21st Division (People's Republic of China)

The 21st Division (simplified Chinese: 第21师; traditional Chinese: 第21師; pinyin: dì-èrshíyī shī) was a short-lived division of the Chinese People's Liberation Army which was in service both during and after the Chinese Civil War.[1] The division was created in June 1949 by the Regulation of the Re-Designations of All Organizations and Units of the Army, issued by Central Military Commission on November 1, 1948,[2] being formed from the People's Liberation Army 5th Independent Brigade. The division's history can be traced to 2nd Independent Brigade of the Jinzhong Military District, formed in October 1948.[2]

21st Division (1949–50)
The "Trailbreakers" of the Tianshui-Lanzhou Railway in China, a group that the 21st Division would be part of from the group's creation until the division's dissolution in October 1950
Active1949 - 1950
Country China
Allegiance Communist Party of China
Branch People's Liberation Army
TypeDivision
RoleInfantry
Part of7th Army
EngagementsChinese Civil War
Commanders
BrigadierFan Zhongxiang
Political CommissarLi Jianliang
Notable
commanders
  • Li Yuanming
  • Duan Shikai

Though the extent of the service of the 21st Division would be limited, it would participate in the Chinese Civil War through support of other divisions, such as those in the Taiyuan Campaign. The division would participate in the Battle of Weinan in before it would be moved to southern China to continue minor operations there until the end of the Civil War.

In March of 1950, the 21st Division participated in the construction of the Tianshui-Lanzhou Railway in central China.[3] The division would be dissolved in October 1950, before the railway was completed in October 1952, to become the similarly short-lived 4th Artillery Training Base, the predecessor to the 31st Artillery Division.[4]

Structure

The 21st division was part of the North China military region, the successor to the Chinese former Beijing Military Region, and the current Northern Theater Command. For the time of its service, the division was part of the 1st Field Army of the Chinese 7th Army.[5] From its creation in 1949 to its disillusion in 1950, the division was composed of three separate regiments. Those being:

  • 61st Regiment;
  • 62nd Regiment;
  • 63rd Regiment.[1]

Leading the division was the division's brigadier, Fan Zhongxiang (Chinese: 范忠祥; pinyin: Fàn Zhōngxiáng). Fan, an early member of the Chinese Communist Party, became the 21st division's sole brigadier from its creation in 1949 until its disbanding in 1950. A participant on the Long March, Fan would become one of the People's Republic of China's founding generals in 1953 after his career in leading the 21st division and its successor, the 31st Anti-tank Artillery Division. During the Korean War, Fan was awarded the rank of Major General while still retaining his role as brigadier of the 21st Division's successors until his retirement in 1982.[1][6]

The political capabilities of the division were led by Li Jianliang (Chinese: 李建良; pinyin: Lǐ Jiànliáng) as its political commissar. Li, along with Fan, took part in the Long March, though Li took part in the Second Sino-Japanese War as part of the infamous Eighth Route Army before his service in the 21st Division.[5]

Though the division did have multiple commanders under the central command of Fan Zhongxiang and Li Jianliang, two of the division's best known commanders include figures such as Li Yuanming (Chinese: 李元明; pinyin: Lǐ Yuánmíng)[7] and Duan Shikai (Chinese: 段士楷; pinyin: Duàn Shìkǎi).[8]

Duan Shikai, a commander of the 21st division later involved as a major general of the People's Liberation Army[9]

Service

With much of its early leadership and base of soldiers from Shanxi, the division would be sent to participate in the larger capture of Kuomintang-controlled territory across neighboring Shaanxi in early- to mid-1949. Gradually, the area around the city of Weinan was captured by the 21st Division and its allies, only facing minor fighting as the city itself was fully captured by about the middle of the year. The city, previously faced with a Communist insurgency, housed little resistance as time went on and the general advance of the People's Liberation Army continued.[1][8][10]

After the fall of Weinan, the 21st Division was moved to South-Western China, facing little combat in the areas already controlled by the People's Republic of China.[1]

By the time of the war's end, the division was sent to Gansu, where it would participate in the construction of the Tianshui-Lanzhou Railway, a sub-section of the Longhai Railway that would be completed in 1953. Included as part of the so-called "trailbreakers" (Chinese: 开路先锋; pinyin: kāilù xiānfēng) of the railway, being some of the first to participate in its construction and expansion.[3][11]

Dissolution

The division was led as part of the 1st Field Army of the People's Liberation Army's 7th Army. Despite it only being in service for two years, in October 1950 it was disbanded to become the similarly short-lived 4th Artillery Training Base, becoming the 31st Anti-tank Artillery Division after that.[4]

Many of the commanders of the 21st Division would still be involved either in the division's successors, or would be involved in larger roles as part of the 7th Army itself. An example being Duan Shikai, a commander of the 21st division who would become the director of the political department of the 7th Army itself later.[8]

References
  1. "第7军21师、柒贰壹" [Seventh Army 21st Division, Seven Two One]. 360DOC. Beijing Six Wisdoms Information Technology Co., Ltd. Retrieved 8 May 2019.
  2. "关于统一全军组织及部队番号的规定[一九四八年十一月一日]" [Regulation of the Re-Designations of All Organizations and Units of the Army] (in Chinese). Sina Weibo (published 12 February 2012). 1 November 1948. Archived from the original on 23 July 2017. Retrieved 8 May 2019.
  3. Wu, Yanjiang (18 April 2014). "一野西北七军21师62团2连通过地方邮局邮寄的军邮封" [The Military Postal Seal Sent Through the Local Post Office by the 62nd Regiment of the 21st Division of the Seventh Army of the Northwest]. Chinese Postal Network (in Chinese). Chinese Postal Network. Retrieved 15 May 2019.
  4. Wang, Zhongjun (24 Feb 2015). "我军反坦克炮兵团的简史" [A Brief History of Our Anti-tank Artillery]. Weibo (in Chinese). Sina Weibo. Archived from the original on 28 Aug 2016. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
  5. "将军人已去 忠魂归故里 荆门市举行李建良将军衣冠安放仪式" [The General Has Gone — His Loyal Soul Has Returned to His Hometown, Jingmen City Has Held General Li Jianling's Clothing Placement Ceremony]. Jingmen City Civil Affairs Bureau (in Chinese). Department of Civil Affairs of Hubei Province. 23 March 2011. Archived from the original on 11 March 2016. Retrieved 15 May 2019.
  6. Fan, Xifeng (28 Mar 2016). "军队媒体人撰文回忆父亲：开国少将范忠祥" [Military Media Writes to Recall a Father: Founding General Fan Zhongxiang]. China Military (in Chinese). Retrieved 10 July 2019.
  7. "李元明" [Li Yuanming]. Party History Encyclopedia (in Chinese). People's Daily. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
  8. Zuo, Li (11 Jan 2016). "段士楷" [Duan Shikai]. Hongse Jinsui (in Chinese). Shanxi Jinsui Culture Education & Development Foundation. Retrieved 11 July 2019.
  9. "开国少将" [Founding Major Generals]. Zhongguo Gongchandang Xinwen (in Chinese). Retrieved 11 July 2019.
  10. Chen, Yuhuan (2014-08-31). 滄海橫流: 黃埔五期風雲錄 [Azure Oceanflow: The Fifth Phase of Whampoa's Instability] (in Chinese). Xiuwei Publishing. ISBN 9789863262589.
  11. Hu, Xinmin (6 June 2019). "胡新民：毛泽东为何决心要搞三线建设？" [Hu Xinmin: Why is Mao Zedong Determined to Engage in Third-Line Rail Construction?]. Hongse Wenhua Wang (in Chinese). Retrieved 11 July 2019.
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