The 12th Group Army (GA), headquartered in Xuzhou, is one of the three GAs stationed in Nanjing Military Region. The GA comprises an armoured division (2nd), three motorised infantry brigades (34th, 36th, and 179th), an artillery brigade, an AAA brigade, an engineer regiment, a chemical defence regiment, and a pontoon regiment.
In 1978, the 12th Corps was relocated to its current position in Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province. Between June 1984 and June 1985, the 36th Infantry Division was assigned to 1st Army and participated the border defence operations at the Sino-Vietnam border.
In 1985, the 12th Corps was reorganised into the 12th GA, consisting of 34th Infantry Division, 36th Infantry Division, 179th Infantry Division (formerly subordinated to 60th Army), 2nd Tank Division (formerly subordinated to Nanjing Military Region), Artillery Brigade, and AAA Brigade. The 35th Infantry Division formerly subordinated to the 12th Army was disbanded as a result of the PLA’s force reduction programme in 1985.
In 1998, the 34th and 179th Infantry Division were both downsized to brigades as a result of the PLA’s 50,000 force reduction programme. The 2nd Tank Division was reorganised into the 2nd Armoured Division. In 2003, the remaining 36th Infantry Division was also downsized to brigade.
The 2nd Armoured Division was one of the first units to have received the second generation indigenous Type 96 main battle tank.
