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Lanzhou Military Region

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Lanzhou Military Region
Lanzhou Military Region (highlighted)
Simplified ChineseLan Châu quân khu
Traditional ChineseLan Châu quân khu
ThegarrisoninLinxia City,Gansu

TheLanzhou Military Regionwas one ofsevenmilitary regionsin thePeople's Republic of China.It directed allPeople's Liberation ArmyandPeople's Armed Policeforces inXin gian g,Qinghai,Gansu,Ningxia,Shaanxi,andNgari Prefecturein northwestTibet.It was headquartered inLanzhouinGansu Province.It is bordered to the south by theChengdu Military Region,and to the north byMongolia,theAltai Republic,which is a political subdivision of theRussian Federation,andKazakhstan.This region is now part of theWestern Theater Commanddue to the military reforms of 2015.

In 2006 theInternational Institute for Strategic Studiesattributed the Region with an estimated 220,000 personnel, a single armoured division, two motorised infantry divisions, one artillery division, one armoured, two motorised infantry, one artillery, one anti-aircraft brigades plus a single anti-tank regiment.[1]

The Region included two Group Armies (the 21st atBaojiand the 47th atLintong) plus two Armed Police Units (the 7th and 63rd). The known smaller formations included the12th Armoured Brigade('84701 Unit') at Jiuquan, Gansu. The region also included the Xin gian g Military District, unusual among PRC military districts in that it contains a significant number of combat troops (the 4th Infantry Division, 6th Infantry Division, 8th Infantry Division, and, apparently, the11th Highland Motorised Infantry Divisionreportedly either atUrumqior in theKarakoramMountains (Blasko 2000).[2]

The first, longest-serving and most influential Commander of the Region was Lieutenant GeneralZhang Dazhi,who held the post from 1955 to 1969, and then went on to become Central Commander of the PLAArtilleryForces from 1969 to 1977.[3]In October 2012Liu Yuejunwas named commander of the Lanzhou Military Region.[4]Yuejun became commander of the newEastern Theater Commandon February 1, 2016. From 2014Liu Leiwas the Lanzhou MR Political Commissar.[5]

Organizations affiliated with the Lanzhou Military Region often used the nickname "combat" (Chinese:Chiến đấu;pinyin:zhàndòu;lit.'battle fight'), including the Combat Performance Troupe (Chinese:Chiến đấu đoàn văn công), but not the People's Army Newspaper (Chinese:Nhân dân quân đội báo), which was the sole exception among all five major military region newspapers in this regard.

Tentative order of battle

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In December 1949, when the Xin gian g (Provincial) Military Region was established, it directed three 'third-class' military regions (sanji junqu); Dihua (Urumchi), where the6th Corpswas based, Yining, the base for the5th Corps,andKashgar,the location of the2nd Corps.[6]The2nd Cavalry Division(III Formation) was stationed in the region between October 1962 and 1969.

On November 6, 1951, Headquarters, 6th Corps was converted to Air Force Command, Northwestern Military Region. In June 1952 the corps was formally disbanded. The 16th Division was reorganized as the5th Xin gian g Agriculture Construction Divisionand the 17th Division as the6th Xin gian g Agriculture Construction Division.

Headquarters is located atLanzhou

Scramble.nl says the 3rd Army Aviation Brigade (Wujiaqu) is part of the 47th Group Army.[10]

12th Artillery Division was previously with 47th Group Army.

Lanzhou Military Region Air Force

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There are apparently command posts atXi'anandUrumqi.In December 1964, the 9th Air Corps (kong 9 jun) was established inWulumuqi[Ürümqi], but changed to the Xin gian g MRAF Command Post (junqu kongjun zhihuisuo) in November 1978. On 16 April 1979, it again changed its name to the Wulumuqi MRAF Command Post (junqu kongjun zhihuisuo).[11]Other divisions associated with the 9th Air Corps include the37th Fighter Division.The division was established in August 1966,[12]and stationed at Ürümqi, Xin gian g.

Main source for this listing is Scramble.nl/cn.htm, accessed May 2012.

  • 6th Fighter Division
    • 16th Air Regiment (Yinchuan) (Su-27)
    • 18th Air Regiment (Lintao) (J-7)
    • Air Regiment (Jiuquan) (J-7, JJ-7A) - the Lanzhou MR Training Base was formed from 46th Div. In April 2012 this regiment was re-subordinated to 6th Division.
  • 36th Bomber Division
  • Urumqi Base
    • 111th Brigade (Korla-Xinhiang) (J-11s) - 111th Regiment, 37th Fighter Division became a brigade in 2012, according to Scramble.nl/cn.htm.
    • Brigade (Urumqi-South) (JH-7) - ex 110th Air Regiment, 37th Division.
    • Brigade (Malan/Uxxaktal) (JJ-7A) - until 1988 the regiment operated as 16th Division based at Ertaizi, after which it was transformed intoShenyang Military RegionTraining Base. JJ-7A aircraft were declared operational in July 2011. April 2012 the regiment changed into a brigade and got subordinated to Urumqi Base and moved to Malan.
    • Brigade (Changji) (J-8F,JJ-7A) - the regiment used J5 and later J6 until 2002 when J8Hs arrived. These were replaced by J8F in 2006. In 2008 the regiment moved from Kuerla, north of the city. In 2012 37th Div/109th Reg turned into a brigade.
  • 5th Flying Academy
    • 1st Regiment, 5th Flying Academy (Hami)
    • 2nd Regiment, 5th Flying Academy (Zhangye SE)
    • 3rd Regiment, 5th Flying Academy (Wuwei)
  • Independent (Aerial Survey) Regiment (Hanzhong-Chenggu) (Y-8,An-30,Y-12)

The 6th Fighter Division was formed in November 1950 atAnshan.It originally consisted of the 16th, 17th, and 18th Regiments.[13] China-Military.org indicates that the 6th Division gained the 139th Regiment from the deactivated 47th Division sometime in 1998. The 106th Air Regiment of the 36th Bomber Division disbanded in 2004.

References

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Citations

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  1. ^International Institute for Strategic Studies,The Military Balance 2006
  2. ^"Regular Army Order of Battle - SinoDefence".Archived fromthe originalon 2009-10-14.Retrieved2009-10-16.
  3. ^Zhang Dazhi Biography,Jia County Official Website
  4. ^Lưu Việt quân thăng nhiệm Lan Châu quân khu tư lệnh viên từng tham gia đối càng tác chiến.sohu.Retrieved2014-07-13.
  5. ^"China Data Supplement"(PDF).giga-hamburg.de.May 2008. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 19 July 2011.Retrieved31 May2024.
  6. ^Starr, S. Frederick (2015-03-04).Xin gian g: China's Muslim Borderland.Routledge. p. 130.ISBN9781317451372.
  7. ^abBlasko, Dennis J. (2013).The Chinese Army Today: Tradition and Transformation for the 21st Century(2nd ed.). Routledge. p. 93.
  8. ^Blasko, Dennis J. (2013).The Chinese Army Today: Tradition and Transformation for the 21st Century(2nd ed.). Routledge.
  9. ^Blasko, Dennis J. (2006).The Chinese Army Today: Tradition and Transformation for the 21st Century.London & New York: Routledge.ISBN0-415-77003-3.
  10. ^"Scramble Dutch Aviation Society".scramble.nl.Retrieved31 May2024.
  11. ^People's Liberation Army Air Force, Defense Intelligence Agency, DIC-1300-445-91, May 1991.
  12. ^Ken Allen, "PLA Air Force Organization," inThe People's Liberation Army as Organization: Reference Volume v1.0,James C. Mulvenon and Andrew N. D. Yang eds. (Santa Monico: RAND; 2002), Table 9.7, p451.
  13. ^Appendix G, "Origins of PLAAF MRAFs, Air Corps, Command Posts, Bases, Air Divisions, and Independent Regiments," Ken Allen,Chapter 9, "PLA Air Force Organization"Archived2007-09-29 at theWayback Machine,The PLA as Organization, ed. James C. Mulvenon and Andrew N.D. Yang (Santa Monica, CA: RAND, 2002)

Sources

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  • Chapter 8, PLA Ground Forces, by Dennis J Blasko, inThe People's Liberation Army as Organisation,RAND, CF182, 2002.

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