1st Corps (Vietnam People's Army)

Major General Lê Quang Hòa, the first committee secretary of the 1st Corps.

In July 1973, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam after its 21st conference issued a resolution of strengthening the armed forces 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 organising regular army corps for the Vietnam People's Army. On 24 October 1973,[1] General Võ Nguyên Giáp, Minister of Defence, signed the edict No. 142/QĐ-QP that led to the establishment of the 1st Corps in Tam Điệp, Ninh Bình.[2] The first headquarters of the corps was composed of party committee secretary (bí thư) Lê Quang Hòa and commander (tư lệnh) and deputy secretary Lê Trọng Tấn.

After the PAVN victory in the Central Highlands in March 1975, 1st Corps was ordered to move to South Vietnam and participate in the Ho Chi Minh Campaign. During the last days of the war, 1st Corps had a major role in the attack on Saigon, in which it was assigned the mission of capturing the headquarters of the Joint General Staff. The corps was awarded the title Hero of the People's Armed Forces (Anh hùng Lực lượng vũ trang nhân dân) in 1985.[2]

The command structure of 1st Corps consists of the High Command (Bộ tư lệnh), the Staff of 1st 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 308th Division, 312th Division, 390th Division, 367th Air Defence Division, 202nd Tank Brigade, 45th Artillery Brigade and 299th Engineer Brigade.[2]

• 308th Division
• 312th Division
• 390th Division

• High Command of the 1st Corps, Vietnam People's Army (2003). History of the 1st Corps (in Vietnamese). Hanoi: People's Army Publishing House.