3rd Corps (Vietnam People's Army)

3rd Corps (Vietnamese: Quân đoàn 3) or Tây Nguyên Corps (Vietnamese: Binh doan tay nguyen, literally: Corps of Tây Nguyên or Corps of the Western Highlands) is one of the four regular army corps of the Vietnam People's Army. First organised in 1975 during the Vietnam War, 3rd Corps had a major role in the Ho Chi Minh Campaign and the Cambodian–Vietnamese War. Today the corps is stationed in Pleiku, Gia Lai.

• Commander: Maj. Gen. Nguyễn Đức Hải
• Political Commissar: Maj. Gen. Chu Công Phu

Quân đoàn 3 (3rd Corps)
Active	26 March 1975 – present
Country	Vietnam
Allegiance	Vietnam People's Army
Branch	Active duty
Type	Army Corps
Role	Regular force
Size	Corps
Part of	Vietnam People's Army
Garrison/HQ	Pleiku, Gia Lai
Engagements	Vietnam War Cambodian–Vietnamese War
Decorations
Commanders
Current commander	Maj. Gen. Nguyễn Đức Hải
First commander	Maj. Gen. Vũ Lăng

History

In July 1973, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam 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 army corps for the Vietnam People's Army. On 26 March 1975,[1] General Võ Nguyên Giáp, 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.[2] 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 Vietnam War, 3rd Corps continued to engage in the Cambodian–Vietnamese War, the corps was awarded the title Hero of the People's Armed Forces (Anh hùng Lực lượng vũ trang nhân dân) in 1979.[2]

Organisation

The command structure of 3rd Corps consists of the High Command (Bộ tư lệnh), the Staff of 3rd 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 10th Infantry Division, 31st Infantry Division, 320th Infantry Division, 312th Regiment of Air Defence, 273rd Tank Regiment, 675th Artillery Regiment, 198th Regiment of Special Force, 29th Regiment of Signal and 545th Regiment of Engineers.[2]

• 10th Infantry Division
• 31st Infantry Division
• 320th Infantry Division
• 312th Air Defence Regiment
• 273rd Tank Regiment
• 675th Artillery Regiment
• 198th Special Force Regiment
• 29th Signal Regiment
• 545th Engineers Regiment

Commanders

Time	Commander	Notes
1975–1977	Maj. Gen. Vũ Lăng
1977–1979	Maj. Gen. Nguyễn Kim Tuấn
1979–1984	Col. Nguyễn Quốc Thước	Later promoted to Lieutenant General, Commander of the 4th Military Region.
1984–1990	Maj. Gen. Khuất Duy Tiến	Later promoted to Lieutenant General, Director of the Department of Armed Forces, General Staff.
1990–1991	Maj. Gen. Trần Tất Thanh
1991–1993	Col. Gen. Lê Quang Bình
1993–1997	Maj. Gen. Đỗ Quang Mùi
1997–2002	Maj. Gen. Nguyễn Hữu Hạ
2002–2005	Col. Gen. Nguyễn Xuân Hùng	Later promoted to Lieutenant General, Deputy Chief of the General Staff.
2005–2007	Maj. Gen. Nguyễn Trung Thu	Later promoted to Lieutenant General, Commander of the 5th Military Region.
2007–2010	Maj. Gen. Nguyễn Vĩnh Phú
2010–present	Maj. Gen. Nguyễn Đức Hải

Notes

1. Ministry of Defence of Vietnam (2009). White book of Defence of Vietnam (in Vietnamese). Hanoi: World Publishing House. p. 111.
2. "Quân đoàn 3". Encyclopedic Dictionary of Vietnam (in Vietnamese). Archived from the original on 13 June 2010. Retrieved 2 February 2010.

References

• High Command of the 3rd Corps, Vietnam People's Army (2002). History of the Army at Tây Nguyên front - Annals of the 3rd Corps (1964–2000) (in Vietnamese). Hanoi: People's Army Publishing House.