2nd Corps ( vi, Quân đoàn 2) or Hương Giang Corps ( vi, Binh đoàn Hương Giang, literally: ''Corps of the Perfume River'') 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

Vietnam People's Army 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 of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

. First organised in 1974 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 ...

, 2nd Corps had a major role in the

Ho Chi Minh Campaign 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 Lạng Giang District,

Bắc Giang Bắc Giang () is a city in Vietnam. It is the capital of Bắc Giang Province. Its name, deriving from that of the Province Sino-Vietnamese, means "north of the river." The location is very convenient for transportation: it is 50 km north ...

. * Commander: Maj. Gen. Phạm Văn Hưng * Political Commissar: Maj. Gen. Trần Võ Dũng

History

In July 1973, 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 Military Commission of the Central Committee approved the plan of organising regular

for the Vietnam People's Army. On 17 May 1974, 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 that led to the establishment of the 2nd Corps in Thừa Thiên, now Thừa Thiên–Huế Province, where is located the Perfume River (Sông Hương or Hương Giang), that came the name Hương Giang Corps of the unit. The first headquarters of the corps consisted of political commissar (''chính ủy'') Lê Linh and commander (''tư lệnh'')

Hoàng Văn Thái Hoàng Văn Thái (1 May 1915 – 2 July 1986), born Hoàng Văn Xiêm, was a Vietnamese Army General and a communist political figure. His hometown was Tây An, Tiền Hải District, Thái Bình Province. During the Tết Offensive, he was t ...

. In early 1975, 2nd Corps was a major force of the Vietnam People's Army in Hue-Da Nang and Tây Nguyên Campaign. During the

, it was 2nd Corps that first advanced in the city of Saigon and captured 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 ...

, which was the workplace of the president Duong Van Minh of South Vietnam. Colonel Bùi Quang Thận, then a Captain in the 2nd Corps, was the person who raised the flag of Liberation Army in the roof of the Independence Palace and marked the end of the

. After the war, 2nd Corps continued to engage in Laos (1976–1979) and

Cambodian–Vietnamese War The Cambodian–Vietnamese War ( km, សង្គ្រាមកម្ពុជា-វៀតណាម, vi, Chiến tranh Campuchia–Việt Nam), known in Vietnam as the Counter-offensive on the Southwestern border ( vi, Chiến dịch Phản ...

(1978–1979). The corps was awarded the title Hero of the People's Armed Forces (''Anh hùng Lực lượng vũ trang nhân dân'') in 1985.

Organisation

The command structure of 2nd 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:

Commanders

Notes

References

* {{Vietnam People's Army Corps of the People's Army of Vietnam Military units and formations established in 1974 Hero of the People's Armed Forces