Thread: PLA's new battalion battlegroup reform

54th GA, Jinan MR is what the above article referring to.

China Slims PLA, Focuses on Training
By wendell minnick
Published: 16 June 2008
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http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?i=3585590
TAIPEI - China's Army is slimming down and focusing on training and C4ISR as part of its quest for a mechanized, digitally connected force.

Over the past decade, the PLA has shrunk from about 100 to 33 infantry and armor divisions, about half of which are mechanized, said Dennis Blasko, author of "The Chinese Army Today."
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"So, in other words, a 'leaner and meaner' force: smaller but more mobile, packing more firepower and more networked," said Richard Bitzinger, fellow at the Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Singapore. Bitzinger said it will likely take a decade or more to fully implement mechanization and informatization.

"There was a period when they worked on force projection out to western China about five to 10 years ago, but the big emphasis I see today is on force training, training in what they call a 'complex electromagnetic environment (under jamming),' and on getting more sensor-driven information down to lower echelons of formations (regiment)," said Larry Wortzel, who served as a U.S. Army attaché in China from 1988-90.

Many divisions have been trimmed from four infantry and armored regiments to one armored and two infantry, Blasko said.

And group armies, which were once considered corps-level equivalents, are being shrunk by transforming their subordinate divisions into brigades.

"As a general rule, PLA divisions are smaller in manpower and firepower than their Western counterparts and the new group armies, with the group army-brigade-battalion organizational structure, would be closer to a Western [U.S.] division in strength," said Blasko, who was a U.S. Army attaché in Hong Kong and Beijing from 1992-96.

The PLA is forming about a dozen division- or brigade-sized rapid reaction units, including three airborne, four amphibious or marine divisions, and several special operations units - "shock troops that could be used for a variety of regional (particularly against Taiwan) or even out-of-area contingencies," Bitzinger said. "Some have called this an army within an army."

Blasko said the PLA's immense size will constrain ground force modernization. Its budget is insufficient for a "truly forcewide, rapid modernization and transformation." Army improvements are a lower priority than modernizing the Air Force, Navy and Second Artillery Corps, responsible for China's strategic missile force.

"As the force modernizes, compared to previous decades, it costs more money to attract, retain, educate and train the troops; more money to purchase and operate new equipment; and more money to logistically maintain new equipment," Blasko said. "As a result, many - if not most -units are still a mix of high-, medium- and low-technology equipment."

Blasko does not expect further Army personnel and force structure reductions in the coming decade.

"We can expect the PLA to retain a relatively large ground force because it still perceives the potential for problems along its land borders with 14 countries as well as an Islamic extremist threat in its western regions," Blasko said.

The PLA also faces problems with integration issues, budget constraints, training and logistics nightmares, and command and control.

"The place they still seem to have their problems is fielding fully trained and integrated units at division or group army level on short notice," Wortzel said. "This is a function of their recruiting and training methods. The result is that they have to deploy one or two regiments from each division or one or two divisions from a group army and then send another GA [Group Army] headquarters for command and control. This seems to have been the case even with the response to the earthquake."

Procurement

The PLA has been pushing the development of attack and utility and transport helicopters and has been talking with Russia about buying more of the latter. The shortage of helicopters was underlined during the relief effort that followed last month's earthquake. In China's "largest deployment ever of helicopters," the military sent about 100 helicopters, which represented 20 or 25 percent of its fleet.

"This number was identified by Chinese sources as inadequate for the task," Blasko said.

China has bought about 1,500 Type 96 tanks and about 200 Type 98/99s, but most of its 7,000 tanks are older Type 59s and Type 69s. Of China's estimated 1,000 light tanks, about 400 are the new Type 63As.

"Certainly in terms of hardware, we don't see a lot of new equipment being procured, at least relative to the size of the PLA ground forces," Bitzinger said. ■

E-mail: wminnick@defensenews.com.

Andy,forgive my ignorance here but this new formation will be relatively the same size as one of their old divisions?They're basically going to reduce the size of all of their existing divisions and reorganize them into this new structure?

Don, these new corps would be a PLA div(+).

And I made this prediction about 6 years ago. Divisional commanders are going to get fired but the divisions would be renamed another echelon just so that GA commanders still got a job but not a reduction in prestige, status, and pay.

Originally Posted by Officer of Engineers

Don, these new corps would be a PLA div(+).

And I made this prediction about 6 years ago. Divisional commanders are going to get fired but the divisions would be renamed another echelon just so that GA commanders still got a job but not a reduction in prestige, status, and pay.

So in buisness terms they're consolidating departments,booting out middle management,laying off a large portion of non-management employees while expecting those remaining to be even more productive to take up the slack and the executives get to keep their titles,stock options and bonuses.Got it Colonel.

Are you sure this is the PLA and not AT&T???

Thanks for the explanation Colonel.

They took a page out of our book, actually the Wehrmacht book. The smallest combined arms echelon now is the newly formed battle group/task force (battalion (+)). It's relatively new, evidence first serviced last year/two years ago.

Wheras before, on paper, the PLA's smallest combined arms formation was the regiment, but in practice, it was the division.

I have not been able to grasp the new career paths yet. I don't know how you go from regiment to brigade. I know the new brigade commanders are on the fast track to these new corps commanders but since brigade is an appointment (ie, butt kissing) rather than a promotion (2IC going up to be the CO), I don't know who is getting fired or who is getting fast tracked nor how they are doing it.

Originally Posted by Officer of Engineers

They took a page out of our book, actually the Wehrmacht book. The smallest combined arms echelon now is the newly formed battle group/task force (battalion (+)). It's relatively new, evidence first serviced last year/two years ago.

Wheras before, on paper, the PLA's smallest combined arms formation was the regiment, but in practice, it was the division.

When you speak of a combined arms echelon,does the PLA have a set formation for this or would it differ depending on the mission?You'll have to excuse my ignorance here Colonel,this is uncharted but very interesting territory for me.

I have not been able to grasp the new career paths yet. I don't know how you go from regiment to brigade. I know the new brigade commanders are on the fast track to these new corps commanders but since brigade is an appointment (ie, butt kissing) rather than a promotion (2IC going up to be the CO), I don't know who is getting fired or who is getting fast tracked nor how they are doing it.

Are you sure they didn't model this portion after AT&T??

Originally Posted by Shamus

When you speak of a combined arms echelon,does the PLA have a set formation for this or would it differ depending on the mission?You'll have to excuse my ignorance here Colonel,this is uncharted but very interesting territory for me.

Brigade is essentially an old PLA division with only one regiment (the Hero's Regiment - it was Andy/Xinhui who figured this out) and two thirds of the division's combat support and combat service assets. At times, these would be augmented by an engineering regiment and a guns battalion.

Currently, the battle group/task force formations that we are seeing are 2-3 infantry companies with one armour/tank company and a combat support company.

Originally Posted by Shamus

Are you sure they didn't model this portion after AT&T??

Nah - Walt Disney.

So this is the type of subject matter you discuss on the Chinese Defense forum where you and Andy are moderators?Count me in and please let me know when it's back up Colonel.Thanks much for the lesson.


Could you recommend any reading material on basic PLA formations,command structures...etc.?

shamus,

just warning you- an excellent academic forum but any one of the RTR guys here has got more levity than the whole of CDF

Don,

I've asked for WAB's help a while back on eval of the 155 LMR

PLA 155th Light Mechanized Regiment

This is the kind of work that we do and you will note from the thread that we don't know humour if it bit us.

it is going to be a long night......

When you speak of a combined arms echelon,does the PLA have a set formation for this or would it differ depending on the mission?You'll have to excuse my ignorance here Colonel,this is uncharted but very interesting territory for me.

Ideally, they would like to have a different combo according to the mission, in fact, they are calling for it. but all the PR releases I noted so far, they are taking what the old regiment asset they have and try different combo within that scope, not outside of it. Also, but for the first time in PLA history (it is 2008, yeah, I know), BBG (battalion battlegroup) is assigned with an air force liaison, and coy command (and NCO) can call higher echo for fire support.

Also the HQ of the joint tactical corp can call directly for 2nd Arty (SSM corp) for support.


Joint operational exercise in Tianshan Mountain

english.chinamil.com.cn 2008-11-07

　　
　　
Joint attack

　　In the late autumn, a joint tactical corps, which was mainly formed by troops from a "Red Army" division of the Xinjiang Military Area Command and some other attached special troops from the Second Artillery Force, the Air Force, the Army Aviation Force, the Armed Police Force and the Militia, carried out an integrated land-and-air defense and counterattack exercise in the depth of the Tianshan Mountain.

　　 This exercise, based on the regional military training cooperation system, was aimed to explore the methods of organizing joint tactical corps to carry out uninterrupted joint combat, training and examination round the clock.

　　It was a pressing and highly intensive exercise. Just in five days, troops participating in the exercise made a long-range maneuver with electromagnetic interferences from the electronic confrontation element through the whole process. The troops conducted coordinated operations both on the land and in the air so as to fight against the electromagnetic interferences from the enemy and block the enemy's breakthrough in three-dimensional way. The headquarters of the joint tactical corps kept a close eye on the situations of the battlefield and handled all problems in an accurate and rapid way.

　　By Wang Zhouqi, Li Jinlun, Liu Yong and Wang Chuanfeng

　　(Nov 7, PLA Daily) Editor: Dong Zhaohui

a "Red Army" division of the Xinjiang Military Area Command

6th Mechanized High-Land Division, Xinjing MD, Lanzhou MR.

PLA conducted two major ex to put the new battlegroup format to the test.


1st One is the Shapening 2008

58th Mech Infantry Brigade, 54th GA, Jianan MR conducted a meeting engagement ex with armor regiment, 112th Heavy Mech Infantry Division, 38th GA, Beijing MR and they lost.


Troops participating in "Sharpening-2008" exercise set off

english.chinamil.com.cn 2008-09-01

　　On the morning of August 29, a train carrying the first batch of troops of a mechanized infantry brigade of the Jinan Military Area Command participating in "Sharpening-2008"confrontation exercise pulled out of the railway station.

　　The "red" and "blue" armies will launch a month-long confrontation exercise of joint operations under modern conditions at Zhurihe Joint Tactical Training Base under the Beijing Military Area Command. According to sources, the mechanized infantry brigade of the Jinan Military Area Command, which is among the first batch of troops having completed the changeover of equipment to become a light mechanized infantry brigade, will act as the "red" army, and this brigade only returned to its barracks from the earthquake rescue and relief work not long ago. A highly informationalized armored regiment of the Beijing Military Area Command will act as the "blue" army. The exercise, with combat actions of armored and mechanized units under informationization condition as the focus, will be organized and conducted in a complex electromagnetic environment.

　　By Zhang Zhenxing and Liu Huilong

　　(Sep 1, PLA Daily) Editor: Chen Jie