The 4th Infantry Brigade (Lebanon) was 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 1983 until its destruction in September that year, in the wake of 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 ...

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 France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. In late 1982, the 4th Infantry Regiment was therefore re-organized and expanded to a brigade group numbering 2,000 men, most of whom were

Maronite Christians Maronites (; ) are a Syriac Christian ethnoreligious group native to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant (particularly Lebanon) whose members belong to the Maronite Church. The largest concentration has traditionally resided near Mount ...

from the

Mount Lebanon Mount Lebanon (, ; , ; ) is a mountain range in Lebanon. It is about long and averages above in elevation, with its peak at . The range provides a typical alpine climate year-round. Mount Lebanon is well-known for its snow-covered mountains, ...

region and

Druzes 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 ...

from the

Chouf District Chouf (also spelled Shouf, Shuf or Chuf; ) is a historic region of Lebanon, as well as an administrative district in the governorate ( muhafazat) of Mount Lebanon. Geography Located south-east of Beirut, the region comprises a narrow coastal stri ...

, which became in January 1983 the 4th Infantry Brigade.

Emblem

Structure and organization

The new unit grew from an understrength battalion comprising three rifle companies to a fully equipped mechanized infantry brigade, capable of aligning a Headquarters' (HQ) battalion, an armoured battalion equipped with Staghound armoured cars,Kassis, ''30 Years of Military Vehicles in Lebanon'' (2003), p. 6. (soon replaced by

Panhard AML-90 The Panhard AML (''automitrailleuse légère'', or "light armoured car") is an Armored car (military), armoured car with reconnaissance capability. Designed by Panhard on a lightly armoured Four-wheel drive, 4×4 chassis, it weighs an estimated 5 ...

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 ...

Kassis, ''30 Years of Military Vehicles in Lebanon'' (2003), p. 59. and thirty

M48A5 The M48 Patton is an American first-generation main battle tank (MBT) introduced in February 1952, being designated as the 90mm Gun M48, armored, full-tracked, combat vehicle of the medium-gun tank class. It was designed as a replacement for ...

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),Sex & Abi-Chahine, ''Modern Conflicts 2 – The Lebanese Civil War, From 1975 to 1991 and Beyond'' (2021), pp. 20; 26. three mechanized infantry battalions (41st, 42nd and 43rd) issued with fifty

M113 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 APCs. The M113 was first used ...

Kassis, ''30 Years of Military Vehicles in Lebanon'' (2003), p. 57. and

AMX-VCI The AMX-VCI () is one of the many variants of the French AMX-13 light tank. It was the front line APC of the French Army until replaced by the AMX-10P. It is still used by some countries, for example Mexico, where it goes under the name of DNC-1 ...

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. Acc ...

s (APC), plus an artillery battalion (45th) fielding US M101A1 105 mm towed field howitzers and FH-70 155 mm howitzers. The brigade also fielded a logistics battalion, equipped with 250 soft-skin vehicles of various types, which consisted of US M151A1 jeeps, Land-Rover long wheelbase series III, Jeep Gladiator J20, M880/M890 Series CUCV, Chevrolet C20 and Dodge Ram (1st generation) pickups, plus US M35A2 2½-ton (6x6) military trucks. Headquartered in the

region, the brigade was initially commanded by Colonel Jurj Haruq, later replaced by Col. Nayef Kallas.

Combat history

The Lebanese Civil War

In early September 1983, under the command of Colonel Nayef Kallas, Fourth Brigade's units were deployed at the towns of

Khalde Khaldah () is a coastal town located south of Beirut, Lebanon. It is famous as a tourist destination in the summer, especially for its various beach resorts. The southern portion of Beirut–Rafic Hariri International Airport is located in Khald ...

,Collelo, ''Lebanon: a country study'' (1989), p. 223. Aramoun, Kabr Chmoun and the Shahhar-El-Gharbi region – where they relieved the Christian

Lebanese Forces The Lebanese Forces ( ') is a Lebanon, Lebanese Christianity in Lebanon, Christian-based political party and Lebanese Forces (militia), former militia during the Lebanese Civil War. It currently holds 19 of the 128 seats in Lebanon's Parliamen ...

(LF) militia garrisons that had repulsed the first 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 ...

and were running out of supplies – in the

, being entrusted with the mission of defending the southern approaches of Beirut. Like their colleagues of the Eighth Brigade led by

Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

Michel Aoun at

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 ...

, the Fourth Brigade bore the brunt of the Druze PLA attacks for three days, until it began to show signs of a confessional split in the ranks, since its Druze soldiers were reluctant to fight their coreligionists. On February 13, 1984, a

Shi'ite Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political successor (caliph) and as the spiritual leader of the Muslim community (imam). However, his right is understood to ...

Amal Movement The Amal Movement () is a Lebanese political party and militia affiliated mainly with the Shia community of Lebanon. It was founded by Musa al-Sadr and Hussein el-Husseini in 1974 as the "Movement of the Deprived." The party has been led by ...

force succeeded in driving out other Lebanese Army units from their positions in the southern approaches to west Beirut, seizing Khalde (with the exception of the adjoining International Airport, still being held by the U.S. Marines' contingent of the

Multinational Force in Lebanon The Multinational Force in Lebanon (MNF) was an international peacekeeping force created in August 1982 following a 1981 U.S.-brokered ceasefire between the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and Israel to end their involvement in the conf ...

), tightening the noose around the beleaguered Fourth Brigade. Lebanese Air Force

Hawker Hunter The Hawker Hunter is a transonic British jet propulsion, jet-powered fighter aircraft that was developed by Hawker Aircraft for the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It was designed to take advantage of the newly dev ...

jets flew their last combat sortie over the Chouf, carrying out air strikes against advancing Druze PLA forces on the western portion of the Shahhar-El-Gharbi region in support of the Fourth Brigade's units reinforced by the 101st Ranger Battalion from the 10th Airmobile BrigadeHokayem, ''L'armée libanaise pendant la guerre: un instrument du pouvoir du président de la République (1975–1985)'' (2012), p. 88. 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-Bennay, which achieved little success due to poor planning and lack of coordination with Lebanese Army units fighting on the ground. This situation was exacerbated by the fact that Lebanese National Salvation Front (LNSF) militias managed to intercept, alter, and retransmit Lebanese Army radio communications, which allowed them to impersonate the LAF command in east Beirut by ordering Fourth Brigade units to retreat to safer positions. Simultaneously, they ordered Lebanese Army's artillery units positioned at east Beirut to shell their own troops' positions in the western Chouf, which wreaked havoc among Fourth Brigade units and forced them to fall back in disorder towards the coast while being subjected to friendly fire. On February 14, after linking up at

with their

allies, the Druze PLA militia forces drove the Fourth Brigade from their remaining positions in the western Shahhar-El-Gharbi region 3½ miles (about 4 km) south to the vicinity of Damour and Es-Saadiyat, in the Iqlim al-Kharrub coastal enclave, as they attempted to create a salient from

Aley Aley () is a major city in Lebanon. It is the capital of the Aley District and fourth largest city in Lebanon. The city is located on Mount Lebanon, 15km uphill from Beirut on the freeway to Damascus. Aley has the nickname "Bride of the Summ ...

to the coast at

, south of Beirut. Surrounded and badly mauled, the brigade disintegrated when approximately 900 Druze enlisted men, plus 60 officers and NCOs, deserted to join their coreligionists of Jumblatt's PLA or

Syrian Social Nationalist Party The Syrian Social Nationalist Party (SSNP; ) is a Syrian nationalist party operating in Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan. It advocates the establishment of a Greater Syrian nation state spanning the Fertile Crescent, including present-day Syria, Leb ...

(SSNP) militias. The remainder 1,000 or so

Maronite Christian Lebanese Maronite Christians (; ) refers to Lebanese people who are members of the Maronite Church in Lebanon, the largest Christian body in the country. The Lebanese Maronite population is concentrated mainly in Mount Lebanon and East Beir ...

Officers' and men either withdrew to the coast, regrouping at the Damour – Es-Saadiyat area or fled south across the Awali River, seeking protection behind Israeli lines while leaving behind some US-made Tanks and APCs, Jeeps, trucks, Howitzers, and ammunition. After reaching Damour and

Sidon Sidon ( ) or better known as Saida ( ; ) is the third-largest city in Lebanon. It is located on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast in the South Governorate, Lebanon, South Governorate, of which it is the capital. Tyre, Lebanon, Tyre, t ...

, the soldiers were evacuated by sea under the auspices of the

Lebanese Navy The Lebanese Navy is the navy, naval warfare of the Lebanese Armed Forces. Formed in 1950, it traces its heritage to the maritime civilization of Phoenicia; its flag depicts a Phoenician ship with the Lebanon Cedar, Lebanese Cedar tree, positioned ...

to east Beirut, where they enrolled in the 10th Airmobile Brigade and other Christian-dominated army units. Most of the Fourth Brigade's abandoned equipment was shared by several Lebanese militias, namely the

(LF), the Druze PSP/PLA, the Shia

and the

South Lebanon Army The South Lebanon Army or South Lebanese Army (SLA; , ), also known as the Lahad Army () or as the De Facto Forces (DFF), was a Christianity in Lebanon, Christian-dominated militia in Lebanon. It was founded by Lebanese military officer Saad H ...

(SLA). According to a

CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...

report, at least a total of twenty-seven M48A5 MBTs, fourteen M113 APCs and thirty-four trucks were reportedly sighted stored at several locations north of the Awali River, including a quarry east of Al-Harah and other places along the coastal road between that river and Damour. The LF salvaged seven

MBTs,Micheletti and Debay, ''Les Forces Libanaises'', RAIDS Magazine (1989), p. 36. five

light tanks, twelve

armoured cars, some M113 APCs, and a number of FH-70 155 mm howitzers, while the Druze militias seized forty-three M113 APCs and AMX-13 light tanks and seven

MBTs, as well as some M101A1 105 mm towed field howitzers. Amal seized a number of

armoured cars, AMX-13 light tanks, and

and M113 APCs, whilst the SLA also captured eight M113 APCs and a few AMX-VCI APCs and seven M48A5 tanks. The SLA, LF, Amal and the PSP/PLA also seized all the defunct brigade's liaison and transport vehicles, which the latter three militias turned into

technical Technical may refer to: * Technical (vehicle), an improvised fighting vehicle * Technical area, an area which a manager, other coaching personnel, and substitutes are allowed to occupy during a football match * Technical advisor, a person who ...

s by re-arming them with

heavy machine guns A heavy machine gun (HMG) is significantly larger than light machine gun, light, medium machine gun, medium or general-purpose machine guns. HMGs are typically too heavy to be man-portable (carried by one person) and require weapon mount, mountin ...

recoilless rifles A Recoilless rifle (rifled), recoilless launcher (smoothbore), or simply recoilless gun, sometimes abbreviated to "rr" or "RCL" (for ReCoilLess) is a type of lightweight artillery system or man-portable launcher that is designed to eject some fo ...

and

anti-aircraft Anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) is the counter to aerial warfare and includes "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It encompasses surface-based, subsurface ( submarine-launched), and air-ba ...

autocannons.

Disbandment

Despite having been destroyed in September 1983, the Fourth Brigade remained listed in 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) order-of-battle until its official disbandment in March 1984. Nevertheless, on a meeting held on 28 June that same year, the LAF Military Council decided to reform the Fourth Brigade but, due to political constraints, such plans were put on hold for the duration of the War.Hokayem, ''L'armée libanaise pendant la guerre: un instrument du pouvoir du président de la République (1975–1985)'' (2012), p. 93. When the

Brigades were reorganized during the post-civil war period in the 1990s, the Army Command in the end opted for not reforming the Fourth Brigade (unlike the

Second The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of U ...

and Third Brigades, both disbanded in 1984-87 and re-activated in June 1991), and is not presently part of the LAF structure.

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: February 10, 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. * Bassel Abi-Chahine, ''The People's Liberation Army through the eyes of a lens, 1975–1991'', Éditions Dergham, Jdeideh (Beirut) 2019.
CIA report on the whereabouts of the equipment left by the destroyed Lebanese Army's 4th Infantry Brigade, Attachment to Z-17342/84, NPIC/IEG (2/84)
24 February 1984, pp. 1–4. Declassified in Part – Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/03/06: CIA-RDP84T00010001-2. * Denise Ammoun, ''Histoire du Liban contemporain: Tome 2 1943–1990'', Éditions Fayard, Paris 2005. (in

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

) �
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

) * Joseph Hokayem, ''L'armée libanaise pendant la guerre: un instrument du pouvoir du président de la République (1975–1985)'', Lulu.com, Beyrouth 2012. , (in

) �
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. * Leigh Neville, ''Technicals: Non-Standard Tactical Vehicles from the Great Toyota War to modern Special Forces'', New Vanguard series 257, Osprey Publishing Ltd, Oxford 2018. *Ludovic Fortin, ''T17E1 Staghound Armored Car – Le char sur roues'', Trucks & Tracks Magazine No. 5, December 2007–January 2008, Caraktère, Marseille, pp. 48–67. (in

) * Matthew S. Gordon, ''The Gemayels'' (World Leaders Past & Present), Chelsea House Publishers, 1988. * Moustafa El-Assad, ''Civil Wars Volume 1: The Gun Trucks'', Blue Steel books, Sidon 2008. * 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. * Samer Kassis, ''Véhicules Militaires au Liban/Military Vehicles in Lebanon 1975–1981'', Trebia Publishing, Chyah 2012. * 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

)
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 1983 Military units and formations disestablished in 1984 1983 establishments in Lebanon