9th Infantry Brigade (Lebanon)

Last updated
9th Infantry Brigade
Active1984 – present
CountryLebanon
AllegianceFlag of Lebanon.svg Lebanon
BranchLebanese Ground Forces
Type Mechanized infantry
Role Armoured warfare
Close-quarters combat
Combined arms
Counter-battery fire
Desert warfare
Forward observer
Maneuver warfare
Raiding
Reconnaissance
Urban warfare
SizeBrigade
Engagements Lebanese Civil War

Syrian Civil War spillover in Lebanon

Commanders
ColonelMounir Merhi
ColonelSami Rihana
ColonelGhassan Ged
ColonelYamine

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.

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] On March 1, 1983, the 9th Infantry Regiment was amalgamated with the Anti-tank Regiment, the Engineering Regiment and the 801st battalion into a brigade group numbering 2,000 men, mostly Maronite Christians from the northern Akkar and Koura Districts, though it also contained Sunni and Shia Muslims. Initially designated the General Support Brigade – GSB (Arabic: لواء الدعم العام | Liwa' al-Daem al-Eami), the new unit changed its name on September 10 of that year to "9th Brigade", which officially became on January 1, 1984, the 9th Infantry Brigade. [2]

Emblem

The Brigade's emblem consists of a grip holding a crossed red lightning symbolizing permanent readiness and rapid execution and the sword of Law, surmounted by an Arabic numeral (9) in gold and two drops of blood below symbolizing self-donation with no limits, all set on a black background. [3]

Structure and organization

The new unit grew from an understrength battalion comprising three rifle companies to a fully equipped mechanized infantry brigade, capable of aligning a Headquarters' (HQ) battalion, an armoured battalion (94th) equipped with Panhard AML-90 armoured cars, [4] [5] [6] [7] AMX-13 light tanks (replaced in the 1990s by T-55A tanks donated by Syria) [8] [9] and M48A5 main battle tanks, three mechanized infantry battalions (91st, 92nd and 93rd) issued with M113, [10] AMX-VCI, [11] Panhard M3 VTT [5] [12] and VAB armored personnel carriers, [4] [13] plus an artillery battalion (95th) fielding US M114 155 mm howitzers. The Brigade also fielded a logistics battalion, equipped with US M151A2 jeeps, Land-Rover long wheelbase series III, Chevrolet C20 and Dodge Ram (1st generation) pickups and US M35A2 2½-ton military trucks. [14] Headquartered at the Sayyad Roundabout Barracks in the Hazmiyeh district of east Beirut, the brigade was initially commanded by Colonel Mounir Merhi, replaced in 1984 by Col. Ghassan Ged, a Greek Orthodox. [15] In 1985 he was replaced by Col. Sami Rihana, [16] also a Greek Orthodox, in turn succeeded in 1989 by Col. Yamine.

Combat history

The Lebanese Civil War

The Mountain War 1983-1984

Commanded by Colonel Mounir Merhi, the 9th Brigade during the Mountain War was deployed at the Hazmiyeh and Sin el Fil eastern suburbs of Beirut. [17] During the Battle for west Beirut on February 6, 1984, the 91st Infantry Battalion and the 94th Armoured Battalion under the command of Colonel Sami Rihana reinforced the other Lebanese Army units deployed in the western sector of the city fighting the anti-Government Muslim militias. Placed at the disposal of the Seventh Brigade's Command, these two battalions were positioned between the Port district and the Sodeco Square in the Nasra (Nazareth) neighbourhood of the Achrafieh district of east Beirut. [18]

The post-Chouf years 1984-1990

Regarded as being totally loyal to General Michel Aoun's interim military government, the majority of the brigade's battalions – except one (92nd), deployed at the Port district – were placed along the Hazmiyeh sector of the Green Line, where they fought successfully the Lebanese Forces (LF) militia faction led by Elie Hobeika during his failed coup attempt to seize control of east Beirut on January 16, 1986. [19] [20] The Brigade battled again the LF in February 1990, this time at the Badaro-Furn esh Shebbak sector during the Elimination War. [19]

The post-civil war years 1990-present

Upon the end of the war in October 1990, the 9th 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. ↑ "Lebanon - Mechanized Infantry Brigades". Globalsecurity.org. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
  3. ↑ "9th Infantry Brigade | Official Website of the Lebanese Army". Lebarmy.gov.lb. Retrieved 2020-05-22.
  4. 1 2 Kassis, 30 Years of Military Vehicles in Lebanon (2003), p. 7.
  5. 1 2 Zaloga, Tank battles of the Mid-East Wars (2) (2003), p. 52.
  6. ↑ Dunstan, Panhard Armoured Car: 1961 Onwards (AML 60, AML 90, Eland), Enthusiasts' Manual (2019), p. 154.
  7. ↑ Sex & Abi-Chahine 2021, p. 103.
  8. ↑ Kinnear, Sewell & Aksenov, Soviet T-54 Main Battle Tank (2018), Appendix eight: known customers and users of the T‑54 medium tank, p. 182.
  9. ↑ Kinnear, Sewell & Aksenov, Soviet T-55 Main Battle Tank (2019), Appendix six: known client users of the T‑55 medium tank, p. 160.
  10. ↑ Zaloga, Tank battles of the Mid-East Wars (2) (2003), p. 53.
  11. ↑ Kassis, 30 Years of Military Vehicles in Lebanon (2003), p. 10.
  12. ↑ Sex & Abi-Chahine 2021, p. 102.
  13. ↑ Zaloga, Tank battles of the Mid-East Wars (2003), pp. 53; 57-58.
  14. ↑ "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)
  15. ↑ Hokayem, L'armée libanaise pendant la guerre: un instrument du pouvoir du président de la République (1975-1985) (2012), p. 100.
  16. ↑ Rolland, Lebanon: Current Issues and Background (2003), p. 185.
  17. ↑ Hokayem, L'armée libanaise pendant la guerre: un instrument du pouvoir du président de la République (1975-1985) (2012), p. 86.
  18. ↑ Hokayem, L'armée libanaise pendant la guerre: un instrument du pouvoir du président de la République (1975-1985) (2012), p. 87.
  19. 1 2 Collelo, Lebanon: a country study (1989), p. 223.
  20. ↑ Barak, The Lebanese Army – A National institution in a divided society (2009), pp. 115; 139.

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References

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