21st Group Army

The origins of the 21st Group Army can be traced to the activation of the 11th Brigade of the 4th Division around 1941 which was part of the Huai-Pei Military Region. According to William W. Whitson, in 1945 the unit was reorganized and redesignated as the 9th Column which was redesignated as the 2nd Column. In 1949 the 2nd Column was reorganized and redesignated as the 21st Corps under the command of T'eng Ha-ch'ing. The 21st was comprised of the 61st, 62nd and 63rd Divisions. During the Civil War, the 21st Corps, under the Tenth Army, took part in the Chekiang and Fukien Campaign in late 1949. The 21st Corps deployed to Korea in support of military operations there in September 1952 and upon its return to China was located in Shensi in the Beijing Military Region.

21st Army - Early History

The predecessor of the 21st Army of the Chinese People's Liberation Army was the 2nd Column of the East China Field Army. The column was developed from parts of the 2nd and 4th Divisions of the New Fourth Army. Part of its predecessor was the 28th Army of the Chinese Workers and Peasants Red Army during the Agrarian Revolutionary War.

In the spring of 1938, the Red 28th Army, which remained in the northwestern Anhui region and insisted on armed struggle, was reorganized into the fourth detachment of the New Fourth Army. Regiment, pistol regiment, a total of more than 3100 people. On March 14, the fourth detachment moved east from Qiliping, Hong'an County, Hubei Province. In April, went to Shucheng, Lujiang, Wuwei and Tongcheng areas to wage anti-Japanese armed struggle.

In May 1939, the Jiangbei Headquarters of the New Fourth Army was established, and the fourth detachment was under its command. In June, the 4th Detachment was reorganized, under the jurisdiction of the 7th, 9th, and 14th Regiments. Later, it created the Jinpu Road West Anti-Japanese Base with Dingyuan Southeast Outang as the center; at the same time, based on the 8th Regiment of the 4th Detachment Anhui Dingyuan formed the fifth detachment of the New Fourth Army. One person in 1941, the Jiangbei headquarters of the New Fourth Army was reorganized to form the second division of the New Fourth Army. The 4th detachment was reorganized as the 4th Brigade of the 2nd Division, and the 5th detachment was reorganized as the 5th Brigade of the 2nd Division. In September 1945, the 4th and 5th brigade went north to Shandong.

In October 1945, the 4th, 5th Brigade, and 9th Brigade of the 2nd Division of the New Fourth Army formed the 2nd Column of the New Fourth Army in Fengxian County, Shandong Province. Deputy political commissar, Zhan Huayu served as chief of staff, and Wang Jijie served as director of the political department. It governs the 4th, 5th and 9th brigades, with a total of more than 24,000 people. After the establishment of the column, it returned to the front of the Jinpu Front Command and went to fight on the front of the Jinpu. It participated in battles such as Jiehe, Lincheng and Zaozhuang, and wiped out more than 20,000 enemies. In January 1946, it was renamed the 2nd column of Shandong Field Army. In June, the fifth brigade of the column was transferred to the Huainan Military Region.

In November 1945, based on the 11th and 12th Brigade of the 4th Division of the New Fourth Army, the 9th Column of Huazhong Field Army was formed in Huaibei. Zhang Zhen served as commander and political commissar, Rao Zijian served as deputy commander, Yao Yunliang served as chief of staff, and Wang Xuewu served as Director of the Political Department. It governs 6 regiments with a total of more than 10,000 people. After the establishment of the column, they participated in the assault operations on the east section of Jinpu Road and Longhai Road, conquered Zhaodun, Nianzhuang, Bayiji and other stations, completely destroyed the railway from Daxujia to Baitabu, and gave the Japanese and puppet army who refused to surrender. Severe blows have caused the two liberated areas in Shandong and Central China to join together.

In July 1946, in the battle of Chaoyangji, the 2nd column was the main attack, the 9th column blocked, and the 92nd Brigade of the Kuomintang Army was completely wiped out. In August, the 2nd and 9th columns participated in the Sixian Battle, which hit the 172nd Division of the Kuomintang Army; from October to November, they participated in the defense of Huaiyin and Lianshui; in December, they participated in the Battle of Subei and cooperated with the comrades to wipe out the Kuomintang. The 69th Division of the Army; participated in the Battle of Lunan in January 1947, and completed the task of blocking the 7th Army of the Kuomintang Army and the 11th, 74th, and 28th Divisions from the north.

In February 1947, the 2nd and 9th columns were co-edited as the 2nd column of the East China Field Army in Tancheng, Shandong Province. Wei Guoqing served as commander and political commissar, Zhang Zhen served as deputy commander, Kang Zhiqiang served as deputy political committee, and Zhan Huayu served as chief of staff. Deng Yifan served as director of the political department. The 4th Brigade of the 2nd Column was the 4th Division, Zhu Shaoqing was the Division Chief, and Gao Zhirong was the Division Political Member; the 9th Column, except for one reorganized as the Huaibei Detachment, the rest were the 5th Division, Yao Yunliang was the Division Chief, Qin Xian'an was the Division Political Committee. The 9th Brigade of the 2nd Column was organized as the 6th Division, and Teng Haiqing served as the division chief and political commissar of the division.

There were more than 29,000 people in the army. After the compilation, the Battle of Baitabu was held and 5,000 members of the two divisions of the 42nd Army of the Kuomintang Army were annihilated. In mid-February, blocking near Linyi to ensure the smooth progress of the Laiwu campaign. In April, it participated in the Battle of Taimeng and served as a blocker. In May, it participated in the Battle of Meng Lianggu and fought against the 7th Army of the enemy and the 83rd Division of Western aid in the southwest of Yishui. In July, it participated in the battles of Nanma and Lintong and served as a key force, destroying each of the 9th, 11th, 25th, 64th Division and 8th Army of the Kuomintang Army, with a total of more than 16,000 people.

After August, it moved to the Jiaodong area and won major victories in battles such as the Jiaohe Battle, Gaomi Tackling, and Laiyang Battle. In February 1948, the 2nd Column was ordered to go south to Central China, and formed the North Jiangsu Corps with the 11th and 12th Columns, opening up the North Jiangsu battlefield that threatened the enemy's heart of Beijing and Shanghai. In March, Yilin was captured and the 113th Brigade of the Kuomintang Army was wiped out. In June, responding to the Battle of Eastern Henan, launched an attack on Xin'an Town and Haizhou in the east section of Longhai Road, and liberated Xin'an Town, Haizhou, Shuyang, Guanyun and other places, which played an important role in changing the Northern Jiangsu War. In September, it participated in the battle of Jinan and served as a rescue mission. In November, it participated in the Huaihai Battle and annihilated more than 36,000 Kuomintang troops in the siege of the Huang Baitao Corps, the Guzhen blockade, and the general attack on the Duruming Group.

In February 1949, in accordance with the Central Military Commission’s order to unify the army’s establishment and troop designation, the second column was renamed the 21st Army of the People’s Liberation Army in North Korea, north of Xuzhou, and was formed by the 7th Corps of the Third Field Army. Teng Haiqing served as military commander, Kang Zhiqiang served as political commissar, Gao Zhirong served as deputy military commander, Wu Yongxiang served as chief of staff, and Deng Yifan served as director of the political department. Former 4th Division was renamed 61st Division, Hu Wei was appointed as Division Chief, Wang Jingmin was appointed Political Committee Member; 5th Division was renamed as 62nd Division, Zhou Chunlin was Division Chief, Zhou Shizhong was Divisional Political Committee; 6th Division was renamed Division 63, Wu Hua was appointed Division Chief, Xie Xiyu Appointed as political commissar of the division.

There were more than 36,000 people in the army. In April, the army participated in the battle of crossing the river, crossing the river east of Zongyang, occupying Guichi, Qingyang and other places. In May, Hangzhou was liberated and then moved to Wenzhou, Ningbo, Fenghua, Xiangshan and other places. In August, went to Linhai to suppress bandits. In the meantime, the 63rd Division was ordered to fight in Fujian and rebuilt in September. In October, the Battle of Wenzhou Bay was launched, capturing Dongtou, Luqi, Dayu Mountain and other islands. In November, attacked Liuheng, Taohua and other islands. From March to May 1950, it participated in the Battle of Zhoushan, and then took on the coastal defense tasks in eastern Zhejiang, southern Zhejiang and northern Fujian.

In March 1953, the 21st Army participated in the Chinese People's Volunteer Army's entry into the North Korean battle, participated in the Jincheng Battle and other operations. During the battle, many battle heroes and collective heroes such as Wang Yunge, Ma Tianming, Cao Guangjing, Ge Yingdong emerged. After the Korean truce, it participated in supporting the reconstruction of the Korean people's homeland. Returned to China in August 1958.