1st Corps () or Quyết thắng Corps (, literally: ''Determined Victory Corps'') was a 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 formally introduced March 1, 1800, when Napoleon ordered Gener ...

of the

People's Army of Vietnam The People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN), officially the Vietnam People's Army (VPA; , , ), also recognized as the Vietnamese Army (), the People's Army () or colloquially the Troops ( ), is the national Military, military force of the Vietnam, S ...

(PAVN). First organised in 1973 during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

, 1st Corps had a major role in the

1975 spring offensive The 1975 spring offensive (), officially known as the general offensive and uprising of spring 1975 (), was the final North Vietnamese campaign in the Vietnam War that led to the capitulation of the Republic of Vietnam. After the initial succ ...

that ended the war. Before disbanding on 21 November 2023, the corps was stationed in Tam Điệp, Ninh Bình.

History

In 1972, after the failure of the air raid in

Operation Linebacker II Operation Linebacker II, sometimes referred to as the Christmas bombings and, in Vietnam, Dien Bien Phu in the air, was a strategic bombing campaign conducted by the United States against targets in North Vietnam from 18 December to 29 December ...

, the

Federal government of the United States The Federal Government of the United States of America (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the Federation#Federal governments, national government of the United States. The U.S. federal government is composed of three distinct ...

was forced to sign the

Paris Peace Accords The Paris Peace Accords (), officially the Agreement on Ending the War and Restoring Peace in Viet Nam (), was a peace agreement signed on January 27, 1973, to establish peace in Vietnam and end the Vietnam War. It took effect at 8:00 the follo ...

, according to which in 1973 the United States had to withdraw all troops home. However, the military situation in 4th Military Region of the

is also unfavorable. The

Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of Vietnam The Central Military Commission (CMC; ) is an organ of the Communist Party of Vietnam, which is the highest body in Vietnam on military policy and the ideological head the Vietnam People's Army (VPA) alongside the Ministry of National Defence, ...

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 (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

to reinforce. 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''), commonly the Party Central Committee (PCC; - or ), is the highest organ between two national congresses ...

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 A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

and the

Central Military Commission Central Military Commission may refer to: *Central Military Commission (China), the highest national defense organization in the People's Republic of China. *Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of Vietnam, the highest body in Vietnam ...

approved the plan of organising regular

for the Vietnam People's Army. On 24 October 1973, General

Võ Nguyên Giáp Võ Nguyên Giáp ( vi-hantu, , ; 25 August 1911 – 4 October 2013) was a Vietnamese general, communist revolutionary and politician. Highly regarded as a military strategist, Giáp led Vietnamese communist forces to victories in wars agains ...

, Minister of Defence, signed the edict No. 142/QĐ-QP that led to the establishment of the 1st Corps in Tam Điệp, 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 Lê Trọng Tấn (; 1 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. Lê Tr� ...

. After the PAVN victory in the Battle of Ban Me Thuot in March 1975, 1st Corps was ordered to move to

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

and participate in the

. During the last days of the war, 1st Corps had a major role in the attack on

Saigon Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) ('','' TP.HCM; ), commonly known as Saigon (; ), is the most populous city in Vietnam with a population of around 14 million in 2025. The city's geography is defined by rivers and canals, of which the largest is Saigo ...

, 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 The Hero of the People's Armed Forces () is an honorary designation of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. Criteria The title (and medal) of Hero of the People's Armed Force is awarded to individuals with "exceptionally outstanding achievements ...

(''Anh hùng Lực lượng vũ trang nhân dân'') in 1985.

Development process

According to the decision of the

, 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 15 March 1975, while the Battle of Ban Me Thuot 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 or '' Tonkin'' () is one of three geographical regions in Vietnam. It consists of three geographic sub-regions: the Northwest (Vùng Tây Bắc), the Northeast (Vùng Đông Bắc), and the Red River Delta (Đồng Bằng Sôn ...

on diversionary duty), had traveled over a distance of 1,789 km from the North to the South along the

Ho Chi Minh trail The Ho Chi Minh Trail (), also called Annamite Range Trail () was a Military logistics, logistical network of roads and trails that ran from North Vietnam to South Vietnam through the kingdoms of Kingdom of Laos, Laos and Cambodia (1953–1970), ...

, 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 14 April 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

, encircling and destroying the enemy in Phú Lợi, Bến Cát, Bình Dương, Lai Khê, Tân Uyên; prevent the

Army of the Republic of Vietnam The Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN; ; ) composed the ground forces of the Republic of Vietnam Military Forces, South Vietnamese military from its inception in 1955 to the Fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. Its predecessor was the ground forc ...

's 5th Division 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 (), also publicly and officially known as the Reunification Convention Hall or simply Reunification Hall (), is a landmark in Ho Chi Minh City (formerly known as Saigon), Vietnam. It was designed by architect Ngô Vi� ...

. 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 corps organisation before merged with the 2nd Corps to form the 12th Corps on 29 November 2023:

Headquarters

* Department of Staff ** 701st Reconnaissance Battalion ** 140th Signals Battalion ** 21st Chemical Defense Battalion * Department of Politics * Department of Logistics ** 752nd Transportation Battalion ** Two Logistics Warehouse Companies * Department of Technicals ** Two Technicals Warehouse Battalions

Combat forces

* 308th Division ** 36th Infantry Regiment ** 88th Infantry Regiment ** 102nd Mechanized Infantry Regiment (

BMP-2 The BMP-2 (''Boyevaya Mashina Pekhoty'', , literally "combat machine/vehicle f theinfantry") is an amphibious infantry fighting vehicle introduced in the 1980s in the Soviet Union, following on from the BMP-1 of the 1960s. Development his ...

) ** 58th Artillery Regiment * 312th Division ** 141st Infantry Regiment ** 165th Infantry Regiment ** 209th Infantry Regiment ** 14th Artillery Battalion (100mm mortars) * 390th Division ** 27th Infantry Regiment ** 48th Infantry Regiment ** 64th Infantry Regiment * 241st Air Defense Brigade ( Type 65 anti-aircraft guns) * 368th Artillery Brigade ** D-20 howitzer battery ** D-30 howitzer battery ** BM-21 battery * 299th Engineer Brigade ( PTS amphibious vehicle, PMP floating bridge) * 1st Corps Military School

Commanders

References

* {{Vietnam People's Army Corps of the People's Army of Vietnam Military units and formations established in 1973 Military units and formations disestablished in 2023