Armenian Ground Forces
| Ground Forces of Armenia | |
|---|---|
| Հայաստանի ցամաքային ուժեր Hayastani ts’amak’ayin uzher | |
Our name is Armenian Army | |
| Anniversaries | Army Day (28 January) |
| Engagements | First Nagorno-Karabakh War Second Nagorno-Karabakh War |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders |
|
The Armenian Ground Forces (
Since the end of the First Nagorno-Karabakh War, Armenia has committed many elements of the army to help bolster the defense and defend the unrecognized Republic of Artsakh from a possible renewal of hostilities with neighboring Azerbaijan. Jane's World Armies reports that both conscripts and officers from Armenia are routinely sent for duty to Artsakh, often posted to the frontline between Artsakh Armenian and Azerbaijani forces.[5]
Equipment in the ground forces is regulated by the Military Industry Committee under the
History
The Armenian army's history is described to have gone through three stages of development.[6] It entered the first stage in February 1988, from the beginning of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, when Armenian militias were formed to combat Azerbaijani units in Artsakh. On 20 September 1990, the first military unit was created, the Yerevan Special Regiment, with the first oath being held in the Republican Assembly Point and was attended by the first President of Armenia Levon Ter-Petrosyan, Prime Minister Vazgen Manukyan, Vazgen Sargsyan.[7] The second phase of the development of the army began in 1992, several months after Armenia declared its independence from the Soviet Union. Ter-Grigoryants and civilian officials in the Armenian Ministry of Defense, including Vazgen Manukyan and Vazgen Sargsyan, sought to establish a "small, well-balanced, combat-ready defense force."[8] The third phase began after the end of the war and continues to today.
Most of the army's staff officers were members of the former Soviet military. An estimated 5,000 Armenians were serving as high-level officers in the military at the time of the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Since 1994, the army has taken an active role in ensuring the defense of the
Structure
Field Forces
- 1st Army Corps (HQ Goris):[5] one independent tank battalion, one independent reconnaissance battalion, two motor rifle regiments.[14]
- 2nd Army Corps (HQ Khachaghbyur):[15] one independent tank battalion, one independent reconnaissance battalion, one independent rifle regiment, two independent motor rifle regiments, one independent artillery battalion.
- 3rd Army Corps (HQ Vanadzor): one independent rifle regiment, one independent artillery battalion, one independent tank battalion, one independent reconnaissance battalion, one independent rocket artillery battalion, four independent motor rifle regiments, one maintenance battalion, one signals battalion.
- 4th Army Corps (HQ Yeghegnadzor): four independent motor rifle regiments, an independent self-propelled artillery battalion, one signals battalion.
- fortified regions, one independent motor rifle regiment, one independent rifle regiment.
Army-level Troops
The army also has the following army level units:[14][16]
- 228th Air & Air Defense Command (Jane's World Armies mentions an Army Air and Air Defence at Chobankara)[17]
- Surface to Air Missile Brigade
- Surface to Air Missile Regiment
- Surface to Air Missile Regiment
- Radio-Technical Regiment
- 535th Training Motor Rifle Brigade
- Nubarashen)
- One surface-to-air missile brigade
- Two surface-to-air missile regiments
- One artillery brigade
- One radiotechnical (radar) regiment
- 7th Fortified Area (Gyumri)
- 538th Motor Rifle Regiment (Aghdaban)
- One self-propelled artillery regiment
- One anti-tank regiment
- One engineer regiment with demining centre
Special Forces
The Armenian military's special forces include a standard army special forces regiment (now grown into a brigade),[18] and 5 reconnaissance battalions. The operational history surrounding all the aforementioned groups is not known. The operations that are known and are outside of standard duties such as intelligence gathering include:
- Unknown number of cross-border raids [19]
- The securing of the Armenian pilot's remains and helicopter parts after the shoot-down of an Artsakh helicopter[20]
The special forces of both republics are allowed fast-attack vehicles to conduct some operations and exercises. Special Forces Day is celebrated on 5 November.[21]
March
Our name is the Armenian Army (Armenian: Մեր անունն է հայկական բանակ, romanized: tr, lit. 'Mer anunn e haykakan banak') is an Armenian military march that serves as the army anthem. The song is part of the traditional repertoire of the Band of the General Staff of the Armed Forces. The march is composed of the following verses:[22]
Orbitu puts the new stone on the old.
Our name is the Armenian builder,
Sowing and downpour.
Our name is the fair Armenian farmer,
His child should know his writing
May the Armenian mind live forever.
Our hearts are always strong, fiery,
Our swords are always strong, sharp,
And let everyone know
Our name is the Armenian army.
The ark of our millennial Armenian history
It has taken us around the world,
Our dear cradle calls us back:
Always faithful to his longing,
This new century will be ours:
In a brightly lit way.
Our hearts are always strong, fiery,
Our swords are always strong and sharp
And let everyone know
Our name is the Armenian army
Our ancestral Armenian lands
We will keep night and day,
Let all Armenian mothers sleep peacefully,
We will monitor their peace.
Father Hayk's land handed over to us
We will inherit our children.
Our hearts are always strong, fiery,
Our swords are always strong, sharp,
And let everyone know
Our name is the Armenian army.
The seal of our millennial Armenian history
We carry it forever
May the Armenian sky always be peaceful
And the mountains are fiery
Even if it is required, we will give our lives
For the glory of our homeland.
Our hearts are always strong, fiery
Our swords are always strong, sharp
And let everyone know
Our name is the Armenian army.
See also
Notes
- ^ International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS). The Military Balance 2013. London: Routledge, 2013, pp. 215–16.
- ^ "Մեր Իրավունքը Եվ Ազատությունը Պաշտպանող Ուժը".
- ^ "Military Balance in Europe 2011"., March 07, 2011.
- ^ Petrosyan, David. "Formation and Development of Armenian Armed Forces Archived 2015-07-05 at the Wayback Machine." Moscow Defence Brief. Centre for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies, Moscow, 6-2002, accessed November 2009. Ter-Grigoryants had previously served with the 40th Army (Soviet Union) in Afghanistan as chief of staff, supervising operations in May 1982.
- ^ a b Jane's World Armies. Coulsdon, Surrey, UK: Jane's Information Group, October 2004.
- ^ a b Ministry of Defense of Armenia. General History of the Armenian Army Archived 2007-09-27 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved January 31, 2006.
- ^ LLC, Ayb Solutions. "LEGEND OF THE SPECIAL REGIMENT". Hay Zinvor. Retrieved 2020-05-15.
- ^ Curtis, Glenn E. and Ronald G. Suny. "Armenia," in Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia Country Studies, ed. Glenn E. Curtis. Washington D.C.: Federal Research Division Library of Congress, 1995, p. 72.
- ISBN 0-313-30044-5.
- ISBN 1-56324-637-6.
- ISBN 978-0-8108-6096-4.
- ^ See Richard Giragosian, "Armenia and Karabakh: One Nation, Two States Archived 2010-12-09 at the Wayback Machine." AGBU Magazine. № 1, Vol. 19, May 2009, pp. 12-13.
- ^ "Armenia and Lebanon Sign 2016 Military Cooperation Plan." Massis Post. November 27, 2015.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-85743-437-8.
- ^ "Updates from the Armenia-Azerbaijani Border: Uneasy Calm". www.evnreport.com. Retrieved 2020-12-20.
- ^ See Human Rights Watch/Helsinki Watch, Azerbaijan: Seven years of conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh, New York: Human Rights Watch, 1994, p. 69.
- ^ "Armenian Ground Forces Order of Battle".
- ^ The Military Balance, 2017. P. 198
- ^ "Reconnaissance Scouts on Karabakh Frontline Tight-Lipped About Themselves, Their Actions". Hetq.am. Retrieved 24 December 2014.
- ^ "Bodies of Armenian pilots removed from helicopter crash site". Reuters. 2014-11-22. Retrieved 24 December 2014.
- ^ "Special Forces day in the Armed Forces of the Republic of Armenia".
- ^ ""Մեր անունն է հայկական բանակ". սովորենք երգել".