'' , image= Flag of the Armed Forces of Moldova.svg , image_size = , caption = Moldovan Ground Forces flag , start_date = 25 December 2008 , country= , allegiance = , branch = , type =

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

, role = Land warfare , size = 4,000 , command_structure = National Army , garrison =

Chișinău Chișinău ( , , ), also known as Kishinev (russian: Кишинёв, r=Kishinjóv ), is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Moldova. The city is Moldova's main industrial and commercial center, and is located in the middle of the ...

, garrison_label = Headquarters , nickname = Moldovan Army , patron = , motto = , colors = , colors_label = , march = Marș de Întîmpinare «La Mulți ani» , mascot = , notable_commanders =Brigadier General Mihail Buclis , current_commander = , current_commander_label = , equipment =

SSh-68 The SSh-68 (Russian: СШ-68 �тальной шлем образца 1968 года/stalnoy shlyem English: SSh-68 steel helmet model 1968) - is a steel combat helmet of the Soviet and then Russian Armed Forces. The SSh-68 is a further development ...

PASGT Personnel Armor System for Ground Troops (PASGT, pronounced ) is a combat helmet and ballistic vest that was used by the United States military from the early 1980s until the mid-2000s, when the helmet and vest were succeeded by the Lightweight ...

, equipment_label = , battles = Transnistria War , decorations = , battle_honours = , identification_symbol = , identification_symbol_label = , identification_symbol_2 = , identification_symbol_2_label = The Moldovan Ground Forces, known officially as Land Forces Command is the land armed-forces branch of the National Army of the

Moldovan Armed Forces The Armed Forces of the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Forțele Armate ale Republicii Moldova) consist of the National Army (which is divided into the Land Forces Command and the Air Forces Command) and the Trupele de Carabinieri under the Ministry ...

. The Moldovan Ground Forces date back to the

dissolution of the Soviet Union The dissolution of the Soviet Union, also negatively connoted as rus, Разва́л Сове́тского Сою́за, r=Razvál Sovétskogo Soyúza, ''Ruining of the Soviet Union''. was the process of internal disintegration within the Sov ...

between 1991 and 1992. the Moldovan Ground Forces consists of around 4,000 personnel.

History

At the beginning of 1994, the Moldovan army (under the Ministry of Defense) consisted of 9,800 men organized into three motorized infantry brigades, one artillery brigade, and one reconnaissance/assault battalion. Its equipment consisted of fifty-six

ballistic missile A ballistic missile is a type of missile that uses projectile motion to deliver warheads on a target. These weapons are guided only during relatively brief periods—most of the flight is unpowered. Short-range ballistic missiles stay within t ...

defenses; seventy-seven

armored personnel carrier An armoured personnel carrier (APC) is a broad type of armoured military vehicle designed to transport personnel and equipment in combat zones. Since World War I, APCs have become a very common piece of military equipment around the world. Ac ...

s and sixty-seven "look-alikes;" eighteen 122 mm and fifty-three 152 mm towed

artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during si ...

units; nine 120 mm combined guns/ mortars; seventy AT-4 Spigot, nineteen AT-5 Spandrel, and twenty-seven AT-6 Spiral

anti-tank Anti-tank warfare originated from the need to develop technology and tactics to destroy tanks during World War I. Since the Triple Entente deployed the first tanks in 1916, the German Empire developed the first anti-tank weapons. The first dev ...

guided weapons; a 73 mm

SPG-9 The SPG-9 Kopyo (''Spear'') ( Russian: СПГ-9 Копьё) is a tripod-mounted man-portable, 73 millimetre calibre recoilless gun developed by the Soviet Union. It fires fin-stabilised, rocket-assisted HE and HEAT projectiles similar to those fi ...

recoilless launcher, forty-five

MT-12 MT-12 or 2A29 is a Soviet smoothbore 100-mm anti-tank gun, which served as the primary towed anti-tank artillery in the Soviet army from the early 1970s to the late 1980s. It is in significant use in the Russo-Ukrainian War (2014-present). H ...

100 mm anti-tank guns; and thirty ZU-23 23 mm and twelve S-60 57 mm air defense guns. Moldova has received some arms from former Soviet stocks maintained on the territory of the republic as well as undetermined quantities of arms from

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

, particularly at the height of the fighting with Transnistria. By 2006–2007, the Army had been reduced to a strength of 5,710, including three motor rifle brigades, one artillery brigade, and independent SF and engineer battalions, plus an independent guard unit. Equipment included 44

BMD-1 The BMD-1 is a Soviet airborne amphibious tracked infantry fighting vehicle, which was introduced in 1969 and first seen by the West in 1970. BMD stands for ''Boyevaya Mashina Desanta'' (Боевая Машина Десанта, which literally ...

AIFV, and 266 APCs, including 91 TAB-71s, as well as 227 artillery pieces. The modern Land Forces Command was established on 25 December 2008. In 2010, the Army had been further reduced to 5,148 (3,176 professional soldiers and 1,981 conscripts) plus 2,379 paramilitary forces. The reserve force consists of 66,000 troops. Equipment included 44

BMP-1 The BMP-1 is a Soviet amphibious tracked infantry fighting vehicle, in service 1966–present. BMP stands for ''Boyevaya Mashina Pyekhoty 1'' (russian: link=no, Боевая Машина Пехоты 1; БМП-1), meaning "infantry fighting ve ...

infantry fighting vehicles, 164 APCs (100 wheeled, including 89 Romanian

TAB-71 The BTR-60 is the first vehicle in a series of Soviet eight-wheeled armoured personnel carriers (APCs). It was developed in the late 1950s as a replacement for the BTR-152 and was seen in public for the first time in 1961. BTR stands for ''Brone ...

s, and 64 tracked, BTRs and

MT-LB The MT-LB (russian: Многоцелевой Тягач Легкий Бронированный, translit=Mnogotselevoy tyagach legky bronirovanny, literally "multi-purpose towing vehicle light armored") is a Soviet multi-purpose, fully amphibi ...

s), 148 artillery pieces (69 towed, 9 2S9 self-propelled guns, and 11 "Urugan" multiple rocket launchers); 117

Anti-tank missile An anti-tank guided missile (ATGM), anti-tank missile, anti-tank guided weapon (ATGW) or anti-armor guided weapon is a guided missile primarily designed to hit and destroy heavily armored military vehicles. ATGMs range in size from shoulder ...

s (Soviet-built AT-4s, AT-5s, and AT-6s), 138+ recoilless guns, 36 towed antitank guns and 37 towed anti-aircraft guns (23mm and 57mm).

Structure

* Infantry Units: **

1st Motorized Infantry Brigade "Moldova" The 1st Motorized Infantry Brigade "Moldova" is an motorized infantry unit of the Moldovan National Army's Ground Forces based in the Moldovan city of Bălți. It was the first Army unit to be created in the newly independent country, being founded ...

–

Bălți Bălți (; russian: Бельцы, , uk, Бєльці, , yi, בעלץ ) is a city in Moldova. It is the second largest city in terms of population, area and economic importance, after Chișinău. The city is one of the five Moldovan municipalit ...

** 2nd Motorized Infantry Brigade "Stefan Cel Mare" – Chișinău **

3rd Motorized Infantry Brigade "Dacia" The 3rd Motorized Infantry Brigade "Dacia" is an motorized infantry unit of the Moldovan National Army's Moldovan Ground Forces, Ground Forces based in Cahul. History The Dacia Motorized Infantry Brigade in Cahul was created on February 24, 1992 ...

–

Cahul Cahul (; also known by other alternative names) is a city and municipality in southern Moldova. The city is the administrative center of Cahul District; it also administers one village, Cotihana. As of 2014 census, the city has had a population ...

** 22nd Peacekeeping Battalion – Chișinău * Artillery Division "Prut" –

Ungheni Ungheni () is a municipality in Moldova. With a population of 35,157, it is the seventh largest town in Moldova and the seat of Ungheni District. There is a bridge across the Prut and a border checkpoint to Romania. There is another border ...

* Independent Engineer Battalion "Codru" – Negrești, Strășeni * Independent Radio Regiment "Basarabia" – Durleşti,

* Independent Special Forces Battalion "Fulger" –

Durlești Durlești () is a town in Chișinău municipality, Moldova. Durlești locality, located in the North-West part of Chisinau, is the largest of the suburbs of the capital. According to the results of the 2014 census, the city proper had a populati ...

, Chișinău * Independent Chemical Protection Company – Negrești, Strășeni * Guard Battalion – Chișinău ** Ceremonial Honour Guard Company ** Guard Company ** Military Police Company ** General Staff Company ** Auto Company ** Insurance Company * 1st Independent Battalion of Peacekeepers –

Cocieri Cocieri is a commune in the Republic of Moldova, and the administrative center of Dubăsari District. It is located on the eastern bank of the Dniester River, consisting of two villages, ''Cocieri'' and ''Vasilievca''. During 1992 War of Transnis ...

Dubăsari District The Dubăsari District () is a district in the east of Moldova, with the administrative center at Cocieri. As of January 1, 2011, its population was 35,200. This does not include the 715 people that live in the village of Roghi, which is control ...

* 3rd Independent Battalion of Peacekeepers – Coșnița,

* Independent Infantry Company of Peacekeepers –

Varnița, Anenii Noi Varnița (russian: Ва́рница, uk, Варниця) is a village in the Anenii Noi District, Moldova, located near Bender (Tighina). It is also considered a suburb of Bender. After the 1992 War of Transnistria, Varnița remained controll ...

Gallery

File:Moldovan Forces Train in Ukraine During Rapid Trident 2011 (5998213629).jpg, Moldovan forces during the Rapid Trident 2011. File:08-27-2016 - Парад в Молдовы 04.jpg, The 2nd Motorized Infantry Brigade "Stefan Cel Mare" on parade. File:Moldovan Presidential Band in their Winter Uniform.jpeg, The Presidential Orchestra of the Republic of Moldova File:Moldovan soldier.jpg, Moldovan soldier training for mine prodding File:HMMWV Moldova army.jpg, Moldovan

HMMWV The High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV; colloquial: Humvee) is a family of light, four-wheel drive, military trucks and utility vehicles produced by AM General. It has largely supplanted the roles previously performed by the ori ...

Equipment

References

{{Military equipment of Europe Military of Moldova

History

Structure

Gallery

Equipment

See also

References