Establishment of Group 559

Date: May 19, 1959 • Location: Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam

The North Vietnamese Army establishes Group 559, whose responsibility is to determine how to maintain supply lines to South Vietnam; the resulting route is the Ho Chi Minh trail.

The People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) 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 the backbone component of the Vietnam People's Armed Forces and includes: Ground Force, Navy, Air Defence - Air Force, Border Guard and Coast Guard. Vietnam has not organized a formally-separated and structured ground force or army service command; instead, all ground troops, army corps, military districts and special forces are designated under the umbrella term "combined arms" and directly administered by the Ministry of National Defence, under the command of the CPV Central Military Commission, the Minister of National Defence, and the General Staff of the Vietnam People's Army.