The Tigers militia (

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

: نمور الأحرار,

transliterated Transliteration is a type of conversion of a text from one writing system, script to another that involves swapping Letter (alphabet), letters (thus ''wikt:trans-#Prefix, trans-'' + ''wikt:littera#Latin, liter-'') in predictable ways, such as ...

: ''Numūr al-Aḥrar'';

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), ...

: ''PNL "Lionceaux"''), also known as Tigers of the Liberals (

: نمور الليبراليين‎,

: ''Numūr al-Lībrāliyyīn'') was the military wing of the National Liberal Party (NLP) during the 1975-78 phase of the Lebanese Civil War. Established in the late 1960s, the NLP militia was the second major faction within the Lebanese nationalist

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

Lebanese Front The Lebanese Front was a coalition of mainly right-wing Lebanese Nationalist parties formed in 1976 by majority Christian groups during the Lebanese Civil War. It was intended to act as a reaction force to the Lebanese National Movement (LNM) ...

coalition under the leadership of

Dany Chamoun Dany Chamoun (; 26 August 1934 – 21 October 1990) was a prominent Lebanese politician. A Maronite Christian, the younger son of former President Camille Chamoun and brother of Dory Chamoun, Chamoun was also a politician in his own right. ...

, son of the NLP's president

Camille Chamoun Camille Nimr Chamoun (, ; 3 April 19007 August 1987) was a Lebanese politician who served as the 2nd president of Lebanon from 1952 to 1958. He was one of the country's main Christian leaders during most of the Lebanese Civil War. Early yea ...

, from 1976 until 1980, when it was forcefully incorporated into the

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 ...

Origins

The NLP militia was first raised in October 1968 by the former

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, ...

at his home town of Es-Saadiyat, in the predominantly

Maronite Maronites (; ) are a Syriac Christianity, 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 re ...

region of

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, ...

. Chamoun was an important za'im, or political boss, being the patriarch of the prominent political Chamoun family. He held a number of important political positions in Lebanon, most importantly as

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 ...

, but he served also as minister of defense, minister of the interior, and minister of finance. While president, he established the National Liberal Party in 1958, and ten years later, he founded the Tigers militia, intended to be the military wing of the party, originally under the title Brigade of the Lebanese Tigers – BLT (, ''Katībat al-Numūr al-Lubnāniyya'';

: ''Brigade des Lionceaux Libanais'' or BLL), allegedly taken from his middle name, ''Nimr'' – meaning "Tiger" in Arabic.Tony Badran, ''Lebanon's Militia Wars'' in ''Lebanon: Liberation, Conflict, and Crisis'' (2009), p. 39. Initially just 500-men strong, the BLT was organized, trained, and led by the "defence secretary" of the NLP, Naim Berdkan; after his death in action in January 1976, he was succeeded by

, Camille Chamoun's younger son. Initially located in the NLP party offices' at Sodeco Square in the Nasra (Nazareth) neighbourhood of the

Achrafieh Achrafieh () is an upper-class area in eastern Beirut, Lebanon. In strictly administrative terms, the name refers to a sector (''secteur'') centred on Sassine Square, the highest point in the city, as well as a broader quarter (''quartier''). In p ...

quarter in Beirut, the Tigers' military HQ was relocated in 1978 to Safra, a boat marina and tourist beach resort located 25 km north of the Lebanese capital in the

Keserwan District Keserwan District (, transliteration: ''Qaḍā' Kisrawān'') is a district (''qadaa'') in Keserwan-Jbeil Governorate, Lebanon, to the northeast of Lebanon's capital Beirut. The capital, Jounieh, is overwhelmingly Maronite Christian. The area ...

, where it remained until the militia's dissolution.

Structure and organization

Under the command of

, the Tigers had become by 1978 the second largest force in the

, and although the Chamouns never achieved with their own militia the same level of organizational efficiency displayed by the rival

Phalange The phalanges (: phalanx ) are digital bones in the hands and feet of most vertebrates. In primates, the thumbs and big toes have two phalanges while the other digits have three phalanges. The phalanges are classed as long bones. Structure ...

Kataeb Regulatory Forces The Kataeb Regulatory Forces – KRF () or Forces Régulatoires des Kataeb (FRK) in French language, French, were the military wing of the right-wing Christianity in Lebanon, Lebanese Christian Kataeb Party, otherwise known as the 'Phalange', fr ...

militia, they were nonetheless capable of aligning 3,500 men and women, though other sources list a total of 4,000, which included civilian recruits and deserters from the

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 ...

. However, some unconfirmed sources advance an even higher number, about 15,000. Their 500 full-time fighters and 3,000 part-time reservists were organized into

armoured Armour (Commonwealth English) or armor (American English; see spelling differences) is a covering used to protect an object, individual, or vehicle from physical injury or damage, especially direct contact weapons or projectiles during combat ...

, '

commando A commando is a combatant, or operative of an elite light infantry or special operations force, specially trained for carrying out raids and operating in small teams behind enemy lines. Originally, "a commando" was a type of combat unit, as oppo ...

infantry Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...

artillery Artillery consists of ranged weapons that launch Ammunition, munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and l ...

signals A signal is both the process and the result of Signal transmission, transmission of data over some transmission media, media accomplished by embedding some variation. Signals are important in multiple subject fields including signal processin ...

medical Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...

logistics Logistics is the part of supply chain management that deals with the efficient forward and reverse flow of goods, services, and related information from the point of origin to the Consumption (economics), point of consumption according to the ...

and

military police Military police (MP) are law enforcement agencies connected with, or part of, the military of a state. Not to be confused with civilian police, who are legally part of the civilian populace. In wartime operations, the military police may supp ...

branches. The Tigers' own chain of command was predominantly Maronite, though the rank-and-file were drawn from the 150,000

, Greek-Orthodox,

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 ...

and

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 ...

militants of the NLP and trained in-country at clandestine facilities; first set up by the NLP in 1966 these training centres were located at

Naas Naas ( ; or ) is the county town of County Kildare in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In 2022, it had a population of 26,180, making it the largest town in County Kildare (ahead of Newbridge, County Kildare, Newbridge) and the List of urban ar ...

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, ...

, Es-Saadiyat in the

Iqlim al-Kharrub Iqlim el-Kharrub (Arabic: إقليم الخرّوب) is a geographic region in the western part of the Chouf District. Its inhabitants are mostly Sunni Muslims. Geographic definition Iqlim al-Kharrub is a historical and socio-cultural region in t ...

coastal enclave south of

Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...

Tony Badran, ''Lebanon's Militia Wars'' in ''Lebanon: Liberation, Conflict, and Crisis'' (2009), p. 38. and at Adma in the northern mountainous

. Upon the outbreak of 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 ...

in April 1975, the government of

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

secretly assisted the NLP Tigers with training and materiel aid, and from 1976 onwards, the israelis provided US$50 million-worth of weaponry and equipment per year to the Tigers and other Christian militias, after several clandestine contacts were made between

and the

Mossad The Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations (), popularly known as Mossad ( , ), is the national intelligence agency of the Israel, State of Israel. It is one of the main entities in the Israeli Intelligence Community, along with M ...

. NLP militia units operated mainly in

East Beirut The East Beirut canton, also known as Kfarshima - Madfoun or Marounistan, was a Christian militia controlled territory that existed in Lebanon from 1976 until its gradual erosion following the Taif Agreement and the end of the country's civil war. ...

, the

Byblos Byblos ( ; ), also known as Jebeil, Jbeil or Jubayl (, Lebanese Arabic, locally ), is an ancient city in the Keserwan-Jbeil Governorate of Lebanon. The area is believed to have been first settled between 8800 and 7000BC and continuously inhabited ...

Matn Matn () is an Islamic term that is used in relation to Hadith terminology. It means the text of the hadith, excluding the isnad. Use A hadith is made of both an isnad (chain of transmission) and a matn. A hadith would typically adopt the f ...

and

s 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 ...

, but also had a presence at

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 ...

, at the south in the Iqlim al-Kharrub, the

Aley District Aley () is a district (''qadaa'') in Mount Lebanon, Lebanon, to the south-east of the Lebanon's capital Beirut. The capital is Aley. Aley city was previously known as the "bride of the summers" during the 1960 and 1970s, when Aley and neighbor ...

and the

Jabal Amel Jabal Amil (; also spelled Jabal Amel and historically known as Jabal Amila) is a cultural and geographic region in Southern Lebanon largely associated with its long-established, predominantly Twelver Shia Muslim inhabitants. Its precise boundari ...

, where their local militants – after merging with other Christian,

Shia Muslim Shia Islam is the second-largest Islamic schools and branches, branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad in Islam, Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political Succession to Muhammad, successor (caliph) and as the spiritual le ...

and

militias – played a key part in the formation on 21 October 1976 of the Israeli-backed informal "Army for the Defense of South Lebanon" or ADSL (

: ''Armée de Défense du Liban-Sud'' or ADLS), later to become known as the "Free Lebanese Army" (FLA), the predecessor of 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).

Illegal activities and controversy

Financing for the NLP Tigers' came at first from both Chamoun's personal fortune and from

protection racket A protection racket is a type of racket and a scheme of organized crime perpetrated by a potentially hazardous organized crime group that generally guarantees protection outside the sanction of the law to another entity or individual from vio ...

s collected in the areas under their control, though they also received outside support. Conservative

Arab countries The Arab world ( '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, comprises a large group of countries, mainly located in West Asia and North Africa. While the majority of people in ...

such as

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

provided covert funding, weapons, munitions, training and other non-lethal assistance. Most of it entered towards the illegal ports of

Tabarja Tabarja () is an ancient coastal village in Lebanon, situated in Kesrouan, Etymology Tabarja has been known by various names throughout its history. It is identified with the coastal town of Trieres in Polybius' ''Histories.'' The historian pla ...

and

Dbayeh Dbayeh () is a city in Lebanon located on the Mediterranean Sea in the Matn District, Mount Lebanon, between Beirut and Jounieh. The majority of the population is Christian(Maronites, and Orthodox), apart from some people from the gulf who lived ...

, both located north of Beirut in the

, set up in early 1976 and administered by Joseph Abboud, former personal

chauffeur A chauffeur () is a person employed to drive a passenger motor vehicle, especially a luxury vehicle such as a large sedan or a limousine. Initially, such drivers were often personal employees of the vehicle owner, but this has changed to s ...

and hunting partner of Camille Chamoun, who run drug-smuggling and arms contraband activities on the behalf of the NLP until October 1980, when the

brought the ports under their control. The NLP and its military wing did edit their own official newspaper, "The Battles" (

: ''Ma'arik''), but they never set up a radio or television service. Ruthless fighters with a reputation of aggressiveness, often initiating hostilities with the opposition side, aggravated by their lack of discipline and restraint, the Tigers were also involved in several other acts of sectarian violence. On December 16, 1975, despite a ceasefire established the previous day, the NLP militia forcibly displaced all the 450 residents of Sebnay, a Muslim village southeast of Beirut, in the predominantly Maronite neighborhood of

Hadath Al-Ḥadath al-Ḥamrā' (Arabic for "Hadath the Red") or Adata () was a town and fortress near the Taurus Mountains (modern southeastern Turkey), which played an important role in the Byzantine–Arab Wars. Location The town was located at c ...

Baabda District Baabda District (, transliteration: ''Qada' Baabda''), sometimes spelled ''B'abda'', is a district (''qadaa'') of Mount Lebanon Governorate, Lebanon, to the south and east of the Lebanon's capital Beirut. The region is also popularly known as "Sou ...

. In July–August 1976 the NLP Tigers participated in the

Karantina La Quarantaine, which is colloquially referred to as Karantina () and sometimes spelled Quarantina, is a predominantly low-income, mixed-use residential, commercial, and semi-industrial neighborhood in northeastern Beirut. The neighborhood lies e ...

, Al-Masklah and Tel al-Zaatar Massacres of

Palestinian refugee Palestinian refugees are citizens of Mandatory Palestine, and their descendants, who fled or were expelled from their country, village or house over the course of the 1948 Palestine war and during the 1967 Six-Day War. Most Palestinian refug ...

s in

and Dbayeh, allied with the

Army of Free Lebanon The Army of Free Lebanon – AFL (), also known variously as the Colonel Barakat's Army () or Armée du Liban Libre (ALL) and Armée du Colonel Barakat in French, was a predominantly Christian splinter faction of the Lebanese Army that came to p ...

Al-Tanzim Al-Tanzim, ''Al-Tanzym'' or ''At-Tanzim'' () was the name of an secret military society and militia set up by Christianity in Lebanon, Christian activists in Lebanon at the early 1970s, and which came to play an important role in the Lebanese C ...

Lebanese Youth Movement The Lebanese Youth Movement – LYM (Arabic: حركة الشباب اللبنانية , ''Harakat al-Shabab al-Lubnaniyya''), also known as the Maroun Khoury Group (MKG), was a Christianity in Lebanon, Christian militia which fought in the Leban ...

and the

Guardians of the Cedars The Guardians of the Cedars (GoC; ; ''Ḥurrās al-Arz) was'' a Lebanese nationalist party and former militia in Lebanon. It was formed by Étienne Saqr (also known with the kunya "Abu Arz" or "Father of the Cedars") and others along with th ...

. Towards the end of the 1970s, however, rivalries within the

coalition strained the relationship between the NLP Tigers' and their erstwhile Christian allies, leading them to violent confrontation with the Phalangists and the Guardians of the Cedars. The Tigers' even battled these two factions in May 1979 for control of the

Furn esh Shebbak Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...

and

Ain El Remmaneh Ain El Remmaneh (Arabic: عين الرمانة, lit. spring of the pomegranate) is a Christians, Christian neighborhood, in the Baabda district of Mount Lebanon, Lebanon, a suburb of Beirut and part of Greater Beirut. History and war In the 19 ...

districts in Beirut, and for the town of

Akoura Aqoura (, also spelled ''Aaqoura'', "Akoura") is a mountainous village in the Byblos District of Keserwan-Jbeil Governorate, Lebanon, 68 kilometers north of Beirut. Aaqoura has an average elevation of 1,600 meters above sea level (between 1000 and ...

in the

Byblos District Byblos District (; transliteration: ''Qadaa' Jbeil''), also called the Jbeil District (''Jbeil'' is Lebanese Arabic for "Byblos"; standard Arabic ''Jubail''), is a district ('' qadaa'') of the Keserwan-Jbeil Governorate of Lebanon. It is located ...

List of NLP Tigers commanders

* Naim Berdkan (October 1968–January 1976) *

(January 1976–July 1980) *

Dory Chamoun Dory Chamoun (; born 8 November 1931) is a Lebanese politician who led the National Liberal Party (NLP) from 25 May 1991 till 10 April 2021, when he was succeeded by his son Camille Dory Chamoun who became an MP in the 2022 Lebanese general el ...

(July–August 1980)

NLP Tigers junior commanders

* Freddy Nasrallah * Bob Azzam * Dr. Naji Hayek *

Georges Araj Georges may refer to: Places *Georges River, New South Wales, Australia *Georges Quay (Dublin) *Georges Township, Fayette County, Pennsylvania Other uses *Georges (name) * ''Georges'' (novel), a novel by Alexandre Dumas * "Georges" (song), a 1977 ...

Elias El-Hannouche Elias ( ; ) is the hellenized version for the name of Elijah (; ; , or ), a prophet in the Northern Kingdom of Israel in the 9th century BC, mentioned in several holy books. Due to Elias' role in the scriptures and to many later associated traditi ...

(الحنش) * Nouhad Chelhot * Jean Eid *

Nabil Nassif Nabīl or Nabeel (), rendered in some languages as Nebil, is a male given name of Arabic origin, meaning "noble".Toufic Nehme (a.k.a. 'Abou Antoun') * Tony Chamoun (Zahle) * Charles Sarkis

Other NLP Tigers personnel

* Rudolf Polikovic – Head of the fifth division, and the official spokesman to foreign media of the NLP Tigers Militia.

The Tigers in the Lebanese civil war

Early expansion phase 1975–1977

Upon the outbreak of the civil war in April 1975, the NLP Tigers immediately engaged the leftist

Lebanese National Movement The Lebanese National Movement (LNM; , ''Al-Harakat al-Wataniyya al-Lubnaniyya'') was a front of Leftist, pan-Arabist and Syrian nationalist parties and organizations active during the early years of the Lebanese Civil War, which supported ...

(LNM) militias and their

Palestinian Palestinians () are an Arab ethnonational group native to the Levantine region of Palestine. *: "Palestine was part of the first wave of conquest following Muhammad's death in 632 CE; Jerusalem fell to the Caliph Umar in 638. The indigenous p ...

PLO allies, being heavily committed in several battles in and outside the Beirut area. In October 1975, they supported their Phalangist allies of the

(KRF) militia against the

Al-Mourabitoun The Independent Nasserite Movement – INM () or simply Al-Murabitoun ( lit. ''The Steadfast''), also termed variously Independent Nasserite Organization (INO) or Movement of Independent Nasserists (MIN), is a Nasserist political party in Leban ...

and the Nasserite Correctionist Movement (NCM) for the control of the Hotels district in centre Beirut. In January 1976 the collapse 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) enabled the Tigers to take over Army barracks and depots located at Achrafieh,

Baabda Baabda () is the capital city of Baabda District and Mount Lebanon Governorate, western Lebanon. Baabda was also the capital city of the autonomous Ottoman Mount Lebanon that existed from 1861 to 1918. Baabda is home to the Italian, Japanese, ...

, and

Hazmiyeh Hazmieh (also Romanized as Hazmiyé, Hazmie, Hazmiyeh, Hasmiyeh, Al Ḩāzimīyah, and El Hâzmîyé) is a city in Mount Lebanon Governorate of Lebanon, and a suburb of Beirut, part of Greater Beirut. Geography Hazmieh covers an area of 2.73 squa ...

districts of

, seizing heavy weapons and enrolling defectors into their ranks. The Tigers later joined in March that year the allied Christian

militias in the defense of the

region and the

against the combined LNM-PLO-

Lebanese Arab Army The Lebanese Arab Army – LAA (Arabic: جيش لبنان العربي transliteration ''Jayish Lubnan al-Arabi''), also known variously as the Arab Army of Lebanon (AAL) and Arab Lebanese Army or Army of Arab Lebabon or Armée arabe du Liban ( ...

(LAA) 'Spring Offensive'. During the

Hundred Days' War The Hundred Days War (, ''Harb Al-Mia'at Yaoum,'' French: La Guerre des Cent Jours) was a subconflict within the 1977–82 phase of the Lebanese Civil War which occurred in the Lebanese capital Beirut. It was fought between the allied Christi ...

in February 1978 the Tigers, backed by the

Tyous Team of Commandos The Tyous Team of Commandos – TTC (, ''Fariq Tyous min' al-Maghawir'') or simply Tyous for short ('Tyous' means 'Male Goat' in Arabic, also translated as the "Stubborn Ones"; "Les Têtus", "Les Obstinés" in French), was a small Christian mi ...

(TTC), put a spirited defence of the Achrafieh and Fayadieh districts in support of the

(AFL) against the

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 ...

Reversals and decline 1978–1980

The Tigers' involvement in these campaigns, however, cost them the loss of the Iqlim al-Kharrub to the LNM-

PLO The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO; ) is a Palestinian nationalist coalition that is internationally recognized as the official representative of the Palestinian people in both the occupied Palestinian territories and the diaspora. ...

alliance An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or sovereign state, states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an a ...

supported by

Palestine Liberation Army The Palestine Liberation Army (PLA; ) is ostensibly the military wing of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), set up at the 1964 Arab League summit held in Alexandria, Egypt, with the mission of fighting Israel. However, it has never b ...

units on 20–22 January 1976, which they failed to defend despite being backed by ISF units and

troops. The fall of this important stronghold was a severe blow to the NLP and the Tigers (coupled by the death in action of their commander Naim Berdkan), depriving them of their main recruiting area along with their local training infrastructure, chiefly the Es-Saadiyat camp, and the port towns of

Damour Damour () is a Lebanese Christian town that is south of Beirut. It is located in the Chouf District in the Mount Lebanon Governorate. Geography The city is located in one of the few flat areas of the Lebanese coast. It is built to the nor ...

and Jiyeh. Relations between the NLP political board and the Tigers' military command soured after the former, headed by

, supported Syria's military intervention in June that year whereas the latter, now led by Camille's son

, opposed it. Fearing that its own party's militia was getting out of his control, Camille tacitly allowed its

Kataeb The Kataeb Party (), officially the Kataeb Party – Lebanese Social Democratic Party ( '), also known as the Phalangist Party, is a right-wing Christian political party in Lebanon founded by Pierre Gemayel in 1936. The party and its parami ...

rivals to absorb the Tigers' into the

(LF) under

Bachir Gemayel Bachir Pierre Gemayel (, ; 10 November 1947 – 14 September 1982) was a Lebanese militia commander who led the Lebanese Forces, the military wing of the Kataeb Party, in the Lebanese Civil War and was elected President of Lebanon in 1982. ...

. Dany's adamant refusal of allowing the Tigers to be incorporated led to a Phalangist assault on his militia's headquarters in Safra on July 7, 1980, which resulted in a massacre that claimed up to 500 lives, including civilians and 80 of Dany's men (other source states that the dead toll amounted to 150 Tigers' fighters). While their leader Dany was rushed to exile, first to

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 then to

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

after handling over the command of the Tigers to his elder brother

, the militia was officially disbanded on Camille's orders in late August. Soon afterwards, the Phalangists seized nearly all of the Tigers' positions in and outside

, including the vital Naas and Adma training camps. The remaining 3,000 or so demoralised militiamen either surrendered their weapons to the

or the

and returned home or found themselves being consolidated by the end of October of that year into the Damouri Brigade within the LF.

Revival and disbandment 1983–1990

The Israeli invasion of Lebanon in June 1982, coupled by the death of the LF supremo

in September that year brought the resurgence of the National Liberals into the political scene, although the efforts by

to revive the Tigers militia in 1983–84 proved less successful. The small force of only 100 or so lightly equipped fighters they gathered proved incapable of competing with the

' military might, being relegated to the role of a mere

bodyguard A bodyguard (or close protection officer/operative) is a type of security guard, government law enforcement officer, or servicemember who protects an very important person, important person or group of people, such as high-ranking public offic ...

for the NLP political leaders for the remainer of the war. Upon the end of the civilian strife in October 1990 and the subsequent assassination of

– who had succeeded his late father at the NLP's presidency in October 1987 – the last remaining National Liberals' paramilitary organization operating in east Beirut was ordered by the new Lebanese Government on March 28, 1991, to disband and surrender their weaponry by April 30 as stipulated by the

Taif Agreement The 1989 Taif Agreement (, ), officially known as the ('')'', was reached to provide "the basis for the ending of the civil war and the return to political normalcy in Lebanon". Negotiated in Taif, Saudi Arabia, it was designed to end the 15 y ...

. The NLP Tigers are no longer active.

The Free Tigers

The Free Tigers (

: نومور الحر ,

: ''Numūr al-Hurr'') or Lionceaux Libres in

, also known variously as the "Hannache Group", "Hannache's Tigers" or "Lionceaux d'Hannache", were a dissident splinter group of the NLP Tigers formed soon after the forcible merger of the latter into the

in July 1980. Defying the official orders to disband, about 200 Tigers' militiamen commanded by

(''nom de guerre'' 'Hannache') went underground to wage a guerrilla war against the LF, operating in the

and

districts of

from August to late October 1980. The Free Tigers are believed to have been responsible for some bomb and guerrilla attacks in East Beirut, including an ambush with combined rocket- and small-arms' fire on the U.S. ambassador

John Gunther Dean John Gunther Dean (born Gunther Dienstfertig; February 24, 1926 – June 6, 2019) was an American diplomat. From 1974 to 1988, he served as the United States ambassador to five nations under four American presidents. He is also notable for survi ...

's motorcade in August that year (intended to discredit the LF), followed on 10 November by two

car-bomb A car bomb, bus bomb, van bomb, lorry bomb, or truck bomb, also known as a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED), is an improvised explosive device designed to be detonated in an automobile or other vehicles. Car bombs can be roug ...

explosions on the

quarter that left 10 dead and 62 wounded. Defeated after a four-day street battle despite being backed by

troops sent upon request of the NLP president

and forced out in mid-November of their last remaining strongholds at Ain El Rammaneh by the LF, Hannache and a number of its dissident Tigers fled across the Green Line into the Muslim-controlled western sector of the Lebanese Capital. Once there, they placed themselves under the protection of the

Fatah Fatah ( ; ), formally the Palestinian National Liberation Movement (), is a Palestinian nationalist and Arab socialist political party. It is the largest faction of the confederated multi-party Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and ...

intelligence service before moving to the Syrian-controlled

. Believed to have become an agent of the Syrian regime, Hannache instigated the

Battle of Zahleh The Battle of Zahleh (Arabic: معركة زحلة) was a battle in the Lebanese Civil War that took place between December 1980 and June 1981. During the seven-month period, the city of Zahle endured a handful of political and military setbac ...

by deliberately provoking the LF militia forces defending the

Greek-Catholic Greek Catholic Church or Byzantine-Catholic Church may refer to: * The Catholic Church in Greece * The Eastern Catholic Churches that use the Byzantine Rite, also known as the Greek Rite: ** The Albanian Greek Catholic Church ** The Belarusian Gr ...

town of

to engage in a gunfight, so that the Syrian troops would become involved. On 14 December 1980, Hannache and 50 Free Tigers' militiamen stormed and seized the Hoch el-Oumara suburb of

, before being driven out by local LF units the following day; the Free Tigers returned to Zahlé on December 20 and managed to seize by force the former NLP party offices' but they were resisted by the LF and subsequently forced to withdraw from the town on December 22 under

protection. The Free Tigers seemed to have remained operational until 1981, though very little was heard from them afterwards.

Weapons and equipment

The Tigers received covert support not only from the

in the pre-war years, but also from 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 ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

and

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

since 1973, followed by

and

in 1976–77, who provided weapons and heavy equipment. In addition, the collapse of the

(LAF) and the

Internal Security Forces The Internal Security Forces (; ; abbreviated ISF) are the national police and gendarmerie of Lebanon. Modern police were established in Lebanon in 1861, with the creation of a gendarmerie force. In April 2005, Ashraf Rifi became head of the I ...

(ISF) in January 1976, coupled by the massive influx of Israeli military aid, allowed NLP militia units to re-equip themselves with modern small-arms, sophisticated mobile communications equipment, and military vehicles seized from LAF barracks and ISF Police stations or supplied by the Israelis. Additional weapons and other military equipments were procured in the international

black market A black market is a Secrecy, clandestine Market (economics), market or series of transactions that has some aspect of illegality, or is not compliant with an institutional set of rules. If the rule defines the set of goods and services who ...

Small arms

Tigers' militiamen were provided with a variety of small arms, including

Mauser Mauser, originally the Königlich Württembergische Gewehrfabrik, was a German arms manufacturer. Their line of bolt-action rifles and semi-automatic pistols was produced beginning in the 1870s for the German armed forces. In the late 19th and ...

Karabiner 98k The Karabiner 98 kurz (; ), often abbreviated Karabiner 98k, Kar98k or K98k and also sometimes incorrectly referred to as a K98 (a K98 is a Polish carbine and copy of the Kar98a), is a bolt-action rifle chambered for the 7.92×57mm Mauser cartri ...

, Lee–Enfield SMLE Mk III and

MAS-36 The MAS Modèle 36 (also known as the ''Fusil à répétition 7 mm 5 M. 36'') is a military bolt-action rifle. First adopted in 1936 by France and intended to replace the Berthier and Lebel series of service rifles, it saw service long past the ...

bolt-action rifles Bolt action is a type of manual firearm action that is operated by ''directly'' manipulating the turn-bolt via a bolt handle, most commonly placed on the right-hand side of the firearm (as most users are right-handed). The majority of bo ...

Carl Gustaf m/45 The Kulsprutepistol m/45 (Kpist m/45), also known as the Carl Gustaf M/45 and the Swedish K SMG, is a 9×19mm Parabellum, 9×19mm Swedish submachine gun (SMG) designed by Gunnar Johansson (arms designer), Gunnar Johansson, adopted in 1945 (hence ...

MAT-49 The MAT-49 is a submachine gun which was developed by the French arms factory Manufacture Nationale d'Armes de Tulle (MAT) for use by the French Army. It was first produced in 1949 and remained in French service until it was phased out following ...

and

PPSh-41 The PPSh-41 () is a selective-fire, open-bolt, blowback submachine gun that fires the 7.62×25mm Tokarev round. It was designed by Georgy Shpagin of the Soviet Union to be a cheaper and simplified alternative to the PPD-40. The PPSh-41 saw ...

submachine guns, M2 and SIG SG 543 carbines,

MAS-49 The MAS-49 is a French semi-automatic rifle that replaced various bolt-action rifles as the French service rifle that was produced from 1949. It was designed and manufactured by the government-owned MAS arms factory.Huon, Jean; ''Proud Promise— ...

M1 Garand The M1 Garand or M1 rifleOfficially designated as U.S. rifle, caliber .30, M1, later simply called Rifle, Caliber .30, M1, also called US Rifle, Cal. .30, M1 is a semi-automatic rifle that was the service rifle of the United States Army, U.S. ...

(or its Italian-produced copy, the Beretta Model 1952), Vz. 52,

SKS The SKS () is a semi-automatic rifle designed by Soviet small arms designer Sergei Gavrilovich Simonov in the 1940s. The SKS was first produced in the Soviet Union but was later widely exported and manufactured by various nations. Its disting ...

Beretta BM 59 The BM59 is an automatic battle rifle developed in Italy in 1959. It is based on the M1 Garand rifle, chambered in 7.62×51mm NATO, modified to use a detachable magazine, and capable of selective fire. Later revisions incorporated other features c ...

and M14

semi-automatic rifle A semi-automatic rifle is a type of rifle that fires a single round each time the Trigger (firearms), trigger is pulled while automatically loading the next Cartridge (firearms), cartridge. These rifles were developed Pre-World War II, and w ...

Heckler & Koch G3 The Heckler & Koch G3 () is a selective fire, select-fire battle rifle chambered in 7.62×51mm NATO developed in the 1950s by the German firearms manufacturer Heckler & Koch, in collaboration with the Spanish state-owned firearms manufacturer CE ...

, CETME Model C,

FN FAL The FAL (, English: Light Automatic Rifle) is a battle rifle designed in Belgium by Dieudonné Saive and manufactured by FN Herstal and others since 1953. During the Cold War the FAL was adopted by many countries of the NATO, North Atlantic Trea ...

(variants included the Israeli-produced 'lightened' ROMAT),

FN CAL The CAL (''Carabine Automatique Légère'', ''Light Automatic Carbine'') is a Belgian assault rifle that was manufactured by Fabrique Nationale. It was the first 5.56 mm rifle produced by the Fabrique Nationale. It resembled the company's ...

M16A1 The M16 (officially Rifle, Caliber 5.56 mm, M16) is a family of assault rifles adapted from the ArmaLite AR-15 rifle for the United States Armed Forces, United States military. The original M16 was a 5.56×45mm NATO, 5.56×45mm automatic ...

SIG SG 542 The SG 540 is a 5.56×45mm NATO assault rifle developed in the early 1970s by Schweizerische Industrie Gesellschaft (SIG, currently SAN Swiss Arms AG) of Neuhausen, Switzerland as a private venture primarily destined for export markets and as ...

, Vz. 58,

AK-47 The AK-47, officially known as the Avtomat Kalashnikova (; also known as the Kalashnikov or just AK), is an assault rifle that is chambered for the 7.62×39mm cartridge. Developed in the Soviet Union by Russian small-arms designer Mikhail Kala ...

and

AKM The AKM () is an assault rifle designed by Soviet small arms designer Mikhail Kalashnikov in 1959. It was developed as the successor to the AK-47 adopted by the Soviet Union a decade prior. Introduced into service with the Soviet Army in 19 ...

assault rifles (other variants included the

Zastava M70 The Zastava M70 ( sr-Cyrl, Застава М70) is a 7.62×39mm assault rifle developed in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia by Zastava Arms. The M70 was an unlicensed derivative of the Soviet Union, Soviet AK-47 (specifically the Type ...

, Chinese

Type 56 The Type 56 (; literally; "Assault Rifle, Model of 1956") is a Chinese 7.62×39mm assault rifle. It is a licensed derivative of the Soviet-designed AK-47 (specifically the Type 3 variant). The Type 56 rifle was adopted by the People's Liber ...

, Romanian

Pistol Mitralieră model 1963/1965 The Pistol Mitralieră model 1963/1965 (abbreviated PM md. 63 or simply md. 63) is a Romanian 7.62×39mm assault rifle. Developed in the late 1950s, the PM md. 63 was a derivative of the Soviet Union, Soviet AKM produced under license. It was the ...

, Bulgarian AKK/AKKS and former East German MPi-KMS-72 assault rifles). Several models of handguns were used, including

Smith & Wesson Model 10 The Smith & Wesson Model 10, previously known as the Smith & Wesson .38 Hand Ejector Model of 1899, the Smith & Wesson Military & Police or the Smith & Wesson Victory Model, is a K-frame revolver. In production since 1899, the Model 10 is a six-s ...

, Smith & Wesson Model 13,

Smith & Wesson Model 14 The Smith & Wesson K-38 Target Masterpiece Revolver (Model 14) is a six-shot, double-action revolver with adjustable open sights, built on the medium-size "K" frame. When introduced, it was intended for bullseye target shooting competition of the ...

Smith & Wesson Model 15 The Smith & Wesson Model 15, initially the Smith & Wesson K-38 Combat Masterpiece, is a six-shot double-action revolver with adjustable open sights produced by Smith & Wesson on the medium-size "K" frame. It is chambered for the .38 Special car ...

Smith & Wesson Model 17 The Smith & Wesson K-22 Target Masterpiece Revolver (Model 17) is a six-shot, double-action revolver with adjustable open sights, built on the medium-size "K" frame. When introduced, it was intended for bullseye target shooting competition of the ...

and

Smith & Wesson Model 19 The Smith & Wesson Model 19 is a revolver produced by Smith & Wesson that was introduced in 1957 on its K-frame. The Model 19 is chambered for .357 Magnum. The K-frame is somewhat smaller and lighter than the original N-frame .357, usually known a ...

revolvers,

Colt M1911A1 The Colt M1911 (also known as 1911, Colt 1911, Colt .45, or Colt Government in the case of Colt-produced models) is a single-action, recoil-operated, semi-automatic pistol chambered primarily for the .45 ACP cartridge. History Early histor ...

, Tokarev TT-33,

CZ 75 The CZ 75 is a semi-automatic pistol made by Czech Republic, Czech firearm manufacturer Česká zbrojovka Uherský Brod, ČZUB. First introduced in 1975, it is one of the original "Wonder Nine, wonder nines" and features a staggered-column magaz ...

, FN P35 and

MAB PA-15 pistol The MAB PA-15 (''Pistolet Automatique 15'', also known as the ''P-15'' or ''P.15 Standard'') was a French semi-automatic pistol, designed by the Manufacture d'armes de Bayonne. The model number, 15, refers to the magazine capacity. The PA-15 was ...

s. FN FAL, HK G3 and M16A1 assault rifles equipped with telescopic sights, and Enfield L42A1 (military version) rifles were used for sniping. Squad weapons consisted of Chatellerault FM Mle 1924/29, Bren Mk. I .303 (7.7mm),

MG 34 The MG 34 (shortened from German: ''Maschinengewehr 34'', or "machine gun 34") is a German recoil-operated air-cooled general-purpose machine gun, first tested in 1929, introduced in 1934, and issued to units in 1936. It introduced an entirely ...

MG 42 The MG 42 (shortened from German: ''Maschinengewehr 42'', or "machine gun 42") is a German recoil-operated air-cooled general-purpose machine gun used extensively by the Wehrmacht and the Waffen-SS during the second half of World War II. Enter ...

Heckler & Koch HK21 The HK21 is a German 7.62×51mm NATO, 7.62 mm general-purpose machine gun, developed in 1961 by small arms manufacturer Heckler & Koch and based on the Heckler & Koch G3, G3 battle rifle. The weapon is in use with the armed forces of several ...

AA-52 The term AA-5 or AA5 may refer to: * AA-5 Ash, NATO reporting name for the Bisnovat R-4 a Soviet long-range air-to-air missile * Grumman American AA-5, an American light aircraft * All American Five The term All American Five (abbreviated AA5) is ...

, RPD,

RPK The RPK (, English: "Kalashnikov's hand-held machine gun"), sometimes inaccurately termed the RPK-47, is a Soviet 7.62×39mm light machine gun that was developed by Mikhail Kalashnikov in the early 1960s, in parallel with the AKM assault rifl ...

and FN MAG light machine guns, with heavier Besa Mark III 7.92mm, Browning M1919A4 .30 Cal, Browning M2HB .50 Cal, SG-43/SGM Goryunov and DShKM machine guns being employed as platoon and company weapons. Grenade launchers and portable anti-tank weapons comprised

M203 grenade launcher The M203 is a single-shot 40 mm under-barrel grenade launcher designed to attach to a rifle. It uses the same rounds as the older stand-alone M79 break-action grenade launcher, which utilizes the high-low propulsion system to keep recoil force ...

s, 88.9mm Instalaza M65, RL-83 Blindicide,

M72 LAW The M72 LAW (light anti-tank weapon, also referred to as the light anti-armor weapon or LAW as well as LAWS: light anti-armor weapons system) is a portable one-shot unguided anti-tank weapon. In early 1963, the M72 LAW was adopted by the U.S. ...

RPG-2 The RPG-2 ( Russian: РПГ-2, Ручной противотанковый гранатомёт, ''Ruchnoy Protivotankovy Granatomyot''; English: "hand-held antitank grenade launcher") is a man-portable, shoulder-fired anti-tank weapon that was de ...

and

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 ...

rocket launcher A rocket launcher is a weapon that launches an unguided, rocket-propelled projectile. History The earliest rocket launchers documented in imperial China consisted of arrows modified by the attachment of a rocket motor to the shaft a few i ...

s, whilst crew-served and indirect fire weapons included M2 60mm mortars, 82-PM-41 82mm mortars and 120-PM-38 (M-1938) 120mm heavy mortars, plus B-10 82mm, B-11 107mm and M40A1 106mm

recoilless rifle 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 ...

s (often mounted on

technicals Technicals may refer to: * Technical (vehicle), an improvised fighting vehicle often used in civil conflict * TECHNICALS, a clothing brand owned by Blacks Leisure Group See also * Technical (disambiguation) Technical may refer to: * Technical ...

Armoured and transport vehicles

The Tigers' own armoured corps was created in early 1976, equipped with an assortment of ex-

M41A3 Walker Bulldog and

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 ...

, Charioteer tanks, M42A1 Duster

SPAAG An anti-aircraft vehicle, also known as a self-propelled anti-aircraft gun (SPAAG) or self-propelled air defense system (SPAD), is a mobile vehicle with a dedicated anti-aircraft capability. Specific weapon systems used include machine guns, ...

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 ...

and Panhard M3 VTT

Armoured 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 ...

Cadillac Gage V-100 Commando The Cadillac Gage Commando, frequently denoted as the M706 in U.S. military service, is an American armored car designed to be amphibious. It was engineered by Cadillac Gage specifically for the United States Military Police Corps during the ...

armoured cars, Bravia V-200 Chaimite armoured cars,

Staghound armoured car The T17E1 armored car was an American Armored car (military), armored car manufactured during the Second World War. It saw service with United Kingdom, British and other Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth forces during the war under the nam ...

s, and

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 Armored (or armoured) car may refer to: Wheeled armored vehicles * Armored car (military), a wheeled armoured fighting vehicle * Armored car (valuables), an armored van or truck used to transport valuables * Armored car (VIP), a civilian vehic ...

. These were bolstered by twenty Israeli-supplied

M50 Super Sherman M5, M-5, M.5, M-V, or M05 may refer to: Transportation Automobiles * AITO M5, a Chinese mid-size crossover SUV * BMW M5, a German mid-size performance car series * Dongfeng Fengxing Lingzhi M5, a Chinese MPV * Haima M5, a Chinese compact sedan * ...

Tanks, M3/M9 Zahlam half-tracks and

BTR-152 The BTR-152 is a six-wheeled Soviet armoured personnel carrier (APC) built on the chassis and drive train of a ZIS-151 utility truck. It entered service with a number of Warsaw Pact member states beginning in 1950, and formed the mainstay of Sovi ...

APCs, later joined by two M41A3 light tanks captured from the

in July 1976. The NLP militia also raised a mechanized force of gun trucks and '

', comprising M151A1 utility trucks, VIASA MB-CJ6 and Willys M38A1 MD jeeps (or its civilian version, the

Jeep CJ-5 The Jeep CJ models are a series and a range of small, open-bodied off-road vehicles and compact pickup trucks, built and sold by several successive incarnations of the Jeep automobile marque from 1945 through 1986. The 1945 Willys "Universal Jee ...

UAZ-469 The UAZ-469 is an off-road vehicle, off-road military light utility vehicle manufactured by UAZ since 1971. It was used by Soviet Armed Forces, Soviet and other Warsaw Pact armed forces, as well as paramilitary units in Eastern Bloc countries. I ...

, Land-Rover series II-III, Santana Series III (Spanish-produced version of the Land-Rover long wheelbase series III), Morattab Series IV (Iranian-produced unlicensed version of the Land-Rover long wheelbase series III),

Toyota Land Cruiser (J40) The Toyota Land Cruiser (J40), is a series of Toyota Land Cruiser, Land Cruisers made by Toyota from 1960 until 2001. The 40 series Land Cruisers featured a traditional body on frame construction, and most were built as 2-door models with slig ...

, Toyota Land Cruiser (J45),

Peugeot 404 The Peugeot 404 is a large family car produced by French automobile manufacturer Peugeot from 1960 to 1975. A truck body style variant was marketed until 1988. Styled by Pininfarina, the 404 was offered initially as a saloon, estate, and pickup ...

, Dodge Power Wagon W200, Dodge D series (3rd generation), GMC Sierra Custom K25/K30, Chevrolet C-10/C-15 Cheyenne and Chevrolet C-20 Scottsdale light pickups, and Toyota Dyna U10-series trucks armed 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. For logistical support, the Tigers relied on Range Rover 1st generation and Toyota Land Cruiser (J42)

hardtop A hardtop is a rigid form of automobile roof, typically metal, and integral to the vehicle's design, strength, and style. The term typically applies to a pillarless hardtop, a car body style without a B-pillar. The term "pillared hardtop" was ...

light pickups, Toyota U10-series route vans (minibus), Chevrolet C-50 medium-duty, Dodge F600 medium-duty, GMC C4500 medium-duty trucks and GMC C7500 heavy-duty cargo trucks; a number of Volkswagen Type 2 Transporter minibuses were used as military ambulances.

Artillery

They also fielded a powerful artillery corps equipped with British QF Mk III 25-Pounder field guns, French Mle 1950 BF-50 155mm howitzers, Soviet M1954 (M-46) 130mm towed field guns, Soviet AZP S-60 57mm anti-aircraft guns, British Bofors 40mm L/60 anti-aircraft guns and

autocannons. The latter consisted of Yugoslav

Zastava M55 The Zastava M55, also designated 20/3-mm-M55, is a Yugoslavian/Serbian 20mm triple-barreled automatic anti-aircraft gun developed in 1955 and produced by Crvena Zastava (now Zastava Arms company) in Kragujevac, Serbia, for Yugoslav People's Army ...

20mm triple-barreled, Soviet ZPU (ZPU-1, ZPU-2, ZPU-4) 14.5mm and

ZU-23-2 The ZU-23-2, also known as ZU-23, is a Soviet towed 23×152mm anti-aircraft twin-barreled autocannon. ZU stands for ''Zenitnaya Ustanovka'' (Russian: Зенитная Установка) – anti-aircraft mount. The GRAU index is 2A13. Develo ...

23mm AA autocannons (mostly mounted on

and transport trucks), which were employed in both

air defense 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#Armament, submarine-lau ...

and direct fire supporting roles. In addition to field artillery and AA autocannons, the Tigers also employed

SNEB The SNEB rocket (''Societe Nouvelle des Etablissements Edgar Brandt'' ) is an unguided air-to-surface rocket projectile manufactured by the French company ''TDA Armements'', designed for launch by attack aircraft and helicopters. It is also kno ...

68mm (2.7-inch) unguided rocket projectiles fired from locally-built eight-tube

Multiple rocket launcher A multiple rocket launcher (MRL) or multiple launch rocket system (MLRS) is a type of rocket artillery system that contains multiple rocket launcher, launchers which are fixed to a single weapons platform, platform, and shoots its rocket (weapon ...

s installed on

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 ...

Uniforms and insignia

NLP Tigers' militiamen usually wore in the field a mix of military uniforms and civilian clothes, though they were known to have worn a variety of battle dress, depending on whom they allied to and what other armed forces were occupying the areas where the militia operated in the

East Beirut canton The East Beirut canton, also known as Kfarshima - Madfoun or Marounistan, was a Christian militia controlled territory that existed in Lebanon from 1976 until its gradual erosion following the Taif Agreement and the end of the country's civil war. ...

, the

coastal enclave, and

Southern Lebanon Southern Lebanon () is the area of Lebanon comprising the South Governorate and the Nabatiye Governorate. The two entities were divided from the same province in the early 1990s. The Rashaya and Western Beqaa districts, the southernmost distr ...

Fatigue clothing

The NLP Tigers adopted early on the

olive green 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 ...

fatigues (a special domestic variant of the

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

OG-107 cotton sateen utilities) as their standard field dress, though Israeli

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 ...

Uniform "B" (

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

: ''Madei Bet'') fatigues were used as well. Camouflage uniforms consisted of "Leopard spot" pattern fatigues of probable Belgian origin, Czechoslovakian Vz 60 "Salamander" (''Mlok'') pattern fatigues, Syrian or captured PLO Lizard horizontal and vertical patterns' fatigues, and Lebanese Army Lizard-style pattern (colloquially nicknamed ''mlukhiyah'', a.k.a. ''molokhia'' or ''molohiya'') fatigues; the latter was a unique Lebanese-designed pattern which incorporated dense vertical stripes of dark brown and olive green on a pinkish-tan or khaki background. Originally developed in the late 1960s or early 1970s for the

Lebanese Commando Regiment The Commando Regiment () is a special forces unit in the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF). History In 1960, General Emile Boustany, then the commander in northern Lebanon, and Mahmud Tay Abou Dargham discussed the creation of a commando unit. After ...

, this pattern saw widespread usage with the Christian

militias. During its brief revival in the 1980s, NLP Tigers militiamen were seen wearing U.S. Woodland

Battle Dress Uniform The Battle Dress Uniform (BDU) is a camouflaged combat uniform that was used by the United States Armed Forces as their standard combat uniform from the early 1980s to the mid-2000s. Since then, it has been replaced or supplanted in every bra ...

s (BDU) or locally produced cheap copies. Civilian or surplus military

Parka A parka, like the related anorak, is a type of coat (clothing), coat with a hood (headgear), hood, that may be lining (sewing), lined with fur or fake fur. Parkas and anoraks are staples of Inuit clothing, traditionally made from Reindeer, cari ...

s and OG US

M-1965 field jacket The M-1965 field jacket (also known as M65, M-65 field jacket, and Coat, Cold Weather, Man's Field), named for the year it was introduced, is a popular field jacket initially designed for the United States Army under the ''MIL-C-43455'' standard ...

s were worn in cold weather.

Headgear

Standard headgear for all-ranks was the ex-Lebanese Army Olive Green OG-106 Baseball cap, though olive green

bucket hat A bucket hat (variations of which include the fisherman's hat, Irish country hat and session hat) is a hat with a narrow, downward-sloping Brim (hat), brim. Typically, the hat is made from heavy-duty cotton fabric such as denim or canvas, or h ...

s were also used, along with OG or khaki Baseball-type field caps provided with a folding round neck flap (which, judging from photographic evidence, appeared to have been quite popular among Christian

militiamen). Camouflage baseball caps in the Lebanese ''mlukhiyah'' pattern and field caps in the "leopard spot" pattern were also used. Besides caps and hats,

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

Midnight blue Midnight blue is a dark shade of blue named for its resemblance to the apparently blue color of a moonlit night sky around a full moon. Midnight blue is identifiably blue to the eye in sunlight Sunlight is the portion of the electromag ...

and

Maroon Maroon ( , ) is a brownish crimson color that takes its name from the French word , meaning chestnut. ''Marron'' is also one of the French translations for "brown". Terms describing interchangeable shades, with overlapping RGB ranges, inc ...

beret A beret ( , ; ; ; ) is a soft, round, flat-crowned cap made of hand-knitted wool, crocheted cotton, wool felt, or acrylic fibre. Mass production of berets began in the 19th century in Southern France and the north of History of Spain (1808 ...

s were worn French-style, pulled to the left; civilian woollen knitted caps and military commando caps of various colours were used in the winter. Cloth or fabric

hood Hood may refer to: Covering Apparel * Hood (headgear), type of head covering ** Article of academic dress ** Bondage hood, sex toy * Hoodie, hooded sweatshirt Anatomy * Clitoral hood, a hood of skin surrounding the clitoris * Hood, a flap of ...

s with eye holes, rib-knit single-slit, two-hole or three-hole balaclavas, and dark green plastic or cloth face masks attached to field caps were worn by NLP Tigers' militiamen to conceal identity.

Footwear

NLP Tigers Militia footwear was diverse. Black leather combat boots initially came from Lebanese Army stocks or were provided by Israel, complemented by

high-top The high-top is a shoe that extends slightly over the wearer's ankle. It is commonly used for sports, particularly basketball. It is sometimes confused with the slightly shorter mid-top, which typically extends no higher than the wearer's ankle. ...

Pataugas khaki or olive green canvas-and-rubber patrol boots. Several models of civilian

sneakers Sneakers (American English, US) or trainers (British English, UK), also known by a #Names, wide variety of other names, are shoes primarily designed for sports or other forms of physical exercise, but are also widely used for everyday casual ...

or "trainers" and "chucks", black

Beatle boot A Beatle boot or Cuban boot is a style of boot that has been worn since the late 1950s but made popular by the English rock group the Beatles in the 1960s. The boots are a variant of the Chelsea boot: they are tight-fitting, Cuban-heeled, an ...

s, black or brown leather laced low shoes,

boat shoe Boat shoes (also known as deck shoes or top-siders) are typically canvas or leather with non-marking rubber soles designed for use on a boat. A siping pattern is cut into the soles to provide grip on a wet deck; the leather construction, along w ...

s, loafers, commercial plastic or rubber slides and

flip-flops Flip-flops are a type of light sandal-like shoe, typically worn as a form of casual footwear. They consist of a flat sole held loosely on the foot by a Y-shaped strap known as a toe thong that passes between the first and second toes and around ...

, and leather sandals were also used by NLP Tigers' militiamen.

Helmets and body armour

In the field, NLP Tigers' infantrymen could be found wearing a variety of helmet types, consisting of US M-1 and French M1951 NATO (

: ''Casque Mle 1951 OTAN'') steel helmets taken from Lebanese Army stocks or provided by Israel, British RAC Mk II helmets, Mk III/ Mk IV helmets of British or Belgian origin and Soviet

SSh-60 The SSh-60 (СШ-60 (Russian: стальной шлем образца 1960 года/stalnoy shlyem, or steel helmet) was a product improvement of the Soviet SSh-40 steel helmet of the Soviet Army and entered production around 1960. It was not ...

helmets, the latter probably obtained through Syrian Army sources. Armoured crews, depending on the vehicle they manned, received the standard Lebanese Army dark green tanker's compressed fibre-and-leather crash helmet (French copy of the World War II US Army M-1938 Tanker Helmet, nicknamed the 'Gruyére') or the OR-601 and OR-603 tanker's helmets in ballistic Kevlar (Israeli copies of the US fibreglass "bone dome" Combat Vehicle Crewman (CVC) T-56-6 helmet and CVC DH-132 helmet, respectively) provided by Israel. In addition to helmets, some Tigers' militiamen also used captured

flak jacket The two components of an obsolete British military flak vest. On the left, the ballistic_nylon.html" ;"title="nylon vest. On the right, the 12 layers of ballistic nylon">nylon vest. On the right, the 12 layers of ballistic nylon that provide the ...

s, in the form of the Ballistic Nylon US M-1952/69 "Half-collar" vest.

Accoutrements

Web gear consisted of Soviet three-cell and four-cell AK-47 magazine pouches in khaki or olive green canvas, Czechoslovakian four-cell Vz 58 brown leather magazine pouches, ChiCom Type 56 AK, Type 56 SKS and Type 63 SKS chest rigs in

khaki The color khaki (, ) is a light shade of tan (color), tan with a slight yellowish tinge. Khaki has been used by many armies around the world for uniforms and equipment, particularly in arid or desert regions, where it provides camouflage rela ...

or olive green cotton fabric for the AK-47 assault rifle and the SKS semi-automatic rifle, plus several variants of locally-made, multi-pocket chest rigs and assault vests in camouflage cloth, khaki and OG canvas. Brown and Black leather belt pouches of various shapes and sizes were locally-produced in sets of one, two and three to hold pistol and assault rifles' magazines. In addition, the US Army M-1956 load-carrying equipment (LCE) in

cotton canvas captured from the Lebanese Army, and the IDF 1950's "Old style" Tan-

Khaki The color khaki (, ) is a light shade of tan (color), tan with a slight yellowish tinge. Khaki has been used by many armies around the world for uniforms and equipment, particularly in arid or desert regions, where it provides camouflage rela ...

cotton canvas equipment (similar in design to the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

's 58 pattern webbing) were also widely used. Anti-tank teams issued with the

and

rocket launchers received the correspondent Soviet rocket bag models in

canvas, the gunner backpack 6SH12, the assistant gunner backpack and the munitions bag 6SH11; Polish and East German versions in rubberized canvas were employed as well.

Insignia

The NLP Tigers Militia apparently never devised a system of rank, branch or unit insignia of their own, although its personnel did wear a variety of field recognition signs. An olive green cloth, fabric or canvas

brassard A brassard or armlet is an armband or piece of cloth or other material worn around the upper arm; the term typically refers to an item of uniform worn as part of military uniform or by police or other uniformed persons. Unit, role, rank b ...

of roughly triangular shape and attached to a shoulder strap, bearing the round printed or embroidered full-colour NLP crest was worn on either the upper left shoulder or the right shoulder, whilst a red brassard appears to have been given to the members of the Tigers Militia Military Police corps. Another version of the brassard was also issued, patterned after the NLP official flag, which consisted of two horizontal bands of white (top) and red (bottom) with a stylized Lebanese Cedar tree in

Gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

inserted on the centre. In alternative to a brassard, a simple white cloth

armband An armband is a piece of material worn around the arm. They may be worn for pure ornamentation, or to mark the wearer as belonging to group, or as insignia having a certain rank, status, office or role, or being in a particular state or conditi ...

with the NLP crest printed or stamped on could be worn on the left arm. An olive green nametape bearing "Tigers Militia" written in yellow Arabic script, with the NLP crest inserted in the middle was occasionally worn above the right shirt pocket on field dress; a full-colour cloth woven or embroidered Tigers Militia round patch was also issued to all ranks, although its placement varied greatly. Photographic evidence shows that it could be displayed either on the right upper shoulder, left upper shoulder, left breast pocket or right breast pocket. A round metal enamelled badge bearing the NLP crest was frequently seen among Tigers militiamen, who usually wore it French-style on the left or right breast suspended from a pocket hanger, but also could be founded in the form of a

badge A badge is a device or accessory, often containing the insignia of an organization, which is presented or displayed to indicate some feat of service, a special accomplishment, a symbol of authority granted by taking an oath (e.g., police and fir ...

pinned to combat uniforms, berets, baseball caps, field caps and bucket hats. The NLP Tigers did develop though a standard beret cap badge, which consisted of a detailed Lebanese Cedar tree issued in gilt metal to all-ranks and worn placed above the right eye in the usual French manner. Interestingly, many period photos also show that Tigers militiamen often applied round printed paper

stickers A sticker is a type of label: a piece of printed paper, Polyvinyl chloride, plastic, vinyl, or other material with temporary or permanent pressure sensitive adhesive on one side. It can be used for decoration or for functional purposes, dependi ...

bearing their militia's crest to their steel helmets and the pouches of chest rigs. Long-sleeved pullover collarless sweatshirts and turtleneck sweaters in thick

emerald green Varieties of the color green may differ in hue, chroma (also called saturation or intensity) or lightness (or value, tone, or brightness), or in two or three of these qualities. Variations in value are also called tints and shades, a tint ...

cotton cloth with the Tigers Militia crest in white printed on the left side of the upper chest, plus white, olive green, light khaki and black T-shirts printed with either the Lebanese National Flag, the NLP logo, the Tigers Militia crest, unit and sub-unit insignia or the militia leaders' effigy were commonly worn by NLP Tigers' fighters.

Legacy

Since 2002, several former NLP Tigers' commanders known for their right-wing, nationalist leanings, rallied in support of General Michel Aoun and went on to occupy various key positions within the Aounist

Free Patriotic Movement The Free Patriotic Movement (, ) is a Lebanese political party. Founded by Michel Aoun in 1994, the party is currently led by Aoun's son-in-law Gebran Bassil since 2015. History Background For many years, while Michel Aoun was and exiled i ...

(FPM) hierarchy, ranging from political (Dr Naji Hayek and

Georges Aaraj Georges may refer to: Places *Georges River, New South Wales, Australia *Georges Quay (Dublin) *Georges Township, Fayette County, Pennsylvania Other uses *Georges (name) * ''Georges'' (novel), a novel by Alexandre Dumas * "Georges" (song), a 1977 ...

) to security ( Jean Eid). In 2015 Jean Eid, Georges Aaraj, Nabil Nassif and others founded a new organization named ''Al-Noumour'', which strives to rally what is left of the Tigers' legacy. They remain staunch supporters of former President Michel Aoun. While the Tigers were officially disbanded in 1990, their thought did not disappear. According to the website of ''Al-Noumour'', “ e tigers will remain alive as long as there would be foreign presence on the Lebanese ground, and foreign interventions in its internal affairs." The Chamoun family is still involved in politics, and are still prominent within the National Liberal Party. In the 2022 general elections, the NLP itself won one seat in the Lebanese Parliament, which is currently held by

Camille Dory Chamoun Camille Dory Chamoun (; 1957) is a Lebanese politician and a member of Lebanon's parliament. In April 2021 he was elected head of the National Liberal Party. Early life Chamoun was born into a prominent Maronite political family in the town of ...

, the son of

, Dany Chamoun's elder brother.

Notes

References

* Afaf Sabeh McGowan, John Roberts, As'ad Abu Khalil, and Robert Scott Mason
''Lebanon: a country study''
area handbook series, Headquarters, Department of the Army (DA Pam 550–24), Washington D.C. 1989. * Alain Menargues, ''Les Secrets de la guerre du Liban: Du coup d'état de Béchir Gémayel aux massacres des camps palestiniens'' , Albin Michel, Paris 2004. . * * Beate Hamizrachi, ''The Emergence of South Lebanon Security Belt'', Praeger Publishers Inc., New York 1984. * Boutros Labaki & Khalil Abou Rjeily, ''Bilan des guerres du Liban (1975–1990)'' , Collection "Comprendre le Moyen-Orient", Éditions L'Harmattan, Paris 1993. . * * Claire Hoy and Victor Ostrovsky, ''By Way of Deception: The Making and Unmaking of a Mossad Officer'', St. Martin's Press, New York 1990. * Dan Bavly & Eliahu Salpeter, ''Fire in Beirut: Israel's War in Lebanon with the PLO'', Stein & Day, New York 1984. * Denise Ammoun
''Histoire du Liban contemporain: Tome 2 1943–1990''
, Éditions Fayard, Paris 2005. . *

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. * Farid El-Khazen
''The Breakdown of the State in Lebanon 1967–1976''
I.B. Tauris, London 2000. * Fawwaz Traboulsi, ''Identités et solidarités croisées dans les conflits du Liban contemporain''
"Chapitre 12: L'économie politique des milices: le phénomène mafieux"
, Thèse de Doctorat d'Histoire – 1993, Université de Paris VIII, 2007. * Fawwaz Traboulsi, ''A History of Modern Lebanon: Second Edition'', Pluto Press, London 2012. *

Itamar Rabinovich Itamar Rabinovich (; born 8 October 1942) is the president of the Israel Institute (Washington and Jerusalem). He was Israel's Ambassador to the United States in the 1990s and former chief negotiator with Syria between 1993 and 1996, and the form ...

,
''The War for Lebanon, 1970–1985''
Cornell University Press, Ithaca and London 1989 (revised edition). . * Jennifer Philippa Eggert, ''Female Fighters and Militants During the Lebanese Civil War: Individual Profiles, Pathways, and Motivations'', Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, Taylor & Francis Group, LLC, 2018. . * Jennifer Philippa Eggert, ''Women and the Lebanese Civil War: Female Fighters in Lebanese and Palestinian Militias'', Palgrave Macmillan, London 2022 (1st edition). , 3030837874 �

* Jonathan Randall, ''The Tragedy of Lebanon: Christian Warlords, Israeli Adventurers, and American Bunglers'', Just World Books, Charlottesville, Virginia 2012. . * Joseph A. Kechichian, ''The Lebanese Army: Capabilities and Challenges in the 1980s'', Conflict Quarterly, Winter 1985. * Joseph Hokayem
''L'armée libanaise pendant la guerre: un instrument du pouvoir du président de la République (1975-1985)''
, Lulu.com, Beyrouth 2012. . * Kamal Suleiman Salibi, ''Crossroads to Civil War: Lebanon 1958–1976'', Caravan Books Inc., New York 2005 (3rd edition). * Makram Rabah, ''Conflict on Mount Lebanon: The Druze, the Maronites and Collective Memory'', Alternative Histories, Edinburgh University Press, 2020 (1st edition). * Marius Deeb, ''The Lebanese Civil War'', Praeger Publishers Inc., New York 1980. * Matthew S. Gordon, ''The Gemayels'' (World Leaders Past & Present), Chelsea House Publishers, 1988. * Paul Jureidini, R. D. McLaurin, and James Price, ''Military operations in selected Lebanese built-up areas, 1975–1978'', Aberdeen, MD: U.S. Army Human Engineering Laboratory, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Technical Memorandum 11–79, June 1979. * R. D. Mclaurin, ''The battle of Zahle'', Aberdeen, MD: U.S. Army Human Engineering Laboratory, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Technical memorandum 8-86, 1986. �

*

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). . * Samir Kassir, ''La Guerre du Liban: De la dissension nationale au conflit régional'' , Éditions Karthala/CERMOC, Paris 1994. . * 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. . * Samir Makdisi and Richard Sadaka
''The Lebanese Civil War, 1975–1990''
American University of Beirut, Institute of Financial Economics, Lecture and Working Paper Series (2003 No.3), pp. 1–53. * 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). *Tom Najem and Roy C. Amore, ''Historical Dictionary of Lebanon'', Second Edition, Historical Dictionaries of Asia, Oceania, and the Middle East, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Lanham, Boulder, New York & London 2021. , 1538120437 *

Secondary sources

*Chris McNab, ''Soviet Submachine Guns of World War II: PPD-40, PPSh-41 and PPS'', Weapon series 33, Osprey Publishing Ltd, Oxford 2014. *Gordon L. Rottman, ''US Grenade Launchers – M79, M203, and M320'', Weapon series 57, Osprey Publishing Ltd, Oxford 2017. *Leroy Thompson, ''The G3 Battle Rifle'', Weapon series 68, Osprey Publishing Ltd, Oxford 2019. *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

) *Jean Huon, ''Un Siècle d'Armement Mondial: Armes à feu d'infanterie de petit calibre'', tome 4 (em francês), Crépin-Leblond éditions, Chaumont 1981. *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. �

*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. *Tom Cooper & Efim Sandler, ''Lebanese Civil War Volume 2: Quiet before the Storm, 1978-1981'', Middle East@War No. 41, Helion & Company Limited, Solihull UK 2021. *William W. Harris, ''Faces of Lebanon: Sects, Wars, and Global Extensions'', Princeton Series on the Middle East, Markus Wiener Publishers, 1997. *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

NLP Tigers official site

NLP Tigers Facebook page

NLP Tigers militia camouflage patterns

NLP Tigers M42 Duster SPAAG and AMX-13 tank at Tel al-Zaatar

Histoire militaire de l'armée libanaise de 1975 à 1990
{{Authority control Factions in the Lebanese Civil War Lebanese factions allied with Israel Lebanese Front Lebanese nationalism Military wings of nationalist parties