Group armies () or army groups or combined corps, are

corps Corps (; plural ''corps'' ; from French , from the Latin "body") is a term used for several different kinds of organization. A military innovation by Napoleon I, the formation was formally introduced March 1, 1800, when Napoleon ordered Gener ...

-level military formations of the

People's Liberation Army Ground Force The People's Liberation Army Ground Force (PLAGF), also referred to as the PLA Army, is the army, land-based service branch of the People's Liberation Army (PLA), and also its largest and oldest branch. The PLAGF can trace its lineage from 192 ...

of China. Despite what the name suggests, current Group Armies are not army-level formations, but corps-sized formations commanding 12 to 14 brigades, roughly equivalent to United States Army Corps. Some may use or translate 'Group Army' loosely to mean the same as

Army Group An army group is a military organization consisting of several field army, field armies, which is self-sufficient for indefinite periods. It is usually responsible for a particular geographic area. An army group is the largest field organizatio ...

through various time periods of history, depending on whether the

military formation Military organization ( AE) or military organisation ( BE) is the structuring of the armed forces of a state so as to offer such military capability as a national defense policy may require. Formal military organization tends to use hierarc ...

is under Nationalist China (ROC) or Communist China (PRC). Chinese Army Group or Group Army used to be equivalent to

field army A field army (also known as numbered army or simply army) is a military formation in many armed forces, composed of two or more corps. It may be subordinate to an army group. Air army, Air armies are the equivalent formations in air forces, and ...

army group An army group is a military organization consisting of several field army, field armies, which is self-sufficient for indefinite periods. It is usually responsible for a particular geographic area. An army group is the largest field organizatio ...

in other militaries due to translation issues and ambiguity of the

Chinese language Chinese ( or ) is a group of languages spoken natively by the ethnic Han Chinese majority and List of ethnic groups in China, many minority ethnic groups in China, as well as by various communities of the Chinese diaspora. Approximately 1.39& ...

. This is because while" " in Chinese means "

" when classifying by size or number of troops, it also means (and more frequently so) in common and less precise military usage – any significant grouping of combat troops, such as

army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

Army group An army group is a military organization consisting of several field army, field armies, which is self-sufficient for indefinite periods. It is usually responsible for a particular geographic area. An army group is the largest field organizatio ...

, or even entire

military branch Military branch (also service branch or armed service) is according to common standard a subdivision of the national armed forces of a sovereign nation or state. Types of branches Unified armed forces The Canadian Armed Forces is the unifie ...

National Revolutionary Army

By the end of the

Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War was fought between the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China and the Empire of Japan between 1937 and 1945, following a period of war localized to Manchuria that started in 1931. It is considered part ...

, the

National Revolutionary Army The National Revolutionary Army (NRA; zh, labels=no, t=國民革命軍) served as the military arm of the Kuomintang, Chinese Nationalist Party (Kuomintang, or KMT) from 1924 until 1947. From 1928, it functioned as the regular army, de facto ...

had organized 40 army groups. These were roughly equivalent to a field army in other militaries.

People's Liberation Army

Armies of the PLA 1948–1985

From November 1948, the

People's Liberation Army The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the military of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the People's Republic of China (PRC). It consists of four Military branch, services—People's Liberation Army Ground Force, Ground Force, People's ...

regularised the existing large number of armies and divisions into some sixty-seven armies of three divisions each. While some formations, such as the 1st Army, survived for over fifty years, a number were quickly amalgamated and disestablished in the early 1950s. It appears that over 37% (26 of 70) of the seventy new armies may have been disestablished from 1949 to 1953. In 1949, the 8th and 34th Armies were disbanded, in 1950, the 30th and 35th Armies were disbanded in January, the 51st Army on September 24, 1950, and the 29th, 32nd, and 33rd in November 1950. The 45th and 48th Armies appear to have been broken up in 1951–52; the 48th Army had the 142nd Division become the 11th Public Security Division and the 144th Division transferred to the 21st Army/Corps. The 52nd Army was broken up on September 2, 1951. In 1952, the 3rd, 4th, 9th, 10th, 17th, 18th, 19th, 25th (July 1952), 36th, 37th, 43rd, 44th, and 49th Armies were disbanded. The 36th and 37th Armies appear to have both been broken up in February 1952, and both may have been reorganised for engineering tasks. The 44th Army was broken up in October 1952 with headquarters elements possibly transferred to the Navy, the 131st Division to the Navy Qingdao Base and the 132nd Division to the 43rd Army. The 49th Army was broken up in January. It appears that the 2nd and 6th Corps were disbanded in 1953. The 5th Army/Corps was reorganised into a military region in October 1954. After the Landing Operation on Hainan Island, the 43rd Army merged with the Hainan Military Region on July 5, 1952. In September 1968 the 43rd Army was reformed, including the 127th Division, the 128th Division, the 220th Division (renamed the 129th Division on September 19, 1969), to defend Guangxi Guilin. On October 17, 1969, it moved to Henan Luoyang, changed to Wuhan Military Region leadership (129th Division left Guiyang "support left", in January 1973 to build). Zhang Wannian became corps commander in 1981. In October 1985, the 43rd Army was disbanded again. The 127th Division transferred to the 54th Army, and the 128th Division to the 20th Army. The 129th Division was disbanded. In March 1967, the

Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...

identified some 35 field corps: * Shenyang Military Region: 16th, 23rd, 38th, 39th, 40th, 46th, 50th, 64th. *

Beijing Military Region The Beijing Military Region was one of seven military regions for the Chinese People's Liberation Army. From the mid-1980s to 2017, it had administration of all military affairs within Beijing city, Tianjin city, Hebei province, Shanxi province, ...

: 21st, 24th, 63rd, 65th, 66th Army, 69th. * Jinan Military Region: 26th, 67th, 68th Army. *

Nanjing Military Region The Nanjing Military Region () was one of the former seven military command regions for the Chinese People's Liberation Army. Its jurisdiction covered all military and armed police located in Anhui, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Fujian, and Shangh ...

: 12th, 20th, 22nd, 27th Army, 60th Army. * Fuzhou Military Region: 28th Army, 31st Army. * Guangzhou Military Region: 41st, 42nd, 43rd, 47th, 55th. * Wuhan Military Region:

1st First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

, 10th Airborne (part of the

PLAAF The People's Liberation Army Air Force, also referred to as the Chinese Air Force () or the People's Air Force (), is the primary aerial warfare service of the People's Liberation Army. The PLAAF controls most of the PLA's air assets, includi ...

), 15th. * Kunming Military Region: 13th Army, 14th Army. * Chengdu Military Region: 54th Army. *Inner Mongolia, Lanzhou, Tibet, and Xinjiang Military Regions had no armies located within them.

PLAGF Group Armies (1985–2016)

Potential disbanded field armies may have included: *Shenyang Military Region, 68th Corps. In 1985 the 68th Corps was reorganised as the Chifeng Garrison, in Inner Mongolia but part of the Shenyang MD. *Beijing Military Region: 66th Army (the Army and the Tianjin Garrison combined), 69 Jun; *Lanzhou Military Region: 19 Jun * Wuhan Military Region: 43rd Army (People's Republic of China) – disbanded, see above; *

: 60th Army (People's Republic of China) * Fuzhou Military Region: 29th Army; * Guangzhou Military Region: the 55th Army; * Chengdu Military Region: 50th Army; * Kunming Military Region: Jun 11. 24 Army From 1997 to 2000, force reductions resulted in the disbandment of three group armies: the 28th (BMR), 64th (Dalian, Liaoning, SMR), and the 67th Group Army at

Zibo Zibo () is a prefecture-level city in central Shandong province of China, province, China. It borders the provincial capital Jinan to the west, Tai'an to the southwest, Linyi to the south, Weifang to the east, Dongying to the northeast, and Bi ...

Shandong Shandong is a coastal Provinces of China, province in East China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River. It has served as a pivotal cultural ...

, in the Jinan Military Region. In September 2003, a further series of reductions were announced, and from 2003 to 2006 the 24th Group Army at Chengde, Hebei, the 63rd Army at Taiyuan, Shaanxi (both BMR), and the 23rd Group Army at Harbin in the Shenyang Military Region were eliminated. Other PRC Chinese language sources typically describe each army group as having 2 or 3 divisions (mainly infantry but some are armour, motorized or artillery divisions) and further augmented by several

brigade A brigade is a major tactical military unit, military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute ...

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, military service, service, or administrative corps, specialisation. In Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of l ...

sized 'combat arms'/ 'support-arms' formations e.g. artillery, armour, air defence artillery, motorized (infantry), aviation/helicopter regiment etc.

PLA Group Armies and their headquarters up until 2016

* 1st Group Army (Zhejiang, Nanjing Military Region) * 12th Group Army (Jiangsu,

) * 13th Group Army (Chongqing, Chengdu Military Region) *

14th Group Army The 14th Army was an army level formation of the People's Liberation Army. 14th Corps 14th Corps () was activated on February 14, 1949 basing on 4th Column of Zhongyuan Field Army and defecting Republic of China Army 110th Division. The corps com ...

(Kunming, Chengdu Military Region) * 16th Group Army (Jilin, Shenyang Military Region) * 20th Group Army (Henan, Jinan Military Region) * 21st Group Army (Shaaxi, Lanzhou Military Region) * 26th Group Army (Weifang, Shandong, Jinan Military Region) * 27th Group Army (Hebei,

) * 31st Group Army (Fujian, Nanjing Military Region) * 38th Group Army (Baoding, Beijing Military Region) * 39th Group Army (Liaoning, Shenyang Military Region) * 40th Group Army (Jinzhou, Liaoning, Shenyang Military Region) * 41st Group Army (Guangxi, Guangzhou Military Region) * 42nd Group Army (Guangdong, Guangzhou Military Region) * 47th Group Army (Shaanxi, Lanzhou Military Region) * 54th Group Army (Henan, Jinan Military Region) * 65th Group Army (Hebei, Beijing Military Region)

PLAGF Group Armies (2016–present)

The reform in 2015 was a major restructuring of the

(PLA), which flattened the command structure and allowed the

Chinese Communist Party The Communist Party of China (CPC), also translated into English as Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Founded in 1921, the CCP emerged victorious in the ...

(CCP) to have more control over the military, with the aim of strengthening the combat capability of the PLA. Legend: * Red pog

Northern Theater Command The Northern Theater Command () is one of the five Theater command (China), theater commands of the People's Liberation Army, founded on 1 February 2016. Its predecessor is the Shenyang Military Region, Jinan Military Region and Beijing Militar ...

, TC headquarters at

Shenyang Shenyang,; ; Mandarin pronunciation: ; formerly known as Fengtian formerly known by its Manchu language, Manchu name Mukden, is a sub-provincial city in China and the list of capitals in China#Province capitals, provincial capital of Liaonin ...

Liaoning ) , image_skyline = , image_alt = , image_caption = Clockwise: Mukden Palace in Shenyang, Xinghai Square in Dalian, Dalian coast, Yalu River at Dandong , image_map = Liaoning in China (+all claims hatched).svg , ...

; **TC Ground Force Headquarters

Jinan Jinan is the capital of the province of Shandong in East China. With a population of 9.2 million, it is one of the largest cities in Shandong in terms of population. The area of present-day Jinan has played an important role in the history of ...

. *** 78th Group Army (

Harbin Harbin, ; zh, , s=哈尔滨, t=哈爾濱, p=Hā'ěrbīn; IPA: . is the capital of Heilongjiang, China. It is the largest city of Heilongjiang, as well as being the city with the second-largest urban area, urban population (after Shenyang, Lia ...

Heilongjiang Heilongjiang is a province in northeast China. It is the northernmost and easternmost province of the country and contains China's northernmost point (in Mohe City along the Amur) and easternmost point (at the confluence of the Amur and Us ...

, formerly 16th Group Army); *** 79th Group Army (

, formerly 39th Group Army); *** 80th Group Army (

Weifang Weifang ( zh, s=潍坊, t=濰坊, p=Wéifāng) is a prefecture-level city in central Shandong province, People's Republic of China. The city borders Dongying to the northwest, Zibo to the west, Linyi to the southwest, Rizhao to the south, Qingdao ...

, formerly 26th Group Army). * Green pog

Eastern Theater Command The Eastern Theater Command () is one of the five theater commands of the People's Liberation Army (PLA), founded 1 February 2016. It replaced the Nanjing Military Region. The command is headquartered in Nanjing. Its jurisdiction includes Jia ...

, TC headquarters at

Nanjing Nanjing or Nanking is the capital of Jiangsu, a province in East China. The city, which is located in the southwestern corner of the province, has 11 districts, an administrative area of , and a population of 9,423,400. Situated in the Yang ...

Jiangsu Jiangsu is a coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province in East China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its capital in Nanjing. Jiangsu is the List of Chinese administra ...

; **TC Ground Force Headquarters

Fuzhou Fuzhou is the capital of Fujian, China. The city lies between the Min River (Fujian), Min River estuary to the south and the city of Ningde to the north. Together, Fuzhou and Ningde make up the Eastern Min, Mindong linguistic and cultural regi ...

Fujian Fujian is a provinces of China, province in East China, southeastern China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capital is Fuzhou and its largest prefe ...

. *** 71st Group Army (

Xuzhou Xuzhou ( zh, s=徐州), also known as Pengcheng () in ancient times, is a major city in northwestern Jiangsu province, China. The city, with a recorded population of 9,083,790 at the 2020 Chinese census, 2020 census (3,135,660 of which lived in ...

, formerly 12th Group Army); ***

72nd Group Army The 72nd Group Army () is a Chinese People's Liberation Army Ground Force (PLAGF) formation subordinated to the Eastern Theater Command. Prior to April 2017, it was called 1st Group Army ( Unit 83011 and 73011) with its headquarters in Huzhou ...

(

Huzhou Huzhou (, ; Huzhou dialect: Romanization of Wu Chinese, ''ghou² cieu¹'') is a prefecture-level city in northern Zhejiang province (Hangzhou–Jiaxing–Huzhou Plain, China). Lying south of the Lake Tai, it borders Jiaxing to the east, Hangzho ...

Zhejiang ) , translit_lang1_type2 = , translit_lang1_info2 = ( Hangzhounese) ( Ningbonese) (Wenzhounese) , image_skyline = 玉甑峰全貌 - panoramio.jpg , image_caption = View of the Yandang Mountains , image_map = Zhejiang i ...

, formerly 1st Group Army); *** 73rd Group Army (

Xiamen Xiamen,), also known as Amoy ( ; from the Zhangzhou Hokkien pronunciation, zh, c=, s=, t=, p=, poj=Ē͘-mûi, historically romanized as Amoy, is a sub-provincial city in southeastern Fujian, People's Republic of China, beside the Taiwan Stra ...

, formerly 31st Group Army). * Yellow pog

Western Theater Command, TC headquarters at

Chengdu Chengdu; Sichuanese dialects, Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: ; Chinese postal romanization, previously Romanization of Chinese, romanized as Chengtu. is the capital city of the Chinese province of Sichuan. With a ...

Sichuan Sichuan is a province in Southwestern China, occupying the Sichuan Basin and Tibetan Plateau—between the Jinsha River to the west, the Daba Mountains to the north, and the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau to the south. Its capital city is Cheng ...

; **TC Ground Force Headquarters

Lanzhou Lanzhou is the capital and largest city of Gansu province in northwestern China. Located on the banks of the Yellow River, it is a key regional transportation hub, connecting areas further west by rail to the eastern half of the country. His ...

Gansu Gansu is a provinces of China, province in Northwestern China. Its capital and largest city is Lanzhou, in the southeastern part of the province. The seventh-largest administrative district by area at , Gansu lies between the Tibetan Plateau, Ti ...

. *** 76th Group Army (

Xining Xining is the Capital (political), capital and most populous city of Qinghai province in western China and the largest city on the Tibetan Plateau. As of the 2020 census, it had 2,467,965 inhabitants (2,208,708 as of 2010), of whom 1,954,795 l ...

Qinghai Qinghai is an inland Provinces of China, province in Northwestern China. It is the largest provinces of China, province of China (excluding autonomous regions) by area and has the third smallest population. Its capital and largest city is Xin ...

, formerly 21st Group Army); *** 77th Group Army (

Chongqing ChongqingPostal Romanization, Previously romanized as Chungking ();. is a direct-administered municipality in Southwestern China. Chongqing is one of the four direct-administered municipalities under the State Council of the People's Republi ...

, formerly 13th Group Army). * Blue pog

Southern Theater Command The Southern Theater Command () is one of the Theater commands of the People's Liberation Army, five theater commands of the People's Liberation Army, founded on 1 February 2016. Its predecessor was the Guangzhou Military Region. Its jurisdicti ...

, TC headquarters at

Guangzhou Guangzhou, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Canton or Kwangchow, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guangdong Provinces of China, province in South China, southern China. Located on the Pearl River about nor ...

Guangdong ) means "wide" or "vast", and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in AD 226. The name "''Guang''" ultimately came from Guangxin ( zh, labels=no, first=t, t= , s=广信), an outpost established in Han dynasty ...

; **TC Ground Force Headquarters

Nanning Nanning; is the capital of the Guangxi, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in South China, southern China. It is known as the "Green City (绿城) " because of its abundance of lush subtropical foliage. Located in the South of Guangxi, Nanning ...

Guangxi Guangxi,; officially the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People's Republic of China, located in South China and bordering Vietnam (Hà Giang Province, Hà Giang, Cao Bằn ...

. *** 74th Group Army (

Huizhou Huizhou ( zh, c= ) is a city in east-central Guangdong Province, China, forty-three miles north of Hong Kong. Huizhou borders the provincial capital of Guangzhou to the west, Shenzhen and Dongguan to the southwest, Shaoguan to the north, Hey ...

, Guangdong, formerly 42nd Group Army); *** 75th Group Army (

Kunming Kunming is the capital and largest city of the province of Yunnan in China. The political, economic, communications and cultural centre of the province, Kunming is also the seat of the provincial government. During World War II, Kunming was a Ch ...

Yunnan Yunnan; is an inland Provinces of China, province in Southwestern China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 47.2 million (as of 2020). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the Chinese provinces ...

, formerly 41st Group Army). * Black pog

Central Theater Command, TC headquarters at

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

. **TC Ground Force Headquarters

Shijiazhuang Shijiazhuang; Mandarin: ; formerly known as Shimen and romanized as Shihkiachwang is the capital and most populous city of China's Hebei Province. A prefecture-level city southwest of Beijing, it administers eight districts, three county-le ...

Hebei Hebei is a Provinces of China, province in North China. It is China's List of Chinese administrative divisions by population, sixth-most populous province, with a population of over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. It bor ...

. *** 81st Group Army (Shijiazhuang, Hebei, formerly 65th Group Army) ***

82nd Group Army The 82nd Group Army (), Unit 31677, formerly the 38th Group Army, is a military formation of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Ground Force (PLAGF). The 82nd Group Army is one of thirteen total group armies of the PLAGF, the largest echelon of ...

(

Baoding Baoding is a prefecture-level city in central Hebei province, approximately southwest of Beijing. As of the 2020 census, Baoding City had 11,544,036 inhabitants, of which 2,549,787 lived in the metropolitan area made of 4 out of 5 urban distri ...

, formerly 38th Group Army); *** 83rd Group Army (

Xinxiang Xinxiang ( zh, s= , t= , p=Xīnxiāng ; Postal romanization, postal: Sinsiang) is a prefecture-level city in northern Henan provinces of China, province, China. It borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to its southwest, Kaifeng to its sou ...

Henan Henan; alternatively Honan is a province in Central China. Henan is home to many heritage sites, including Yinxu, the ruins of the final capital of the Shang dynasty () and the Shaolin Temple. Four of the historical capitals of China, Lu ...

, formerly 54th Group Army). PLA Army groups listed below have been disbanded: * 14th Group Army * 20th Group Army * 27th Group Army * 40th Group Army * 47th Group Army

Structure

's group armies (combined corps) are divided into Combined Arms Brigades (CA-BDE) and other support elements. Typically, a group army consists of: * Group army headquarters * Fire support/artillery brigade * Air defense brigade * Army aviation brigade * Special operation brigade * Combat support and engineering brigade * Service support and sustainment brigade * Six maneuver combined arms brigades (CA-BDEs), including a mix of: ** Medium combined arms brigade ** Light combined arms brigade ** Amphibious combined arms brigade ** Mountain combined arms brigade ** Air assault Brigade ** Heavy combined arms brigade, and each CA-BDE typically includes: *** Brigade headquarters *** Fire support/artillery battalion *** Air-defense battalion *** Reconnaissance battalion *** Combat support and engineering battalion *** Service support and sustainment battalion *** Four combined arms battalions (CAB), and each CAB includes: **** Battalion headquarters **** Two tank companies **** Two mechanized infantry companies **** Fire support/artillery company **** Combat/service/sustainment support company

Notes

References

Citations

Sources

* xvii, 228 pp. Paperback; Hardcover . {{Corps and Armies of the People's Liberation Army Army units and formations of China Units and formations of the National Revolutionary Army People's Liberation Army Ground Force