In the history of the PLA, there were 250 infantry divisions, many of which were never used. And behind each number, there is a heavy honor and history.
As one of them, the 41st Division of the 123rd Group Army of the former Guangzhou Military Region is no exception. The 123rd Division is a heroic unit with outstanding achievements and a long history.
In the 1985 million-dollar disarmament, the division carried out the establishment of the Southern Motorized Infantry Division. So, what glorious achievements has such a heroic and combative army made in history?
Let's take a closer look at all these stories dating back to the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japan.
In 1945, on the occasion of the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the ** Military Commission formed the 5th Division of the Shandong Military Region on the basis of the original regiment of the Jiaodong Military Region and the independent 1st regiment of the Eastern Naval Division.
In November, the 5th Division overcame difficulties and obstacles, advanced into the northeast, and was ordered to be organized into the 3rd Column of the Northeast People's Self-Defense Army, and later divided into the 4th and 5th Brigades of the 3rd Column.
In February 1946, the 4th and 5th Brigades were merged again and ordered to be reorganized into the 12th Brigade of the 4th Column of the Northeast Democratic Alliance Army. In July, the brigade was renumbered to the 4th Division of the 12th Column.
In November 1948, the 12th Division of the 4th Column of Dongye was renamed the 123rd Division of the 41st Army, with the first regiment under its jurisdiction at that time, and the military and political chiefs were Jiang Xieyuan and Zhang Xiuchuan.
In the War of Liberation, the 123rd Division bravely participated in the defense of Benxi, Anhai, Xinkailing, Sibao Linjiang, Northeast (summer, autumn, winter) offensive, Liaoshen, Pingjin, Hengbao, Guangxi and other battles, and made great achievements.
In particular, in the Liaoshen Campaign, the 12th Division was brave and tenacious, and with a firm will to fight, it successfully resisted the repeated attacks of the enemy's superior forces.
The artwork depicting the Battle of Tower Hill depicts this heroic battle in detail. The enemy used all kinds of means to bombard our positions indiscriminately, but none of the Tiger Ben Athletes of our 12th Division flinched, and went all out to fulfill the strategic mission entrusted by the Noji, creating a favorable fighter plane for the complete victory of the Jinzhou and even Liaoshen Campaign.
After the war, in order to commend the outstanding combat exploits of the 12th Division, the column specially awarded the 34th and 36th regiments the honorary titles of "Tashan Heroic Regiment" and "Baitaishan Heroic Regiment", which was an important moment in the history of the division.
After that, the 123rd Division guarded South China with the army and failed to participate in the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, which undoubtedly became a regret in the history of the division. In April 1953, according to the needs of multi-arm coordinated operations, the 123rd Division added the 503rd Division Artillery Regiment.
After the reorganization of the whole army in 1969, the number of the 503rd Artillery Regiment of the Division was adjusted to the Artillery Regiment of the 123rd Division. In the seventies, with the completion of the Vietnam Unification War, the situation on the Sino-Vietnamese border became no longer calm.
Vietnam, with the support of the Soviet Union, frequently created friction and conflict. At the end of 1978, the Military Commission officially decided to launch a self-defense counterattack.
In February 1979, the 123rd Division participated in the self-defense counterattack against Vietnam. In this battle, the 123rd Division played the national prestige and military prestige in the battles of interspersed with Koutun, attacking He'an, bloody battles of Liangling, and Gaoping, fully embodying the responsibility and exemplary role of the old main force, with a total of 1,496 enemies annihilated, and heroic units and individuals represented by the "Interspersed Hero Company" (6th Company of the 367th Regiment), "Combat Hero" Liu Yong (platoon commander of the 4th Company of the 368th Regiment), and Tang Lizhong (the soldier of the 368th Regiment Special Service Company) emerged.
In 1985, the 41st Army was reorganized as a composite group army, and the 123rd Division was retained as the bloodline representative of the army, and the Southern Motorized Rifle Division was established, under the jurisdiction of the 367th, 368th, and 369th regiments, the divisional artillery regiment, and the divisional antiaircraft artillery regiment.
In the 90s, in order to win a local war with high technology and high intensity, the Central Military Commission attached great importance to the building of rapid reaction forces.
Against this background, the 123rd Division was identified as an all-army emergency mobile combat unit.
In the summer of 1998, the 123rd Division was ordered to participate in flood fighting and rescue in the Yangtze River Basin. After the Flood Demon retreated, the 123rd Division carried out structural adjustment and formed an armored regiment, which was formed on the basis of the 368th Regiment of the division and the infantry battalion and tank battalion of the 336th Regiment of the 112th Division of the 38th Group Army of the Beijing Military Region, which traveled thousands of miles south.
In terms of blood inheritance, the 123rd Division Armored Regiment also has the bloodline of the "Long Live Army". Further afar, the 112th and 123rd Divisions both have the four field genes, which can be regarded as a strong combination.
From ancient times to the present, the 123rd Division has not only played the national prestige and military prestige, but also inherited the fine traditions of our army, whether it is in the face of the Vietnamese self-defense counterattack, or the Yangtze River basin flood fighting and rescue, the 123rd Division has always charged ahead, and has always practiced the mission and responsibility of our army.
The Inheritance of the Battle Flag of the Tashan Heroic Regiment: The 123rd Division of the Guangzhou Military Region in the new century was reorganized into a mechanized infantry division and became a banner.
In 2017, the division carried out the reform of "division to brigade", and since then, the two strong brigades of "Tashan Brigade" and "Baitaishan Hero Regiment" have been born.
In the military parade for the 70th anniversary of the National Day in 2019, these two battle flags were reviewed as honorary representatives of the Army of the Southern Theater and became a continuation of the glorious history of the old 123rd Division.