9th Armoured Division (Syria)

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9th Armoured Division
Divisional tactical color marking
Active1970 — present
Country Syria
Allegiance Syrian Armed Forces
Branch Syrian Army
TypeArmoured division
RoleArmoured warfare
Garrison/HQDaraa
Engagements
Commanders
Current
commander		Maj. Gen. Hussein Ismail al-Jeddawi
Chief of StaffBrig. Gen. Yusha Saad al-Din
Notable
commanders		Lt. Gen. Hasan Turkmani
Maj. Gen. Ramadan Ramadan[4]
Maj. Gen. Ahmed Ibrahim Nayouf[5]

The 9th Armoured Division (

Syrian Arab Army, part of the 1st Army Corps
and it was established in 1970.

Command structure

9th Armoured Division (2019)

Source:[4][9]

Combat history

Yom Kippur War and Lebanon

The division was established in 1970, and was originally called the 9th Infantry Division, although according to its composition it was actually an armored division. In 1973 it was heavily engaged during the October War, and in the Valley of Tears.[10] The division participated in attack on the Golan Heights at the beginning of the war. It attacked the center of the plateau, alongside the 5th Division which attacked the southern sector and the 7th Division which attacked the north.

Under the division's command were the 52nd Mechanized Brigade (with 41 tanks) in the northern part of the sector and the 33rd Mechanized Brigade (with 41 tanks) in the southern part of the sector. Behind the first tier brigades were two second tier brigades; The 43rd Armored Brigade (with 95 tanks) and the 51st Armored Brigade (with 95 tanks), which was attached to the division. The division was commanded during the war by Hasan Turkmani.[11]

In April 1976, it was announced by Kamal Jumblatt, leader of the Lebanese National Movement, that the 91st Armoured Brigade had entered Lebanon.[12] This was in addition to other Syrian forces that had entered previously.

21st Century

The 9th Armored Division served in the

1991 Gulf War as the Arab Joint Forces Command North reserve and saw little action.[13] In 2001 Richard Bennett estimated that its brigades included the 43rd and 91st Armored Brigades and the 52nd Mechanized Brigade. He wrote that it was part of the 1st Corps, which covered from Golan Heights
, the fortified zone and south to Der'a near the Jordanian border.

Civil war

Since the start of the war, 9th Division was engaged in

Idlib Governorate clashes (June 2012–April 2013). The 52nd Armored Brigade was reported in Der'aa in southern Syria in May 2013.[14] 9th Division took part in the 2015 Southern Syria offensive, which resulted into stalemate.[15] In June 2015, it was involved in Daraa and As-Suwayda offensive. The 9th Division alongside pro-government militias repelled major rebel offensive.[16]

It was reported in October 2015 that "Syrian armed opposition factions seized the strategic Tel Ahmar in the northern countryside of Quneitra on Saturday, following violent clashes with government forces. The capture of Tel Ahmar comes days after opposition factions seized the

Dara'a in favor of the Syrian government forces.[19]

References

  1. Al Masdar News. 29 April 2018. Archived from the original
    on 13 June 2018. Retrieved 29 April 2018.
  2. ^ Gregory Waters (12 March 2019). "Understanding Syria's Military Deployments in Idlib". International Review. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
  3. ^ Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi (30 July 2021). "Events in Deraa: Perspective from the Fourth Division". Retrieved 31 July 2021.
  4. ^ a b Gregory Waters (18 July 2019). "The Lion and The Eagle: The Syrian Arab Army's Destruction and Rebirth". Middle East Institute. Archived from the original on 21 July 2019. Retrieved 19 October 2019.
  5. ^ Major General Ahmed Ibrahim Nayouf has appointed as commander of the 9th Armoured Division (from Tartus Governorate).
  6. ^ "Largest Syrian Brigade Nears Breaking Point". Arutz Sheva. 16 May 2013. Archived from the original on 7 June 2013. Retrieved 7 June 2013.
  7. ^ "Syrian Army restores all lost points in Golan Heights". 12 September 2016. Archived from the original on 17 October 2018. Retrieved 18 September 2016.
  8. ^ Gregory Waters (12 May 2019). "Fighter from the 109th Battalion, 89th Brig of the #9th_Division KIA in #Idlib". Twitter. Retrieved 22 March 2024.
  9. ^ Holliday, Joseph (February 2013). "The Syrian Army doctrinal order of battle" (PDF). Institute for the Study of War. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 November 2013. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  10. ^ Kenneth Pollack, 'Arab Armies at War', University of Nebraska Press, 2001.
  11. ISBN 978-0-691-00254-5
    . Retrieved 27 March 2013.
  12. ISBN 1403980969
    , 9781403980960, 18.
  13. ^ Schwarzkopf, It doesn't take a hero, Bantam Books, 1993, 467-9.
  14. ^ "Largest Syrian Brigade Nears Breaking Point". Arutz Sheva.
  15. ^ "Map: The Military Situation in North of Daraa Province & SouthWest of RifDimashq Province - February 12, 2015". archicivilians. Archived from the original on 12 February 2015. Retrieved 13 February 2015.
  16. ^ "Syria clashes rage over army airbase in Sweida". Al Jazeera. 12 June 2015. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
  17. ^ al-Youm, Madar (5 October 2015). "Opposition Seizes Strategic Tel Ahmar, Advances on Western Ghouta". The Syrian Observer.
  18. ^ "Pictures: Syrian Army floods east Damascus with massive reinforcements to annihilate jihadist offensive". al-Masdar. 1 January 2018. Archived from the original on 16 September 2019. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  19. ^ "مقتل شاب برصاص قوات النظام في درعا البلد ومطالبات أهلية بإفراغ المنطقة من أهلها وسكانها بعد تصعيد قوات النظام الأخير" (in Arabic). SOHR. 29 July 2021. Retrieved 29 July 2021.

Further reading

  • Laffin, John (1985) [1982]. Arab Armies of the Middle East Wars 1948-73. Osprey Publishing Ltd.
    ISBN 0-85045-451-4
    .
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