The Vietnam People's Army (Vietnamese: Quân Đội Nhân Dân Việt Nam, variously translated as Vietnamese People's Army and People's Army of Vietnam) is the armed forces of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. The VPA includes the: the Vietnamese People's Ground Forces (including VPA Strategic Rear Forces and Border Defense Forces), the Vietnamese People's Navy (including VPN Marine Corps), the Vietnamese People's Air Force, and the Vietnamese People's...
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The Vietnam People's Army (Vietnamese: Quân Đội Nhân Dân Việt Nam, variously translated as Vietnamese People's Army and People's Army of Vietnam) is the armed forces of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. The VPA includes the: the Vietnamese People's Ground Forces (including VPA Strategic Rear Forces and Border Defense Forces), the Vietnamese People's Navy (including VPN Marine Corps), the Vietnamese People's Air Force, and the Vietnamese People's Coast Guard.
During the French Indochina War (1946–1954), the VPA was often referred to as the Việt Minh. In the context of the Vietnam War (1959–1975), the army was referred to as the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) or the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN). This allowed writers to distinguish northern communists from the southern communists, or Viet Cong. However, northerners and southerners were always under the same command structure. According to Hanoi's official history, the Vietcong was a branch of the PAVN.
The predecessor of the VPA was the...
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