The Algerian Republican Guard (, ), is a

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...

corps of the

Algerian army The People's National Army (PNA) () is the military of the Algerian republic. It is the direct successor of the National Liberation Army (ALN), the armed wing of the nationalist National Liberation Front, which fought French colonial rule d ...

. It is under the direct authority of the

President of Algeria The president of the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria (, ) is the head of state and chief executive of Algeria, as well as the commander-in-chief of the Algerian People's National Armed Forces. The current president is Abdelmadjid Tebbo ...

. The Algerian

Republic A republic, based on the Latin phrase ''res publica'' ('public affair' or 'people's affair'), is a State (polity), state in which Power (social and political), political power rests with the public (people), typically through their Representat ...

an Guard is composed of about 12,000 troops. It includes a horse mounted cavalry unit. The cavalry detachment finds its roots in the mix of traditions of both the famous

Berber Berber or Berbers may refer to: Ethnic group * Berbers, an ethnic group native to Northern Africa * Berber languages, a family of Afro-Asiatic languages Places * Berber, Sudan, a town on the Nile People with the surname * Ady Berber (1913–196 ...

cavalry, especially the

Numidian cavalry Numidian cavalry was a type of light cavalry developed by the Numidians. They were used by Hannibal during the Punic Wars, and later became commonplace in the Roman army of the late Republic. History Numidian cavalry is first mentioned by Polybi ...

and the equally famous

Arab Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...

cavalry.

History

The Republican Guard was founded by a group of cavalry units which came from the city of El Eulma located in Setif and which, in 1963, settled in the Colonel Chabou barracks known also as Lido Mouhamadia, in the east of Algiers. This group took over the leaving French army. Since then, the unit has provided honors to the President of

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 ...

. It then took four years, between 1969 and 1972 to set up the Algerian Republican Guard. Since October 3, 2006, the Republican Guard has been an autonomous military force, with its own command.

Structure

The Republican Guard has several types of regiments ranging from parade regiments, protection, escort, and intervention. The regiments of the Republican Guard include the following: * Special Intervention Regiment (Régiment spécial d'intervention - RSI), special forces, * 1st Parade Regiment (''1er Regiment de Parade''), * 2nd Guard and Protection Regiment (Régiment de garde et de protection), * 3rd and 4th Motorized Intervention Regiments (Régiment motorisé d'Intervention), * 5th Guard and Protection Regiment, * 11th Cavalry and Escort Regiment (11e Régiment de cavalerie et d’escorte), * 47th Motorized Intervention * 56th Guard and Protection Regiment. Other units may include: * Directorate General of Security and Presidential Protection (DGSPP) * Support Units ** Headquarters ** Central Support Establishment ** Horse Breeding Center (

Laghouat Laghouat () is the capital city, capital of the Laghouat Province, Algeria, south of the Algerian capital Algiers. Located in the Amour Range of the Saharan Atlas, the town is an oasis on the north edge of the Sahara Desert. It is an import ...

) * Training Units ** School of Non-Commissioned Officers of the Republican Guard (

l ** School of Music at Lido Bordj El kifan Algiers ** Republican Guard Training Center in (

) ** Riding Training Center (

)

Purpose

The Republican Cavalry's mission is to offer a stylish official display, mixing the Algerian nation's

history History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

culture Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, Attitude (psychology), attitudes ...

and traditions with a display of military discipline and professionalism. Their responsibilities include protecting the President and government buildings such as El Mouradia Palace, as well as welcoming foreign guests, and participating in national events.

Characteristics

History of the cavalry

In 1963, the formation of the first nucleus of the cavalry at the horse breeding center at Sidi Mabrouk in

Constantine Constantine most often refers to: * Constantine the Great, Roman emperor from 306 to 337, also known as Constantine I * Constantine, Algeria, a city in Algeria Constantine may also refer to: People * Constantine (name), a masculine g ...

. Its elements were moved to the El Eulma Barracks with the number of riders at a time not exceeding 23. It was transferred that same year to the Lido barracks where the official formation of the cavalry unit was started. Seventy young people from villages were then recruited into joining the unit. The unit was originally called "National Horse Riding Establishment". In 1964, it first participated in the riding festival at Oued Himimine in

. In 1965, the first military rider participated in a show jumping competition in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. In 1966, with the participation of the Algerian Equestrian Federation, a training session was organized for military and civilian riders under the supervision of foreign trainers. In the period from 1967 to 1968, training courses were given to Algerian trainers in the field of horse riding with the help of foreign experts and while acquiring horses of a German breed. In 1970, four riders of the Gendarmerie Group of the Ministerial Reserve participated with the national team in the international competition in neighboring

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 ...

. Following the creation of the Republican Guard in 1972, the cavalry formations were reinforced with elements of the special troops from the city of

Skikda Skikda (; formerly Philippeville from 1838 to 1962 and Rusicade in ancient times) is a city in northeastern Algeria and a port on the Mediterranean. It is the capital of Skikda Province and Skikda District. History The Phoenicians and Carthagi ...

. From this date, the Cavalry formations participated in all cultural and sporting fields besides its main missions which consist of presenting honors on horseback or on foot. It has since been seen at championships, and national and international sports competitions, including competitions in

Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine, in northwestern France. It is in the prefecture of Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one ...

(

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 ...

Novi Sad Novi Sad ( sr-Cyrl, Нови Сад, ; #Name, see below for other names) is the List of cities in Serbia, second largest city in Serbia and the capital of the autonomous province of Vojvodina. It is located in the southern portion of the Pannoni ...

(

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

) and

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. ...

(

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

(

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

) and

Tripoli Tripoli or Tripolis (from , meaning "three cities") may refer to: Places Greece *Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in the Pelasgiotis district, Thessaly, near Larissa ...

(

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

Uniform and equipment

The cavalry's ceremonial

uniform A uniform is a variety of costume worn by members of an organization while usually participating in that organization's activity. Modern uniforms are most often worn by armed forces and paramilitary organizations such as police, emergency serv ...

s reflects the

national colours National colours are frequently part of a country's set of national symbols. Many states and nations have formally adopted a set of colours as their official "national colours" while others have '' de facto'' national colours that have become well ...

and traditions of Algeria. It consists of

green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a com ...

Algerian trousers known as " saroual",

red Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–750 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a seconda ...

tunics known as "kamisa" or "kamidja", and long white capes known as "

burnous A burnous (), also burnoose, burnouse, bournous or barnous, is a long cloak of coarse woollen fabric with a pointed hood, often white, traditionally worn by Arabs, Arab and Berbers, Berber men in North Africa. Historically, the white burnous was w ...

". These colors are those of the Algerian flag. The troopers are also equipped with a traditional white headdress bearing the

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

of the Algerian Republican Cavalry, and a

sword A sword is an edged and bladed weapons, edged, bladed weapon intended for manual cutting or thrusting. Its blade, longer than a knife or dagger, is attached to a hilt and can be straight or curved. A thrusting sword tends to have a straighter ...

. The mounted horses of the Republican Cavalry are all pure blood white-colored barbs, equipped with a harness bearing the Cavalry's coat of arms, as well as a triple ponpon (white-red-green) on their heads. The Guard Infantry soldiers wear a red-green full dress uniform with white peaked caps.

Sports and cultural infrastructures

The main competition building of the guard is the Republican Guard sports complex at Lido

Algiers Algiers is the capital city of Algeria as well as the capital of the Algiers Province; it extends over many Communes of Algeria, communes without having its own separate governing body. With 2,988,145 residents in 2008Census 14 April 2008: Offi ...

. The sports regrouping center at Eucalyptus Algiers has been active since 2009. The development project is underway in accordance with the vision and the expected objectives of the High Command of the National People's Army.

Musical unit

The Cavalry possesses a

band Band or BAND may refer to: Places *Bánd, a village in Hungary * Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania * Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, ...

, which plays the

national anthem A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and European ...

, "'' Qassaman'', and other national songs on official occasions such as an official visit by a foreign

head of state A head of state is the public persona of a sovereign state.#Foakes, Foakes, pp. 110–11 "

he head of state He or HE may refer to: Language * He (letter), the fifth letter of the Semitic abjads * He (pronoun), a pronoun in Modern English * He (kana), one of the Japanese kana (へ in hiragana and ヘ in katakana) * Ge (Cyrillic), a Cyrillic letter cal ...

being an embodiment of the State itself or representative of its international persona." The name given to the office of head of sta ...

, or during international events where military musical units gather. The musical units play many instruments including the traditional

bagpipe Bagpipes are a woodwind instrument using enclosed reeds fed from a constant reservoir of air in the form of a bag. The Great Highland bagpipes are well known, but people have played bagpipes for centuries throughout large parts of Europe, No ...

Commanders

* Major General Abdelghani Hamel (2008–2010) * Major General Ahmed Moulay Melliani (2010–2015) *

Corps General An army corps general or corps general is a rank held by a general officer who commands an army corps. The rank originates from the French Revolutionary System, and is used by a number of countries. Normally, the rank is above the divisional ge ...

Benali Benali (2015–2025) * Major General Tahar Ayad (since 2025)

References

External links

* {{cite web, title=Garde Républicaine - Algérie, url=https://www.mdn.dz/site_cgr/index.php?L=fr, website=www.mdn.dz, access-date=2019-12-24, publication-date= (Official Website)
La fanfare de la garde républicaine algérienne à l'aéroport d'Alger

Orchestre De la Garde Républicaine Algérienne
Cavalry units and formations Guards of honour Algerian Republican Guard Military units and formations of Algeria