| Tank Division, 4th Field Army(1949) 1st Tank Division(1949-1950) 1st Tank Brigade(1950) 1st Tank Division(1950-1998) 1st Armored Division(1998-2011) 1st Armored Brigade(2011-2017) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Active | 1949.2 - 2017.4 | ||||
| Country |  | ||||
| Type | Armored | ||||
| Size | Brigade | ||||
| Part of | 65th Army | ||||
| Garrison/HQ | Jixian,Hebei | ||||
| Engagements | Chinese Civil War,Korean War,Vietnam War,Sino-Vietnamese War | ||||
| Commanders | |||||
| Current commander | Deng Hanqiao | ||||
| Notable commanders | Xu Qinxian | ||||
| Insignia | |||||
| NATO Map Symbol |
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The 1st Armored Brigade (formerly the 1st Tank Division, then 1st Armored Division) is anArmored formation ofPeople's Liberation Army of thePeople's Republic of China. The brigade now serves as the armored element under the 65th Army in theBeijing Military Region.[1]
TheTank Division, 4th Field Army(Chinese:四野战车师) was activated in February 1949 inTianjin, from Special Troops Tank Command,4th Field Army.
In May 1949 the division was renamed as1st Tank Division(Chinese:战车第1师). In December 1950 the division was re-organized as1st Tank Brigade(Chinese:坦克第1旅, note the change onChinese characters). By then the brigade was composed of:
On November 3, 1950, the brigade was renamed as1st Tank Division(Chinese:坦克第1师). Its regiments were not affected.
From March 1951 to November 1952 the division entered Korea to take part in theKorean War as a part ofPeople's Volunteer Army(CPA). From January to October 1953 the division spent its second deployment to Korea. After that the division moved toFengtai,Beijing.
In February Artillery Regiment was renamed as Howitzer Artillery Regiment. On May 13, 1958, Motorized Infantry Regiment was renamed as Mechanized Regiment.
In 1959 the division moved toChangping,Beijing. Soon after it further moved toJixian,Tianjin in 1962.
In December 1962 Howitzer Artillery Regiment was renamed as Artillery Regiment.
In August 1969 402nd Tank Self-Propelled Artillery Regiment from197th Army Division was attached and renamed as 3rd Tank Regiment.
By then the division was composed of:
In August 1970 3rd Tank Regiment was detached and transferred to79th Infantry Division as Tank Regiment, 79th Infantry Division. In September Mechanized Regiment was re-organized and renamed as 3rd Tank Regiment.
On July 1, 1976, Armored Infantry Regiment was activated.
DuringSino-Vietnamese War in 1979, 130mm Self-Propelled Rocket Artillery Battalion (equipped withType 70 130mm) from Artillery Regiment, 1st Tank Division was put under command of124th Army Division,42nd Army Corps for the infiltration inCao Bằng region.
In January 1983 the division was put under command of66th Army Corps.
In the 1980s the division was equipped withType 59-2 medium tanks, becoming the only Type 59-2 unit in PLA ground force.
In July 1985 the division was attached toTianjin Security District following 66th Army Corps' disbandment.
In 1989 the division actively took part in theenforced martial law and the crackdown on protests in Beijing. In the morning on June 5, 1989, a tank column from 1st Tank Division was departing from the Tiananmen square to move toJianguomen area was temporarily stopped by a young man, now famous as theTank Man. Allegedly the division commander, General Xu Qingren was sitting in the leading tank and ordered the stop until the tank man was taken away.
In April 1996 the division was attached to24th Army.
In October 1998, the division was renamed as1st Armored Division(Chinese:装甲第1师). The Armored Infantry Regiment was disbanded and absorbed into tank regiments which became armored regiments.
By then the division was composed of:
In 2003 the division was attached to65th Army following 24th Army's disbandment.
In late 2011 it split into two: the division main body re-organized into1st Armored Brigade, while half of its battalions reorganized into195th Mechanized Infantry Brigade.
In April 2017 the brigade was deactivated and absorbed into70th Combined Arms Brigade.
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