Islamic Republic of Iran Army Ground Forces

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Islamic Republic of Iran Army Ground Forces
نیروی زمینی ارتش جمهوری اسلامی ایران
Commanders
CommanderBrigadier General Kioumars Heydari
Insignia
Flag

The Islamic Republic of Iran Army Ground Forces (

ground forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran Army
.

In Iran, it is also called Artesh, (ارتش) which is

Army Aviation fleet in the Middle East.[4] Conscripts serve for 21 months and have professional military training.[5]

Iran has two parallel land forces with some integration at the command level: the regular Artesh (Army), and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, also known as the Sepâh (IRGC).

History

Antiquity

A national army of sorts has existed in Iran since the establishment of the

Shâhanshâh (King of Kings) in the Sassanid Dynasty after a period of disunity and chaos in the country. Following the Islamic invasion of Iran and eventual resurgence of Iranian dynasties a new full-time army was formed by the name of Qezelbash in the Safavid dynasty
.

Qajar era

The Qajar period saw several attempts to re-model the traditional Iranian military based on western models. These were met with limited success at the time.

The insignia of the Imperial Iranian Army Ground Force

"In 1918 the Qajar armed forces consisted of four, separate, foreign-commanded military units. Several provincial and tribal forces could also be called on during an emergency, but their reliability was highly questionable. More often than not, provincial and tribal forces opposed the government's centralisation efforts, particularly because Tehran was perceived to be under the dictate of foreign powers. Having foreign officers in commanding positions over Iranian troops added to these tribal and religious concerns."

"Loyal, disciplined, and well trained, the most effective government unit was the 8,000-man

First World War, the 24,400 troops in these four, separate, military units made up one of the weakest forces in Iranian history."[6]

After the First World War, the army had shrunk, but not much on paper, ostentiably numbering 25,000 in total. By 1920 it consisted of the Persian Cossacks; the Gendarmerie, expanded from two regiments that had stayed loyal; and the South Persia Rifles and the regular army, reduced to the Central Brigade in Tehran, with a theoretical strength of 2,200.[7]

Pahlavi era

Following the rise of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1925, the new, Imperial Iranian Army became a priority. By 1941, it stood at 125,000 troops—five times its original size—and was considered well trained and well equipped. However, the army was focused on internal security operations, rather than, Farrokh says 'fighting well-led and equipped Soviet and Western armies.'[8] Ward writes that the 'army's sixteen divisions were spread across the country in their home garrisons, and only some of the western divisions had received any significant reinforcements of infantry and artillery. Maj. Gen. Hassan Mogaddam, the 5th Division commander, was put in charge of all western forces."[9] The defence of the Khorramshahr-Ahvaz area was put under the navy's Rear Admiral Gholamali Bayandor, with his sailors plus a brigade of the army's 6th Division.[10]

In August 1941 the Soviets and British launched the

, occupied Iran's northern provinces.

Against the Allied forces, the army was overwhelmed in three days, while the fledgling

Imperial Iranian Navy suffered heavy damage. Conscripts deserted by the thousands. His institutional power base ruined, Reza Shah abdicated in favour of his young son, Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi. In the absence of a broad political power base and with a shattered army, Mohammad Reza Shah faced an almost impossible task of rebuilding.[6] There was no popular sympathy for the army in view of the widespread and largely accurate perception that it was a brutal tool used to uphold a dictatorial regime. The young shah, distancing Tehran from the European military, in 1942, invited the United States to send a military mission to advise in the reorganisation effort. With American advice, emphasis was placed on quality rather than quantity.[citation needed
]

The small but more confident army that resulted from American training was capable enough to participate in the 1946 campaign in Azarbaijan to put down a Soviet-inspired, separatist rebellion. During the three years of occupation, Stalin had expanded Soviet political influence in Azerbaijan and the Kurdish area in northwestern Iran. On 12 December 1945, after weeks of violent clashes, a Soviet-backed separatist

Kurdish People's Republic was also established in late 1945. Iranian troops sent to re-establish control were blocked by Soviet Red Army units. When the deadline for withdrawal arrived on 2 March 1946, six months after the end of hostilities, the British began to withdraw, but Moscow refused, "citing threats to Soviet security," sparking the Iran crisis of 1946. Soviet troops did not withdraw from Iran proper until May 1946, following Iran's official complaint to the newly formed United Nations Security Council and intense pressure from the United States.[11]

Unlike its 1925 counterpart, the 1946 Majlis was suspicious of the shah's plans for a strong army.[6] Many members of the parliament feared that the army would once again be used as a source of political power. To curtail the shah's potential domination of the country, they limited his military budgets.

From the 1966-67 edition to the 1969-70 edition, the

IISS
Military Balance listed the Iranian Army with one armoured division, seven infantry divisions, and one independent armoured brigade. By the 1971-72 edition, two armoured divisions, five infantry divisions, the independent armoured brigade, and other independent brigades were listed. Within two years after that, the listing quickly changed to three armoured divisions and three infantry divisions.

Dramatic reforms brought in a host of western advisors and over the course of more than three decades the army was to become the world's fifth strongest by 1979. Throughout the 1970s the Imperial Iranian Ground Forces, as they were then known, underwent a rapid transformation and increase in strength. During this period, Iran established the "

Imperial Iranian Army Aviation
" (IIAA). It was mainly equipped with American aircraft types.

In the early 1970s the

Dhofar Rebellion with British support. As a result of Sultan Qaboos's diplomatic initiatives, the Shah sent a brigade of troops numbering 1,200 and with its own helicopters to assist the Sultan's Armed Forces in 1973. The Iranian brigade first secured the Salalah-Thumrait road. In 1974, the Iranian contribution was expanded into the Imperial Iranian Task Force, numbering 4,000. They attempted to establish another interdiction line, codenamed the "Damavand Line", running from Manston, a few miles east of Sarfait, to the coast near the border with South Yemen (the PDRY). Heavy rebel opposition, which included artillery fire from within South Yemen, thwarted this aim for several months. Eventually, the town of Rahkyut, which the PFLO had long maintained as the capital of their liberated territory, fell to the Iranian task force.[12] The IITF remained in Oman in December 1975, then at a strength of 3,000.[13]

The Library of Congress Country Studies volume for Iran issued in 1978 wrote that:[14]

"During the 1970s ..the Imperial Iranian Ground Forces was undergoing a rapid increase in strength; that year [sic] it was a largely mechanized and armoured force of about 220,000. In late 1977 its former organization into three army corps, with headquarters in Kermanshah, Tehran, and Shiraz, was dropped; divisional commanders subsequently reported directly to the army commander. The army contained three armoured divisions, each with six tank battalions and five mechanised infantry battalions; four infantry divisions; four independent brigades (two infantry, one airborne and 1 special force); and the Army Aviation Command (one infantry division and one independent infantry brigade formed the Imperial Guard). These combat units.. were said to be 85 per cent operational, though some outside observers doubted this claim. During the mid-1970s, fully 80 per cent of Iran's ground forces were deployed along the Iraqi border, though official sources maintained that a large portion could be sent anywhere in the country.. by means of air force transports. Troop deployment was expected to shift south in the late 1970s with the opening of the

Chah Bahar
facility."

"The rapidly growing

Army Aviation Command, whose major operational facilities were located at Isfahan, was largely equipped with American aircraft, though some helicopters were of Italian manufacture. In 1977 army aviation operated some sixty light fixed-wing aircraft, though its strength lay in its fleet of some 700 combat helicopters."[15]

Two years later, Gabriel listed the major formations of the Imperial Iranian Ground Forces in the final year of the Shah, 1979, as including the 16th (

Mashad; two infantry brigades (the 64th at Mahabad and the 84th at Khorramabad), the 55th Airborne Brigade
at Shiraz and the Special Forces Brigade HQ in Tehran.

Islamic Republic of Iran

Immediately after the 1979 revolution a series of purges gutted the core of the army's Western trained senior commanders. These included numerous executions ordered by Sadegh Khalkhali, the new Revolutionary Court judge. Between February and September 1979, Iran's government executed 85 senior generals and forced all major-generals and most brigadier-generals into early retirement.[17] By September 1980, the government had purged 12,000 army officers.[17] These purges resulted in a drastic decline in the Iranian military's operational capacities.[17] Their regular army (which, in 1978, was considered the world's fifth most powerful)[18] had been badly weakened. A shortage of spare parts for Iran's U.S.-made and British-made equipment began to cripple Iran's military forces. The desertion rate reached 60%, and the officer corps was devastated. The most highly skilled soldiers and aviators were exiled, imprisoned, or executed.

The last general to head the Imperial Iranian Army was General

Abbas Gharebaghi
, as armed forces chief of staff, who allied with the Islamic Republic and dismantled the Imperial Iranian Army, which was renamed the Islamic Republic of Iran Army.

The two Iranian Imperial Guard divisions were combined into the

21st Infantry Division
.

The purges left the Army poorly prepared when Iraq invaded Iran at the beginning of the Iran–Iraq War. A Central Intelligence Agency assessment of 7 November 1979 said that Iranian military capabilities '..had not recovered significantly since the collapse of the armed forces in the February revolution. Ground forces capabilities remain limited despite some improvement in discipline and operational readiness in recent months.'[19]

Iran–Iraq War

Iraq invaded Iran, beginning the

flight of military personnel.[20] Continuous sanctions prevented Iran from acquiring many heavy weapons, such as tanks and aircraft. When the invasion occurred, many pilots and officers were released from prison, or had their executions commuted to combat the Iraqis. In addition, many junior officers were promoted to generals, resulting in the army being more integrated as a part of the regime by the war's end, as it is today.[20] Iran still had at least 1,000 operational tanks, and could cannibalize equipment to procure spare parts.[21]

From July 1985, the IISS started attributing an estimated three army headquarters to the Iranian Army where previously no headquarters above division level has been identified. These were identified by other sources later as the 1st Army (HQ Kermanshah), 2nd Army (HQ Tehran) and 3rd Army (HQ Shiraz).

In 1987, and on the verge of the end of the Iran–Iraq War, the Artesh was organised as follows:[6]

  • Three mechanised divisions,
    • Each of which composed of three armoured and six mechanised battalions organised into three brigades
  • Seven infantry divisions (seemingly including the 21st,
    77th Infantry Divisions
    ),
  • One special forces division composed of four brigades,
  • One airborne brigade (55th Airborne Brigade?)
  • One air support command,

and some independent armoured brigades including infantry and a "coastal force."

The war finally ended in 1988.

Post Iran–Iraq War

A new cadre of commanders, shaped by their experiences in the war, drastically reduced reliance on foreign supplied equipment and training.[citation needed] Following the war the military pursued a dramatic restructuring, much of it under total secrecy.[citation needed] While still only a mere shadow of its pre-revolutionary self, the Artesh rapidly re-asserted its abilities and started to grow again.[citation needed]

The IISS determined that at some point between 1992 and 1995 an additional army headquarters was raised (making a total of four). Later, some time between mid-1997 and mid-1999, the listing changed to that of four corps. The Jaffee Center's Middle East Military Balance 99-00 also lists the four corps the IISS had attributed.

Jane's reported in 2006 that the Army was commanded via three army level headquarters with 15 divisions.

55th Paratroop Division
. Jane's Sentinel Security Assessments reports that the 23rd Special Forces Division is amongst the most professional formations in the Iranian Army, with at least 6,000 personnel, all of whom are believed to be regulars.

The regular armoured divisions, including the

92nd Armored Division
, are sub-divided into three brigades.

Structure

2012

Globalsecurity.org says on its page on the Iranian Army:[24]

IRIA Soldiers marching in formation
  • "The regular army.. has a number of independent brigades and groups, though there is almost no reliable data on the size and number of these smaller independent formations. These include one logistics brigade, an infantry brigade, an airborne brigade, special forces (
    Takavar
    ) brigades, and five artillery brigades/regiments. There are also coastal defence units, a growing number of air defence groups, between four and six army aviation units, and a growing number of logistics and supply formations."
  • "There are a variety of other reports of doubtful veracity. Some sources claim that small light formations in the regular army include an Airmobile Forces Group created after the
    IRGC are integrated into a Corps of about 30,000 soldiers, with integrated helicopter lift and air assault capabilities. These airborne and special forces troops are said to train together at Shiraz
    ."

Many of these assessments appear to be

copyright violations from research conducted by the Burke Chair in Strategy at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Washington DC, for example, an updated military balance report[permanent dead link] dated 2012.(see also CSIS Iran and Gulf Military Balance, 11 July 2012, p51

Most soldiers of the Iranian Army are well trained and determined, but their equipment is outdated or obsolete. They primarily use outdated Western-style equipment or newer, locally produced equipment, which is lower quality. Commanders generally appoint men to high level positions based on loyalty, rather than military skills.[25]

Since 2010 Iranian Army has undergone a reorganization process called Thamen alaeme general structure plan (طرح جامع ساختاری ثامن الائمه), this plan includes transformation from a division-centered model towards a brigade-centered model, a re-positioning of Army bases, the adding of new units and an increase in mobility of existing army units. To that effect, it has sheered off some brigades from existing divisions as well as establishing new brigades alongside of them. By March 2012 31 new independent brigades have been established throughout the army.[26][27]

The commander of the Iranian Army's Ground Forces is

Brigadier General Kioumars Heydari
.

Iranian Army Commissioned Officers and Enlisted Ranks

Officers
Rank group General / flag officers Senior officers Junior officers Officer cadet
 Iranian Ground Forces
General Lieutenant General Major General Brigadier General Brigadier General Colonel Lieutenant Colonel Major Captain First Lieutenant Second Lieutenant Third Lieutenant
ارتشبد
Arteshbod
سپهبد
Sepahbod
سرلشکر
Sarlashkar
سرتیپ
Sartip
سرتیپ دوم
Sartip dovom
سرهنگ
Sarhang
سرهنگ دوم
Sarhang dovom
سرگرد
Sargord
سروان
Sarvān
ستوان یکم
Sotvān yekom
ستوان دوم
Sotvān dovom
ستوان سوم
Sotvān sevom
General
Lieutenant general Major general Brigadier general Second brigadier general Colonel Lieutenant colonel Major Captain First lieutenant Second lieutenant
Third lieutenant
Enlisted
Rank group Senior NCOs Junior NCOs Enlisted
 Iranian Ground Forces
استوار یکم
Ostovar yekom
استوار دوم
Ostovar dovom
گروهبان یکم
Goruhban yekom
گروهبان دوم
Goruhban dovom
گروهبان سوم
Goruhban sevom
سرجوخه
Sarjukheh
سرباز یکم
Sarbaz yekom
سرباز دوم
Sarbaz dovom
سرباز
Sarbaz
Chief warrant officer Warrant officer junior grade Sergeant first class Sergeant second class Sergeant third class Corporal Private first class Private second class Private

Equipment

Karrar Main Battle Tank, The most advanced Iranian tank in service
Zulfiqar tank
Naze'at long-range artillery rockets

Iran's main battle tanks include an estimated ~1500 or possibly more, indigenous

Chieftain Mk 3/Mk 5 MBTs, 540 T-54/T-55/Type 59s, and 150 M-47/M-48s.[28] Separately reported are Karrar
tanks.

The

IISS estimates that around 150 Zulfiqar 1's are now in service.[29]

The main

AH-1J Sea Cobra. The number of AH-1Js in service was estimated by the IISS in 2009 as 50,[30] though 202 were delivered before the 1979 Iranian Revolution. Iran also operates an unknown number of the Panha 2091, which is an unlicensed, locally-made upgrade of the AH-1J.[31]

The main

CH-47C Chinook. The number of CH-47Cs in service was estimated as 20 though 57 were delivered before the 1979 Iranian Revolution
. Islamic Republic of Iran Army lost one of them in 2011.

Commanders

No. Portrait Commander-in-Chief Took office Left office Time in office Ref.
Commander of the Imperial Iranian Ground Force
1
Bahram Aryana
Aryana, BahramGeneral
Bahram Aryana
(1906–1985)
195519582–3 years
2
Abdolhossein Hejazi [fa]
Hejazi, AbdolhosseinGeneral
Abdolhossein Hejazi [fa]
(1904–1969)
195819612–3 years
3
Reza Azimi
Azimi, RezaGeneral
Reza Azimi
(1909–1999)
196119653–4 years
4
Ezzatollah Zarghami [fa]
Zarghami, EzzatollahGeneral
Ezzatollah Zarghami [fa]
196519693–4 years
5
Fathollah Minbashian
Minbashian, FathollahGeneral
Fathollah Minbashian
11 May 196919722–3 years
6
Gholam Ali Oveissi
Oveissi, Gholam AliGeneral
Gholam Ali Oveissi
(1918–1984)
197210 January 19796–7 years
7
Abdolali Badrei
(1919–1979)
10 January 197911 February 1979 †0 years[32][33]
Commander of the Islamic Republic of Iran Army Ground Forces
1
Valiollah Fallahi
Fallahi, ValiollahBrigadier general
Valiollah Fallahi
(1931–1981)
197919800–1 years
2
Qasem-Ali Zahirnejad
Zahirnejad, Qasem-AliBrigadier general
Qasem-Ali Zahirnejad
(1924–1999)
198019810–1 years
3
Ali Sayad Shirazi
Sayad Shirazi, AliColonel
Ali Sayad Shirazi
(1944–1999)
1 October 19812 August 19864 years
4
Hossein Hassani Sa'di
Hassani Sa'di, HosseinColonel
Hossein Hassani Sa'di
(born 1940)
2 August 19868 May 19914 years
5
Abdollah Najafi [fa]
Najafi, AbdollahBrigadier general
Abdollah Najafi [fa]
8 May 199125 October 19943 years
6
Ahmad Dadbin [fa]
Dadbin, AhmadBrigadier general
Ahmad Dadbin [fa]
(born 1955)
25 October 199419972–3 years
7
Abdolali Pourshasb [fa]
Pourshasb, AbdolaliBrigadier general
Abdolali Pourshasb [fa]
199710 February 20013–4 years
8
Nasser Mohammadifar [fa]
Mohammadifar, NasserBrigadier general
Nasser Mohammadifar [fa]
200120053–4 years
9
Mohammad-Hossein Dadras
Dadras, Mohammad-HosseinBrigadier general
Mohammad-Hossein Dadras
200520082–3
10
Ahmad Reza Pourdastan
Pourdastan, Ahmad RezaBrigadier general
Ahmad Reza Pourdastan
(born 1956)
200819 November 20167–8
11
Kioumars Heydari
Heydari, KioumarsBrigadier general
Kioumars Heydari
(born 1964)
19 November 2016Incumbent7 years, 129 days[34]

See also

References

Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain. Country Studies. Federal Research Division.

  1. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 June 2021. Retrieved 26 April 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. ^ "Iranian Armed Forces" (PDF). CSIS. 25 July 2006. p. 14. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 June 2009. Retrieved 19 April 2008.
  3. ^ "How big is Iran's military?". Reuters. 28 September 2009. Retrieved 7 April 2013.
  4. ^ "General Ghorbani: Iran helicopter fleet, strongest in Middle East".
  5. TheGuardian.com
    . 23 July 2015.
  6. ^ a b c d Library of Congress Country Studies, Armed Forces: Historical Background, 1987
  7. ^ Ward 2014, p. 125-6.
  8. . Page Number required (Unclear from G-Books).
  9. ^ Ward 2014, p. 154.
  10. ^ Ward 2014, p. 155.
  11. ^ George Lenczowski, American Presidents and the Middle East, (1990), p. 7-13
  12. ISBN 978-0-7146-5001-2., pp. 72-73, see also John Akehurst
    , We won a war: the campaign in Oman 1965-1975, 82.
  13. ^ Area Handbook for the Persian Gulf States, 396.
  14. ^ Richard F. Nyrop (ed), Iran, a country study / Foreign Area Studies, The American University American University (Washington, D.C.). [Washington : Dept. of Defense, Dept. of the Army] : for sale by the Supt. of Docs., U.S. Govt. Print. Off., 1978. 3d ed. p401
  15. ^ Nyrop et al 1978, p404.
  16. , army order of battle of 1978−79.
  17. ^ .
  18. ^ Farmanfarmaian, Roxane (14 February 2011). "What makes a revolution succeed?". Al Jazeera.
  19. ^ "Status of Iranian Armed Forces, National Foreign Assessment Centre, Central Intelligence Agency" (PDF). 7 November 1979. p. 1. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 January 2017.
  20. ^ a b "National Security". Pars Times.
  21. .
  22. ^ "Jane's World Armies profile: Iran". Jane's Defence News. Janes.com. 29 August 2006. Archived from the original on 25 July 2008. Retrieved 13 February 2010.
  23. ^ IISS Military Balance 2008, p.242
  24. ^ Iranian Army. GlobalSecurity.org. Accessed August 2012.
  25. ^ "Iran: So Many Secrets Are Secret No More". strategypage.com.
  26. ^ "Introducing of 10 new army achievements". Mashreghnews.ir. March 2012. Retrieved 29 April 2013.
  27. ^ "Unveiling of new army achievements". Mashreghnews.ir. April 2013. Retrieved 29 April 2013.
  28. ^ International Institute for Strategic Studies, The Military Balance 2009, Routledge for the IISS, London, 2009, p.245
  29. ^ "How big is Iran's military?". International Institute for Strategic Studies. 28 September 2009. Archived from the original on 17 February 2010. Retrieved 13 February 2010.
  30. ^ IISS Military Balance 2009, p.245
  31. ^ "Panha hovers between repair and manufacturing". Jane's Air Forces News. Janes.com. 27 August 2001. Archived from the original on 16 October 2009. Retrieved 13 February 2010.
  32. .
  33. ^ Mohammad Sahimi (3 February 2010). "The Ten Days that Changed Iran". PBS. Retrieved 31 July 2013.
  34. ^ "انتصاب جانشین فرمانده کل ارتش و فرمانده نیروی زمینی ارتش" [Appointment of Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Commander of the Army Ground Forces]. farsi.khamenei.ir (in Persian). 20 November 2016. Retrieved 28 September 2021.

Further reading

External links