The 4th Military Region of Vietnam People's Army, is directly under the Ministry of Defence of Vietnam, tasked to organise, build, manage and command armed forces defending the North Central Vietnam. The predecessor, 4th War Zone (Vietnamese: Chiến khu) was established by the order of Ho Chi Minh on 15 October 1945, and this day has become the traditional day of the Military Zone. On 3 June 1957, Ho Chi Minh signed the ordinance 17/SL to establish 4th Military Zones on the basis of 4th Joint Zone (Vietnamese: Liên khu), simultaneously with other military zones: the North Vietnamese, North West, North East, Left Bank, Right Bank.