The 2nd Army Corps () is a regional military formation of the

Armenian Army The Armed Forces of the Republic of Armenia (, abbreviated ՀՀ ԶՈՒ, ''HH ZU''), sometimes referred to as the Armenian Army (), is the national military of Armenia. It consists of personnel branches under the General Staff of the Armenian Arm ...

, located in the city of Khachaghbyur in the

Gegharkunik Province Gegharkunik (, ) is a provinces of Armenia, province (''Administrative divisions of Armenia, marz'') of Armenia. Its capital and largest city is Gavar. Gegharkunik is inhabited by approximately 209,669 people and the majority are ethnic Armenian ...

. The 2nd Army Corps has been awarded the First Degree Order of Battle Cross.

History

During the

Battle of Aghdam The Battle of Aghdam (June – July 1993) took place on 23 July 1993 during the First Nagorno-Karabakh War, during which Armenian forces captured the Azerbaijani city of Aghdam. The city of Aghdam, which had about 50,000 inhabitants prior to its ...

in the

First Nagorno-Karabakh War The First Nagorno-Karabakh War was an ethnic conflict, ethnic and territorial conflict that took place from February 1988 to May 1994, in the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh in southwestern Azerbaijan, between the majority ethnic Armenians of Nag ...

, the 2nd Army Corps among other additional forces took part in the city's capture. On 29 September 2015, the corps was visited by

Seyran Ohanyan Seyran Musheghi Ohanyan (; born 1 July 1962) is an Armenian military officer and politician currently serving as a deputy in the National Assembly of Armenia. He served as Defence Minister of Armenia from 14 April 2008 until 3 October 2016. A na ...

, the

Armenian Defence Minister The defence minister of Armenia () is the head of the country's Ministry of Defence, who is charged with the political leadership of the Armed Forces of Armenia. The position was originally created in 1918 and was re-established in January 1992 f ...

. During the

2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war The Second Nagorno-Karabakh War was an armed conflict in 2020 that took place in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding occupied territories. It was a major escalation of an unresolved conflict over the region, involvi ...

, it was reported by Azeri media that the corps was forced to retreat from

Kalbajar Kalbajar ( ; ) is a city and the capital of the Kalbajar District of Azerbaijan. Located in the Tartar Valley, it is away from the country's capital city Baku. Before the First Nagorno-Karabakh War, the city had a population of 7,246 people. I ...

due to heavy losses in personnel and equipment, although this was denied by the staff of the corps. Commemorating Shushi Liberation Day and

Victory Day Victory Day is a commonly used name for public holidays in various countries, where it commemorates a nation's triumph over a hostile force in a war or the liberation of a country from hostile occupation. In many cases, multiple countries may ob ...

, Prime Minister

Nikol Pashinyan Nikol Vovayi Pashinyan (born 1 June 1975) is an Armenian politician who is serving as the 16th and current Prime Minister of Armenia, prime minister of Armenia since 8 May 2018. A journalist by profession, Pashinyan founded his own newspaper in ...

, accompanied by Chief of the General Staff

Artak Davtyan Artak Matevosi Davtyan (Armenian: Արտակ Մաթևոսի Դավթյան; born March 31, 1970) is an Armenian Lieutenant General who served as the Chief of the General Staff of the Armenian Armed Forces from May 2018 to June 2020 and again fro ...

, visited the corps on 9 May 2021, presenting state awards to a number of servicemen. In his speech, he said that the "2nd Army Corps was crowned with glory and stood out for its high combat capability during the 44-day war" and "retained the high honor of all of us, our army, our people and our history." On 19 January, fifteen servicemen of the corps were killed and seven injured after a fire broke out at a military barracks in

Azat Azat (; plural ազատք ''azatkʿ'', collective ազատանի ''azatani'') was a class of Armenian nobility; the term came to designate the middle and lower nobility originally, in contrast to the '' naxarark'' who were the great lords. From ...

. It was the deadliest non-combat incident in the history of the armed forces, and as a result, the commander, Vahram Grigoryan, was sacked.

Structure

The corps has the following structure:''Jane's World Armies''. Coulsdon, Surrey, UK: Jane's Information Group, October 2004. * Headquarters ( Khachaghbyur) * independent tank battalion * independent reconnaissance battalion * independent rifle regiment * two independent motor rifle regiments * one independent artillery battalion

Commanders

* Major General

Sedrak Saroyan Sedrak Firdusi Saroyan (; 3 September 1967 – 13 August 2022), also known as Seyran Saroyan, was an Armenian general and politician who served in the Parliament of Armenia from 2007 until his resignation in 2018. During his tenure, Saroyan was a ...

(1993–???) * Major General Ovik Oganyan (– 12 June 2013) * Major General Poghos Poghosyan (12 June 2013 – 7 July 2016) * Colonel David Manukyan (7 July 2016) * Major General Arayik Harutyunyan (19 December 2019 – 9 August 2021) * Major General Vahram Grigoryan (9 August 2021 – 19 January 2023) * Major General Garegin Poghosyan (since 19 January 2023)

References

{{Armenian Armed Forces Army corps of Armenia Gegharkunik Province