The 10th Infantry Brigade (Lebanon) is a
Lebanese Army unit that fought in the
Lebanese Civil War, being active from its creation in January 1984.
Origins
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In the aftermath of the June–September 1982
Israeli invasion of Lebanon, President
Amin Gemayel, convinced that a strong and unified national defense force was a prerequisite to rebuilding the nation, announced plans to raise a 60,000-man army organized into twelve brigades (created from existing infantry regiments), trained and equipped by France and the United States.[1]
Emblem
The Brigade's insignia consists of a brown eagle set on a blue sky background, swooping down on its prey symbolizing rapidity and precision in fixing and eliminating the target. The eye of the eagle symbolizes courage and fearlessness, and an expanded wing denotes protection of friendly forces.[2]
Commanded by Colonel
Nassib Eid and reinforced by a
Lebanese Army Commando battalion led by then Major
Yusuf Tahan, the 10th Brigade during the
Mountain War was deployed at east Beirut, where it was held in reserve and ready to support the other
LAF Brigades in the field as required.[8]
On February 13, 1984, the 101st Ranger Battalion was rushed to the western portion of the Shahhar region to reinforce the beleaguered units of the
4th Brigade, who were fighting desperately to retain their positions at
Aabey,
Kfar Matta,
Ain Ksour, and
Al-Beniyeh while sustaining a wave of ground assaults by the
DruzePeople's Liberation Army (PLA) militia led by
Walid Jumblatt.[9]
Usually attached to the "Red Berets" of the
Para-commando regiment (
Arabic: فوج المغاوير transliteration Fauj al-Maghaweer) led by Lieutenant Colonel
Yusuf Tahan (later replaced by Colonel
Jihad Chahine), the "Green Berets" of the 10th Brigade had their units stationed along the
Green Line, manning the Beirut-Damascus highway to the
Kfarshima–
Ash Choueifat front in the
Baabda District.[10] In 1987 both formations were tasked of defending the
Fayadieh Military Academy and the large Army barracks complex adjacent to it.[11]
During the
1989–1990 Liberation War, the 10th Brigade fought alongside the
8th Brigade against an alliance of Druze PSP/PLA, pro-Syrian
Lebanese Forces – Executive Command (LFEC) and
Palestinian militias backed by the
Syrian Army at the second battle of
Souk El Gharb on August 13, 1989. The militias' ground offensive was preceded by a massive and sustained Syrian artillery barrage on the positions held by Aounist troops, who repulsed the assault by inflicting some 20-30 casualties on the PSP/PLA attackers.[12][13][14]
The Elimination War 1989–1990
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adding to it. (February 2023)
Éric Micheletti and Yves Debay, Liban – dix jours aux cœur des combats, RAIDS Magazine No. 41, October 1989, Histoire & Collections, Paris.
ISSN0769-4814 (in
French)
James Kinnear, Stephen Sewell & Andrey Aksenov, Soviet T-54 Main Battle Tank, General Military series, Osprey Publishing Ltd, Oxford 2018.
ISBN978-1-4728-3330-3
James Kinnear, Stephen Sewell & Andrey Aksenov, Soviet T-55 Main Battle Tank, General Military series, Osprey Publishing Ltd, Oxford 2019.
ISBN978-1-4728-3855-1
Samer Kassis, 30 Years of Military Vehicles in Lebanon, Beirut: Elite Group, 2003.
ISBN9953-0-0705-5
Samuel M. Katz, Lee E. Russel, and Ron Volstad, Armies in Lebanon 1982–84, Men-at-Arms series 165, Osprey Publishing Ltd, London 1985.
ISBN0-85045-602-9
Samuel M. Katz and Ron Volstad, Arab Armies of the Middle East wars 2, Men-at-Arms series 194, Osprey Publishing Ltd, London 1988.
ISBN0-85045-800-5
Simon Dunstan, Panhard Armoured Car: 1961 Onwards (AML 60, AML 90, Eland), Enthusiasts' Manual, Haynes Publishing UK, Somerset 2019.
ISBN978-1-78521-194-2
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).
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.
EAN8435568306073