The King Abdullah II 3rd Armored Division (

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

:3 فرقة الملك عبدالله الثاني المدرعة) is a former armored division in Jordanian Armed Forces, active from 1969 to 2018.

History

The Division was equipped and trained for high-intensity combat against highly organized enemies as well as

peacekeeping Peacekeeping comprises activities, especially military ones, intended to create conditions that favor lasting peace. Research generally finds that peacekeeping reduces civilian and battlefield deaths, as well as reduces the risk of renewed w ...

missions. The Division functioned as the Jordanian strategic reserve and was deployed between Zarqa, to the northeast of Amman, to Qatraneh in the south on near Saudi Arabia. Since Qatraneh has a strategic position vis-a-vis the attack routes along the Dead Sea, the 40th Armored Brigade was usually based there. In the

Yom Kippur War The Yom Kippur War, also known as the Ramadan War, the October War, the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, or the Fourth Arab–Israeli War, was fought from 6 to 25 October 1973 between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states led by Egypt and S ...

, the 40th Armoured Brigade was sent to the Syrian front and played a significant role in the fighting. King Abdullah II became Battalion Commander of the Second Royal Armored Battalion – 40th Armored Brigade in January 1992. In 1993, he was in the 40th Armored Brigade with the rank of Colonel. This Division was involved in the

1948 Arab–Israeli War The 1948 Arab–Israeli War, also known as the First Arab–Israeli War, followed the 1947–1948 civil war in Mandatory Palestine, civil war in Mandatory Palestine as the second and final stage of the 1948 Palestine war. The civil war becam ...

reprisal operations Reprisal operations (, ') were raids carried out by the Israel Defense Forces in the 1950s and 1960s in response to frequent fedayeen attacks during which armed Arab militants infiltrated Israel from Syria, Egypt, and Jordan to carry out a ...

, the

Six-Day War The Six-Day War, also known as the June War, 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states, primarily United Arab Republic, Egypt, Syria, and Jordan from 5 to 10June ...

, the Battle of Karameh, the

War of Attrition The War of Attrition (; ) involved fighting between Israel and Egypt, Jordan, the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) and their allies from 1967 to 1970. Following the 1967 Six-Day War, no serious diplomatic efforts were made to resolve t ...

Black September Black September (), also known as the Jordanian Civil War, was an armed conflict between Jordan, led by Hussein of Jordan, King Hussein, and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), led by chairman Yasser Arafat. The main phase of the fight ...

and the

. In 2018, the 3rd Armored Division HQ with many support units and one armored brigade (91st) has been deactivated, the remaining two armored brigades (40th, 60th) and some units merged with Jordanian Central Command.

Organisation

The Division is deployed between Zarqa, to the northeast of

Amman Amman ( , ; , ) is the capital and the largest city of Jordan, and the country's economic, political, and cultural center. With a population of four million as of 2021, Amman is Jordan's primate city and is the largest city in the Levant ...

to Qatraneh in the south on the way to Saudi Arabia.

Units

* Division Command HQ – (Deactivated in 2018) * 3rd Royal Communication Group – (merged with Central Command Communication Group in 2018) * Field Reconnaissance Battalion (Army Knights) – (Transferred to Directorate of Joint Military Operations) * ''King Hussein 40th Armored Brigade'' – (Transferred to Central Command in 2018) ** Brigade HQ ** Signal Company ** Prince Hussein bin Abdullah II 1st Armored Infantry Battalion (IFV) ** 2nd Royal Tank Battalion ** Prince Ali bin Al Hussein 4th Tank Battalion ** Services Companies ** Medical Company ** Brigade Maintenance Workshop * ''Prince Hassan 60th Armored Brigade'' – (Transferred to Central Command in 2018) ** Brigade HQ ** Signal Company ** Royal Guard 3rd Armored Infantry Battalion (IFV) ** 3rd Royal Tank Battalion ** 5th Royal Tank Battalion ** Services Companies ** Medical Company ** Brigade Maintenance Workshop * ''91st Royal Armored Brigade'' – (Deactivated in 2018) ** Brigade HQ ** Signal Company ** King Ali 5th Armored Infantry Battalion (IFV) - (Transferred to Central Command in 2018) ** 10th Royal Tank Battalion ** 11th Royal Tank Battalion ** Services Companies ** Medical Company ** Brigade Maintenance Workshop * ''Division Artillery'' – (Merged with Central command in 2018) ** Division Artillery HQ ** 2nd SP Artillery Battalion ** 7th SP Artillery Battalion ** 23rd SP Artillery Battalion ** 24th Heavy Artillery Battalion (Deactivated in 2018) * ''3rd Royal Field AD Group'' – (Merged with Central Command in 2018) ** Group HQ ** Signal Company ** 4th Field AD Battalion (Transferred to Southern Command in 2018) ** 73rd Field AD Battalion * Division Engineer Battalion (Merged with Central command in 2018) * Supply & Transport Battalion (Merged with Central command in 2018) * Administrative Transport Group – (Deactivated in 2018) * Medical Support Group – (Merged with Central command in 2018) * Construction Group – (Deactivated in 2018) * Maintenance Group – (Merged with Central command in 2018) * ''Division Training Center'' – (Deactivated in 2018)

Unit summary

References

{{Jordanian Armed Forces Armored divisions Military units and formations of Jordan Military units and formations established in 1969 Military units and formations disestablished in 2018