In 1985, the 4th Guard Division was transferred from the Beijing Garrison to the 63rd Group Army, what was the reason behind this adjustment? As the Beijing Garrison, which is respectfully known as the "Imperial Forest Army" by netizens, its subordinate guard divisions have undergone many adjustments in history.
For the Beijing Garrison, the large-scale disarmament reform in 1985 was undoubtedly an important historical juncture. Why, then, was the 4th Guards Division transferred out of the garrison and transferred to the army group?
An old photo of a certain unit of the 63rd Group Army of the former Beijing Military Region, let us explore the background of the times behind it. In the 1985 million-dollar disarmament, the formation of a composite group army was a key step in the mechanization, regularization, and modernization of our army, marking the formal transformation of our army from mules and horses and on foot to motorized, semi-mechanized, and mechanized.
In addition, the formation of the composite group army was also aimed at solving the problem of multi-arms coordinated operations, because at that time, the infantry of the field army was relatively high, and the ability of multi-arms to coordinate operations was low, which affected the combat effectiveness.
In the early 80s of the last century, a certain unit of our army discovered during a drill that when the infantry base was large, the speed of action was slow, the firepower was insufficient, and the pressure on logistical support was great, and there was a lack of cover from artillery, tank troops, antiaircraft artillery, and other supporting arms, and it was difficult to guarantee the survival rate on the battlefield.
In order to solve this problem, the Central Military Commission has set up 24 composite group armies, each of which is composed of infantry divisions, tank divisions (brigades), artillery divisions (brigades), antiaircraft artillery brigades, and other arms of the armed forces to coordinate operations, greatly enhancing our army's combat capability.
Among them, the Beijing Military Region formed the first group army, the 38th group army was the first mechanized group army in the history of our army, and the 63rd group army was established in the following sequence:
The original 4th Guard Division of the Beijing Garrison belongs to the 63rd Group Army.
The picture shows that the 63rd Group Army incorporated the 4th Guard Division of the Beijing Garrison. This was rare at the time, and this was the characteristic of the 63rd Army.
The 4th Guards Division was launched in 1969 and had jurisdiction over the 10th, 11th, 12th, and 17th Guards Regiments, as well as the Divisional Artillery Regiment and the Divisional Tank Regiment. Among them, the 17th Guard Regiment evolved from the Independent Regiment of the Beijing Garrison.
In 1976, the 17th Guard Regiment was transferred from the 4th Guard Division and transferred to the Beijing Garrison. In addition, the 4th Guards Division was reinforced with an anti-aircraft artillery regiment. By 1978, the guard divisions of the Beijing Garrison were uniformly organized, and the 10th, 11th, and 12th guard regiments were successively activated with the new number of the 14th, 15th, and 16th guard regiments.
In 1985, during the million-dollar disarmament, according to the deployment of the ** Military Commission, the 4th Guard Division belonged to the 63rd Group Army. Subsequently, the 4th Guard Division was renumbered as the 189th Division, and the establishment of the Northern B Motorized Infantry Division was implemented, and the guard regiments under its original jurisdiction were successively renamed the 565th, 566th, and 567th Regiments, as well as the divisional artillery regiment, the divisional tank regiment, and the divisional antiaircraft artillery regiment.
In the face of the withdrawal of the 189th Division, the 4th Guard Division of the Beijing Garrison chose to be transferred to the 63rd Group Army, which was to support the formation of other units in the army. It can be seen from the sketch diagram of the reorganization of the 63rd Army that after the original 189th Division was withdrawn, the bloodline participated in the formation of the 63rd Army Tank Brigade, the Army Engineer Corps, the Army Directly Signal Regiment and other units, making a major contribution to the reorganization of the 63rd Army's Composite Group Army.
It can be said that the transfer of the 4th Guard Division is not only a support for the withdrawal of the original 189th Division, but also a powerful impetus for the reorganization of the 63rd Army.
The old photo of veterans of the 189th Division of the original 63rd Army is to illustrate that the history of the 189th Division, which was withdrawn here, has gone through a complicated history. In October 1969, the 2nd Work Area of the Engineer Corps of the Beijing Military Region was reorganized into the 186th Division, and Fang Shuyu and Xu Shizhong served as military and political chiefs respectively.
In November, the 186th Division was renamed the 189th Division. From here, we can see that the reason for the withdrawal of the 189th Division is that compared with the 187th and 188th Divisions in the 63rd Army, it has the disadvantage of having a short history and shallow qualifications.
In 1985, when our army was disarmed, "reducing the new and retaining the old" was a major principle of streamlining and reorganization. As a result, the 189th Division was originally included in the disarmament list.
Second, the 4th Guard Division is the bloodline of the 63rd Group Army, and being transferred to this army can be regarded as returning to the "mother's home"; The predecessor of the 4th Guard Division was the 189th Division of the 63rd Army, which was formed in February 1949, and the first military and political commanders were Du Yuhua and Cai Changyuan, and the 565th, 566th, and 567th regiments were under the jurisdiction of the 565th, 566th, and 567th regiments.
The 189th Division and its predecessor units fought from the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression to the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea. In particular, during the Fifth Campaign to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, the 189th Division, as the first echelon of the army, resisted the enemy's superior forces in the Cheorwon Blockade Battle, and attacked in turn for three days and three nights, thus winning favorable fighters for the final victory.
Whether from the perspective of military history inheritance or combat effectiveness, the transfer of the 4th Guard Division to the 63rd Group Army is the most ideal choice. The reason why the 4th Guard Division of the Beijing Garrison was transferred to the 63rd Group Army was mainly to conform to the general trend of the times of streamlining and reorganization.
The 189th Division went through changes and was finally withdrawn in 2003, withdrawing from the historical stage of our army and becoming a part of history.