the independent 2nd Brigade was designated the 26th Brigade.

In addition, the 36th Regiment of the 1st Army Division of Ethereum, the 46th and 47th Regiments of the 4th Army Division, and the 50th and 53rd Regiments of the 5th Army Division were combined into the 27th Brigade. After the establishment of the column, the main force immediately took part in the strategic offensive, crossed the Yellow River south, fought against Funiu Mountain, and the 25th Brigade remained in western Henan to open up the western Henan base.

In May 1948, the 9th column of the Jinji Luyu Field Army was renamed the 9th column of the Central Plains Field Army. In October, in the battle of Zhengzhou, with the cooperation of the comrades, more than 11,000 enemies from the North were wiped out. In November, it participated in the Huaihai campaign, participated in the conquest of Suxian County, Renqiao obstructed the battle, and surrounded and defeated the Huangwei Corps, annihilating more than 8,500 people.

In February 1949, in accordance with the decision of the Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of China on unifying the troop formation and troop designation, the 9th column was reorganized into the 15th Army of the Chinese People's Liberation Army in the Zhoukou area of Henan Province, which was formed by the 4th Corps of the 2nd Field Army. Military commander Qin Jiwei, political commissar Gu Jingsheng, director of the political department Yu Hongyuan, and supply minister Hu Xiaowu. The 43rd Division was renamed from the original 25th Brigade, and Zhang Xianyang was appointed as the division head, and Xue Tao was the political commissar; the 26th Brigade was renamed the 44th Division, and Xiang Shouzhi was appointed as the division chief and political commissar; Cui Jiangong was appointed as the division commander (the divisional political commissar was temporarily lacking, and in December 1950 Nie Jifeng became the divisional political commissar).

After the formation of the 15th Army, as the advance army of the Dujiang Battle Corps, it departed from the Zhoukou area of Henan in early March. While advancing toward the north bank of the Yangtze River, Lienke Hubei Yingshan, Luotian and Anhui Taihu and Wangjiang cities controlled Yihua. The Jiangbei beachhead position with Yangzhen as the center successfully completed the mission of the cover troops in the first-line areas of Huangmei and Susong. On April 21, the left column of the Corps broke through the enemy's Yangtze defense line in the main assault direction and occupied the main peaks of Xiangshan and Huangshan. Immediately entered the Zhejiang-Gan line, pointing directly to the northern foot of Wuyi Mountain. Day and night, 750 kilometers of enemies who fled south escaped, liberating Hengfeng, Shangrao, Geyuan, Guangfeng, Jianyang, Shuiji, Jianou, Fengle, Nanping and so on. Afterwards, it swept south and marched into Zhongnan.

From September to October, it participated in the Battle of Guangdong. In November, it participated in the Battle of Guangxi and captured nearly 10,000 people under the command of the 48th Army Commander Zhang Wenhong and the 126th Army Deputy Commander Wang Weicang. In early 1950, the long-distance march more than 1,300 kilometers, successfully completed the mission to enter Yunnan. In April of the same year, the Yunnan Military Region was established, which was also served by the 4th Corps. The 15th Army was under the formation of the Yunnan Military Region. The 43rd Division and the 6th Detachment of the Guizhou, Yunnan and Qianbian Columns formed the Zhaotong Police District and stayed there to fight the bandits. The 44th and 45th divisions went to the border areas of Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou and Kang to participate in the bandit war. In close collaboration with friendly forces, we have basically eliminated the bandits in the vast areas of about 500 kilometers, including 4 provinces and 7 military divisions, and helped to establish more than 600 district and township governments. In the meantime, the 44th Division was ordered to participate in the Battle of Xichang in March and rebuilt in May.

During the National Liberation War, the 15th Army fought in 11 provinces including Henan, Anhui, Hubei, Fujian, Jiangxi, Guangdong, Gui, Yun, Gui, Sichuan, and Kang, and famous heroes such as Liu Zilin emerged. The column had grown from more than 10,000 people at the time of its establishment to more than 50,000 people. In December 1950, the 43rd Division was ordered to stay in Yunnan to build the Zhaotong Army Division, and the 29th Division of the 10th Army was incorporated into the 15th Army sequence. In March of the following year, the 15th Army participated in the Chinese People's Volunteer Army and entered the Korean War. Commander Qin Jiwei, political commissar Gu Jingsheng, deputy commander Zhou Fatian, chief of staff Zhang Yunyu, and director of the political department Che Min look. The 29th Division, 44th Division, and 45th Division of their divisions have participated in the fifth battle of defensive operations in Heping (Kang), Jin (Hua), and Huai (Yang) areas, as well as the famous Battle of Shangganling. Units, including 4 special grades, 34 first grades, and 63 second grades. There were more than 13,000 finger fighters who have achieved honors. Among them were special heroes and super hero Huang Jiguang, special heroes and super hero Sun Zhanyuan and Qiu Shaoyun.

In the Battle of Shangganling, the 15th Army, with the cooperation of its neighbors, relying on the defensive position with the tunnel as the backbone, in a narrow area of about 3.7 square kilometers, repeatedly competed with the enemy for 43 days and resisted the enemy. The indiscriminate bombardment of artillery shells repelled more than 900 offensives above the enemy platoon, and carried out 29 large-scale counterattacks, completely defeating the so-called "largest offensive in a year" advocated by the US imperialism and the South Korean army. Made important contributions to the liberation of the Korean people. In January 1953, the 15th Army was ordered to perform coastal defense missions in the Yuanshan area. In May 1954, it was ordered to return to China.

In May 1961, the Military Commission changed the Ground Forces 15th Army, which had fought during the Korean War, into the PLAAF 15th Airborne Army, and subordinated the PLAAF's original airborne division to this new Army.