The People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN), officially the Vietnam People's Army, also recognized as the Vietnamese Army or the People's Army, is the national military force of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the armed wing of the ruling Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV). The PAVN is a part of the Vietnam People's Armed Forces and includes: Ground Force, Navy, Air Force, Border Guard and Coast Guard. Vietnam does not have a separate Ground Force or Army service. All ground troops, army corps, military districts and special forces belong to the Ministry of National Defence, directly under the command of the CPV Central Military Commission, the Minister of National Defence, and the General Staff of the Vietnam People's Army. The military flag of the PAVN is the National flag of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam defaced with the motto Quyết thắng added in yellow at the top left.
The Battle of Điện Biên Phủ was a climactic confrontation of the First Indochina War that took place between 13 March and 7 May 1954. It was fought between the French Union's colonial Far East Expeditionary Corps and Viet Minh communist revolutionaries. The United States was officially not a party to the war, but it was secretly involved by providing financial and material aid to the French Union, which included CIA contracted American personnel participating in the battle. The People's Republic of China and the Soviet Union similarly provided vital support to the Viet Minh, including most of their artillery and ammunition.
The Battle of Vĩnh Yên which occurred from 13 to 17 January 1951, was a major engagement in the First Indochina War between the French Union and the Việt Minh. The French Union forces, led by World War II hero Jean de Lattre de Tassigny, inflicted a decisive defeat on the Việt Minh forces, which were commanded by Võ Nguyên Giáp. The victory marked a turn in the tide of the war, which was previously characterized by a number of Việt Minh victories.
The Battle of Ban Me Thuot was a decisive battle of the Vietnam War which led to the complete destruction of South Vietnam's II Corps Tactical Zone. The battle was part of a larger North Vietnamese military operation known as Campaign 275 to capture the Tay Nguyen region, known in the West as the Vietnamese Central Highlands.
Operation Lorraine was a French military operation of the First Indochina War.
The Battle of Hòa Bình was fought during the First Indochina War. It occurred from 10 November 1951 to 25 February 1952, when French Union forces attempted to lure the Việt Minh out into the open and to force it to fight on French terms.
The Battle of Nà Sản was fought between French Union forces and the Nationalist forces of the Việt Minh at Nà Sản, Sơn La Province, during the First Indochina War for control of the T’ai region.
Nguyễn Hữu An was a general in the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN).
The 308th Infantry Division is a division of the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN), first formed in August 1950 in southern China from the previous Regimental Group 308.
The Battle of Muong Khoua took place between April 13 and May 18, 1953, in northern Laos during the First Upper Laos Campaign in the French Indochina War. A garrison of a dozen French and 300 Laotian troops occupied a fortified outpost in the hills above the village of Muong Khoua, across the border from Điện Biên Phủ. Muong Khoua was among the last French outposts in northern Laos following the decision of the French High Command to string several isolated garrisons through the region in order to buy time to fortify the major Laotian cities against Việt Minh attack.
General Lê Trọng Tấn 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 Trọng Tấn participated in the Viet Minh movement before the August Revolution in 1945 and gradually became one of the most important figures of the Vietnam People's Army during the Second Indochina War. Being one of the key figures of the North Vietnam armed forces in Vietnam War, Lê Trọng Tấn was Deputy Commander of the Viet Cong (VC) and second commander of the 1975 Spring Offensive that effectively ended the war. Afterwards, he became Chief of the General Staff and Deputy Minister of Defence of Vietnam until his death in December 1986. Lê Trọng Tấn was widely appreciated by his comrades, whom of which include general Võ Nguyên Giáp, as one of the finest commanders of the Vietnam People's Army.
1st Corps or Quyết thắng Corps was a regular army corps of the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN). First organised in 1973 during the Vietnam War, 1st Corps had a major role in the 1975 spring offensive that ended the war. Before disbanded on 21 November 2023, the corps was stationed in Tam Điệp, Ninh Bình.
The 320th Division or Đồng Bằng Division is a formation and one of the six original "Steel and Iron Divisions" of the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN). It was established in January 1951.
The 304 Division is an infantry division of the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN). It was established in January 1950 at Thanh Hoa.
The 316th Division or Bông Lau Division was a division of the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN). One of the 6 original "Steel and Iron Divisions", it was created in 1951 and consisted of some 10,000 to 15,000 men.
The 325th Infantry Division is a division of the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN), first formed in March 1951 from independent units in Thừa Thiên, it is likely that it only became fully operational in mid-1952. It was one of the 6 original "Iron and Steel" Divisions of the Viet Minh.
The Liberation Army of South Vietnam was an irregular military force established by the Workers' Party of Vietnam in 1961 in South Vietnam as the armed wing of the Viet Cong. In 1962, the People's Revolutionary Party of South Vietnam separated from the Workers' Party of Vietnam in terms of external appearance, openly directing the Liberation Army's military. Politically, the South Vietnamese Liberation Army was under the direction of the National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam and the Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam. The military forces from the North to the South of Vietnam, although collectively known as the Liberation Army of South Vietnam, still use the unit names, military badges and War flag of the Vietnam People's Army.
The Battle of Nghĩa Lộ was a battle of the First Indochina War. In the fall of 1952 the French army encountered its most serious crisis since the disasters near the Chinese border at Cao Bằng, Đông Khê and RC 4 occurred in 1949 and 1950. The Battle of Nghĩa Lộ was the opening salvo in a series of offenses and counter-offenses in late 1952 during the First Indochina War. It was part of a Việt Minh offensive in the T’ai region of Tonkin in the vicinity of the Black River. The French countered with Operation Lorraine to attack Việt Minh rear supply bases in an attempt to cut off the offensive. The Việt Minh did not cease or divert the offensive to protect its supply bases. The Việt Minh continued its offensive attack against Nà Sản where there was an outpost and a short airstrip, both guarded by the French army. This series of battles lasted for three months between October 1952 and December 1952. These actions and the Việt Minh successes set the stage for the subsequent Invasion of Laos in April 1953.
Vương Thừa Vũ was a lieutenant-general in the People's Army of Vietnam active during World War II, the First Indochina War, and the Vietnam War. He commanded Viet Minh forces in their early engagements at Hanoi in 1946, directing the city's two month-long defence against French forces. By 1949, during the Viet Minh's transition from guerrilla to regular warfare, he had risen to command the PAVN's first modern infantry division, the 308th, which he led into battle at Dien Bien Phu in 1954.
Vũ Lập was a colonel general in the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) active during the First Indochina War, Vietnam war, Laotian Civil War and Sino-Vietnamese War. He commanded PAVN forces in Campaign 139 in Laotian Civil War, and PAVN Military Region 2 in Sino-Vietnamese War.
Vietnam 