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{{Use American English|date=January 2019}}{{Short description|Chinese military unit}}{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2019}}{{Infobox military unit
| unit_name                     = 82nd Group Army
| native_name                   = 第八十二集团军
| image                         = File:People's Liberation Army Ground Force sleeve badge.svg
| caption                       = 
| nickname                      = [[Ten Thousand Years]] Army<br>Long-Lived Group Army
| ceremonial_chief              = 
| type                          = [[Army groups of China|Group army]]
| size                          = [[Field army|Field Army]]
| status                        = 
| start_date                    = 1949–present
| country                       = {{PRC}}
| branch                        = {{Army|China}}
| allegiance                    = {{CPC flag}}
| command_structure             = [[Central Theater Command]]
| garrison                      = [[Baoding]], [[Hebei]]
| battles                       = [[Long March]]<br>[[World War II]]<br>[[Chinese Civil War]]<br>[[Korean War]]<br>[[Vietnam War]]<br>[[Sino-Vietnamese War]]
| current_commander             = Major General Yang Jun
| commander2                    = Major General Wang Xiaoyong
| commander2_label              = Political Commissar
| notable_commanders            = [[Peng Dehuai]]<br>[[Luo Ronghuan]]<br>[[Liang Xingchu]]<br>[[Xu Qinxian]]
| anniversaries                 = July 22
| identification_symbol         = [[File:82nd Group Army NATO May Symbol.svg|150px]]
| identification_symbol_label   = [[NATO Joint Military Symbology|NATO Map Symbol]]
}}
The '''82nd Group Army''' ({{zh|s=第八十二集团军|c=|t=|p=Dì Bāshí'èr Jítuánjūn}}), [[Military unit cover designator|Unit]] 31677, formerly the '''38th Group Army''', is a military formation of the Chinese [[People's Liberation Army Ground Force]] (PLAGF). The 82nd Group Army is one of thirteen total [[Group army (military unit)|group armies]] of the PLAGF, the largest echelon of ground forces in the [[China|People's Republic of China]], and one of three assigned to the nation's [[Central Theater Command]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Burke |first=Edmund J. |date=4 February 2019 |title=Coming to a (New) Theater Near You: Command, Control, and Forces |work=[[National Defense University Press]] |url=https://ndupress.ndu.edu/Portals/68/Documents/Books/Chairman-Xi/Chairman-Xi_Chapter-6.pdf?ver=2019-02-08-112005-803}}</ref>

== History ==

=== Chinese Civil War ===
The unit was originally established as the 38th Corps under the Fourth Field Army in early 1949. The 38th can trace its lineage back to the late 1920s through its evolution from the 343rd Brigade. In 1949 the 38th Corps was composed of the [[112th Mechanized Infantry Division (People's Republic of China)|112th]], [[113th Mechanized Infantry Division (People's Republic of China)|113th]], and [[114th Armed Police Mobile Division|114th]] Divisions.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20000817183637/http://www.army.mil/cmh-pg/BOOKS/KOREA/20-2-1/sn39.htm Appleman, Roy E. ''"South to the Naktong, North to the Yalu"'', pg 768]</ref> Under [[Lin Biao]] in mid-June 1949, the 38th took part in the campaign to take Southern China and encircled [[Yichang]], [[Hubei]] and seized the city.

=== Korean War ===
The 38th, the [[40th Army (People's Republic of China)|40th]] and the [[42nd Army (People's Republic of China)|42nd]] Corps (the finest of the [[Fourth Field Army]]) along with the [[27th Army (People's Republic of China)|27th]] and the [[39th Army (People's Republic of China)|39th]] Corps from South China were placed at [[Peng Dehuai]]'s disposal as part of the [[People's Volunteer Army]] (Chinese People's Volunteers (CPV) XIII Army Group, for the initial Chinese intervention in Korea.<ref>[http://www.kimsoft.com/2000/peng.htm Who was Peng Dehuai?] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000819014205/http://www.kimsoft.com/2000/peng.htm |date=2000-08-19 }}</ref>

In [[Battle of the Ch'ongch'on River]] 38th Corps and the [[75th Group Army|42nd Corps]] poured through the broken South Korean lines to [[Eighth United States Army|Eighth Army’s]] east and threatening to envelop the entire force.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20010303143037/http://www.army.mil/cmh-pg/brochures/kw-chinter/chinter.htm The Korean War: The Chinese Intervention, pg 12]</ref> The 38th corps overran [[ROK 7th Division]] on November 25–26, then [[Turkish Brigade]] on 26-29. Its 113rd division covered 72.5 kilometers within 14 hours and reached Samso-ri on November 28 7:00 to halt US 2nd Infantry Division from retreat.<ref name="cmsa">Chinese Military Science Academy (2000), History of War to Resist America and Aid Korea (抗美援朝战争史) (in Chinese), Volume II, Beijing: Chinese Military Science Academy Publishing House, {{ISBN|7-80137-390-1}}</ref> 38th Corps was ultimately successful in setting up the "Gauntlet" against the US 2nd Infantry Division at [[Kunu-ri]], and for its performance it received the title "[[Ten thousand years]] Army" ({{lang|zh|万岁军}}). It's estimated that Chinese People's Volunteer Army inflicted 23,000 casualties<ref name="cmsa" /> on UNC, among them, 7,485 killed or wounded and 3,616 captured (including 1,042 US soldiers) were inflicted by the 38th Corps. US Eighth Army estimated it suffered 11,000 casualties, excluding South Korean casualties.<ref>Chae, Han Kook; Chung, Suk Kyun; Yang, Yong Cho (2001), Yang, Hee Wan; Lim, Won Hyok; Sims, Thomas Lee; Sims, Laura Marie; Kim, Chong Gu; Millett, Allan R., eds., The Korean War, Volume II, Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press, {{ISBN|978-0-8032-7795-3}}</ref>

In [[Third Battle of Seoul]], the 38th Corps broke through defense organized by [[ROK 6th Division]] within 20 minutes on December 31, then defeated a regiment of [[US 24th Infantry Division]] on the southeast of Uijeongbu on January 3.<ref name="cmsa" />

In the Fourth Phase Battle, the 38th Corps were deployed on the south bank of the Han River to defend against US 24th Infantry Division, US First Cavalry Division, British 27th Brigade and ROK 6th division. During 50 days fierce fight, the 38th Corps estimated that it inflicted more than 10,800 casualties on UNC, but the 38th Corps suffered 3,359 killed which accounts for some 50% of all the 38th Corps soldiers killed in Korean war.

The formation opposed the Turkish Brigade at the [[Battle of Wawon]] on November 27–29, 1950, and the U.S. [[45th Infantry Division (United States)|45th Infantry Division]] during the [[Battle of Old Baldy]].

On October 6–15, 1952, the 38th Corps fought in the battle for [[Battle of White Horse|Baengma-goji]], a 395-meter hill near the [[Iron Triangle (Korea)|Iron Triangle]]. During the course of the battle, the hill changed hands 24 times after repeated attacks and counterattacks for its possession. It was the most intense position-grasping battle for a small hill during the course of the Korean War. The [[112th Mechanized Infantry Division (People's Republic of China)|112th]] and [[114th Armed Police Mobile Division|114th]] Divisions under the command of General Gang Ong-hwi were selected as the main force to capture Baengma-goji, and the [[113th Mechanized Infantry Division (People's Republic of China)|113th]] Division was to replenish the losses of the main force. The '''38th Corps''' committed five regiments out of its total of nine regiments and sustained a total of 5,372 casualties (1,748 dead, 3062 wounded and 562 missing<ref name="cmsa" />), while the [[9th Infantry Division (South Korea)|9th Division]] of South Korea suffered a total of 3,422 casualties (505 dead, 2,562 injured and 391 missing), plus over 400 more casualties in the 1st Battalion of the 30th Regiment. The American [[Fifth Air Force]] made a total of 745 sorties and poured more than 2,700 bombs of various kinds, together with over 358 napalm bombs, onto the hill. Chinese forces rained no less than 55,000 shells during the nine-day battle period, and the South Korean forces fired over 185,000 bombs. The '''38th Corps''', after having been replaced by the 23rd Corps, had to withdraw to the rear.<ref>[http://www.korea-dmz.com/en/h/bw/hbw100_en.asp Baengma-goji Battle] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928074217/http://www.korea-dmz.com/en/h/bw/hbw100_en.asp |date=2007-09-28 }}</ref>

In the Korean war 6,772 soldiers serving in the 38th corps were killed, among them 599 were killed in First Phase Battle, 415 were killed in Second Phase Battle (Ch'ongch'on River sector), 247 were killed in Third Phase Battle (Seoul sector), 3,359 were killed in Fourth Phase Battle and 1,748 were killed in Battle of the White Horse Hill.<ref>The ministry of health of the general logistics, Chinese People's Liberation Army,抗美援朝战争卫生工作总结 卫生勤务（Summarization of Medical Works in War to Resist America and Aid Korea-Medical Service), Beijing, People's Military Medical Press.</ref>

=== Cultural Revolution ===
The 38th Corps returned to China in 1953, remaining in Manchuria to reinforce the [[Fourth Field Army]].  In 1967, during the Cultural Revolution, the 38th was relocated to the [[Hebei]] area to replace the 65th Corps. In 1968 the 38th was involved in clashes with elements of the Hebei Military District over differences in revolutionary fervor. The 38th Corps reformed into 38th Combined Corps in 1985.{{cn|date=December 2023}}

=== Tiananmen Square protests ===
{{main|People's Liberation Army at the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre}}

In 1989 during the [[1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre|students' protest]], the 38th Combined Corps was one of the main units ordered to crush the protests and impose martial law on [[Beijing]].  However, because of its close connections with the population of the nearby capital, and the fact that many students had served in the unit before attending university and that some students had performed summer training with the 38th as members of the [[Military reserve force|army reserve]], the unit was reluctant to comply.<ref name="pla05">{{Cite news |last=Trainor |first=Bernard E. |last2=Times |first2=Special To the New York |date=1989-06-06 |title=CRACKDOWN IN BEIJING; Civil War For Army? |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/06/06/world/crackdown-in-beijing-civil-war-for-army.html |access-date=2023-01-31 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The 38th, under the command of General [[Xu Qinxian]] ({{lang|zh|徐勤先}}), refused to use force against the students when martial law was declared, and was reported to have been in a tense stand-off with the [[27th Group Army|27th Combined Corps]] and other units which held the city in the days immediately following the bloody crackdown.<ref name="pla06">{{Cite news |last=Trainor |first=Bernard E. |last2=Times |first2=Special To the New York |date=1989-06-07 |title=TURMOIL IN CHINA; Legions of Soldiers Encircling Beijing: Loyalty to Whom? |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/06/07/world/turmoil-in-china-legions-of-soldiers-encircling-beijing-loyalty-to-whom.html |access-date=2023-01-31 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

==21st century==
The 82nd is currently one of the three group armies in active service belonging to the [[Central Theater Command]].<ref>[http://www.sinodefence.com/organisation/groundforces/default.asp PLA Ground Forces] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070819111812/http://www.sinodefence.com/organisation/groundforces/default.asp |date=August 19, 2007 }}</ref> It is one of the best equipped and trained group armies in China today, and is given the task of guarding the national capital of Beijing. It also serves as a testbed for the latest equipment and doctrines developed by the PLA.{{cn|date=December 2023}}

An unidentified mechanized division (probably from the 38th Group Army) conducted an opposed force exercise in mid-August 2002. It is believed that the exercise may have taken place at the MR CAT Base near the Great Wall. The unit used more than ten new systems including new mine clearing vehicles, infantry fighting vehicles and tanks. The unit is reported to be one of the first mechanized infantry divisions in the PLA.<ref>Liberation Army Daily 6 Sep 2002 (PLA Activities Report Sep 2002)</ref>

According to the December 2002 PLA Activities Report, the Mechanized Air Defense Brigade (Unit 66440) assigned to the 38th Combined Corps recently improved its tactics and methods of defending against cruise missile attacks. This consisted of improving the units fire-control systems and detection capabilities.

The Mechanized Air-Defense Brigade, Unit 66440, has reportedly retrofitted its field command modules to provide command platforms with geographic information, air service information, battlefield monitoring and digital transmission, enhancing the units command and control capability and ability to conduct accurate air defense. The unit conducted several exercises in 2002 including a live-fire exercise.<ref>Beijing MR Zhanyou Bao 11 Jan 2003 (PLA Activities Report Jan 2003)</ref>

Over the course of the 2003 reductions cycle, Dennis Blasko estimates that the 114th Mechanised Infantry Division was dropped from the force.<ref>Blasko 2006, 77</ref>

== Organization ==
Before the 2017 reform, the formation consists of:
*[[112th Division (People's Republic of China)|112th Mechanized Infantry Division]] ({{zh|c=机械化步兵第112师}})
*[[113th Division (People's Republic of China)|113th Mechanized Infantry Division]] ({{zh|c=机械化步兵第113师}})
*[[6th Armored Division (People's Republic of China)|6th Armored Division]] ({{zh|c=装甲第6师}})
*8th Army Aviation Brigade ({{zh|c=陆航第8旅}})
*Special Operation Brigade ({{zh|c=特战旅}})
*Artillery Brigade ({{zh|c=炮兵旅}})
*Mechanized Air-Defense Brigade ({{zh|c=机械化防空旅}})
*Chemical Regiment ({{zh|c=防化团}})
*Engineer Regiment ({{zh|c=工兵团}})

After 2017 reforming, the formation consists of:
*[[6th Armored Division (People's Republic of China)|6th Heavy Combined Arms Brigade]] ({{zh|c=重型合成第6旅}})
*[[80th Motorized Infantry Brigade (People's Republic of China)|80th Light Combined Arms Brigade]] ({{zh|c=轻型合成第80旅}})
*[[112th Mechanized Infantry Division (People's Republic of China)|112th Heavy Combined Arms Brigade]]({{zh|c=重型合成第112旅}})
*[[127th Mechanized Infantry Division (People's Republic of China)|127th Medium Combined Arms Brigade]] ({{zh|c=中型合成第127旅}})
*[[113th Mechanized Infantry Division (People's Republic of China)|151st Heavy Combined Arms Brigade]] ({{zh|c=重型合成第151旅}})
*[[196th Motorized Infantry Brigade (People's Republic of China)|196th Light Combined Arms Brigade]] ({{zh|c=轻型合成第196旅}})
*82nd Special Operation Brigade ({{zh|c=特战第82旅}})
*82nd Army Aviation Brigade ({{zh|c=陆航第82旅}})
*82nd Artillery Brigade ({{zh|c=炮兵第82旅}})
*82nd Air-Defense Brigade ({{zh|c=防空第82旅}})
*82nd Engineering Brigade ({{zh|c=工兵第82旅}})
*82nd Chemical Defense Brigade ({{zh|c=防化第82旅}})
*82nd Service Support Brigade ({{zh|c=勤务支援第82旅}})

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

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{{Structure of People's Liberation Army Ground Force since 2017}}
{{Corps and Armies of the People's Liberation Army}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:38th Group Army}}
[[Category:Field armies of the People's Volunteer Army]]
[[Category:Field armies of the People's Liberation Army]]
[[Category:Military units and formations established in 1949]]
[[Category:Military of Baoding]]
[[Category:Beijing Military Region]]