Active 1949 - present Current
commander Xu Linping | Garrison/HQ Zhangjiakou, Hebei | |
The 65th Group Army is a military formation of China's People's Liberation Army and one of three active group armies belonging to the Beijing Military Region. It is based in Zhangjiakou, Hebei and is composed of the 193rd Division, an artillery division, an armored brigade, two motorized infantry brigades, and an anti-aircraft artillery brigade. Its unit ID number is 66455.
History
The 65th Group Army traces its lineage to its original incarnation, the 5th Column of the North China Field Army established sometime around 1946. It was initially composed of three brigades, the 13th, 14th, and 15th. In 1949 the unit was reorganized and redesignated as the 65th Army under the command of Hsiao Ying-t'ang. In 1949 the 65th Army was composed of the 193rd, 194th and 195th Divisions.
The 65th Army was deployed to Korea in 1951. Following the Korean War the 65th Army was redeployed to Hebei in 1953.
In May 1989, the 65th Army’s 193rd and 194th Infantry Divisions along with the 3rd Reserved Division were deployed to Beijing to enforce martial law and suppress the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989.
In 2002, the formation's ID number was changed from 50156 to 66455.
In 2013 Blasko listed the formations of the army as:
It appears that the 193rd Division has now become the 193rd Mechanized Infantry Brigade, and the 194th Motorized Infantry Brigade has disbanded.