3rd Corps () or Tây Nguyên Corps (, literally: ''Corps of Tây Nguyên'' or Corps of the Western Highlands) was one of the three 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

Vietnam People's Army Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

. First organised in 1975 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 ...

, 3rd Corps had a major role in the Ho Chi Minh Campaign and the

Cambodian–Vietnamese War The Cambodian–Vietnamese War was an armed conflict between Democratic Kampuchea, controlled by Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge, and the Vietnam, Socialist Republic of Vietnam. It began in December 1978, with a Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia which to ...

. Before disbanding, the corps was stationed in Pleiku, Gia Lai.

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''), 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 Military Commission of the Central Committee approved the plan of organising regular

for the Vietnam People's Army. On 26 March 1975, 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 that led to the establishment of the 3rd Corps in Tây Nguyên, from which came the name Tây Nguyên Corps of the unit. The first headquarters of the corps consisted of party committee secretary (''bí thư'') Đặng Vũ Hiệp and commander (''tư lệnh'') Vũ Lăng. During the Ho Chi Minh Campaign, it was 3rd Corps that advanced through the maritime regions of Phú Yên, Khánh Hòa Province and later captured Tan Son Nhat Airport. After the

, 3rd Corps continued to engage in the

, 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 1979. On 13 September 2024, the plan to merge the 3rd and 4th Corps to form the 34th Corps was announced in the 3rd Corps Emulation Congress. The corps was disbanded on 7 December 2024 to form the 34th Corps.

Organisation

Headquarters

* Department of Staff ** 28th Reconnaissance Battalion ** 27th Guards Battalion ** 29th Signals Battalion ** 21st Chemical Battalion * Department of Politics * Department of Logistics ** 827th Transportation Battalion ( ZiL-130, KAMAZ-43253) ** 81st Warehouse Company ** 211th Military Hospital * Department of Technicals ** 30th Repair Battalion ** Z9 Warehouse

Combat forces

* 10th Division ** 24th Infantry Regiment ** 28th Infantry Regiment ** 66th Infantry Regiment ** 4th Artillery Regiment (

2S1 The 2S1 ''Gvozdika'' (, "Dianthus caryophyllus, Carnation") is a Soviet Self-propelled artillery, self-propelled howitzer introduced in 1972 and is in service in Russia and other countries . It is based on the MT-LBu multi-purpose chassis, mount ...

SPHs, BM-14MM MLRS) ** 16th Air Defense Battalion ** 17th Engineer Battalion ** 18th Signals Battalion * 31st Division ** 866th Infantry Regiment ** 922nd Infantry Regiment ** 977th Infantry Regiment * 320th Division ** 48th Mechanized Infantry Regiment (

T-54/T-55 The T-54 and T-55 tanks are a series of Soviet Union, Soviet medium tanks introduced in the years following the World War II, Second World War. The first T-54 prototype was completed at Nizhny Tagil by the end of 1945.Steven Zaloga, T-54 and T-5 ...

BMP-1 The BMP-1 is a Soviet Union, Soviet Amphibious vehicle, amphibious tracked infantry fighting vehicle that has been in service from 1966 to the present. BMP stands for ''Boyevaya Mashina Pyekhoty 1'' (), meaning "infantry fighting vehicle, 1st ...

) ** 52nd Infantry Regiment ** 64th Infantry Regiment ** 20th Reconnaissance Company * 234th Air Defense Brigade ** 1st Air Defense Battalion ( Type 65 anti-aircraft guns) ** 3rd Air Defense Battalion ( Type 65 anti-aircraft guns) ** 19D32 Observation Post * 273rd Tank Brigade (

tanks) * 40th Artillery Brigade ** 1st Artillery Battalion ( M-46 field guns) ** 2nd Artillery Battalion ( M101 howitzers) ** 3rd Artillery Battalion ( BM-21 MLRS) * 198th Commando Brigade * 7th Engineer Brigade ** 3rd River Crossing Battalion ( PMP floating bridge)

Commanders

Notes

References

* {{Vietnam People's Army Corps of the People's Army of Vietnam Military units and formations established in 1975 Military units and formations disestablished in 2024 Hero of the People's Armed Forces