4th Corps (Vietnam People's Army)


4th Corps or Cửu Long Corps is one of the four regular army corps of the People's Army of Vietnam. 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.
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, 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, from which came the name Cửu Long Corps of the unit. The first headquarters of the corps consisted of party committee secretary Hoàng Thế Thiện and commander 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 in 1980.

Organization

The command structure of 1st Corps consists of the High Command, the Staff of 2nd Corps, the Political Department, the Department of Logistics and the Department of Technique. The combat forces of the corps include the 9th Infantry Division, 7th Infantry Division, 309th Infantry Division, 71st Regiment of Air Defence, 24th Artillery Regiment, 429th Regiment of Special Force and 550th Regiment of Engineers.