The
Syrian Army is the dominant military service, as such its controls of 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 forcesSpecial forces and special operations forces are generic terms for elite highly-trained military teams/units that conduct specialized operations such as reconnaissance, unconventional warfare, direct action and counter-terrorism actions.In the United States, the term special operations forces is...
and the organization of ground formations into three
corpsA Corps is either a large formation, or an administrative grouping of troops within an armed force with a common function such as Artillery or Signals representing an arm of service...
.
The
Syrian Army is the dominant military service, as such its controls of 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 forcesSpecial forces and special operations forces are generic terms for elite highly-trained military teams/units that conduct specialized operations such as reconnaissance, unconventional warfare, direct action and counter-terrorism actions.In the United States, the term special operations forces is...
and the organization of ground formations into three
corpsA Corps is either a large formation, or an administrative grouping of troops within an armed force with a common function such as Artillery or Signals representing an arm of service...
. 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.
Original organization
As Syria gained independence in 1946, its leaders envisioned a
divisionA division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of between ten to thirty thousand soldiers. In most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades, and in turn several divisions make up a corps...
-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 WarThe 1948 Arab–Israeli War, known by Israelis as the War of Independence or War of Liberation and by Palestinians as the Catastrophe , was the first in a series of wars fought between the newly declared State of Israel and its Arab neighbours in the long-running Arab-Israeli conflict.The war...
and also included two infantry battalions and one armored vehicle battalion.
Involvement in military conflict
- The 1948 Arab-Israeli War
The 1948 Arab–Israeli War, known by Israelis as the War of Independence or War of Liberation and by Palestinians as the Catastrophe , was the first in a series of wars fought between the newly declared State of Israel and its Arab neighbours in the long-running Arab-Israeli conflict.The war...
(against IsraelIsrael officially the State of Israel , is a developed state in Western Asia located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan in the east, and Egypt on the southwest, and contains geographically diverse features within its...
)
- The Six Day War (against Israel)
- The Yom Kippur War
The Yom Kippur War, Ramadan War or October War , also known as the 1973 Arab-Israeli War and the Fourth Arab-Israeli War, was fought from October 6 to October 26, 1973, between Israel and a coalition of...
(against Israel)
- The Lebanese Civil War
The Lebanese Civil War was a multifaceted civil war in the nation of Lebanon in the Middle East. The war lasted from 1975 to 1990 and resulted in an estimated 130,000 to 250,000 civilian fatalities...
(1975–1990),
- 1982 Lebanon War
The 1982 Lebanon War , , called Operation Peace for Galilee by Israel, and later also known colloquially in Israel as the First Lebanon War, began on 6 June 1982, when the Israel Defense Forces invaded southern Lebanon...
(against LebaneseLebanon , officially the Republic of Lebanon
[Republic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies...]
militias, the PLO and Israel)
- The Persian Gulf War
The Persian Gulf War , known also as the Gulf War, the First Gulf War,or often as the Second Gulf War and by Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein as The Mother of all Battles, or commonly as Desert Storm, for the military response...
(against IraqIraq , officially the Republic of Iraq , also known as Mesopotamia, is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert.Iraq shares borders with Jordan to the west, Syria...
)
The Syrian armed forces has also been involved in keeping the order in Syria, for example by fighting a
Muslim BrotherhoodThe Muslim Brothers is a Sunni transnational movement and the largest political opposition organization in many Arab states, particularly Egypt...
insurrection in the 1980s (mostly notable for the
Hama MassacreThe Hama massacre occurred on February 2, 1982, when the Syrian army bombarded the town of Hama in order to quell a revolt by the Muslim Brotherhood. An estimated 7,000 to 40,000 people were killed, including about 1,000 soldiers. -Background:...
).
Current Structure and Organization of the Syrian Army
- 200,000 personnel plus 280,000 conscripts, total 480,000
- 3 Corps
A Corps is either a large formation, or an administrative grouping of troops within an armed force with a common function such as Artillery or Signals representing an arm of service...
HQ
- 1st Corps Damascus
Damascus is the capital and largest city of Syria. It is the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world and its current population is estimated at about 1,669,000...
covers from Damascus and the fortified zone and south to Der'a near the Jordanian border
- 2nd Corps Zabadani
Zabadani is a city in southwestern Syria in the Rif Dimashq Governorate, close to the border with Lebanon. It is located in the center of a green valley surrounded by high mountains at an elevation of around 1,100 m....
covers north of Damascus, to Homs and includes Lebanon.
- 3rd Corps Aleppo
Aleppo is a city in northern Syria, the second largest Syrian city and the capital of the Aleppo Governorate; the Governorate extends around the city for over 16,000 km² and has a population of 4,393,000, making it the largest Governorate in Syria by population...
based in the north and covers Hama, the Turkish and Iraqi borders, the Mediterranean coastline and is tasked with protecting the complex of CBWCBW may refer to:* CBW , a radio station licensed to Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada* CBW-FM, a radio station licensed to Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada* Chemical and Biological Weapons/Warfare - see:**Chemical warfare**Biological warfare...
and missile production and launch facilities. Controls the Syrian NavyThe Syrian Navy is the smallest of Syria's military forces. The navy consists of 4,000 regular and 2,500 reserve officers and men. The navy is under the army's Latakia regional command with the fleet based in the ports of Latakia, Baniyas, Minat al Bayda, and Tartus.- History :In 1950 the Syrian...
- 10 divisions
A division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of between ten to thirty thousand soldiers. In most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades, and in turn several divisions make up a corps...
- each with three active and one reserve brigade.
- 7 Armoured Divisions (1st, 3rd, 5th, 6th, 8th, 9th, 11th). 9th Armored Division served in the 1991 Gulf War as the Arab Joint Forces Command North reserve and saw little action.
- 3 understrength mechanised divisions (4th, 7th
The Syrian 7th Infantry Division was a key component of the Syrian attack force in the 1973 Yom Kippur War, involved in some of the heaviest fighting in the Golan Heights, especially in the aptly named 'Valley of Tears'. The division, with its attached armoured brigade, lost a great number of...
, and 10th) - each with one mechanized and two motorized brigades
- 4 independent infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of the Combat Arms they are the backbone of armies...
brigadeA brigade is a military unit that is typically composed of two to five regiments or battalions, depending on the era and nationality of a given army. Usually, a brigade is a sub-component of a division, a larger unit consisting of two or more brigades; however, some brigades are classified as a...
s
- 14th as Saiga
A thunderbolt is a traditional expression for a discharge of lightning or a symbolic representation thereof. In its original usage the word may also have been a description of meteors, although this is not currently the case. As a divine manifestation it has been a powerful symbol throughout...
Division (Command?) with 3 Special ForcesSpecial forces and special operations forces are generic terms for elite highly-trained military teams/units that conduct specialized operations such as reconnaissance, unconventional warfare, direct action and counter-terrorism actions.In the United States, the term special operations forces is...
regimentA regiment is a military unit, composed of variable numbers of battalions, commanded by a Colonel. A regiment can be broken into two distinct categories, one being an administrative unit which is responsible for non-operational management of battalions , while the other being a deployable combat...
s; plus ten independent regiments
- 2 independent artillery
Artillery is a military combat Arm that employs weapons capable of discharging large projectiles in combat. They are generally capable of adding considerable fire power to the military capability of an armed force...
brigades
- 2 independent anti-tank brigades
- Missile Command with three Surface-to-surface missile
A surface-to-surface missile is a guided projectile launched from a hand-held, vehicle mounted, trailer mounted or fixed installation or from a ship. They are often powered by a rocket motor or sometimes fired by an explosive charge, since the launching platform is typically stationary or moving...
brigades (each with three battalionA battalion is a military unit of around 1000-1500 soldiers usually consisting of between two and seven companies and typically commanded by a Lieutenant Colonel...
s),
- One brigade with FROG-7
The FROG-7 is the final version of the FROG family of unguided, spin-stabilized, short-range Soviet artillery rockets. The name “FROG” comes from then NATO designation of Free-Rocket-Over-Ground. The FROG-7 missiles were mounted on the ZIL-135 8x8 army truck. The FROG-7 has a range up to...
,
- one brigade with SS-21 Scarab,
- one brigade with Scud
Scud is a series of tactical ballistic missiles developed by the Soviet Union during the Cold War and exported widely to other countries. The term comes from the NATO reporting name SS-1 Scud which was attached to the missile by Western intelligence agencies...
-B/C/D.
- Two coastal defence missile brigades (one with 4 SS-C-1B Sepal launchers, one with 6 P-15 Termit
The P-15 Termit was a type of missile developed by the Soviet Union's Raduga design bureau in the 1950s. Its GRAU designation was 4K40, and its NATO reporting name was Styx or SS-N-2. In Russian service today it also seems to be called Rubezh...
launchers, alternative designation SS-C-3 'Styx'). Also they are strong rumors that Syria received C-802The Yingji-82 or YJ-82 is a Chinese anti-ship missile first unveiled in 1989 by the China Haiying Electro-Mechanical Technology Academy , also known as the Third Academy...
systems and 100 missiles from Iran.
- One border guard
The border guard, border patrol, border police, or frontier police of a country is a national security agency that performs border control, i.e., enforces the security of the country's national borders...
brigade
- The Republican Guard
The Syrian Republican Guard is a 10,000 man bodyguard of the Syrian Army. They are a single armored division used to protect the capital, Damascus from any domestic threats. The Guard is the only Syrian military unit allowed within the capital....
, a division equivalent with one artillery regiment, one mechanised brigade, and three armoured brigades.
On 3 September 1994,
Jane's Defence WeeklyJane's Defence Weekly is a weekly magazine reporting on military and corporate affairs, edited by Peter Felstead. It is one of a number of military-related publications named after John F.T. Jane, an Englishman who first published Jane's All the World's Fighting Ships in 1898...
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.'
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.
Main Battle Tanks
* USSR |
T-55/55MVThe T-54 and T-55 tanks were a series of main battle tanks designed in the Soviet Union. The first T-54 prototype appeared in March 1945, just before the end of the Second World War. The T-54 entered full production in 1947 and became the main tank of the Soviet Army's armored units, as well as of...
| (2150)
* USSR |
T-62M/KThe T-62 is a Soviet main battle tank, a further development of the T-55. Its 115 mm gun was the first smoothbore tank gun in use.The T-62 was produced between 1961 and 1975. It became a standard tank in the Soviet arsenal, partly replacing the T-55, although that tank continued to be...
| (1000)
* USSR |
T-72/72MThe T-72 is a Soviet-designed main battle tank that entered production in 1971. It is a further development of the T-62 with some features of the T-64A and has been further developed as the T-90...
| (1600)
* RUS | T-80UK | (320)
APC
BTR-50The BTR-50 The BTR-50 The BTR-50 (BTR stands for Bronetransporter (БТР, Бронетранспортер, literally "armored transporter") is a Soviet amphibious armored personnel carrier (APC) based on the PT-76 light tank. The BTR-50 is tracked, unlike most in the BTR series, which are wheeled. The BTR-50...
BTR-60The BTR-60 is the first vehicle in a series of Soviet eight-wheeled armoured personnel carriers. It was developed in the late 1950s as a replacement for BTR-152 and was seen first time in public in 1961...
BTR-70The BTR-70 is an eight-wheeled armored personnel carrier , originally developed during the late 1960s under the industrial designator GAZ-4905. In August 21, 1972, it was accepted into service and would later be exported to the Warsaw Pact and other allies...
BTR-152The BTR-152 was a non-amphibious Soviet wheeled armored personnel carrier that entered Soviet service in 1950. By the early 1970s it had been replaced in the infantry vehicle role by the BTR-60...
/POL
OT-64 SKOTThe OT-64 SKOT is an amphibious armored personnel carrier , developed jointly by Poland and Czechoslovakia well into the 1960s.- History :SKOT was intended to replace the halftrack OT-810, which was...
(ABOUT 1500 APC)
Towed Artillery
122 mm howitzer 2A18 (D-30) (600)
130 mm towed field gun M1954 (M-46)The 130 mm towed field gun M1954, also known as the M-46 is a manually loaded, towed 130 mm artillery piece, manufactured in the Soviet Union in the 1950s. It was first observed by the west in 1954 and was known as the M1954. There is also a Chinese copy, called Type 59-1.The caliber length of the...
(600)
152 mm towed gun-howitzer M1955 (D-20)The 152 mm howitzer M1955, also known as the D-20 is a manually loaded, towed 152 mm artillery piece, manufactured in the Soviet Union during the 1950s. It was first observed by the west in 1955 and was therefore known as the M1955. There is also a Chinese copy, called Type 66.-History:The D-20...
(20)
Multiple Launchers Rocket Systems
107 mm
Type 63This article is about the multiple rocket launcher. For other uses see Type 63 .The Type 63 towed 107mm, 12-tube multiple launch rocket was fielded by the People's Liberation Army ground forces in vast numbers from 1963 until the late 1990s...
122 mm
BM-21The BM-21 Grad is a Soviet truck-mounted 122-mm multiple rocket launcher, developed in the early 1960s. BM stands for boyevaya mashina, ‘combat vehicle’, and the nickname means ‘hail’. In the West, the system was initially known as M1964...
Long Range Battle Field Rockets
FROG-7The FROG-7 is the final version of the FROG family of unguided, spin-stabilized, short-range Soviet artillery rockets. The name “FROG” comes from then NATO designation of Free-Rocket-Over-Ground. The FROG-7 missiles were mounted on the ZIL-135 8x8 army truck. The FROG-7 has a range up to...
(18) OTR-21 Tochka (18)
SCUD-B/C/DScud is a series of tactical ballistic missiles developed by the Soviet Union during the Cold War and exported widely to other countries. The term comes from the NATO reporting name SS-1 Scud which was attached to the missile by Western intelligence agencies...
(26)
Anti-Tank Missile Systems
9K11 Malyutka 9K111 Fagot 9M113 Konkurs 9K115 Metis
9K115-2 Metis-MThe 9K115-2 Metis-M is a Russian anti-tank missile system. "9K115-2" is the GRAU designation of the missile. Its NATO reporting name is AT-13 Saxhorn-2.The system is designed to augment the combat power of company-levelmotorized units....
9M133 KornetThe Kornet is a Russian anti-tank missile . It is a heavy ATGM intended to replace an older generation of missiles in the Russian inventory, Kornet was designed to deal with current and future generations of main battle tanks and can also be used to engage slow and low flying aerial targets like...
/GER
MILANMILAN is a European anti-tank guided missile. Design of the MILAN started in 1962. It was ready for trials in 1971, and was accepted for service in 1972. It is a wire guided SACLOS missile, which means the sight of the launch unit has to be aimed at the target to guide the missile...
RPG-29The RPG-29 Vampir is a Russian man portable, shoulder fired anti-tank grenade launcher.-Description:The RPG-29 is a shoulder-launched, tube-style, single-shot, reloadable, anti-tank rocket launcher designed to be carried and used by a single soldier. On the top of the launch tube is the x 2.7 1P38...
RPG-7The RPG-7 is a widely-produced, portable, shoulder-launched, anti-tank rocket propelled grenade weapon. Originally the RPG-7 and its predecessor, the RPG-2, were designed by the Soviet Union, and now manufactured by the Bazalt company...
Towed AA Gun Systems
M1939 37 mm (300) ZSU-23-2 23 mm (650)
S-6057 mm AZP S-60 is a Soviet towed, road-transportable, short- to medium-range, single-barrel anti-aircraft gun from the 1950s...
57 mm (675) KS-19 100 mm (25)
Land based Air Defense Systems
S-75 DvinaThe Lavochkin OKB S-75 is a Soviet designed high-altitude, command guided, surface-to-air missile system...
S-200 Angara/Vega/Dubna 2K12 Kub
9K33 OsaThe 9K33 OSA is a highly mobile, low-altitude, short-range tactical surface-to-air missile system. "9K33" is its GRAU designation. Its NATO reporting name is SA-8 Gecko.-Description:...
9K31 Strela-1 9K35 Strela-10 9M311 Tunguska
Pantsir-S1Pantsir-S1 is a combined surface-to-air missile and anti-aircraft artillery weapon system produced by KBP of Tula, Russia mounted either on a tracked or wheeled vehicle or stationary...
9K37 Buk TOR-M1 (plans to obtain)
Light equipment
AK-47The AK-47 is a selective fire, gas operated 7.62mm assault rifle developed in the Soviet Union by Mikhail Kalashnikov in the 1940s. Six decades later, the AK-47 and its variants and derivatives remain in service throughout the world...
AK-74The AK-74 is a 5.45mm assault rifle developed in the early 1970s in the Soviet Union. It was developed from the earlier AKM and introduced in 1974.The rifle first saw service with Soviet forces engaged in the Afghanistan conflict...
RPKThe RPK is a 7.62x39mm light machine gun of Soviet design, developed by Mikhail Kalashnikov in the late 1950s, parallel to the AKM assault rifle...
PK machine gunThe PK is a 7.62 mm general purpose machine gun designed in the Soviet Union and currently in production in Russia. The PK machine gun was introduced in the 1960s and replaced the SGM and RPD machine guns in Soviet service. The PK machine gun can be used as a light anti-aircraft weapon when it is...
NSV (machine gun) KPV
DShKThe DShK 1938 is a Soviet heavy anti-aircraft machine gun firing 12.7x108mm cartridges...
Dragunov SVD
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
International Security is a leading peer-reviewed academic journal in the field of international and national security. The journal is edited by the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard University and published four times a year by MIT Press, both of Cambridge,...
, 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