4th Corps (Vietnam People's Army)

Quân đoàn 4
(4th Corps)
Active July 20, 1974present
Country  Vietnam
Allegiance Vietnam People's Army
Branch Active duty
Type Army Corps
Role Regular force
Size Corps
Part of Vietnam People's Army
Garrison/HQ Dĩ An, Bình Dương
Engagements Vietnam War
Cambodian–Vietnamese War
Decorations
Commanders
Current commander Maj. Gen. Nguyễn Hoàng
First commander Maj. Gen. Hoàng Cầm

4th Corps (Vietnamese: Quân đoàn 4) or Cửu Long Corps (Vietnamese: Binh đoàn Cửu Long, literally: Corps of Cửu Long) is one of the four regular army corps of the Vietnam People's Army. First organized in 1974 during the Vietnam War, 4th Corps had a major role in the Ho Chi Minh Campaign and the Cambodian–Vietnamese War. Today the corps is stationed in Dĩ An, Bình Dương.

History

In July 1973, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam after its 21st conference issued a resolution of strengthening the armed forces in order to unify the country. In executing the issue, three months later the Ministry of Defence and the Military Commission of the Central Committee approved the plan of organizing regular army corps for the Vietnam People's Army. On July 20, 1974,[1] General Võ Nguyên Giáp, Minister of Defence, signed the edict that led to the establishment of the 4th Corps in Đông Nam Bộ, where is located the part of Mekong River called Cửu Long River (Cửu Long Giang or Sông Cửu Long), from which came the name Cửu Long Corps of the unit.[2] The first headquarters of the corps consisted of party committee secretary (bí thư) Hoàng Thế Thiện and commander (tư lệnh) Hoàng Cầm.

During the Ho Chi Minh Campaign, it was 4th Corps that advanced through the delta regions of Phước Long, Biên Hòa and later captured the Special Capital Military District of Saigon and several important targets within Saigon. After the Vietnam War, 4th Corps continued to engage in the Cambodian–Vietnamese War, the corps was awarded the title Hero of the People's Armed Forces (Anh hùng Lực lượng vũ trang nhân dân) in 1980.[2]

Organization

The command structure of 1st Corps consists of the High Command (Bộ tư lệnh), the Staff of 2nd Corps (Bộ tham mưu), the Political Department (Cục chính trị), the Department of Logistics (Cục hậu cần) and the Department of Technique (Cục kỹ thuật). The combat forces of the corps include the 9th Infantry Division, 7th Infantry Division, 324th Infantry Division, 71st Regiment of Air Defence, 24th Artillery Regiment, 429th Regiment of Special Force and 550th Regiment of Engineers.[2]

Commanders

Time Commander Notes
19741981 Maj. Gen. Hoàng Cầm
19811982 Col. Nguyễn Văn Quảng
19821988 Maj. Gen. Võ Văn Dần
19881991 Maj. Gen. Vũ Văn Thước
19911995 Maj. Gen. Lê Văn Dũng Later promoted to General, Director of the General Department of Politics.
19951999 Maj. Gen. Nguyễn Minh Chu
19992004 Maj. Gen. Nguyễn Năng Nguyễn Later promoted to Lieutenant General, Deputy Chief of the General Staff.
20042010 Maj. Gen. Nguyễn Văn Thành
2010present Maj. Gen. Nguyễn Hoàng

References

  1. Ministry of Defence of Vietnam (2009). White book of Defence of Vietnam (in Vietnamese). Hanoi: World Publishing House. p. 111.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Quân đoàn 4" (in Vietnamese). Từ điển Bách khoa toàn thư Việt Nam.