This is a theoretical organization of the Army China would go to war with.
I made it some time ago based on what was known in the 1970s about the PLA, and extrapolating from that using production figures and other influences. I don't like the idea of 4-division Armies in a place with so many Divisions, it seems wasteful and repetitive, and also looks like a peace-time expediant that could be useful to deceive enemies.
Here is what I came up with, and I think is makes sense;
I start at the top, with 4 Army GROUPS (you could also call them Fronts, or Strategic Directions. These are made of 3 Armies each (for a total of 12 armies) .
Each Army has;
3 Infantry Corps, (each Corps has 3 Infantry Divisions)
2 Armored Divisions (NOT allocated to Corps, held at army level for allocation to one or another Corps)
1 Anti-aircraft Division
1 Artillery Division.
1 Tactical Air Division (100-200 aircraft, plus helicopters)
1 NBC Regiment
1 Logistics Regiment
Each Army Group would also hold an Artillery and an Anti-Aircraft Division in reserve.
((Strategic Air is not covered at all here))
Outside of the Army groups are 4 artillery Divisions assigned to Coastal Defense and static positions, as well as 4 AA Divisions for national Defense.
Railroad Divisions, a specialty of the PLA, are Geographic in nature, and would also be outside the structure of the mobile army in most situations.
There is also an Airborne Corps, which will be held by Beijing for special deployments.
This still leaves some extra, and mostly unidentified, Corps of Infantry. There could be two Corps of Marines, not advertised as such, but including Infantry trained and mostly equipped for naval landings.
And then there is China's Southern frontier, almost all of which is mountains. It would not a a huge stretch to see 3 Alpine Corps stationed there, and they would certainly be useful, especially where they face India.
I have deliberately avoided looking and current TO&E for China since I found this yesterday, how close do you think I came? (yeah, I know its a closed society, but we can make some guesses, right?)
I made it some time ago based on what was known in the 1970s about the PLA, and extrapolating from that using production figures and other influences. I don't like the idea of 4-division Armies in a place with so many Divisions, it seems wasteful and repetitive, and also looks like a peace-time expediant that could be useful to deceive enemies.
Here is what I came up with, and I think is makes sense;
I start at the top, with 4 Army GROUPS (you could also call them Fronts, or Strategic Directions. These are made of 3 Armies each (for a total of 12 armies) .
Each Army has;
3 Infantry Corps, (each Corps has 3 Infantry Divisions)
2 Armored Divisions (NOT allocated to Corps, held at army level for allocation to one or another Corps)
1 Anti-aircraft Division
1 Artillery Division.
1 Tactical Air Division (100-200 aircraft, plus helicopters)
1 NBC Regiment
1 Logistics Regiment
Each Army Group would also hold an Artillery and an Anti-Aircraft Division in reserve.
((Strategic Air is not covered at all here))
Outside of the Army groups are 4 artillery Divisions assigned to Coastal Defense and static positions, as well as 4 AA Divisions for national Defense.
Railroad Divisions, a specialty of the PLA, are Geographic in nature, and would also be outside the structure of the mobile army in most situations.
There is also an Airborne Corps, which will be held by Beijing for special deployments.
This still leaves some extra, and mostly unidentified, Corps of Infantry. There could be two Corps of Marines, not advertised as such, but including Infantry trained and mostly equipped for naval landings.
And then there is China's Southern frontier, almost all of which is mountains. It would not a a huge stretch to see 3 Alpine Corps stationed there, and they would certainly be useful, especially where they face India.
I have deliberately avoided looking and current TO&E for China since I found this yesterday, how close do you think I came? (yeah, I know its a closed society, but we can make some guesses, right?)