116th Division (1948-52) 116th Infantry Division (1952-60) 116th Army Division (1960-85) 116th Mechanized Infantry Division (1985-) | |
---|---|
Active | 1948–present |
Country | China |
Branch | People's Liberation Army Ground Force |
Type | Mechanized Infantry |
Size | 10,000+ |
Part of | 39th Army |
Garrison/HQ | Shenyang Military Region |
Engagements | Chinese Civil War, Korean War |
The 116th Division was a military formation of the People's Volunteer Army (Chinese People's Volunteers (CPV) during the Korean War with a standard strength of approximately 10,000 men.
The 116th Division was part of the 39th Army, consisting of the 346th, 347th, and 348th Regiments. [1]
The 116th Division was one of the first Chinese divisions to attack the UN forces at the Unsan where it inflicted heavy casualties on the 8th Cavalry Regiment. Stephen Gammons from the United States Army Center of Military History said this: The enemy [Chinese] force that brought tragedy to the 8th Cavalry at Unsan was the CCF’s 116th Division. Elements of the 116th’s 347th Regiment were responsible for the roadblock south of Unsan. Also engaged in the Unsan action was the 115th Division. [2]
The formation appears to still be active with the 39th Group Army in the Northern Theater Command, as the 116th Mechanised Infantry Division. [3]
The division was involved with the rest of the 39th Army in the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989. On the evening of 3 June, Xu Feng, the division commander, switched to plain clothes and carried out his own reconnaissance of the city. [4] When he returned, he told subordinates "not to look for him" and went into the division's communications vehicle. [4] Thereafter, the division maintained radio silence and did not advance on Beijing, except for the 347th Regiment under Ai Husheng, which complied with orders and went to Tiananmen Square on 4 June. [4] On 5 June, the rest of the division was escorted by other units to the square. [4] Xu Feng was later disciplined for passive resistance. [4]
This is the Korean War order of battle. Subsidiary commands are listed on sub-pages. Where no date is shown for a command, assume it present at the start of the war, on June 25, 1950.
The 1st Cavalry Division is a combined arms division and is one of the most decorated combat divisions of the United States Army. It is based at Fort Cavazos, Texas. It was formed in 1921 and served during World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Persian Gulf War, with the Stabilization Force in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Iraq War, the War in Afghanistan as well as Operation Freedom's Sentinel and Operation Inherent Resolve. As of July 2023, the 1st Cavalry Division is subordinate to the III Armored Corps and is commanded by Major General Thomas M. Feltey.
The 8th Cavalry Regiment is a regiment of the United States Army formed in 1866 during the American Indian Wars. The 8th Cavalry continued to serve under a number of designations, fighting in every other major U.S. conflict since, except World War I, when it was not deployed to Europe because it was already engaged in the Punitive Expedition in Mexico from 1916 to 1920. It is currently a component of the 1st Cavalry Division.
The II Corps is a corps of the Republic of Korea Army and it was first activated during the Korean War.
The 1st Infantry Division is a military formation of the Republic of Korea Army's I Corps. The division was established on 1947 under the command of Colonel Kim Suk-won.
The 3rd Infantry Division is a military formation of the Korean People's Army.
The 19th Infantry Division was a military formation of the Korean People's Army.
The 27th Infantry Division was a military formation of the Korean People's Army, as part of the II Corps.
The 115th Division was a military formation of the People's Volunteer Army during the Korean War with a standard strength of approximately 10,000 men. It was a component of the 39th Army, consisting of the 343rd, 344th, and 345th Regiments.
The 40th Group Army was a military formation of the People's Liberation Army, active in various forms from 1949 to 2017. It was last located in the Shenyang Military Region and the Northern Theater Command.
The II Corps is a corps of the Korean People's Army. It was created on June 12, 1950 with Lt. General Kim Kwang-hyop in command. During the Korean War the unit was composed of the 2nd Infantry Division, the 5th Infantry Division, and the 12th Infantry Division.
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The 117th Division was a military formation of the People's Volunteer Army during the Korean War with a standard strength of approximately 10,000 men. It was a component of the 39th Army, consisting of the 349th, 350th, and 351st Regiments.
The Battle of Unsan, also known as the Battle of Yunshan, was a series of engagements of the Korean War that took place from 25 October to 4 November 1950 near Unsan, North Pyongan province in present-day North Korea. As part of the People's Republic of China's First Phase Campaign, the People's Volunteer Army (PVA) repeatedly attacked the Republic of Korea Army's (ROK) 1st Infantry Division near Unsan beginning on 25 October, to surprise the advancing United Nations Command (UNC). The United States' (US) 8th Cavalry Regiment was encircled on 1–2 November and broke out with the loss of most of its heavy equipment.
The Battle of Onjong, also known as the Battle of Wenjing, was one of the first engagements between Chinese and South Korean forces during the Korean War. It took place around Onjong in present-day North Korea from 25 to 29 October 1950. As the main focus of the Chinese First Phase Offensive, the People's Volunteer Army (PVA) 40th Corps conducted a series of ambushes against the Republic of Korea Army (ROK) II Corps, effectively destroying the right flank of the United States Eighth Army while stopping the UN advance north toward the Yalu River.
The Battle of the Ch'ongch'on River, also known as the Battle of the Ch'ongch'on, was a decisive battle in the Korean War that took place from November 25 to December 2, 1950, along the Ch'ongch'on River Valley in the northwestern part of North Korea. In response to the successful Chinese First Phase Campaign against the United Nations (UN) forces, General Douglas MacArthur launched the Home-by-Christmas Offensive to expel the Chinese forces from Korea and to end the war. Anticipating this reaction, the Chinese People's Volunteer Army (PVA) Commander Peng Dehuai planned a counteroffensive, dubbed the "Second Phase Campaign", against the advancing UN forces.
During the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre in Beijing, the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) played a decisive role in enforcing martial law, using force to suppress the demonstrations in the city. The killings of protestors in Beijing continue to taint the legacies of the party elders, led by Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping, and weigh on the generation of leaders whose careers advanced as their more moderate colleagues were purged or sidelined at the time. Within China, the role of the military in 1989 remains a subject of private discussion within the ranks of the party leadership and PLA.
The 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre saw a massive redeployment of People's Liberation Army (PLA) troops into and around Beijing. After the declaration of martial law, the Central Military Commission (CMC) mobilized at least 22 divisions from 13 Armies, which converged on Beijing. This force far exceeded the local garrison, with troops being sent in from across China. Altogether, roughly 300,000 troops were involved in the campaign to quell the protests. By their end, the PLA had proven that it was largely willing to enforce party decrees with lethal force. Multiple significant breaches of military discipline occurred after the imposition of martial law. Some cases involved officers or entire units being unwilling to obey directives from farther up the chain of command, others related to the misuse of military equipment, and some were responsible for casualties incurred during the night of June 3. It is unclear when, how, or even if some PLA units received orders to open fire on the protesters, and so knowing whether or not an incident amounts to insubordination is difficult. If the PLA as a whole received orders to use lethal force, CMC chairman Deng Xiaoping must have given his assent to it. CMC vice-chairman and President Yang Shangkun's orders to the Central Military Commission on the 20th of May 1989 explicitly deny troops the authority to use lethal force during martial law, even when their lives are threatened by the protesters. According to Li Xinming's report to the politburo on June 19 however, 10 PLA soldiers did end up dying, along with 13 from the People's Armed Police. For these 23 dead, they inflicted 218 deaths on the protesters, although some sources place this number in the thousands.
Li Lianxiu was a Chinese military and police commander with the rank of lieutenant general. A veteran of the Second Sino-Japanese War, the Chinese Civil War, and the Korean War, he was appointed Commander of the 38th Army of the People's Liberation Army in 1978. In 1984, he was appointed the second Commander of the People's Armed Police (PAP), a year after its founding, serving until his retirement in 1990.
Chen Shaokun was a Chinese army officer and politician who served as minister of Metallurgical Industry from 1975 to 1977. Prior to that, he was director of Political Department of Shenyang Military Region between 1969 and 1970 and deputy political commissar of Shenyang Military Region between 1969 and 1975.