Third Field Army


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.
Forces associated with the Third Field Army included:
  • The 7th Army, Commander Wang Jian'an, political commissar Tan Qilong, chief of staff Li Yingxi:
  • *21st Corps, commander Teng Haiqing, political commissar Kang Zhiqiang
  • *22nd Corps, commander Sun Jixian, political commissar Ding Qiusheng
  • *23rd Corps, commander Tao Yong, political commissar Lu Sheng
  • *35th Corps, commander Wu Huawen, political commissar He Kexi
  • The 8th Army, Commander Chen Shiju, political commissar Yuan Zhongxian, chief of staff He Yixiang
  • *24th Corps, commander Wang Bicheng, political commissar Liao Haiguang
  • *25th Corps, commander Cheng Jun, political commissar Huang Huoxing
  • *26th Corps, commander Zhang Renchu, political commissar Wang Yiping
  • *34th Corps, commander He Jifeng, political commissar Zhao Qimin
  • The 9th Army, Commander Song Shilun, political commissar Guo Huaruo, chief of staff Qin Jian
  • *20th Corps, commander Liu Fei, political commissar Chen Shifu
  • *27th Corps, commander Nie Fengzhi, political commissar Liu Haotian
  • *30th Army, commander Xie Zhenhua, political commissar Li Ganhui
  • *33rd Army, commander Zhang Kexia, political commissar Han Nianlong
  • The 10th Army, Commander Ye Fei, political commissar Wei Guoqing, Chief of Staff Chen Qingxian
  • *28th Corps, commander Zhu Shaoqing
  • *29th Corps, commander Hu Bingyun, political commissar Zhang Fan
  • *31st Corps, commander Zhou Zhijian, political commissar Chen Huatang
  • Directly under the jurisdiction of Third Field Army
  • *32nd Corps, commander Tan Xilin, political commissar Peng Lin
  • *Special forces column, commander Chen Ruiting, political commissar Zhang Kai
  • *Guangdong-Guangxi Column, commander Zeng Sheng, political commissar Lei Jingtian
In August 1950 the force was redesignated the East China Military Region.