1st Corps ( vi, Quân đoàn 1) or Quyết thắng Corps ( vi, Binh đoàn Quyết thắng, literally: ''Determined Victory Corps'') is one of the four regular

army corps Corps (; plural ''corps'' ; from French , from the Latin "body") is a term used for several different kinds of organization. A military innovation by Napoleon I, the formation was first named as such in 1805. The size of a corps varies great ...

of the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN). First organised in

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: ...

during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...

, 1st Corps had a major role in the

1975 spring offensive The 1975 spring offensive ( vi, chiến dịch mùa Xuân 1975), officially known as the general offensive and uprising of spring 1975 ( vi, Tổng tiến công và nổi dậy mùa Xuân 1975) was the final North Vietnamese campaign in the Vie ...

that ended the war. Today the corps is stationed in

Tam Điệp Tam Điệp is a city of Ninh Bình Province in the Red River Delta region of Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge ...

, Ninh Bình. * Commander: Senior Colonel Trương Mạnh Dũng * Political Commissar: Major General Nguyễn Đức Hưng

History

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using mean solar tim ...

, after the failure of the air raid in

Operation Linebacker II Operation Linebacker II was an aerial bombing campaign conducted by U.S. Seventh Air Force, Strategic Air Command and U.S. Navy Task Force 77 against targets in the Democratic Republic of Vietnam ( North Vietnam) during the final period of ...

, the

Federal government of the United States The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 states, a city within a fe ...

was forced to sign the Paris Peace Accords, according to which in 1973 the United States had to withdraw all troops home. However, the military situation in 4th Military Region of the People's Army of Vietnam is also unfavorable. The

Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of Vietnam The Central Military Commission (CMC, ) is the highest party organ in Vietnam on military policy. Its membership includes some members of the Politburo and military leaders. The CMC is headed by the current General Secretary of the Communist Party ...

sent a few divisions that were suffering heavy losses to the

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north ...

to reinforce. In July

, the

Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam The Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam ( Vietnamese: ''Ban Chấp hành Trung ương Đảng Cộng sản Việt Nam'') is the highest decision-making body of the party between convocations of the National Congress. History The C ...

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 Central Military Commission approved the plan of organising regular

for the Vietnam People's Army. On

October 24 Events Pre-1600 * AD 69 – In the Second Battle of Bedriacum, troops loyal to Vespasian defeat those of Emperor Vitellius. *1260 – Chartres Cathedral is dedicated in the presence of King Louis IX of France. * 1360 – The T ...

, 1973, General

Võ Nguyên Giáp Võ Nguyên Giáp (; 25 August 1911 – 4 October 2013) was a Vietnamese general and communist politician who is regarded as having been one of the greatest military strategists of the 20th century. He served as interior minister in President ...

, Minister of Defence, signed the edict No. 142/QĐ-QP that led to the establishment of the 1st Corps in

, Ninh Bình. 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 General Lê Trọng Tấn (3 October 1914 – 5 December 1986) was an officer of the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) during 1945 to 1986. During this period of his military career, Lê Trọng Tấn held several senior positions of the Army. L ...

. After the PAVN victory in the

Battle of Ban Me Thuot The Battle of Ban Me Thuot was a decisive battle of the Vietnam War which led to the complete destruction of South Vietnam's II Corps Tactical Zone. The battle was part of a larger North Vietnamese military operation known as Campaign 275 to c ...

in March 1975, 1st Corps was ordered to move to

Southern Vietnam Southern Vietnam ( vi, Nam Bộ) is one of the three geographical regions of Vietnam, the other two being Northern and Central Vietnam. It includes 2 administrative regions, which in turn are divided into 19 ''First Tier units'', of which 17 ar ...

and participate in the

. 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 Joint General Staff (JGS) was a body of senior uniformed leaders in the South Vietnamese military which advised the Ministry of National Defence and the President of South Vietnam. Organisation The JGS carried out administrative and plannin ...

. The corps was awarded the title Hero of the People's Armed Forces (''Anh hùng Lực lượng vũ trang nhân dân'') in

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

Development process

According to the decision of the Ministry of Defence, the organisational structure of the Corps includes: Corps Command. Three corps agencies: the General Staff, the Political Bureau, and the Logistics Department. Units upon establishment: 308th Infantry Division, 312th Division, 320B Infantry Division (later changed to 390th Division), 367th Air Defense Division, 202nd Tank-Armored Brigade, 45th Brigade Artillery, 299th Engineer Brigade and 140th Information Regiment. On

March 15 Events Pre-1600 *474 BC – Roman consul Aulus Manlius Vulso celebrates an ovation for concluding the war against Veii and securing a forty years' truce. * 44 BC – The assassination of Julius Caesar takes place. * 493 – Odo ...

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

, while the

was gaining a crushing victory. 1st Corps was ordered to move into

ready to fight. In just 12 days and nights, the entire formation of the corps (except for the 308th Division soldier who remained in

Northern Vietnam Northern Vietnam ( vi, Bắc Bộ) is one of three geographical regions within Vietnam. It consists of three administrative regions: the Northwest (Vùng Tây Bắc), the Northeast (Vùng Đông Bắc), and the Red River Delta (Đồng Bằng S ...

on diversionary duty), had traveled over a distance of 1,789 km from the North to the South along the Ho Chi Minh trail, in time to enter the war zone directly participated in the fighting in the North of Saigon. After that, the corps moved into the battlefield along Highway 1 - Road 9 - through Lao Bao to Laotian territory - back to Kon Tum along route 14 through Buon Ma Thuot, on April 14, 1975 to Dong Xoai - Phuoc Long prepares for the final battle. During the Ho Chi Minh Campaign, Army Corps 1 received the task of attacking from the North of Saigon, encircling and destroying the enemy in Phú Lợi, Bến Cát, Bình Dương,

Lai Khê Lai Khê (Lai Khê hamlet, Lai Hưng commune, Bến Cát, Bình Dương Province) (also known as Lai Khê Base) was a former Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) and U.S. Army base, located along Highway 13 to the northwest of Saigon and a ...

, Tân Uyên; prevent the Army of the Republic of Vietnam's

5th Division In military terms, 5th Division may refer to: Infantry divisions * 5th Division (Australia) *5th Division (People's Republic of China) * 5th Division (Colombia) *Finnish 5th Division (Continuation War) * 5th Light Cavalry Division (France) *5th Mo ...

from withdrawing to the inner city and neutralize this unit; attacked and captured the Chief of the Joint General Staff, the army command posts in Gò Vấp, Bình Thạnh; organized a combined attack force with other corps at the

Independence Palace The Independence Palace ( vi, Dinh Độc Lập), also publicly known as the Reunification Convention Hall ( vi, Hội trường Thống Nhất), is a landmark in Ho Chi Minh City (formerly known as Saigon), Vietnam. It was designed by archite ...

. Due to the urgent need to march from the North by all means of water, land and air. 1st Corps started the attack a day later than the other units.

Organisation

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. * Division Nato

308th Division * Division Nato

312th Division * Division Nato

390th Division

Commanders

Notes

References

* {{Vietnam People's Army Corps of the People's Army of Vietnam Military units and formations established in 1973 Hero of the People's Armed Forces