10th Mechanized Division | |
---|---|
العاش الفرقة الآلية | |
Active | 1973 – present |
Country | Syria |
Allegiance | Military of Syria |
Branch | Syrian Army |
Type | Mechanized Infantry |
Role | Conventional warfare |
Size | Up to 10,000[1] |
Garrison/HQ | Qatana[1] |
Engagements | Lebanese Civil War 1982 Lebanon War 1982 Hama massacre Syrian Civil War
|
Commanders | |
Notable commanders | Maj. Gen. Hassan Saado †[2] (chief-of-staff) Maj. Gen. Mohammed Dib Zaitoun |
The 10th Mechanized Division (Arabic: الفرقة الآلية العاشر) is a division of the Syrian Arab Army and part of the 2nd Corps. This is one of the smallest divisions in the SAA and its origins date back to 1973.[1]
Command structure
- 10th Mechanized Division (2019)[5]
- 62nd Mechanized Brigade
- 51st Armoured Brigade
- 58th Armored Brigade
Combat history
1982 Lebanon War
In the 1982 Lebanon War, the 10th Armoured Division was deployed south of the Beirut-Damascus road, and inside Beirut, and consisted of the 76th and 91st Tank Brigades – equipped with T-62s and BMP-1s – and the 85th Mechanized Brigade, equipped with T-55s and BTR-60s.[6] The division was also assigned control of the 20th Commando Battalion as well.
The same year the division was reported to have taken place in the 1982 Hama massacre.
In 2001 Richard Bennett's estimate of the Army order of battle reported that the 10th Mechanized Division was headquartered in Shtoura, Lebanon, part of the 2nd Corps.[7] Its main units were in 2001 deployed to control the strategic Beirut-Damascus highway with the 123rd Mechanized Brigade near Yanta, the 51st Armored Brigade near Zahle in the Beqaa Valley and the 85th Armored Brigade, deployed around the complex of positions at Dahr al-Baidar.
Syrian Civil War
In Syria, the division was reported to have become involved in the two battles in al-Qusayr starting on 19 May 2013, as part of the larger al-Qusayr offensive, launched in early April 2013 by the Syrian Army and the Lebanese militia Hezbollah,[8] with the aim of capturing the villages around the rebel-held town of al-Qusayr and ultimately launching an attack on the town itself.[9] al-Qusayr is in Homs Governorate, near the border with Lebanon. The region was strategically important as a supply route for rebels fighting Syrian government forces in Homs,[10] and for its proximity to government-supporting areas along the coast. In course of the Ithriyah-Raqqa offensive in 2016, the division's chief-of-staff, Major General Hassan Saado, was killed.[2]
The 58th Brigade has not existed in any meaningful way since at least late 2016 and the 85th Brigade was moved to the newly formed 6th Division in 2015. The 51st Armored Brigade was formed after 2011 as a new armored unit under the command of the 10th Division. The 18th Brigade had moved to the Republican Guard by late 2018.[1]
References
- 1 2 3 4 Gregory Waters (18 July 2019). "The Lion and The Eagle: The Syrian Arab Army's Destruction and Rebirth". Middle East Institute. Retrieved 20 September 2022.
- 1 2 3 "High-ranking Syria army officer killed fighting ISIS". Now. 23 June 2016. Archived from the original on 19 October 2017. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
- ↑ Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi (24 December 2016). "The Fifth Legion: A New Auxiliary Force". Syria Comment. Retrieved 25 December 2016.
- ↑ Illingworth, Andrew (8 January 2018). "Syrian Army's order of battle for Harasta operation in east Damascus revealed". AMN News. Archived from the original on 1 March 2021.
- ↑ Andrew Illingworth (24 February 2018). "Video: New Syrian Army armored division heads towards east Damascus with over 100 tanks, armored fighting vehicles". Al-Masdar News. Archived from the original on 13 May 2019. Retrieved 25 February 2018.
- ↑ Tom Cooper, Syrian Tank-Hunters in Lebanon, 1982, Air Combat Information Group
- ↑ Richard M. Bennett, The Syrian Military: A Primer, Middle East Intelligence Bulletin, August/September 2001.
- ↑ "Syrian opposition calls on Hezbollah to stay out of Syria's civil war". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 5 December 2019. Retrieved 22 August 2017.
- ↑ "Activists: Syrian regime provides Hezbollah aerial shield in Qusayr". 21 April 2013. Retrieved 25 October 2014.
- ↑ "Syria fighting flares both sides of Lebanese border". Reuters. 21 April 2013. Retrieved 25 October 2014.