After some time, the demobilization of ill-trained and politically unreliable troops began, resulting in the reduction of army strength. When chairman Mao proclaimed the People's Republic of China on October 1, 1949, the PLAGF was a 4.9 million-strong peasant army. They were the PLA units commonly used to restore order during the Cultural Revolution. Regional forces were armed less heavily than their main-force counterparts, and they were involved in training the militia. Garrison divisions were static, artillery-heavy units deployed along the coastline and borders in areas of likely attack. Regional forces consisted of full-time PLA troops organized as independent divisions for garrison missions. A new multiple rocket launcher for scattering antitank mines appeared in 1979, but mine-laying and mine-clearing equipment remained scarce. There was a variety of construction equipment, mobile bridging, trucks, and prime movers. In the 1980s some self-propelled artillery entered service, but the PLA also produced rocket launchers as a cheaper but not totally effective alternative to self-propelled guns. Artillery forces emphasized towed guns, howitzers, and truck-mounted multiple rocket launchers. There was little evidence of the use of armored personnel carriers during the Sino-Vietnamese border conflict in 1979, and tanks were used as mobile artillery and as support for dismounted infantry. The 13 armored divisions each had 3 regiments and 240 main battle tanks (MBT) but lacked adequate mechanized infantry support. Although the new group armies were supposed to reflect a move to combined-arms operations, because of a lack of mechanization they continued to consist of infantry supported by armor, artillery, and other units. In 1987 the new, main-force group armies typically included 46,300 soldiers in up to four divisions, believed to include infantry, armor, artillery, air defense, airborne, and air support elements. At least theoretically, each division had its own armor and artillery - actual equipment levels were not revealed and probably varied - and the assets at the army level and within the independent units could be apportioned as needed. Organization was flexible, the higher echelons being free to tailor forces for combat around any number of infantry divisions. Each field army division had over 12,000 personnel in three infantry regiments, one artillery regiment, one armored regiment, and one anti-aircraft artillery battalion. Under the old system, a field army consisted of three partially motorized infantry divisions and two regiments of artillery and anti-aircraft artillery. Regional forces consisted of 73 divisions of border defense and garrison troops plus 140 independent regiments. Main forces included about 35 group armies, comprising 118 infantry divisions, 13 armored divisions, and 33 artillery and antiaircraft artillery divisions, plus 71 independent regiments and 21 independent battalions of mostly support troops. It provided a good conventional defense, but in 1987 had only limited offensive potential and was poorly equipped for nuclear, biological, or chemical warfare. The PLA ground forces consist of conventionally armed main and regional units, which in 1987 made up over 70 percent of the PLA. It appears that twenty per cent or even more of the seventy new armies were disestablished up to 1953 in 1952 alone, the 3rd, 4th, 10th, 17th, 18th, and 19th Armies were disbanded. While some, such as the 1st Army, survived for over fifty years, a number were quickly amalgamated and disestablished in the early 1950s. In February 1949, the existing large number of armies and divisions were regularized into up to seventy armies of three divisions each. See also: Military history of China before 1911
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