4th Corps () or Cửu Long Corps (, literally: ''Corps of Cửu Long'' or "Corps of the

Mekong The Mekong or Mekong River ( , ) is a transboundary river in East Asia and Southeast Asia. It is the world's twelfth-longest river and the third-longest in Asia with an estimated length of and a drainage area of , discharging of wat ...

") 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

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 ...

. First organized in 1974 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 ...

, 4th 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

Dĩ An Dĩ An is a Provincial city (Vietnam), city of Bình Dương Province in the Southeast (Vietnam), Southeast region of Vietnam, about 20 km north of central Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon). It is 1,706 km by rail from Hanoi. At the 2 ...

, Bình Dương.

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 in order 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 organizing regular

for the Vietnam People's Army. On July 20, 1974, 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 4th Corps in

Đông Nam Bộ Đông Nam Bộ (literally "Southeast region") is a region in Southern Vietnam. This region includes one municipality, Ho Chi Minh City; and five provinces: Đồng Nai, Bình Dương, Bà Rịa–Vũng Tàu province, Bình Phước and T� ...

, where is located the part of

Mekong River The Mekong or Mekong River ( , ) is a transboundary river in East Asia and Southeast Asia. It is the world's List of rivers by length, twelfth-longest river and List of longest rivers of Asia, the third-longest in Asia with an estimated l ...

called Cửu Long River (Cửu Long Giang or Sông Cửu Long), from which came the name Cửu Long Corps of the unit. The first headquarters of the corps consisted of party committee secretary (''bí thư'')

Hoàng Thế Thiện Huang (; zh, t=Wiktionary:黃, 黃, s=wikt:黄, 黄, c=, p=, first=t) is a Chinese surname. While ''Huáng'' is the pinyin romanization of the word, it may also be romanized as Hwang (Korean surname), Hwang, Wong (surname), Wong, Waan, Wan, Waon ...

and commander (''tư lệnh'') Hoàng Cầm. During the Ho Chi Minh Campaign, it was 4th Corps that advanced through the delta regions of Phước Long,

Biên Hòa Biên Hòa (Northern accent: , Southern accent: ) is the capital city of Đồng Nai Province, Vietnam, and is part of the Ho Chi Minh City metropolitan area. Situated northeast of Ho Chi Minh City (also known as Saigon), Biên Hòa is connect ...

and later captured the Special Capital Military District of

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 ...

and several important targets within Saigon. After the

, 4th 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 1980. 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.

Organization

Headquarters

* Department of Staff ** 100th Guards Battalion ** 46th Reconnaissance Battalion ** 26th Signals Battalion ** 38th Chemical Defense Battalion * Department of Politics * Department of Logistics ** 6th Transportation Battalion ** Composite Warehouse ** Fuel Depot * Department of Technicals ** K174 Technicals Warehouse

Combat forces

* 9th Division ** 1st Infantry Regiment ** 2nd Infantry Regiment ** 3rd Infantry Regiment * 71st Air Defense Brigade ** 12th Air Defense Battalion ( AZP S-60) ** 16th Air Defense Battalion ( Type 65) * 434th Artillery Brigade ** M101 howitzer battery ** M-46 field gun battery ** BM-21 MLRS battery Right before disband, the Vietnam Ministry of Defense announced the decision to transfer 7th Division, 309th Division, 4th Military Hospital, 550th Engineer Brigade to 7th Military Region, 22nd Tank Brigade to the Armor-Tank Arms; River Crossing Battalion of 550th Engineer Brigade to the Engineer Arms.

Commanders

References

* {{Vietnam People's Army Corps of the People's Army of Vietnam Military units and formations established in 1974 Military units and formations disestablished in 2024 Hero of the People's Armed Forces