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The Royal Moroccan Army ( ''Al-Quwwat al-Bariyah al-Malakiyah al-Maghribiyah'', ''tasrdast tagldant'') is the branch of the Royal Moroccan Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. The Royal Moroccan Army is about 215,000 troops strong and consists of 195,000 professional soldiers and 20,000 conscripts. In case of war or state of siege, an additional force of 150,000 Reservists and paramilitary forces, including 24,000 regulars of the
Royal Moroccan Gendarmerie The Royal Moroccan Gendarmerie (, ) is the national gendarmerie force of the Kingdom of Morocco, and comes under the joint-authority of the Minister Delegate to the Head of Government in charge of the administration of National Defense, Ministr ...
and 30,000 Auxiliary Forces come under the Ministry of Defense command. Army forces from Morocco have taken part in different wars and battles during the twentieth century, from
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, to the recent Central African Republic conflict.


History

The Moroccan army has existed continuously since the rising of Almoravid Empire in the 11th-century. During the protectorate period (1912–1955), large numbers of Moroccans were recruited for service in the
Spahi Spahis () were light cavalry, light-cavalry regiments of the French army recruited primarily from the Arab and Berber populations of Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco. The modern French Army retains one regiment of Spahis as an armoured unit, w ...
and
Tirailleur A tirailleur (), in the Napoleonic era, was a type of light infantry trained to skirmish ahead of the main columns. Later, the term "''tirailleur''" was used by the French Army as a designation for indigenous infantry recruited in the French c ...
regiments of the French Army of Africa ( French: ''Armée d'Afrique''). Many served during
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
. During World War II more than 300,000 Moroccan troops (including goumier auxiliaries) served with the
Free French forces __NOTOC__ The French Liberation Army ( ; AFL) was the reunified French Army that arose from the merging of the Armée d'Afrique with the prior Free French Forces (; FFL) during World War II. The military force of Free France, it participated ...
in North Africa, Italy, France and Austria. The two world conflicts saw Moroccan units earning the nickname of "Todesschwalben" (death swallows) by German soldiers as they showed particular toughness on the battlefield. After the end of
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, Moroccan troops formed part of the French Far East Expeditionary Corps engaged in the
First Indochina War The First Indochina War (generally known as the Indochina War in France, and as the Anti-French Resistance War in Vietnam, and alternatively internationally as the French-Indochina War) was fought between French Fourth Republic, France and Việ ...
from 1946 to 1954. The
Spanish Army The Spanish Army () is the terrestrial army of the Spanish Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is one of the oldest Standing army, active armies – dating back to the late 15th century. The Spanish Army has existed ...
also made extensive use of Moroccan troops recruited in the Spanish Protectorate, during both the
Rif War The Rif War (, , ) was an armed conflict fought from 1921 to 1926 between Spain (joined by France in 1924) and the Berber tribes of the mountainous Rif region of northern Morocco. Led by Abd el-Krim, the Riffians at first inflicted several ...
of 1921–26 and the
Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...
of 1936–39. Moroccan ''
Regulares The ("Indigenous Regular Forces"), known simply as the (Regulars), are infantry units of the Spanish Army, largely recruited in the cities of Ceuta and Melilla. Historically, the force, which has also included mounted divisions, has consisted ...
'', together with the
Spanish Legion For centuries, Spain recruited foreign soldiers to its army, forming the foreign regiments () such as the Regiment of Hibernia (formed in 1709 from Irishmen who fled their own country in the wake of the Flight of the Earls and the Penal la ...
, made up Spain's elite
Spanish Army of Africa The Army of Africa (, , Tarifit, Riffian; ''Aserdas n Tefriqt''), also known as the Army of Spanish Morocco ('), was a field army of the Spanish Army that garrisoned the Spanish protectorate in Morocco from 1912 until History of Morocco#Independ ...
. A para-military
gendarmerie A gendarmerie () is a paramilitary or military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term ''gendarme'' () is derived from the medieval French expression ', which translates to " men-at-arms" (). In France and so ...
, known as the "Mehal-la Jalifianas" and modelled on the French goumieres, was employed within the Spanish Zone. The Royal Armed Forces were created on 14 May 1956, after
French Morocco The French protectorate in Morocco, also known as French Morocco, was the period of French colonial rule in Morocco that lasted from 1912 to 1956. The protectorate was officially established 30 March 1912, when Sultan Abd al-Hafid signed the ...
, a French Protectorate, was dissolved. Fourteen thousand Moroccan personnel from the French Army and ten thousand from the Spanish Armed Forces transferred into the newly formed armed forces. This number was augmented by approximately 5,000 former guerrillas from the "Army of Liberation". About 2,000 French officers and NCOs remained in Morocco on short-term contracts, until crash training programmes at the military academies of Saint-Cyr, Toledo and Dar al Bayda produced sufficient numbers of Moroccan commissioned officers. The first wars that Moroccan troops have taken part in the 20th century as an independent country were the
Ifni War The Ifni War, sometimes called the Forgotten War (''la Guerra Olvidada'') in Spain, was a series of armed incursions into Spanish West Africa by Morocco, Moroccan insurgents that began in November 1957 and culminated with the abortive siege ...
and Sand War. In the early 1960s, Moroccan troops were sent to the Congo as part of the first multifunctional UN peacekeeping operation, ONUC. But the Moroccan Armed Forces were most notable in fighting a 25-year asymmetric war (
Western Sahara War The Western Sahara War (, , ) was an armed conflict between the Sahrawi indigenous Polisario Front and Morocco from 1975 to 1991 (and Mauritania from 1975 to 1979), being the most significant phase of the Western Sahara conflict. The confl ...
) against the POLISARIO, an
Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...
n backed rebel national
liberation movement A liberation movement is an organization or political movement leading a rebellion, or a non-violent social movement, against a colonial power or national government, often seeking independence based on a nationalist identity and an anti-imperiali ...
seeking the independence of
Western Sahara Western Sahara is a territorial dispute, disputed territory in Maghreb, North-western Africa. It has a surface area of . Approximately 30% of the territory () is controlled by the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR); the remaining 70% is ...
from Morocco. The Royal Moroccan Army fought during the
Six-Day War The Six-Day War, also known as the June War, 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states, primarily United Arab Republic, Egypt, Syria, and Jordan from 5 to 10June ...
and on the Golan front during the
Yom Kippur War The Yom Kippur War, also known as the Ramadan War, the October War, the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, or the Fourth Arab–Israeli War, was fought from 6 to 25 October 1973 between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states led by Egypt and S ...
of 1973 (mostly in the battle for
Quneitra Quneitra (also Al Qunaytirah, Qunaitira, or Kuneitra; , ''al-Qunayṭrah'' or ''al-Qunayṭirah'' ) is the largely destroyed and abandoned capital of the Quneitra Governorate in south-western Syria. It is situated in a high valley in the Golan ...
) and intervened decisively in the 1977 conflict known as Shaba I to save Zaire's regime. After Shaba II, Morocco was part of the Inter-African Force deployed on the Zaire border, contributing about 1,500 troops. The Armed Forces also took part in the
Gulf War , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...
with a Mechanized Battalion and an infantry battalion in the Omar and Tariq Task Forces. In the 1990s, Moroccan troops went to Angola with the three UN Angola Versification Missions, UNAVEM I, UNAVEM II, and UNAVEM III. They were also in Somalia, with
UNOSOM I United Nations Operation in Somalia I (UNOSOM I) was the first part of a United Nations (UN) sponsored effort to provide, facilitate, and secure humanitarian relief in Somalia, as well as to monitor the first UN-brokered ceasefire of the Somal ...
, the U.S.-led
Unified Task Force The Unified Task Force (UNITAF), also known as Operation Restore Hope, was a United States-led, United Nations-sanctioned multinational military force deployed to Somalia from 5 December 1992 to 4 May 1993. It was established to replace United ...
(UNITAF), sometimes known by its U.S. codename of 'Restore Hope,' and the follow-on UNOSOM II. They saw fighting during the 3–4 October 1993 confrontation in Mogadishu to rescue a U.S. anti-militia assault force. Other peace support involvement during the 1990s included
United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia The United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC) was a United Nations peacekeeping operation in Cambodia in 1992–93 formed following the 1991 Paris Peace Accords. This was the first occasion in which the UN directly assumed re ...
(UNTAC) in Cambodia, and the missions in the former Yugoslavia:
IFOR The Implementation Force (IFOR) was a NATO-led multinational peace enforcement force in Bosnia and Herzegovina under a one-year mandate from 20 December 1995 to 20 December 1996 under the codename ''Operation Joint Endeavour''. Background In ...
, SFOR, and KFOR. Recent United Nations deployment in Africa and elsewhere have included the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO), the UNOCI, BINUCA and
MISCA The African-led International Support Mission to the Central African Republic (, MISCA) was an African Union peacekeeping mission to the Central African Republic. It was established on 5 December 2013 by United Nations Security Council resolut ...
(2014) Other missions have included: *
Perejil Island crisis The Perejil Island crisis (; ) was a bloodless armed conflict between Spain and Morocco that took place on 11–18 July 2002. The incident took place over the small, uninhabited Perejil Island, when a squad of the Royal Moroccan Navy occupied it. ...
*
International Security Assistance Force 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 United Nations Security Council Resolution 1386, Resolution 1386 ac ...
Joint Command * Operation Scorched Earth *
MINUSTAH The United Nations Stabilisation Mission in Haiti (), also known as MINUSTAH, an acronym of its French name, was a UN peacekeeping mission in Haiti from 2004 to 2017. It was composed of 2,366 military personnel and 2,533 police, supported by int ...
*
United Nations Supervision Mission in Syria The United Nations Supervision Mission in Syria (UNSMIS) was a United Nations peacekeeping mission in Syria, set up in 2012 as a result of United Nations Security Council Resolution 2043 in response to the Syrian Civil War. It was commanded by ...
(UNSMIS) Algeria, Morocco, and other Maghreb states affected by the GSPC insurgency have been assisted in fighting Islamist militants by the United States and the United Kingdom since 2007, when Operation Enduring Freedom – Trans Sahara began.


Army of Liberation

The Army of Liberation (, ) was a force fighting for the
independence Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state, in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the status of ...
of
Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...
. In 1956, units of the Army began infiltrating
Ifni The Territory of Ifni () was a Spanish province on the Atlantic coast of Morocco, south of Agadir and across from the Canary Islands. It had a total area of , and a population of 51,517 in 1964. The main industry was fishing. The present-day Mor ...
and other enclaves of Spanish Morocco, as well as the
Spanish Sahara Spanish Sahara (; ), officially the Spanish Possessions in the Sahara from 1884 to 1958, then Province of the Sahara between 1958 and 1976, was the name used for the modern territory of Western Sahara when it was occupied and ruled by Spain bet ...
. Initially, they received important backing from the Moroccan government. In the Spanish Sahara, the Army rallied Sahrawi tribes along the way, and triggered a large-scale rebellion. In early 1958, the Moroccan king reorganized the Army of Liberation units fighting in the Spanish Sahara as the "Saharan Liberation Army" . The revolt in the
Spanish Sahara Spanish Sahara (; ), officially the Spanish Possessions in the Sahara from 1884 to 1958, then Province of the Sahara between 1958 and 1976, was the name used for the modern territory of Western Sahara when it was occupied and ruled by Spain bet ...
was put down in 1958 by a joint French and Spanish offensive. The
king of Morocco The king of Morocco (; ) is the monarch and head of state of Morocco. The kings of Morocco are members of the Alawi dynasty. It is one of the country's most powerful offices. Mohammed VI ( Sidi Mohammed bin Hassan al-Alawi) is the current kin ...
then signed an agreement with the Spanish, as he asserted control over the rebellious southern border areas, and parts of the Army of Liberation was absorbed back into the Moroccan armed forces.
Nationalist Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...
ic Moroccans tend to see the Army of Liberation battles in Western Sahara as a proof of Western Sahara's loyalty to the Moroccan crown, whereas sympathizers to the
Polisario Front The Popular Front for the Liberation of Saguia el-Hamra and Río de Oro (Spanish language, Spanish: ; ), better known by its acronym Polisario Front, is a Sahrawi nationalism, Sahrawi nationalist liberation movement seeking to end the occupatio ...
view it only as an anti-colonial war directed against
Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
. Sahrawi veterans of the Army of Liberation today exist on both sides of the Western Sahara conflict, and both the
Kingdom of Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to the east, and t ...
and the
Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic The Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), also known as the Sahrawi Republic and Western Sahara, is a partially recognized state in the western Maghreb, which claims the non-self-governing territory of Western Sahara, but controls only ...
celebrate it as part of their political history.


Forces today


Situation and equipment

From the beginning of 21st-century, the Moroccan army began a modernisation program that included the purchase of modern equipment and the transformation into a more professional army performing multiple exercises with allied armies, and as a
Major non-NATO ally A major non-NATO ally (MNNA) is a designation given by the Federal government of the United States, United States government to countries that have strategic working relationships with the United States Armed Forces while not being members of t ...
of the US, and member of the initiative 5+5 and other cooperation agreements. The army's modernisation program took shape with the acquisitions of weapons such as the Chinese VT-1A and MRLS AR2, American M1A1 Abrams, the HAWK air defense system or the M109A5 Self-Propelled Howitzer. The organisation and structure of command remained the same: *General Command HQ (
Rabat Rabat (, also , ; ) is the Capital (political), capital city of Morocco and the List of cities in Morocco, country's seventh-largest city with an urban population of approximately 580,000 (2014) and a metropolitan population of over 1.2 million. ...
) ***Northern operational Sector. **eastern Command HQ ( Errachidia) ***Eastern operational sector ***Tafilalt operational sector ***Saghro operational sector **Southern Command (
Agadir Agadir (, ; ) is a major List of cities in Morocco, city in Morocco, on the shore of the Atlantic Ocean near the foot of the Atlas Mountains, just north of the point where the Sous River, Souss River flows into the ocean, and south of Casabla ...
) ***Oued draa operational sector. ***Sakia El Hamra operational sector. ***Oued eddahab operational sector. Formations are as follows: * 2 Airborne infantry brigades. * 15 Motorised infantry brigades/Regiments. * 3 Royal Armored brigades. * 13 Royal tanks regiments. * 6 mechanised infantry brigades. * 24 Royal Artillery groups (4 Ground to air Groups/2 Rocket artillery groups/18 field artillery groups) * 1 light security brigade. * 1 mechanised intervention brigade. * 1 mountain infantry battalion. * 2 Royal cavalry regiments. * 12 Borders surveillance battalions. * 17 intervention light infantry battalions. * 11 Makhzen Groups of Auxiliary Forces, includes : ** Unites of Makhzen Borders surveillance (MMS) ** 4 Green March Commandos (CMV) ** Auxiliary Forces Motorised (GMM)


International projection

The Kingdom of Morocco is part of multiple international organisations, is a
Major non-NATO ally A major non-NATO ally (MNNA) is a designation given by the Federal government of the United States, United States government to countries that have strategic working relationships with the United States Armed Forces while not being members of t ...
, part of the
Arab League The Arab League (, ' ), officially the League of Arab States (, '), is a regional organization in the Arab world. The Arab League was formed in Cairo on 22 March 1945, initially with seven members: Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt, Kingdom of Iraq, ...
, and has established military cooperation with different countries such as USA, Russia, Portugal, Tunisia, China, Qatar, Italy, France, Spain, UAE or Turkey. As part of the UN, Moroccan Army participated in different
Peacekeeping Peacekeeping comprises activities, especially military ones, intended to create conditions that favor lasting peace. Research generally finds that peacekeeping reduces civilian and battlefield deaths, as well as reduces the risk of renewed w ...
missions. Moroccan troops were sent as part of SFOR, KFOR,
MINUSTAH The United Nations Stabilisation Mission in Haiti (), also known as MINUSTAH, an acronym of its French name, was a UN peacekeeping mission in Haiti from 2004 to 2017. It was composed of 2,366 military personnel and 2,533 police, supported by int ...
or the more recent UNSMIS in Syria. It has also responded the call of its allies, taking part of conflicts such as Shaba I, Battle of Mogadishu (1993), the
Gulf War , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...
or the Operation Scorched Earth, among others. Morocco has dispatched several
field hospital A field hospital is a temporary hospital or mobile medical unit that takes care of casualties on-site before they can be safely transported to more permanent facilities. This term was initially used in military medicine (such as the Mobile ...
s to conflict zones and areas affected by natural disasters, the latest contributions were at Libyan Civil War, the Syrian civil war. and in the Gaza strip after
Operation Pillar of Defense In November 2012, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) launched Operation Pillar of Defense (, ''ʿAmúd ʿAnán'', literally: "Pillar of Cloud"), which was an eight-day campaign in the Governance of the Gaza Strip, Hamas-governed Gaza Strip, begi ...
. The Royal Moroccan Army also performs annual training exercise called "African Lion" with the United States Marine Corps. The exercise is a regularly scheduled, combined U.S. - Moroccan military exercise designed to promote improved interoperability and mutual understanding of each nation's tactics, techniques, procedures, unit readiness and enhancing foreign relations. Morocco has also been the venue for Exercise "Jebel Sahara" since September 2000, taken 10 times since, and gathering elements from 33 Squadron, 230 Squadron, 18 Squadron, 27 Squadron, Joint Helicopter Force HQ from RAF Benson, 1st Battalion Royal Gibraltar Regiment and 2nd Brigade d'Infanterie Parachutiste of the Royal Moroccan Army. The aim of the Exercise was to increase the Support Helicopter warfighting capability in desert 'hot and high' conditions and foster good relations between the UK and Morocco. To achieve this, the scenario consisted of a joint counter insurgency operation in the desert and mountain foothills to re-establish control and authority within a troubled region of North Africa. Another exercises were the "Jebel Tarik", with the Moroccan contribution of service personnel to an annual bilateral deployment of two companies (up to 180 personnel) of the Royal Gibraltar Regiment (RG) to the UK, on seven occasions since 2003. "Desert Vortex", a one-off bilateral helicopter exercise which is run between 16 May and 30 June 2009. This was a UK training exercise with objectives set by Joint Helicopter Command (JHC) and run concurrently with Moroccan Air Force annual helicopter crew training. The
Royal Gibraltar Regiment The Royal Gibraltar Regiment is part of British Forces Gibraltar for the British overseas territory of Gibraltar, which historically, along with Bermuda, Halifax, Nova Scotia (prior to the 1867 Confederation of Canada), and Malta, had been d ...
ran an exercise with the Moroccan 2e Brigade d'Infanterie Parachutiste (2e BIP) in late 2008. The Royal Armed Forces also take part of different international exercises as Leapfest, Flintlock, Blue Sand, and occasional military operations exercises with Belgium, U.A.E., Spain, France and others.


Ranks and structure


Officers

* Général de l'armé et commandant en chef: Retained by His Majesty the King of Morocco.


Enlisted

In 2009, the Moroccan army had:


Equipment

File:M60 morocco.jpg, RMA's M60A1 MBT File:Moroccan M109A5 howitzer, 2012-03.jpg, RMA's M109A5 howitzer File:M113 morocco.jpg, RMA's M163 VADS


Uniform

The most common service uniform of the Royal Moroccan Army is
olive drab Olive is a dark yellowish-green color, like that of unripe or green olives. As a color word in the English language, it appears in late Middle English. Variations Olivine Olivine is the typical color of the mineral olivine. The first re ...
, but you can also see Moroccan troops with other types of uniforms such as the Desert lizard, Red Lizard and Camouflage Central-Europe uniforms.The uniform has been changed into a newer and modern one : File:Moroccan soldiers conduct a dry-fire rehearsal with U.S. Marines assigned to Bravo Company, Battalion Landing Team, 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit in preparation for the final 120414-M-TK324-048.jpg, Moroccan Soldiers with
Olive Drab Olive is a dark yellowish-green color, like that of unripe or green olives. As a color word in the English language, it appears in late Middle English. Variations Olivine Olivine is the typical color of the mineral olivine. The first re ...
Battle Uniform and SPECTRA helmet File:USMC-090529-M-0884D-003.jpg, General Abdelaziz Bennani with Camouflage Central-Europe Camo Battle Uniform File:USMC-100519-A-1944H-006.jpg, Moroccan soldiers with Desert lizard Camo Battle Uniform


See also

* Royal Moroccan Armed Forces **
Royal Moroccan Navy The Royal Moroccan Navy of Morocco () is a branch of the military of Morocco responsible for conducting naval operations. The Royal Moroccan Navy is administratively managed by the Administration of Defence, which is (''de facto'') commanded b ...
**
Royal Moroccan Air Force The Royal Moroccan Air Force (; ; ) is the air force of the Moroccan Armed Forces. History The Moroccan air force was formed on 14 May 1956 as the Sherifian Royal Aviation (). Its modern installations and bases were inherited from France (Bass ...
** Moroccan Royal Guard *
Royal Moroccan Gendarmerie The Royal Moroccan Gendarmerie (, ) is the national gendarmerie force of the Kingdom of Morocco, and comes under the joint-authority of the Minister Delegate to the Head of Government in charge of the administration of National Defense, Ministr ...
* Auxiliary Forces


References


Further reading

* Anthony Cordesman, 'A Tragedy of Arms' *John Keegan "World Armies" *R. Hure "L'Armee d' Afrique 1830-1962" {{Moroccan security forces Military of Morocco Military units and formations established in 1956