10th Infantry Brigade (Lebanon)

Last updated

10th Infantry Brigade
Active1984 – present
CountryLebanon
AllegianceFlag of Lebanon.svg Lebanon
Branch Ground Forces
Type Mechanized infantry
Role Armoured warfare
Combined arms
Desert warfare
Forward observer
Maneuver warfare
Raiding
Reconnaissance
Urban warfare
SizeBrigade
Nickname(s)the "Green Berets"
Engagements Lebanese Civil War

Syrian civil war spillover in Lebanon

Commanders
Colonel Nassib Eid
Colonel Makhoul Hakmeh

The 10th Infantry Brigade (Lebanon) is a Lebanese Army unit that fought in the Lebanese Civil War, being active from its creation in January 1984.

Contents

Origins

In the aftermath of the June–September 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon, President Amin Gemayel, convinced that a strong and unified national defense force was a prerequisite to rebuilding the nation, announced plans to raise a 60,000-man army organized into twelve brigades (created from existing infantry regiments), trained and equipped by France and the United States. [1]

Emblem

The Brigade's insignia consists of a brown eagle set on a blue sky background, swooping down on its prey symbolizing rapidity and precision in fixing and eliminating the target. The eye of the eagle symbolizes courage and fearlessness, and an expanded wing denotes protection of friendly forces. [2]

Structure and organization

By 1985 the 10th Brigade comprised an armoured battalion (104th) equipped with Panhard AML-90 armoured cars, [3] AMX-13 light tanks (replaced in the 1990s by T-55A tanks donated by Syria), [4] US M48A5 main battle tanks (MBTs), three mechanized infantry battalions (101st, 102nd, and 103rd) provisionally issued with US M113 armored personnel carriers (APC), an artillery battalion (105th) equipped with US M114 155 mm howitzers and a support company, the latter divided into one anti-tank and two heavy mortar sections equipped with French Hotchkiss-Brandt TDA MO-120-RT-61 120mm towed heavy mortars. The brigade also fielded a logistics support battalion, equipped with liaison and transport vehicles such as US M151A2 jeeps, Land-Rover long wheelbase series III, Chevrolet C20 and Dodge Ram (1st generation) pickups, plus US M35A2 2½-ton (6x6) military trucks. [5] The Brigade's Headquarters in 1983 was located at the Shukri Ghanem Barracks in the Fayadieh District of East Beirut, and placed under the command of Colonel Nassib Eid, replaced in 1989 by Col. Makhoul Hakmeh. [6] [7]

Combat history

The Lebanese Civil War

Commanded by Colonel Nassib Eid and reinforced by a Lebanese Army Commando battalion led by then Major Yusuf Tahan, the 10th Brigade during the Mountain War was deployed at east Beirut, where it was held in reserve and ready to support the other LAF Brigades in the field as required. [7]

On February 13, 1984, the 101st Ranger Battalion was rushed to the western portion of the Shahhar region to reinforce the beleaguered units of the 4th Brigade, who were fighting desperately to retain their positions at Aabey, Kfar Matta, Ain Ksour, and Al-Beniyeh while sustaining a wave of ground assaults by the Druze People's Liberation Army (PLA) militia led by Walid Jumblatt. [8]

The Liberation War 1989–1990

Usually attached to the "Red Berets" of the Para-commando regiment (Arabic: فوج المغاوير transliteration Fauj al-Maghaweer) led by Lieutenant Colonel Yusuf Tahan (later replaced by Colonel Jihad Chahine), the "Green Berets" of the 10th Brigade had their units stationed along the Green Line, manning the Beirut-Damascus highway to the Kfarshima–Ash Choueifat front in the Baabda District. [9] In 1987 both formations were tasked of defending the Fayadieh Military Academy and the large Army barracks complex adjacent to it. [9]

During the 1989–1990 Liberation War, the 10th Brigade fought alongside the 8th Brigade against an alliance of Druze PSP/PLA, pro-Syrian Lebanese Forces – Executive Command (LFEC) and Palestinian militias backed by the Syrian Army at the second battle of Souk El Gharb on August 13, 1989. The militias' ground offensive was preceded by a massive and sustained Syrian artillery barrage on the positions held by Aounist troops, who repulsed the assault by inflicting some 20-30 casualties on the PSP/PLA attackers. [10] [11] [12]

The Elimination War 1989–1990

The 13 October 1990 offensive and the end of the civil war

The post-civil war years 1990–present

Upon the end of the war in October 1990, the 10th Infantry Brigade was re-integrated into the structure of the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF).

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Barak, The Lebanese Army: A National institution in a divided society (2009), p. 123.
  2. ↑ "10th Infantry Brigade | Official Website of the Lebanese Army". Lebarmy.gov.lb. Retrieved 20 February 2023.
  3. ↑ Dunstan, Panhard Armoured Car: 1961 Onwards (AML 60, AML 90, Eland), Enthusiasts' Manual (2019), p. 154.
  4. ↑ Kinnear, Sewell & Aksenov, Soviet T-55 Main Battle Tank (2019), Appendix six: known client users of the T‑55 medium tank, p. 160.
  5. ↑ "Annex C Appendix II". US Army Technical Manual of Foreign Military Sales: Battlefield Damage Assessment and Repair (PDF). Washington, D.C. 18 December 1987. p. 262. TM 9-2320-356-BD. Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 September 2012. Retrieved 15 June 2013.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  6. ↑ Micheletti and Debay, La 10e Brigade Heliportée, RAIDS magazine (1989), p. 21 (box).
  7. 1 2 Hokayem, L'armée libanaise pendant la guerre: un instrument du pouvoir du président de la République (1975-1985) (2012), pp. 85-86.
  8. ↑ Hokayem, L'armée libanaise pendant la guerre: un instrument du pouvoir du président de la République (1975–1985) (2012), p. 88.
  9. 1 2 Collelo, Lebanon: a country study (1989), p. 224.
  10. ↑ Middle East International No 357, 25 August 1989, Publishers Lord Mayhew, Dennis Walters MP; Jim Muir, pp. 3-4.
  11. ↑ Micheletti and Debay, Victoire a Souk El Gharb – la 10e Brigade sauve le Liban, RAIDS Magazine (1989), pp. 18-24.
  12. ↑ Barak, The Lebanese Army: A National Institution in a Divided Society (2009), p. 159.

Related Research Articles

The Hundred Days War was a subconflict within the 1977–82 phase of the Lebanese Civil War which occurred in the Lebanese capital Beirut. It was fought between the allied Christian Lebanese Front militias, under the command of the Kataeb Party's President Bachir Gemayel, and the Syrian troops of the Arab Deterrent Force (ADF).

The Zahliote Group – ZG (Arabic: مجموعة زحلوتي | Majmueat Zhlouty) or Groupement Zahliote (GZ) in French, was a small Lebanese Christian militia raised in the Greek Catholic town of Zahlé in the Beqaa Valley, which fought in the Lebanese Civil War from 1975 to 1981.

The 4th Infantry Brigade (Lebanon) was a Lebanese Army unit that fought in the Lebanese Civil War, being active from its creation in January 1983 until its destruction in September that year, in the wake of the Mountain War.

The Zgharta Liberation Army – ZLA, also known as Zghartawi Liberation Army, was the paramilitary branch of the Lebanese Marada Movement during the Lebanese Civil War. The militia was formed in 1967 by the future President of Lebanon and za'im Suleiman Frangieh as the Marada Brigade seven years before the war began. The force was initially commanded by Suleiman Franjieh's son, Tony Frangieh. It operated mainly out of Tripoli and Zgharta, but it also fought in Beirut. The ZLA fought against various Palestinian and Lebanese Muslim militias as well as the Lebanese Forces in Bsharri and Ehden.

The 7th Infantry Brigade (Lebanon) is a Lebanese Army unit that fought in the Lebanese Civil War, being active since its creation in June 1983.

The 8th Infantry Brigade (Lebanon) is a Lebanese Army unit that fought in the Lebanese Civil War, being active since its creation in January 1983.

The Kataeb Regulatory Forces – KRF or Forces Régulatoires des Kataeb (FRK) in French, were the military wing of the right-wing Lebanese Christian Kataeb Party, otherwise known as the 'Phalange', from 1961 to 1977. The Kataeb militia, which fought in the early years of the Lebanese Civil War, was the predecessor of the Lebanese Forces.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Army of Free Lebanon</span> Former Christian splinter faction of the Lebanese Army during the Lebanese Civil War

The Army of Free Lebanon – AFL, also known variously as the Colonel Barakat's Army or Armée du Liban Libre (ALL) and Armée du Colonel Barakat in French, was a predominantly Christian splinter faction of the Lebanese Army that came to play a major role in the 1975–77 phase of the Lebanese Civil War.

The Mountain War, also known as the War of the Mountain, was a subconflict between the 1982–83 phase of the Lebanese Civil War and the 1984–89 phase of the Lebanese Civil War, which occurred at the mountainous Chouf District located south-east of the Lebanese Capital Beirut. It pitted the Lebanese Forces Militia (LF) and the official Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) against a coalition of the Lebanese National Resistance Front (LNRF) led by the Progressive Socialist Party (PSP), allied with the Palestinian National Salvation Front (PNSF) and backed by Syria. Hostilities began when the LF and the LAF entered the predominantly Druze Chouf District to bring back the region under government control, only to be met with fierce resistance from local Druze militias and their allies. The PSP leader Walid Jumblatt's persistence to refuse join the central government and his instigation of a wider opposition faction led to disintegration of the already fragile LAF and the eventual collapse of the government under President Amine Gemayel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lebanese Forces (militia)</span> Lebanese Christian faction in the Lebanese Civil War

The Lebanese Forces was the main Lebanese Christian faction during the Lebanese Civil War. Resembling the Lebanese Front which was an umbrella organization for different parties, the Lebanese Forces was a militia consisting of fighters originating from the different right-wing parties. It was mainly staffed by Maronite Christians loyal to Bachir Gemayel, and fought against the Lebanese National Movement, the Palestine Liberation Organization, and the Syrian Armed Forces among others. The group gained infamy for their perpetration of the 1982 Sabra and Shatila massacre, which primarily targeted Palestinian refugees following Gemayel's assassination.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lebanese Resistance Regiments</span> Lebanese Shia Islamic political organization and former militia

The Lebanese Resistance Regiments (Arabic: أفواج المقاومة اللبنانية, romanized: ʾAfwāj al-Muqāwama al-Lubnāniyya, or أَمَل AMAL), also designated Lebanese Resistance Battalions, Lebanese Resistance Detachments, Lebanese Resistance Legions and Battalions de la Resistance Libanaise (BRL), but simply known by its Arabic acronym أَمَل ʾAmal which means "Hope", were the military wing of the Amal Movement, a political organization representing the Muslim Shia community of Lebanon. The movement's political wing was officially founded in February 1973 from a previous organization bearing the same name and its military wing was formed in January 1975. The Amal militia was a major player in the Lebanese Civil War from 1975 to 1991. The militia has now been disarmed, though the movement itself, now known as the Amal Movement (Arabic: Harakat Amal), is a notable Shia political party in Lebanon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">January 1986 Lebanese Forces coup</span>

On January 15, 1986, forces loyal to Lebanese president Amine Gemayel and Samir Geagea, intelligence chief of the Lebanese Forces (LF), ousted Elie Hobeika from his position as leader of the LF and replaced him with Geagea. The coup came in response to Hobeika's signing of the Syrian-sponsored Tripartite Accord that aimed to put an end to the Lebanese Civil War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lebanese Arab Army</span> Arab militant group

The Lebanese Arab Army – LAA (Arabic: جيش لبنان العربي transliteration Jayish Lubnan al-Arabi), also known variously as the Arab Army of Lebanon (AAL) and Arab Lebanese Army or Armée arabe du Liban (AAL) in French, was a predominantly Muslim splinter faction of the Lebanese Army that came to play a key role in the 1975–77 phase of the Lebanese Civil War.

The 5th Infantry Brigade (Lebanon) is a Lebanese Army unit that fought in the Lebanese Civil War, being active since its creation in January 1983.

The 6th Infantry Brigade is a Lebanese Army unit that fought in the Lebanese Civil War, being active since its creation in January 1983.

The 9th Infantry Brigade (Lebanon) is a Lebanese Army unit that fought in the Lebanese Civil War, being active since its creation in January 1984.

The 3rd Infantry Brigade (Lebanon) is a Lebanese Army unit that fought in the Lebanese Civil War, being active since its creation in January 1983 until its disbandment in December 1984, being subsequently re-formed in June 1991.

The 2nd Infantry Brigade (Lebanon) is a Lebanese Army unit that fought in the Lebanese Civil War, being active since its creation in January 1983 until its self-disbandment in 1987, being subsequently re-formed in June 1991.

The Vanguard of the Maani Army – VMA (MDJ) was a predominantly Druze splinter faction of the Lebanese Army that came to play a role in the 1975–77 phase of the Lebanese Civil War.

References

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.