The 10th Infantry Brigade (Lebanon) is a

Lebanese Army The Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF; ), also known as the Lebanese Army (), is the national military of the Republic of Lebanon. It consists of three branches, the ground forces, the air force, and the navy. The motto of the Lebanese Armed Forces is ...

unit that fought in the

Lebanese Civil War The Lebanese Civil War ( ) was a multifaceted armed conflict that took place from 1975 to 1990. It resulted in an estimated 150,000 fatalities and led to the exodus of almost one million people from Lebanon. The religious diversity of the ...

, being active from its creation in January 1984.

Origins

In the aftermath of the June–September 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon, President

Amin Gemayel Amine Pierre Gemayel (, ; born 22 January 1942) is a Lebanese politician who served as the eighth president of Lebanon from 1982 to 1988. Gemayel was born in Bikfaya to Pierre Gemayel, the founder of the Christian Kataeb Party (also known as ...

, 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.

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.

Structure and organization

By 1985 the 10th Brigade comprised an armoured battalion (104th) equipped with Panhard AML-90 armoured cars,

AMX-13 The AMX-13 is a French light tank produced from 1952 to 1987. It served with the French Army, as the Char 13t-75 Modèle 51, and was exported to more than 26 other nations. Named after its initial weight of 13 tonnes, and featuring a tough and re ...

light tanks A light tank is a tank variant initially designed for rapid movements in and out of combat, to outmaneuver heavier tanks. It is smaller with thinner armor and a less powerful main gun, tailored for better tactical mobility and ease of transpo ...

(replaced in the 1990s by T-55A tanks donated by Syria), US M48A5

main battle tank A main battle tank (MBT), also known as a battle tank or universal tank or simply tank,Ogorkiewicz 2018 p222 is a tank that fills the role of armour-protected direct fire and maneuver in many modern armies. Cold War-era development of more po ...

s (MBTs), three mechanized infantry battalions (101st, 102nd, and 103rd) provisionally issued with US

M113 armored personnel carrier The M113 is a fully tracked armored personnel carrier (APC) that was developed and produced by the FMC Corporation. The M113 was sent to United States Army Europe in 1961 to replace the mechanized infantry's M59 armored personnel carrier, M59 A ...

s (APC), an artillery battalion (105th) equipped with US

M114 155 mm howitzer The 155 mm Howitzer M114 is a towed howitzer developed and used by the United States Army. It was first produced in 1941 as a medium artillery piece under the designation of 155 mm Howitzer M1. It saw service with the US Army during World W ...

s 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 (replaced by Land Rover Defender 90s and

Humvee The High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV; colloquial: Humvee) is a family of Military light utility vehicle, light, four-wheel drive Military vehicle#Military trucks, military trucks and utility vehicles produced by AM General. It ...

s received in the 2000s), Chevrolet C20 and Dodge Ram (1st generation) pickups, plus US M35A2 2½-ton (6x6) military trucks. 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.Hokayem, ''L'armée libanaise pendant la guerre: un instrument du pouvoir du président de la République (1975-1985)'' (2012), pp. 85-86.

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 The Mountain War ( , ''Harb al-Jabal)'', also known as the War of the Mountain, was a subconflict between the Lebanese Civil War#Second phase of the war.2C 1982-1983, 1982–83 and the Lebanese Civil War#Third phase of the war.2C 1984-1989, 19 ...

was deployed at east Beirut, where it was held in reserve and ready to support the other LAF Brigades in the field as required. On February 13, 1984, the 101st Ranger Battalion was rushed to the western portion of the Shahhar-El-Gharbi region to reinforce the beleaguered units of the 4th Brigade, who were fighting desperately to retain their positions at

Aabey Aabey, also spelled Abey (), is a village located in Mount Lebanon, in Aley District of Mount Lebanon Governorate. It is located from Beirut and has an altitude of 800 m (2,600 feet). It is bordered by Kfarmatta (South), Al Bennay (East ...

, Kfar Matta, Ain Ksour, and Al-Beniyeh while sustaining a wave of ground assaults by the

Druze The Druze ( ; , ' or ', , '), who Endonym and exonym, call themselves al-Muwaḥḥidūn (), are an Arabs, Arab Eastern esotericism, esoteric Religious denomination, religious group from West Asia who adhere to the Druze faith, an Abrahamic ...

People's Liberation Army The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the military of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the People's Republic of China (PRC). It consists of four Military branch, services—People's Liberation Army Ground Force, Ground Force, People's ...

(PLA) militia led by

Walid Jumblatt Walid Kamal Jumblatt (; born 7 August 1949) is a Lebanese politician who was the leader of the Progressive Socialist Party from 1977 until 2023. A Druze and former militia commander, Jumblatt led the Lebanese National Resistance Front, allying ...

The Liberation War 1989–1990

Usually attached to the "Red Berets" of the Para-commando regiment (

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 ...

: 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 Kfarshima (), also spelled Kfarchima, is a town in the Baabda District of the Mount Lebanon Governorate, southeast of Beirut and is part of Greater Beirut. The town is populated by Lebanese Christianity in Lebanon, Christians: mainly Melkite C ...

– Ash Choueifat front in the

Baabda District Baabda District (, transliteration: ''Qada' Baabda''), sometimes spelled ''B'abda'', is a district (''qadaa'') of Mount Lebanon Governorate, Lebanon, to the south and east of the Lebanon's capital Beirut. The region is also popularly known as "Sou ...

.Collelo, ''Lebanon: a country study'' (1989), p. 224. In 1987 both formations were tasked of defending the Fayadieh Military Academy and the large Army barracks complex adjacent to it. 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 Palestinians () are an Arab ethnonational group native to the Levantine region of Palestine. *: "Palestine was part of the first wave of conquest following Muhammad's death in 632 CE; Jerusalem fell to the Caliph Umar in 638. The indigenous p ...

militias backed by the

Syrian Army The Syrian Army is the land force branch of the Syrian Armed Forces. Up until the fall of the Assad regime, the Syrian Arab Army existed as a land force branch of the Syrian Arab Armed Forces, which dominanted the military service of the fo ...

at the second battle of

Souk El Gharb Souk El Gharb (), (also spelled Suk, Sug al, ul, Suq), is a town located in the Aley District, Mount Lebanon Governorate, in Lebanon and its name translates to "Western Market". Before the Lebanese Civil War (1975–1990), this mountain town sur ...

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.Barak, ''The Lebanese Army: A National Institution in a Divided Society'' (2009), p. 159.

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 The Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF; ), also known as the Lebanese Army (), is the national military of the Republic of Lebanon. It consists of three branches, the ground forces, the air force, and the navy. The motto of the Lebanese Armed Forces is ...

(LAF).

Notes

References

* Aram Nerguizian, Anthony H. Cordesman & Arleigh A. Burke
''The Lebanese Armed Forces: Challenges and Opportunities in Post-Syria Lebanon''
Burke Chair in Strategy, Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS), First Working Draft: 10 February 2009. * Are J. Knudsen
''Lebanese Armed Forces: A United Army for a Divided Country?''
CMI INSIGHT, November 2014 No 9, Chr. Michelsen Institute (CMI), Bergen – Norway. * Denise Ammoun, ''Histoire du Liban contemporain: Tome 2 1943–1990'', Éditions Fayard, Paris 2005. (in French) �
Histoire du Liban contemporain, tome 2: 1943–1990
*

Edgar O'Ballance Major Edgar "Paddy" O'Ballance (17 July 1918, Dublin, Ireland – 8 July 2009, Wakebridge, Derbyshire, England) was an Irish-born British military journalist, researcher, defence commentator and academic lecturer specialising in internatio ...

, ''Civil War in Lebanon 1975–92'', Palgrave Macmillan, London 1998. * Éric Micheletti and Yves Debay, ''Liban – dix jours aux cœur des combats'', RAIDS Magazine No. 41, October 1989, Histoire & Collections, Paris. (in French) * James Kinnear, Stephen Sewell & Andrey Aksenov, ''Soviet T-54 Main Battle Tank'', General Military series, Osprey Publishing Ltd, Oxford 2018. * James Kinnear, Stephen Sewell & Andrey Aksenov, ''Soviet T-55 Main Battle Tank'', General Military series, Osprey Publishing Ltd, Oxford 2019. * Joseph Hokayem, ''L'armée libanaise pendant la guerre: un instrument du pouvoir du président de la République (1975–1985)'', Lulu.com, Beyrouth 2012. , (in French) �
L'armée libanaise pendant la guerre: un instrument du pouvoir du président de la République (1975–1985)
* Ken Guest, ''Lebanon'', in ''Flashpoint! At the Front Line of Today's Wars'', Arms and Armour Press, London 1994, pp. 97–111. * Oren Barak, ''The Lebanese Army – A National institution in a divided society'', State University of New York Press, Albany 2009. �
The Lebanese Army: A National Institution in a Divided Society
* Rex Brynen, ''Sanctuary and Survival: the PLO in Lebanon'', Boulder: Westview Press, Oxford 1990. �

*

Robert Fisk Robert William Fisk (12 July 194630 October 2020) was an English writer and journalist. He was critical of United States foreign policy in the Middle East, and the Israeli government's treatment of Palestinians. As an international correspo ...

, ''Pity the Nation: Lebanon at War'', London: Oxford University Press, (3rd ed. 2001). �
Pity the Nation: Lebanon at War
* Samer Kassis, ''30 Years of Military Vehicles in Lebanon'', Beirut: Elite Group, 2003. * Samuel M. Katz, Lee E. Russel, and Ron Volstad, ''Armies in Lebanon 1982–84'', Men-at-Arms series 165, Osprey Publishing Ltd, London 1985. * Samuel M. Katz and Ron Volstad, ''Arab Armies of the Middle East wars 2'', Men-at-Arms series 194, Osprey Publishing Ltd, London 1988. * Steven J. Zaloga, ''Tank battles of the Mid-East Wars (2): The wars of 1973 to the present'', Concord Publications, Hong Kong 2003. �
Tank Battles of the Mid-East Wars : (2) The Wars of 1973 to the present
* Simon Dunstan, ''Panhard Armoured Car: 1961 Onwards (AML 60, AML 90, Eland), Enthusiasts' Manual'', Haynes Publishing UK, Somerset 2019. * Thomas Collelo (ed.)
''Lebanon: a country study''
Library of Congress, Federal Research Division, Headquarters, Department of the Army (DA Pam 550–24), Washington D.C., December 1987 (Third edition 1989). * Zachary Sex & Bassel Abi-Chahine, ''Modern Conflicts 2 – The Lebanese Civil War, From 1975 to 1991 and Beyond'', Modern Conflicts Profile Guide Volume II, AK-interactive, 2021.

External links

Histoire militaire de l'armée libanaise de 1975 à 1990
(in French)
Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) Official Website

CIA – The World Factbook – Lebanon

Global Fire Power – Lebanon Military Strength

Lebanon army trying to rearm and modernize itself

{{Asia topic, Military of Military units and formations of Lebanon Military units and formations established in 1984 1984 establishments in Lebanon bn:লেবাননের সামরিক বাহিনী fr:Armée libanaise