Syrian Army

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The Syrian Army is the ground defence force of Syria; it is the dominant military service in the country, controlling the seniormost posts in the armed forces, and has the most manpower, approximately 80 percent of the combined services. In 1985 army regulars were estimated at 396,000, with an additional 300,000 reserves. The army had eleven divisional units. The major development in force organization was establishment of an additional divisional framework based on the special forces and the organization of ground formations into three corps. The army's active manpower served in three all-arms army corps, seven armored divisions (with one independent armored brigade), three mechanized divisions, one Republican Guard division, a special forces division and ten independent airborne-special forces regiments.

[edit] History

[edit] Original organization

As Syria gained independence in 1946, its leaders envisioned a division-sized army. The 1st Brigade was ready by the Syrian invasion of Israel on May 15, 1948. It consisted of two infantry battalions and one armored battalion. The 2nd Brigade was organized during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War and also included two infantry battalions and one armored vehicle battalion.^[1]

[edit] Involvement in military conflict

• The 1948 Arab-Israeli War (against Israel)
• The Six Day War (against Israel)
• The Yom Kippur War (against Israel)
• The Lebanese Civil War (1975–1990),
  • 1982 Lebanon War (against Lebanese militias, the PLO and Israel)
• The Persian Gulf War (against Iraq)

The Syrian armed forces has also been involved in keeping the order in Syria, for example by fighting a Muslim Brotherhood insurrection in the 1980s (mostly notable for the Hama Massacre).

[edit] Current structure and organization

A Syrian soldier aims an AK-47 assault rifle from his position in a foxhole during a firepower demonstration, part of Operation Desert Shield.

• 200,000 personnel plus 280,000 conscripts, total 480,000^[2]
• 3 Corps HQ
  • 1st Corps Damascus covers from Damascus and the fortified zone and south to Der'a near the Jordanian border
  • 2nd Corps Zabadani covers north of Damascus, to Homs and includes Lebanon.
  • 3rd Corps Aleppo based in the north and covers Hama, the Turkish and Iraqi borders, the Mediterranean coastline and is tasked with protecting the complex of CBW and missile production and launch facilities. Controls the Syrian Navy
• 10 divisions - each with three active and one reserve brigade.
  • 7 Armoured Divisions (1st, 3rd, 5th, 6th, 8th, 9th, 11th).^[3] 9th Armored Division served in the 1991 Gulf War as the Arab Joint Forces Command North reserve and saw little action.^[4]
  • 3 understrength mechanised divisions (4th, 7th, and 10th) - each with one mechanized and two motorized brigades
• 4 independent infantry brigades
• 14th as Saiga Division (Command?) with 3 Special Forces regiments; plus ten independent regiments
• 2 independent artillery brigades
• 2 independent anti-tank brigades
• Missile Command with three Surface-to-surface missile brigades (each with three battalions),
  • One brigade with FROG-7,
  • one brigade with SS-21 Scarab,
  • one brigade with Scud-B/C/D.
• Two coastal defence missile brigades (one with 4 SS-C-1B Sepal launchers, one with 6 P-15 Termit launchers, alternative designation SS-C-3 'Styx'). Also they are strong rumors that Syria received C-802 systems and 100 missiles from Iran.
• One border guard brigade
• The Republican Guard, a division equivalent with one artillery regiment, one mechanised brigade, and three armoured brigades.

On 3 September 1994, Jane's Defence Weekly reported that then-President Hafez Assad had dismissed at least 16 senior military commanders. Among them was Major General Ali Haidar, then commander of the Special Forces, and General Shafiq Fayyadh, a cousin of the President who had commanded the 'crack' 3rd Armoured Division for nearly two decades. The 3rd Armoured Division was 'deployed around Damascus.' JDW commented that 'the Special Forces and the 3rd Armoured Division, along with the 1st Armoured Division are key elements in the security structure that protects Assad's regime. Any command changes involving those formations have considerable political significance.'

[edit] Army Reserves

Army reserves total 300,000 soldiers, and form the following units:

• 2nd Armored Division in Aleppo,
• the 12th and 13th Motorized Divisions would be formed from the best of the two armored brigades, two independent armored regiments, 30 infantry brigades and three artillery brigades.

Reservist training is reasonable, however, equipment is old and of very poor quality and limited in number.

[edit] Weapons Inventory

[edit] Combat Vehicles

[edit] Main Battle Tanks

• T-55/55MV (2150)
• T-62M/K (1000)
• T-72/72M (1600)

[edit] APC Scout

• BRDM-2 (800)

[edit] IFV

• BMP-1 (2100)
• BMP-2 (100)

[edit] APC

• BTR-50
• BTR-60
• BTR-70
• BTR-152
• / OT-64 SKOT (ABOUT 1500 APC)

[edit] Artillery

[edit] Towed Artillery

• 122 mm howitzer 2A18 (D-30) (600)
• 130 mm towed field gun M1954 (M-46) (600)
• 152 mm towed gun-howitzer M1955 (D-20) (20)

[edit] Self-propelled artillery

• 2S1 Gvozdika 122 mm (380)
• 2S3 Akatsiya 152 mm (50)

[edit] Towed Mortars

• 82 mm (200)
• M-160 160 mm (100)
• M-240 240 mm (10)

[edit] Multiple Launchers Rocket Systems

• 107 mm Type 63
• 122 mm BM-21

[edit] Long Range Battle Field Rockets

• FROG-7 (18)
• OTR-21 Tochka (18)
• SCUD-B/C/D (26)

[edit] Crew Served

[edit] Anti-Tank Missile Systems

RPG-7 with warhead detached

• 9K11 Malyutka
• 9K111 Fagot
• 9M113 Konkurs
• 9K115 Metis
• 9K115-2 Metis-M
• 9M133 Kornet
• / MILAN
• RPG-29
• RPG-7

[edit] Army Air Defense Systems

[edit] Anti Air Gun Systems

[edit] Self Propelled AA Gun Systems

• ZSU-23-4 23 mm (400)

[edit] Towed AA Gun Systems

• M1939 37 mm (300)
• ZSU-23-2 23 mm (650)
• S-60 57 mm (675)
• KS-19 100 mm (25)

[edit] Surface to Air Missile Systems

[edit] MANPADS

• 9K32 Strela-2
• 9K34 Strela-3
• 9K38 Igla

[edit] Land based Air Defense Systems

• S-75 Dvina
• S-200 Angara/Vega/Dubna
• 2K12 Kub
• 9K33 Osa
• 9K31 Strela-1
• 9K35 Strela-10
• 9M311 Tunguska
• Pantsir-S1
• 9K37 Buk
• TOR-M1 (plans to obtain)

[edit] Light equipment

• AK-47
• AK-74
• RPK
• PK machine gun
• NSV (machine gun)
• KPV
• DShK
• Dragunov SVD

[edit] References and sources

1. ^ Morris, Benny (2008), 1948: A History of the First Arab-Israeli War, p. 251. Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-15112-1.
2. ^ International Institute for Strategic Studies, The Military Balance 2006, p.208-9
3. ^ Richard Bennett, The Syrian Military: A Primer, MEIB Bulletin, Vol. 3, No. 8, August/September 2001
4. ^ Norman Schwarzkopf, It Doesn't Take A Hero, Bantam Books, 1993, p.467-9

[edit] Further reading

• Kenneth M. Pollack, Arabs at War: Military Effectiveness 1948-91, University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln and London, 2002, and Pollack's book reviewed in International Security, Vol. 28, No.2.
• History of the Syrian Arab Army: prussianization of the Arab Army, the Arab Revolt of 1916-1918, and the cult of nationalization of Arabs in the Levant after World War I, Infantry Magazine, Nov-Dec 2005