1st Corps (Syria)

First Corps (Syrian rebel group) May 2020 1st Corps الفيلق الأول Syrian Armed Forces Flag.svg Syrian Armed Forces Flag 1985 – 2024 Ba'athist Syria 23px Flag of the Syrian Arab Armed Forces (1980–2024).svg 23px Syrian Armed Forces Flag of the Syrian Arab Army.svg 23px Syrian Arab Army Corps up to 45,000 soldiersWaters Gregory The Lion and The Eagle: The Syrian Arab Army's Destruction and Rebirth https://www.mei.edu/publications/lion-and-eagle-syrian-arab-armys-destruction-and-rebirth Middle East Institute 4 September 2019 en 18 July 2019 DamascusDaraa (5th Division)Latakia (6th Division)Aleppo (7th Division)Daraa (9th Division)As-Suwayda (15th Division) Current Commander Maj. Gen. Suhail Asaad Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Hatem Abbashttps://twitter.com/GregoryPWaters/status/1652755633349746694?t=gwe4sHIRV3bPV6LOmk6ifg&s=19 M.G. Hatem Abbas now chief of staff of southern command 30 April 2023 1 March 2024 Twitter Gregory Waters *Lebanese Civil War Syrian Civil War The 1st Corps (ar الفيلق الأول) was a corps of the Syrian Army that was first formed in 1985. Richard Bennett wrote in 2001 that "three corps [were] formed in 1985 to give the Army more flexibility and to improve combat efficiency by decentralising the command structure, absorbing at least some of the lessons learned during the 1982 Lebanon War."Richard M. Bennett, The Syrian Military: A Primer https://web.archive.org/web/20120629091613/http://www.meforum.org/meib/articles/0108_s1.htm 29 June 2012 , Middle East Intelligence Bulletin, August/September 2001. He said that the 1st Corps covered southern Syria, in particular the heavily fortified defense zone between Damascus and the Golan Heights and south to Daraa near the border with Jordan. On 29 December 2022, Major General Suhail Asaad was appointed as commander of the 1st Army Corps of the Syrian Arab Army.الفيلق الأول" السوري... في مواجهة كيان الاحتلال Structure in 2001 Bennett's estimate of the 2001 order of battle was: 1st Corps, HQ Damascus 5th Armoured Division, which included the 17th and 96th Armoured Brigades and the 112th Mechanised Brigade 6th Armoured Division, with the 12th and 98th Armoured Brigades and the 11th Mechanised Brigades 7th Mechanised Division, with the 58th and 68th Armoured Brigades and the 78th Mechanised Brigade 8th Armoured Division, which included the 62nd and 65th Armoured Brigades and the 32nd Mechanised Brigade 9th Armoured Division, with the 43rd and 91st Armoured Brigades and the 52nd Mechanised Brigade. The 52nd Armoured Brigade was reported in Daraa in May 2013.http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/168052 Largest Syrian Brigade Nears Breaking Point Arutz Sheva 16 May 2013 Bennett said the 1st Corps also had four independent special forces regiments, including two trained for helicopter-inserted commando operations against the Israeli signals intelligence and observation posts on Mount Hermon and elsewhere in the Golan Heights. Cordesman et al. said from 2002 to 2005, the command of the 1st Corps was replaced three times.Cordesman et al, The Military Balance and Prospects for War, 165. Tom Cooper wrote that prior to the Syrian Civil War, the 1st Corps' main role was defence against an Israeli invasion over the Golan Heights or through Jordan.Cooper 2015 13 It had two lines of defence stretching along the cease-fire lines from 1973, and controlled over four divisions (three mechanised and one armoured), a special forces division and two independent infantry brigades (seemingly the 61st and 90th). The corps commander Major General Faraq Shehada was seized as a prisoner of war on 29 June 2012.http://blogs.aljazeera.net/topic/syria/syrian-free-army-say-they-captured-two-high-ranking-officers https://archive.today/20130111230755/http://blogs.aljazeera.net/topic/syria/syrian-free-army-say-they-captured-two-high-ranking-officers dead 11 January 2013 Syrian Free Army say they captured two high-ranking officers Al Jazeera 29 June 2012 21 July 2012Cooper 2015 17 Structure in 2013 5th Mechanized DivisionJoseph Holliday, Syrian Army Doctrinal Order of Battle, Institute for the Study of War 112th Mechanised Brigade - Isra 132nd and 15th Mechanised Brigades (Cooper 2015 says 132nd and 35th Mech Brigades) 12th Armoured Brigade - Isra 175th Artillery Regiment - Cooper 2015 says this regiment, at Isra equipped with the 2S1, was a cadre and never deployed outside its base, and then overrun in February 2014.Cooper 2015 17 6th Armoured Division 45th Regiment 85th Brigade 76th Armored Brigade - now defunct. Formerly part of 1st Division 7th Mechanized Division 68th, 121st and 88 Mechanised Brigades 78th Armoured Brigade (an unspecified) Artillery Regiment (nb. Cooper 2015 identified this regiment as the 85th)Cooper 2015 17 9th Armoured Division - Major General Yusuf Ahmed 33rd, 34th and 43rd Armoured Brigades 52nd Mechanised Brigade - disbanded 2011Cooper 2015 18 (an unspecified) Artillery Regiment (nb. Cooper 2015 identified this regiment as the 15th)Cooper 2015 18 In addition, the corps still included the 61st and 90th Infantry Brigades (Independent) in 2013. Within the last one/two years, Brigade 90 has been reported in the Quneitra area,http://wikimapia.org/#lang=en&lat=33.195083&lon=35.927525&z=10&m=b&search=quneitra Wikimapia - Let's describe the whole world! but its base was reportedly overrun by rebels in February 2014.Cooper 2015 18 Structure in 2019 Source:https://www.mei.edu/publications/lion-and-eagle-syrian-arab-armys-destruction-and-rebirth#pt9 The Lion and The Eagle: The Syrian Arab Army’s Destruction and Rebirth Middle East Institute George Waters 18 July 2019 20 September 2022 5th Mechanized Division 15th, 112th and 132nd Mechanized Brigades 12th Armored Brigade 38th Infantry Brigade 59th Commando Battalionhttps://twitter.com/Bosni_94/status/1760387034147959161?t=AoBiayiHzVFOOXLONep4qA&s=19 SAA's 59th Battalion (Commandos) 175th Artillery Regiment 6th Armored Division (formed in 2015) 76th, 85th and 88th Armored Brigades 55th Mechanized Brigade 45th Special Forces Regiment 7th Mechanized Division 88th, 90th and 121st Mechanized BrigadesCurrent Syrian Army Deployments https://international-review.org/current-syrian-army-deployments/ Gregory Waters 17 October 2023 International Review 78th Armored Brigade 70th Artillery Brigade Syrian-9thDIV-TRF.svg 9th Armored Division 34th, 43rd and 701st Armored Brigades 52nd Mechanized Brigadehttp://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/168052 Largest Syrian Brigade Nears Breaking Point Arutz Sheva 16 May 2013 2013-06-07 https://web.archive.org/web/20130607114227/http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/168052 2013-06-07 livehttps://www.almasdarnews.com/article/syrian-army-restores-lost-points-golan-heights/ Syrian Army restores all lost points in Golan Heights Leith Fadel 12 September 2016 2016-09-18 https://web.archive.org/web/20160913152249/https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/syrian-army-restores-lost-points-golan-heights/ 2016-09-13 dead 467th Special Forces Regiment 89th Artillery Brigadehttps://twitter.com/GregoryPWaters/status/1127483700252307456?t=GHgZcxKclJtLDGFZ_87pVA&s=19 Fighter from the 109th Battalion, 89th Brig of the #9th_Division KIA in #Idlib 22 March 2024 12 May 2019 Gregory Waters Twitter Syrian-SF-TRF.svg 15th Special Forces Divisionhttps://www.almasdarnews.com/article/syrian-army-kicks-off-new-operation-in-daraa/ https://web.archive.org/web/20200510162642/https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/syrian-army-kicks-off-new-operation-in-daraa/ dead 10 May 2020 Syrian Army kicks off new operation in Daraa May 8, 2020 35th, 44th and 127th Special Forces Regimentshttps://twitter.com/GregoryPWaters/status/1644741255400763392?t=8sBl1RxNNucBs8dPSiEW-A&s=19 SAA's 531st Battalion/44th Regiment/15th Division downed an HTS drone in Idlib Twitter Gregory Waters 24 February 2024 8 April 2023 404th and 405th Armored RegimentsArmor depot of the 404th Armored Reg, 15th Special Forces Div. 176th Artillery Battalion Notes Tom Cooper Syrian Conflagration: The Civil War 2011-2013 Middle East@War Volume 1 Helion & Co. 978-1-910294-10-9 2015 References Category:Military units and formations of Syria Category:Military units and formations established in 1985 Syria Category:1985 establishments in Syria Category:Military units and formations disestablished in 2024