In July 1973, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam 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 and the Military Commission of the Central Committee approved the plan of organizing regular army corps for the Vietnam People's Army. On July 20, 1974,[2] General Võ Nguyên Giáp, Minister of Defence, signed the edict that led to the establishment of the 4th Corps in Đông Nam Bộ, where is located the part of Mekong River called Cửu Long River (Cửu Long Giang or Sông Cửu Long), from which came the name Cửu Long Corps of the unit.[3] The first headquarters of the corps consisted of party committee secretary (bí thư) Hoàng Thế Thiện and commander (tư lệnh) Hoàng Cầm.
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.[4] The corps was disbanded on 7 December 2024 to form the 34th Corps.[5]
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.[15]
High Command of the 4th Corps, Vietnam People's Army (1994). History of the 4th Corps (in Vietnamese). Hanoi: People's Army Publishing House.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)