The 5th 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 since its creation in January 1983.

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 5th Infantry Regiment was therefore re-organized and expanded to a brigade group numbering 2,000 men, mostly

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

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, ...

, which became on January 1, 1983, the 5th Infantry Brigade. The new Infantry Brigade traced back its roots to a previous unit, the 5th Lebanese special mountain brigade of the colonial Special Troops of the Levant ( French: ''Troupes Spéciales du Levant'' or TSL), raised earlier on June 1, 1943, during the French mandate over Lebanon and Syria. In July 1945 a French-Lebanese military agreement was signed, officially signalling the disbandment of the TSL, broken up to form the new Lebanese and Syrian national armies. By the end of the month, a hodgepodge of colonial units comprising the 5th Lebanese special mountain brigade plus other smaller formations transferred from the disbanded 3rd, 6th and 7th TSL coastal brigades, was mustered together at the town of

Zahlé Zahlé () is a city in eastern Lebanon, and the capital and largest city of Beqaa Governorate, Lebanon. With around 150,000 inhabitants, it is the third-largest city in Lebanon after Beirut and Tripoli, Lebanon, Tripoli and the fourth-largest ...

in the

Beqaa Valley The Beqaa Valley (, ; Bekaa, Biqâ, Becaa) is a fertile valley in eastern Lebanon and its most important farming region. Industry, especially the country's agricultural industry, also flourishes in Beqaa. The region broadly corresponds to th ...

and consolidated into the new Lebanese Army which was officially founded on August 1, 1945, under the command of then Colonel

Fuad Chehab Fouad Abdallah Chehab ( / ; 19 March 1902 – 25 April 1973) was a Lebanese general and statesman who served as president of Lebanon from 1958 to 1964. He is considered to be the founder of the Lebanese Army after Lebanon gained independence f ...

Emblem

The brigade's emblem is composed of a Phoenix, a legendary bird that lives through five centuries, set on a sky-blue background, holding the

Arabic numeral The ten Arabic numerals (0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9) are the most commonly used symbols for writing numbers. The term often also implies a positional notation number with a decimal base, in particular when contrasted with Roman numerals. ...

(5) five and emerging from the flames symbolizing sacrifice and resurrection, surmounted by the motto "From my ashes Lebanon arises" written in

Arabic script The Arabic script is the writing system used for Arabic (Arabic alphabet) and several other languages of Asia and Africa. It is the second-most widely used alphabetic writing system in the world (after the Latin script), the second-most widel ...

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 (54th) equipped with

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,Zaloga, ''Tank battles of the Mid-East Wars (2)'' (2003), p. 60.

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) and 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 (51st, 52nd and 53rd) issued with

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),El-Assad, ''Landing Zone Lebanon – UNIFIL 2006'' (2007), p. 80. plus an artillery battalion (55th) fielding 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, various mortars. The brigade also fielded a logistics battalion, equipped with US M151A2 jeeps, Land Rover Defender90,

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 ...

, Chevrolet C20 and Dodge Ram (1st generation) pickups, and US M35A2 2½-ton (6x6) military trucks. Initially commanded in 1983 by Colonel Gabriel Arsuni, later replaced by Colonel Khalil Kanaan, by 1987 the brigade was stationed at Brummana in the

Matn District Matn (, '), sometimes spelled Metn (or preceded by the article El, as in El Matn), is a district (''qadaa'') in the Mount Lebanon Governorate of Lebanon, east of the Lebanon's capital Beirut. The district capital is Jdeideh (followed to Jdeideh, ...

east of Beirut, with its administrative headquarters being located at the Raymond el-Hayek Barracks in Sarba, north of

Jounieh Jounieh (, or ''Juniya'', ) is a coastal city in Keserwan District, about north of Beirut, Lebanon. Since 2017, it has been the capital of Keserwan-Jbeil Governorate. Jounieh is known for its seaside resorts and bustling nightlife, as well as it ...

, which was a

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) stronghold.Collelo, ''Lebanon: a country study'' (1989), p. 223.

Combat history

The Lebanese Civil War

Under the orders of Col. Kanaan, the Fifth Brigade was positioned at the Sin el Fil suburb east of Beirut in the

as a reserve force, and the brigade's primary mission 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 to provide support to the other Lebanese Army Brigades deployed in the

Greater Beirut Greater Beirut () is the urban agglomeration comprising the city of Beirut (Beirut Governorate) and the adjacent municipalities over the Mount Lebanon Governorate. It does not constitute a single administrative unit. Greater Beirut geographicall ...

area.Hokayem, ''L'armée libanaise pendant la guerre: un instrument du pouvoir du président de la République (1975–1985)'' (2012), p. 86. On February 6, 1984, the LAF Command of the Greater Beirut area decided to send the 52nd Infantry Battalion in

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 ...

APCs supported by a Tank squadron provided with M48A5 MBTs on a routine patrol mission, whose planned route was to pass through the Dora suburb, the Museum crossing in the Corniche el Mazraa, the Barbir Hospital in the Ouza'i district, the Kola bridge, and the

Raouché Raouché () is a residential and commercial neighborhood in Beirut, Lebanon. It is known for its upscale apartment buildings, numerous restaurants, and cliff-side cafés that line Avenue de Paris, which forms part of the Corniche Beirut. Off t ...

seafront residential and commercial neighbourhood. Alerted by the presence of such a large military force entering west Beirut – which they viewed suspiciously as being abnormally reinforced for a simple routine mission – Amal militia forces misinterpreted this move as a disguised attempt by Government forces to seize the

Shia 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 ...

-controlled southwestern suburbs of the Lebanese capital by force. An alarmed Amal Command promptly issued a general mobilization order in the ranks of its militia, and as soon as the Lebanese Army patrol arrived at the Fouad Chehab bridge near the Barbir Hospital, they fell into an ambush. Several M48 Tanks that were leading the column were hit by dozens of

RPG-7 The RPG-7 is a portable, reusable, unguided, shoulder-launched, anti-tank, rocket launcher. The RPG-7 and its predecessor, the RPG-2, were designed by the Soviet Union, and are now manufactured by the Russian company Bazalt. The weapon has t ...

anti-tank rounds, which brought the advance of the entire patrol to a halt. During the February 1986 clashes in West Beirut between the

Amal militia and the Lebanese Army, the Fifth Brigade was expelled to East Beirut after the predominately

Sixth Brigade refused to participate in the fighting against their coreligionists of Amal. In 1987 Fifth brigade units were deployed to the strategic town 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 ...

to prevent

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 ...

artillerymen of the

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 from shelling the capital. By the late 1980s, the Fifth Brigade was regarded as loyal to the

President of Lebanon The president of the Lebanese Republic () is the head of state of Lebanon. The president is elected by the parliament for a term of six years, which cannot be renewed immediately because they can only be renewed non-consecutively. By convention, ...

, but observers believed that if called upon to fight a Christian militia, it might remain neutral. During the final days of the civil war, the Fifth Brigade held

until October 13, 1990, when the unit was overpowered by an alliance of Druze PSP/PLA, Christian Lebanese Forces – Executive Command (LFEC) and

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 and

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 ...

troops.

The post-civil war years 1990–present

Upon the end of the war in October 1990, the Fifth 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: 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 – of– 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. * Matthew S. Gordon, ''The Gemayels'' (World Leaders Past & Present), Chelsea House Publishers, 1988. * Moustafa El-Assad, ''Landing Zone Lebanon – UNIFIL 2006'', Blue Steel Info, Beirut 2007. * 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). �

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 1983 1983 establishments in Lebanon