| 187th Division (1949–53) 187th Infantry Division (1953–60) 187th Army Division (1960–85) 187th Infantry Division (1985-96) 187th Armed Police Mobile Division (1996-) | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1949.1 - |
| Country | People's Republic of China |
| Branch | People's Liberation Army, People's Volunteer Army, People's Armed Police |
| Type | Division |
| Role | Armed Police |
| Garrison/HQ | Yuci, Shanxi |
| Engagements | Chinese Civil War, Korean War, Vietnam War |
The 187th Division (Chinese :第187师) was created in January 1949 under the Regulation of the Redesignations of All Organizations and Units of the Army, issued by Central Military Commission on November 1, 1948, [1] basing on the 7th Brigade, 3rd Column of the Jinchaji Military Region. Its history can be traced to 2nd Detachment of Jizhong Column, formed in September 1945.
Chinese is a group of related, but in many cases not mutually intelligible, language varieties, forming the Sinitic branch of the Sino-Tibetan language family. Chinese is spoken by the Han majority and many minority ethnic groups in China. About 1.2 billion people speak some form of Chinese as their first language.
The division was part of 63rd Corps. Under the flag of 188th division it took part in several major battles in the Chinese Civil War.
The 63rd Group Army, former 63rd Corps and 63rd Army Corps, was a military formation of China's People's Liberation Army existed from 1949 to 2003.
The Chinese Civil War was a war fought between the Kuomintang (KMT)-led government of the Republic of China and the Communist Party of China (CPC). Although particular attention is paid to the four years of Chinese Communist Revolution from 1945 to 1949, the war actually started in August 1927, with the White Terror at the end of Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek's Northern Expedition, and essentially ended when major hostilities between the two sides ceased in 1950. The conflict took place in two stages: the first between 1927 and 1937, and the second from 1946 to 1950, with the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1937–1945 separating them. The war marked a major turning point in modern Chinese history, with the Communists gaining control of mainland China and establishing the People's Republic of China (PRC) in 1949, forcing the Republic of China (ROC) to retreat to Taiwan. It resulted in a lasting political and military standoff between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait, with the ROC in Taiwan and the PRC in mainland China both officially claiming to be the legitimate government of all China.
In February 1951 the division entered Korea with the Corps HQ as a part of People's Volunteer Army. During its deployment in Korea it took part in the Fifth Phase Offensive and the Battle of Cheorwon, during which the division suffered heavy casualties but halted the UN offensive. During its deployment in Korea the division allegedly inflicted 9074 casualties to confronting UN forces.
The (Chinese) People's Volunteer Army was the armed expatriate volunteer forces deployed by the People's Republic of China during the War to Resist the United States and aid North Korea. Although all units in the Chinese People's Volunteer Army were actually transferred from the People's Liberation Army under orders of Mao Zedong, the People's Volunteer Army was separately constituted in order to prevent an official war with the United States. The People's Volunteer Army entered Korea on October 19, 1950, and completely withdrew by October 1958. The nominal commander and political commissar of the PVA was Peng Dehuai before the ceasefire agreement in 1953, although both Chen Geng and Deng Hua served as acting commander and commissar after April 1952 due to Peng's illness. The initial units in the PVA included 38th, 39th, 40th, 42nd, 50th, 66th Corp totaling 250,000 men, and eventually about 3 million Chinese civilian and military personnel served in Korea by July 1953.
The Chinese Spring Offensive, also known as the Chinese Fifth Phase Offensive, was a military operation conducted by the Chinese People's Volunteer Army (PVA) during the Korean War. Mobilizing three field armies totaling 700,000 men for the operation, the Chinese command conducted their largest offensive operation since Second Phase Offensive in November and December 1950. The operation took place in the summer of 1951 and aimed at permanently driving the UN forces off the Korean peninsula.
In January 1953 393rd Tank Self-Propelled Artillery Regiment was formed and attached to the division.
In October 1953 the division returned from Korea and stationed at Xingtai, Hebei, becoming 188th Infantry Division(Chinese :步兵第188师) of the National Defense Force. [2]
Xingtai is a prefecture-level city in southern Hebei province, People's Republic of China. It has a total area of 12,486 square kilometres (4,821 sq mi) and administers 2 districts, 2 county-level cities and 15 counties. At the 2010 census, its population was 7,104,103 inhabitants whom 1,461,809 lived in the built-up area made of 2 urban districts and Xingtai and Nanhe Counties largely being conurbated now. It borders Shijiazhuang and Hengshui in the north, Handan in the south, and the provinces of Shandong and Shanxi in the east and west respectively.
Hebei is a province of China in the North China region. The modern province was established in 1911 as Zhili Province or Chihli Province. Its one-character abbreviation is "冀" (Jì), named after Ji Province, a Han dynasty province (zhou) that included what is now southern Hebei. The name Hebei literally means "north of the river", referring to its location entirely to the north of the Yellow River.
In 1960 the division was renamed as 187h Army Division(Chinese :陆军第187师). By then the division was composed of:
- 559th Infantry Regiment;
- 560th Infantry Regiment;
- 561st Infantry Regiment;
- 392nd Tank Self-Propelled Artillery Regiment;
- 567th Artillery Regiment.
In 1962 the division was designated as a "Northern" unit, Catalogue A in War-time Structure, making it a "big" division of 12457 personnel. [3] the division was shortly moved to Fujian province for an emergency alert deployment.
In December 1966, following the outbreak of the Cultural Revolution, the division moved to Beijing and stationed in Xicheng district for security mission. The division HQ and its 560th Regiment moved into Zhongnanhai. In December the division returned to its barracks.
From January 27, 1868 to March 9, 1969, Anti-Aircraft Artillery Battalion of 187th Army Division, reinforced by Anti-Aircraft Artillery Battery of 1st Tank Regiment, 1st Tank Division and attaching to 9th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Division of the Air Force, entered North Vietnam for anti-aircraft missions in Lang Son area. [4]
On September 6, 1968, 392nd Tank Self-Propelled Artillery Regiment was detached from the division and transferred to newly formed 6th Tank Division and became 22nd Tank Regiment in December 1969.
On August 24, 1969, soon after the Tielieketi incident, the division moved to Jining, Inner Mongolia for emergency alert deployment. On November 26 the division was relieved from its mission and handed its position to 69th Army Corps. [5]
The division was not affected during the December 1969 army re-designation, except for its 567th Artillery Regiment was renamed as Artillery Regiment, 187th Army Division. [6]
From January 14, 1976 to November 1982, the division maintained as a northern unit, catalogue B. [7]
From November 1982 to 1985, the division maintained as a catalogue B division.
In 1985 the division was renamed as 187th Infantry Division(Chinese :步兵第187师). From 1985 to 1996 the division maintained as a northern infantry division, catalogue B. From 1985 to 1989 most its regiments were organized as training formations:
- 559th Infantry Regiment - infantry regiment, catalogue A;
- 560th Infantry Regiment - special troops training regiment;
- 561st Infantry Regiment - infantry training regiment;
- Artillery Regiment - artillery training regiment. [8]
In 1989, 560th, 561st regiment were re-organized as infantry regiments, catalogue B. Artillery Regiment, 187th Infantry Division was reorganized as artillery regiment, infantry division catalogue B. [9]
In 1996 the division was transferred to CAPF and renamed as 187th Armed Police Mobile Division(Chinese :武警机动第187师).
The Artillery Regiment, 187th Infantry Division was re-organized and renamed as 705th Regiment, 187th Armed Police Mobile Division. All artillery battalions in infantry regiments were also re-organized as the 4th mobile battalion of the regiments. Now the division is composed of:
- 559th Regiment;
- 560th Regiment;
- 561st Regiment;
- 705th Regiment.
