The 205th 'Atul' (Hero) Corps was a

corps Corps (; plural ''corps'' ; from French , from the Latin "body") is a term used for several different kinds of organization. A military innovation by Napoleon I, the formation was formally introduced March 1, 1800, when Napoleon ordered Gener ...

-level formation of the

Afghan National Army The Islamic National Army (, ), also referred to as the Islamic Emirate Army and the Afghan Army, is the army, land force branch of the Afghan Armed Forces. The roots of an army in Afghanistan can be traced back to the early 18th century when th ...

. Its headquarters were located in

Kandahar Kandahar is a city in Afghanistan, located in the south of the country on Arghandab River, at an elevation of . It is Afghanistan's second largest city, after Kabul, with a population of about 614,118 in 2015. It is the capital of Kandahar Pro ...

and it was responsible for the south of the country (

Zabul Zabul (Pashto/Dari: ) is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the south of the country. It has a population of 249,000. Zabul became an independent province from neighbouring Kandahar in 1963. Historically, it was part of the Zab ...

, Oruzgan,

Helmand Helmand (Pashto/Dari: ; ), also known as Hillmand, in ancient times, as Hermand and Hethumand, is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, in the south of the country. It is the largest province by area, covering area. The province contains 18 ...

and Nimruz provinces), partnered with the

ISAF The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) was a multinational military mission in Afghanistan from 2001 to 2014. It was established by United Nations Security Council Resolution 1386 according to the Bonn Agreement, which outlined t ...

's Regional Command South. The Corps consisted of four

brigade A brigade is a major tactical military unit, military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute ...

s, a commando battalion and three

garrison A garrison is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a military base or fortified military headquarters. A garrison is usually in a city ...

s. The Corps had integrated artillery and air lift capacity. General Shafiqullah Rasulzai was appointed as the commander of the Corps in late November/December 2020. He was also the last commander of the Corps. In August 2021, the Corps was destroyed during the Taliban offensive and in Battle of Kandahar.

History

Afghan Army The Islamic National Army (, ), also referred to as the Islamic Emirate Army and the Afghan Army, is the land force branch of the Afghan Armed Forces. The roots of an army in Afghanistan can be traced back to the early 18th century when the Ho ...

formations in the south of

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

, more specifically in

, were the 2nd Army Corps established under the

Kingdom of Afghanistan The Kingdom of Afghanistan (; ) was a monarchy in Southern Central Asia that was established in 1926 as a successor state to the Emirate of Afghanistan. It was proclaimed by its first king, Amanullah Khan, seven years after he acceded to the ...

and lasting until the collapse of the

Democratic Republic of Afghanistan The Democratic Republic of Afghanistan, later known as the Republic of Afghanistan, was the Afghan state between History of Afghanistan (1978–1992), 1978 and 1992. It was bordered by Pakistan to the east and south, by Iran to the west, by the ...

. The 2nd Army Corps additionally had their own Afghan

Spetsnaz SpetsnazThe term is borrowed from rus, спецназ, p=spʲɪtsˈnas; abbreviation for or 'Special Purpose Military Units'; or () are special forces in many post-Soviet states. Historically, this term referred to the Soviet Union's Spet ...

battalion, known as the 212th Special Reconnaissance Battalion, in 1980. The establishment of the corps started when the first commander, Gul Aqa Nahib, and some of his staff were appointed on 1 September 2004. The corps was officially established in Kandahar on 19 September 2004. Since August 2008, the Corps moved over 90,000 tonnes of supplies using

Mi-17 The Mil Mi-17 (NATO reporting name: Hip) is a Soviet-designed Russian military helicopter family introduced in 1975 (Mi-8M), continuing in production at two factories in Russia, in Kazan and Ulan-Ude. It is known as the Mi-8M series in Russia ...

helicopters of the

Afghan Air Force The General Command of the Air Force (, Dari: ) also referred to as the Islamic Emirate Air Force and the Afghan Air Force, is the air force branch of the Afghan Armed Forces. The Royal Afghan Air Force was established in 1921 under the reign o ...

. Three of the 205th Corps' four infantry brigades were assessed as capable of conducting independent operations with minimal support from their combat advisors. "One of the brigades recently planned, executed and sustained themselves during a seven-day operation where they drove deep into what is called an enemy sanctuary or enemy safe haven to destroy identified enemy forces," a U.S. advisor said in December 2008. "They were successful leading the operation, with less than 30 mentors and 20 other coalition soldiers, in addition to their 300 ANA ground force," he said. "That was a great example of ANA’s capability to lead and conduct their own operations."RCAC Commander Updates Bloggers
accessed August 2009 The Corps' 3rd Brigade was heavily involved in fighting the

Taliban , leader1_title = Supreme Leader of Afghanistan, Supreme leaders , leader1_name = {{indented plainlist, * Mullah Omar{{Natural Causes{{nbsp(1994–2013) * Akhtar Mansour{{Assassinated (2015–2016) * Hibatullah Akhundzada (2016–present) ...

and

Al-Qaeda , image = Flag of Jihad.svg , caption = Jihadist flag, Flag used by various al-Qaeda factions , founder = Osama bin Laden{{Assassinated, Killing of Osama bin Laden , leaders = {{Plainlist, * Osama bin Lad ...

in Helmand province, alongside British troops deployed as part of

Operation Herrick Operation Herrick was the codename under which all British operations in the War in Afghanistan were conducted from 2002 to the end of combat operations in 2014. It consisted of the British contribution to the NATO-led International Security Assi ...

. The Corps began formation with Kalashnikov rifles and miscellaneous civilian vehicles, but under coalition tutelage was reequipped with Western equipment. The Corps also supported an ANA regional hospital located in Kandahar, adjacent to Kandahar Airfield, dedicated to the security forces. It was a $5 million medical facility that also serves a trauma center.

2021 Taliban offensive

In August 2021, the corps was destroyed during the Taliban offensive and in Battle of Kandahar. Since then, the corps have been reportedly reactivated and reformed into the 205th Al Badr Corps as part of the

’s

Islamic National Army The Islamic National Army (, ), also referred to as the Islamic Emirate Army and the Afghan Army, is the land force branch of the Afghan Armed Forces. The roots of an army in Afghanistan can be traced back to the early 18th century when the Hota ...

Provisional order of battle

*Headquarters, Camp Hero,

*Commando Battalion *Regional logistics depot *1st Brigade, Camp Hero,

*2nd Brigade, Qalat,

*3rd Brigade, FOB Pasab,

Zhari District Zhari (, ) is a district in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan. Alternative spellings include Zheley (due to transliteration from Pashto), Zharey, Zharay, Zheri, or Zheray. The district was created in 2004 from land that was formerly part of May ...

commanded by Brigadier General Murtaza *4th Brigade,

Multi National Base Tarin Kot Multi National Base Tarin Kot is a former International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) installation, used after the Netherlands Armed Forces' departure by the Afghan National Army. The base was located on the outskirts of Tarinkot, the capital ...

, Tarin Khowt,

Oruzgan Uruzgan (Pashto: ; Dari: ), also spelled as Urozgan or Oruzgan, is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan. Uruzgan is located in the center of the country. The population is 436,079, and the province is mostly a tribal society. Tarinkot ...

, commanded by Brigadier General Zafar Khan (redesignated brigade of another corps which was transferred into the 205th Corps' area of responsibility) Each brigade had three infantry battalions, a combat support battalion, some with D-30 howitzers, and a combat service support battalion.

References

{{Afghan National Security Forces Corps of Afghanistan Military units and formations established in 2004 Military units and formations disestablished in 2021