Third Field Army Explained

Unit Name:Third Field Army
Dates:1949 to 1950
Country:
Type:Light infantry
Size: troops
Garrison:Central Military Commission of the Chinese Communist Party
March:Eighth Route Army March
Equipment:Chiang Kai-shek rifle
Hanyang 88
Type 38 rifle
Type 41 75 mm mountain gun
Mauser C96
Thompson submachine gun
M3 submachine gun
Battles:Second Sino-Japanese War
Chinese Civil War
Commander1 Label:Symbolic Commander
Commander2:Chairman of the Central Military Commission
Notable Commanders:Marshal Chen Yi
General Su Yu
Identification Symbol:Liberation Army emblem
Identification Symbol Label:Armband

The Third Field Army was one of the five main forces of the Chinese Communist Party's People's Liberation Army during the Chinese Civil War. It was established in early 1949. Initially known as the East China Field Army, it was formed by the New Fourth Army and the Eighth Route Army troops stationed in Shandong Province, a gradual adaptation of the expansion.

It took control of the troops in eastern China, with Chen Yi as its commander. It comprised the 7th, 8th, 9th, and 10th Armies plus the headquarters of the special technical troops, with a total of 580,000 men.[1]

Forces associated with the Third Field Army included:[2]

In August 1950 the force was redesignated the East China Military Region.

References

  1. Historical Dictionary of Modern China (1800-1949), James Zheng Gao, Scarecrow Press, 2009,, 116
  2. See Witson 1972

External links