Unit Name: | 11th Maneuver Division |
Native Name: | 11기동사단 |
Dates: | August 27 1950 – Present |
Type: | Mechanized Infantry |
Role: | Offensive Maneuver warfare |
Size: | Division |
Command Structure: | VII Maneuver Corps |
Garrison: | Hongcheon, Gangwon Province |
Nickname: | 화랑 (Hwa-rang / Flowering Knights) |
March: | 11th Division Hymn |
Battles: | Korean War
|
Current Commander: | Maj. Gen. Park Hu-sung |
Hangul: | 십일기동사단 |
Hanja: | 十一機動師團 |
Rr: | Sipil Gidong Sadan |
Mr: | Sibil Kidong Sadan |
The 11th Maneuver Division (Korean: 11기동사단, hanja: 十一機動師團), also known as Flowering Knights Division (Korean: 화랑부대, hanja: 花郞部隊), is a military formation of the Republic of Korea Army and is unit is one of four divisions under the command of the VII Maneuver Corps. Before the unit was renamed on January 1, 2021, it was called the 11th Mechanized Infantry Division.
The 11th Maneuver Division was established in Yeongcheon on August 27, 1950, during the Korean War.[1] It is also a unit that caused the massacre of geochang civilians under the order of Choe Deok-sin, who was the division commander of the 11th Division in February 1951.[2] In the Korean War, the 11th Division fought mainly on the eastern front, such as Mt. Seorak and Hyangrobong. After the end of the Korean War, the military base was moved to Hwacheon.
At the time of the Gangneung submarine infiltration incident in 1996, the 11th Infantry Division was deployed with the 2nd Infantry Division to fight, and one soldier from the 11th Infantry Division was killed during the battle.
Three specialized divisions were designated for the Army under the Army Division Specialization Plan established in 1967, of which the 11th Infantry Division was converted to a landing division for landing operations on January 23, 1968, but later returned to the general infantry division when the Army's specialized division system was suspended. In 2004, the 11th Infantry Division became the fifth South Korean Army unit to be reorganized into a mechanized unit. As of December 1, 2016, the 11th Mechanized Infantry Division was incorporated as a subordinate unit of the VII Maneuver Corps, and was subsequently reorganized into a subordinate unit directly under Ground Operations Command under the integration plan of 1st Operations Command and 3rd Operations Command.[3] The 20th Mechanized Infantry Division, which was disbanded on November 29, 2019, was merged into the 11th Mechanized Infantry Division.[4] On 1 January 2021, the 11th Mechanized Infantry Division was renamed the 11th Maneuver Division.