People's Liberation Army (Lebanon)

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People's Liberation Army – PLA
جيش التحرير الشعبي
Battles and warsLebanese Civil War (1975–1990)
Preceded by
3,000 fighters

The People's Liberation Army – PLA (

Druze Progressive Socialist Party (PSP), which fought in the Lebanese Civil War. The PSP and its militia were members of the Lebanese National Movement
(LNM) from 1975 to 1982.

Emblem

First adopted in 1976 and modified in 1977-78, the PLA official emblem consisted of a red flag with a white disc on the centre, featuring a crossed dip pen and pickaxe superimposed on an AK-47 assault rifle in the middle standing upwards, all in silver, inserted on a golden circular wreath, the latter consisting of two interlocking branches and leaves of the Oak tree and the Lebanese Cedar tree.[1]

Origins

Although the PSP was officially a

sectarian militias in Lebanon. It was first founded unofficially by the Party's president, the za'im (political boss) Kamal Jumblatt at the height of the 1958 Civil War with a strength of about 1,000–2,000 militiamen, which fought alongside the Pan-Arab/leftist anti-government forces against the Lebanese Army, and the pro-government conservative Christian and Muslim militias in Beirut and the Chouf District
.

Disbanded upon the conclusion of the war, the PSP was left without an official paramilitary branch until the early 1970s, when – despite Kamal Jumblatt's initial reluctance to engage in paramilitarism – the Party's leadership board decided to quietly raise a new militia force with the help of the Palestine Liberation Organization or PLO (mainly from Fatah, PFLP and DPFLP) in response to the Christian rightist Parties' own clandestine military build-up.[2] Initial progress was slow, however, since the PSP under Kamal Jumblatt had no regular militiamen, but relied mostly on its Druze irregulars, which could be mobilised when needed. Because of the secrecy surrounding the formation of its military wing, the PSP was only able to gather 175-185 militiamen, most of them drawn from an existing Boy Scout organization,[3] and each recruit had to finance himself.[4] The weapons that these fighters used, usually a left-over from the PLO or a regional country, were obsolete, somewhat basic and in short supply, as Jumblatt had neither the means nor the will to invest heavily in his new militia.[5]

From 1971 to 1974, this initial intake of young recruits was trained by a Druze medical doctor and former officer in the Mexican Special Forces, Colonel Ghazi Karami, who manned an advanced Commando course at a PSP-run secret training camp set up near Choueifat in the Aley District.[6] Eventually, the group of 185 highly trained fighters that graduated from the course in 1974 with excellent military skills and tactics went to provide the founding cadre for the PSP's first unconventional warfare unit, which was given the title Popular Commandos Forces – PCF (Arabic: قوات الكوماندوز الشعبية | Quwwat al-Kumanduz al-Sha'abya). Led by Ramez Assaf, they first saw action in Beirut during the Battle of the Hotels in 1975-76.[7][5] Under Kamal Jumblatt's leadership, the PSP was a major element in the Lebanese National Movement (LNM) alliance, which supported the recognition of Lebanon's Arab identity and sympathised with the Palestinians. When the Lebanese Civil War broke out in April 1975, as a member of the LNM the PSP and its small PCF militia were active founders of the movement's military wing, the Joint Forces (LNM-JF).

On 7 August 1976, following an open appeal by Kamal Jumblatt urging Lebanese Muslim youths to join the LNM-JF militias, the PSP's own military wing was re-organized and expanded to a force not exceeding 400 men, being officially established as the Popular Liberation Forces – PLF (

Shia Muslim communities of the Chouf,[11][12][13][14] although other sources place its numbers as high as 5,000.[15][16]

Nevertheless, it was not until the death of Kamal Jumblatt in 1977, that a process to build a real military structure was set in motion in collaboration with the

Lebanese Forces (LF) Christian militia backed by Israel.[7][9]

Military structure and organization

In 1975–77 the PLA was a predominantly infantry force, loosely organized into company- or battalion-sized formations provided with light

Druze town of Baakline in the Chouf, the PSP militia by 1983 aligned 16,000–17,000 troops, consisting of 5,000–6,000 uniformed regulars backed by 12,000 male and female reservists[17][18]
staffed by a qualified, professionally-trained Officer corps.

The PLA absorbed many Druze soldiers which had served with the

Shi'ites in their ranks; most Druze recruits continued to come from the Mountain and, until the return of the Syrian Army in 1987, from the Sanayeh (Kantari District) and the seafront quarters of West Beirut.[16]

Under the command of Major

Debbiyeh, also in the Chouf.[27]

In 1986-87,

Chadian–Libyan conflict, as part of a aid package deal that included much-needed financing for the PSP troops in Lebanon.[28] In the end, only a small contingent of 120 Druze officers and enlisted men was actually sent to Libya, but they were never used in their intended role of fighting the Chadians; instead, the PLA contingent underwent a regimented training programme in basic infantry, armour, and artillery tactics, manned by Soviet and East German advisors. Upon the conclusion of their instruction cycle, they were provided by the Libyans with a considerable haul of Soviet-made heavy weapons, including tanks, tracked and wheeled APCs, MBRLs, and SPAAGs, before returning to Lebanon by ship to the PSP-controlled port of Jieh in the Iqlim al-Kharrub coastal enclave.[4]

Field organization

PLA armored, "Commando", infantry, and artillery units were organized into independent formations deployed to a specific area of military operations or "Sector" (

Military Police Brigade (actually, a Battalion).[29] By February 1984, the PLA aligned eight such "Brigades" that fielded eight "Commando" companies and eight assorted infantry companies, and eight Military Police "Brigades", with their respective "Sectors" being organized as follows:[1]

  • The Beirut Sector (Arabic: قطاع بيروت | Qitay Bayrut) – Beirut Brigade (Arabic: لواء بيروت | Liwa' Bayrut)
  • The Aley Sector (Arabic: قطاع عاليه | Qitay Alyh) – Aley Brigade (Arabic: لواء عاليه | Liwa' Alyh)
  • The Choueifat Sector (Arabic: قطاع الشويفات | Qitay al-Shuwayfat) – Choueifat Brigade (Arabic: لواء الشويفات | Liwa' al-Shuwayfat)
  • The North Sector (Arabic: قطاع الشمال | Qitay al-Shamal) – North Brigade (Arabic: لواء الشمال | Liwa' al-Shamal)
  • The South Sector (Arabic: قطاع الجنوب | Qitay al-Janub) – South Brigade (Arabic: لواء الجنوب | Liwa' al-Janub)
  • The Beqaa Sector (Arabic: قطاع البقاع | Qitay al-Biqaa) – Beqaa Brigade (Arabic: لواء البقاع | Liwa' al-Biqaa)
  • The Tripoli Sector (Arabic: قطاع طرابلس | Qitay Tarabulus) – Tripoli Brigade (Arabic: لواء طرابلس | Liwa' Tarabulus)
  • The Border Sector (Arabic: قطاع الحدود | Qitay al-Hudud) – Border Brigade (Arabic: لواء حرس الحدود | Liwa' Haras al-Hudud)

Branches of service

In 1983-84, Walid Jumblatt reestructed the PLA along conventional lines, comprising several branches of service and support units, organized into seven (subsequently augmented to nine) brigade-sized formations termed "Corps" (Arabic: Silah),[7] whilst its branches and specialized technical services consisted of:

  • The Infantry Corps (Arabic: سلاح المشاة | Silah al-Moushat) – First formed in 1978 and re-organized in 1984.
  • The Armored Corps (Arabic: سلاح مدرع | Silah al-Moudara'a) – Established in 1984.
  • The Artillery Corps (Arabic: سلاح المدفعية | Silah al-Madfa'aiya) – Established in 1984.
  • The Anti-Aircraft Corps (Arabic: سلاح مضاد للطائرات | Silah Moudadoun lil Tayirat) – Established in 1984.
  • The Rocket Corps (Arabic: سلاح الصواريخ | Silah al-Sawarikh) – Established in 1984.
  • The Signal Corps (Arabic: فيلق الإشارة | Faylaq al-Ichara) – Established in 1984.
  • The Logistics Corps (Arabic: سلاح اللوجستيات | Silah al-luwjustayat) – Established in 1984.
  • The Engineering and Support Regiment (Arabic: فوج الهندسة والدعم | Fawj al-Hindasat Waldem) – Established in 1984.
  • The Security Police Corps (
    Military Police and as a Gendarmerie in Druze-controlled areas to maintain law and order.[30]

Elite units

Military facilities

List of PLA Commanders

PLA Junior Commanders

Weapons and equipment

Besides

Palestinian and Syrian backing, the collapse of the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) and Internal Security Forces (ISF) in January 1976 allowed the PSP/PLA to seize some weapons and vehicles from their barracks and police stations,[50] though they received further military assistance from Libya, Iraq, Poland, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, and the USSR.[51][52][38] Additional weaponry, vehicles and other, non-lethal military equipments were procured in the international black market
.

Small-arms

PLA infantry units were provided with a variety of small arms, comprising

Beretta Model 12, Steyr MPi 69 and Remington Model 870
were employed by PLA bodyguard units.

Several models of handguns were used, such as Colt Cobra .38 Special snub-nose revolvers,[61] Colt M1911A1, Tokarev TT-33, CZ 75, FN P35 and MAB PA-15 pistols. Squad weapons consisted of Bren Mk. I .303 (7.7mm), MG 34, RPK, RPD,[61][62] PK/PKM, FN MAG[63] and M60 light machine guns, with heavier Browning M1919A4 .30 Cal, Browning M2HB .50 Cal,[64] SG-43/SGM Goryunov[56] and DShKM machine guns[56] being employed as platoon and company weapons. Soviet Dragunov SVD-63 sniper rifles[65] and SIG SG 542 assault rifles equipped with telescopic sights were used for sniping.[citation needed]

Grenade launchers and portable anti-tank weapons included

MT-13 (M1943) 160mm[67] and 240mm M-240 heavy mortars,[69] plus DKB Grad-P 122mm Light portable rocket systems,[70] SPG-9 73 mm,[71] B-10 82mm,[72] B-11 107mm and M40A1 106mm[73] recoilless rifles (often mounted on technicals
).

Armoured and transport vehicles

The PSP militia fielded by 1977 a small

autocannons.[90]

These vehicles were partially supplanted in the early 1980s by new models, such as Soviet

armoured cars,[103][104] seven US-made M48A5 main battle tanks (MBTs),[105][106][107] AMX-13 light tanks,[105] and forty-three M113 APCs[108][4]
for their own armoured corps.

The PLA's armoured units were further strengthened between 1983 and 1987 with the arrival of some 74

Lebanese Forces in 1983.[79] For logistical support, the PLA relied on Toyota Land Cruiser (J42) hardtop, Toyota Land Cruiser (J45) hardtop[46] and Nissan Patrol 160-Series (3rd generation) hardtop light pickups, Syrian-supplied Mercedes-Benz Unimog 416 and GAZ-66 light trucks, GMC C4500 medium-duty trucks, Soviet ZIL-131 (6x6) military trucks, Ural-4320 AWD (6x6) general purpose trucks,[4] captured Israeli AIL M325 Command Cars ('Nun-Nun')[113][122][123][124] and US M35A2 2½-ton (6x6) military trucks.[125] A number of Soviet BTS-4 and VT-55KS Armoured Recovery Vehicles (ARV)[126] and MAZ-537G tank transporters were also employed.[127] Volkswagen (Type 2) T3 Transporter vans were used as military ambulances.[citation needed
]

Artillery

The PLA also fielded a powerful artillery corps equipped with obsolete Soviet

Lebanese Forces in 1983-84.[142]

Yugoslav

fighter jets and one Israeli Air Force (IAF) Kfir fighter-bomber jet during the 1983–84 Mountain War (the pilot was rescued by the Lebanese Army).[146][147][148][149]

Sea craft

The

West Beirut-based Jal el Bahr "Commando" Company operated a small number of rubber inflatable dinghies that were used for seaborne infiltration operations.[31]

Aircraft

In 1988, the PLA gained his greatest trophy when a Lebanese Air Force pilot, the Druze Lieutenant Majed Karameh, defected from Adma airfield located in the East Beirut canton, and flew his Aérospatiale SA 342K Gazelle attack helicopter to the Druze-controlled Chouf, where it was impounded upon landing and transported by a PLA MAZ-537G tank transporter to the Saïd el-Khateeb Barracks at Hammana in the Baabda District. This particular helicopter appears to have never been used in combat by the PLA (since they had no aviation component, and therefore lacked the technically proficient personnel to help fly and maintain the captured airframe), which ended up being simply placed on storage at Hammana under the custody of the Druze 11th Infantry Brigade for the remainder of the Civil War.[150][127]

Administrative organization and illegal activities

The stronghold of the PSP/PLA laid in the

west Beirut, the PLA had since 1976-77 a presence at the Ain el-Mreisseh seafront quarters of Dar el-Mreisseh district and the Corniche el-Mazraa of the Msaytbeh district, and controlled since May 1985 the Druze-populated Karakol el-Druze quarter, parts of the Hamra district and a large portion of Rue Jabal el-Arab in the Watta el-Msaytbeh quarter, the latter a small Druze street that housed the PSP's main political offices in the capital city.[citation needed
]

From the Israeli withdrawal from the Chouf in 1983 to the end of the civil war in 1990, the PSP ran a highly effective and well-organized civil service, the "Civilian Administration of the Mountain" (CAM or CAOM), in the areas under its control (the Chouf and Aley Districts).[32] The CAM was set up on 1 October 1983 at Beiteddine, headed by an eight-man supreme council that included a central committee and a general congress.[151] Its own 23 bureaus staffed by 3,000 public employees provided everything from education to medical care and also employed 2,000 seasonal workers in agricultural and industrial projects in the Chouf.[16]

To finance the administration, a Druze-run Holding, the COGECO group, was made responsible for running illegal activities at the clandestine ports of Khalde and Jieh in the Iqlim al-Kharrub coastal enclave, which included the importation of fuel from Iran, drug-trafficking and gambling by a network of PSP-run Hotels and illegal Casinos. Additional revenues were generated by leaving tolls on the transit trade of agricultural products and other goods at a number of in-land PLA road checkpoints, whilst the expatriated Druze community in the United States provided financial support.[152]

Beiteddine was also the home of the PSP/PLA media services, responsible for editing its official newspaper, "The News" (Arabic: Al-Anba'a) and operated since February 1984 their own radio station, the "Voice of the Mountain" (Arabic: Iza'at Sawt al-Djabal) or "La Voix de la Montagne" in French.[153][154][155]

Controversy

Historically, the

esprit de corps and brutal methods often convinced their opponents to flee, whilst those who decided to stay and fight never lived to tell the tale.[156] However, the Lebanese Druze have also been amiable to whoever controls the Chouf region at any given time, and they were pragmatic with their dealings with foreign powers such as the Israelis, Americans and Syrians.[157]

Long-standing enemies since the 1860s, the Druze have always been at odds with the

Chouf massacres) at the towns of Moukhtara and Barouk, and at the villages of Mazraat el-Chouf, Maaser el-Chouf, Botmeh, Kfar Nabrakh, Fraydis, Machghara, Baadaran, Shurit, Ain Zhalta and Brih (St George's Church attack).[163][161][164][165]

During the

Bireh, Ras el-Matn, Maaser Beit ed-Dine, Chartoun, Ain el-Hour, Bourjayne, Fawara, and Maaser el-Chouf), slaughtered 1,500 people and drove another 50,000 out of their homes in the mountainous areas east and west of Beirut.[170][171] In retaliation, some 127 Druze civilians were killed by LF militiamen between 5–7 September at the Shahhar region, Kfarmatta, Al-Bennay, Ain Ksour, and Aabey, where the LF also desecrated the tomb of a prominent Druze religious man. It is estimated that these 'tit-for-tat' killings ultimately led to the displacement of 20,000 Druze and 163,670 Christian villagers from the Chouf.[172][173]

Like other Lebanese militias, the PLA was also involved in the assassination and kidnapping of political adversaries. In late 1976, Druze "Commandos" from the then Popular Liberation Forces (PLF) made an unsuccessful attempt on the life of

Ouza'i district of West Beirut and driven off to the Le Bristol Hotel Beirut in Rue Madame Curie, Ras Beirut, where he was temporarily held hostage.[176]

The PLA in the Lebanese Civil War

The early phase 1975–1982

Main article: Battle of the Hotels

When the

East Beirut and Mount Lebanon, battling the Lebanese Front militias at the Aley District in March–April 1976. At the former location, the PSP Popular Commandos Forces allied with the Lebanese Arab Army (LAA) battled Internal Security Forces (ISF) and Army of Free Lebanon's (AFL) units during an unsuccessful attempt to raid the AFL Headquarters at the Shukri Ghanem Barracks complex in the Fayadieh district.[178][179]

Kamal Jumblatt's opposition to the

Sunni Al-Mourabitoun militia, the LAA and the PLO inflicted heavy losses on the Syrian 3rd Armoured Division when they tried to enter Bhamdoun by force.[180][181][182][183] In 1977, PLF militia forces were also involved in the fierce fighting that engulfed the northern port city of Tripoli, clashing once again with the Christian Lebanese Front militias and the Lebanese Army.[184]

The Mountain War 1983–84

Main article: Mountain War (Lebanon)

During the

Lebanese National Salvation Front (LNSF), that rallied several Lebanese Muslim and Christian parties and militias opposed to the U.S.-sponsored May 17 Agreement with Israel. Led by Jumblatt's PSP/PLA, the alliance gathered its rivals of the Druze Yazbaki clan, the Syrian Social Nationalist Party (SSNP), the Al-Mourabitoun and the Lebanese Communist Party (LCP)/Popular Guards, which fought the LF, the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) and the U.S. Marines contingent of the Multinational Force (MNF II) in the Chouf and Aley Districts and at West Beirut between September 1983 and February 1984.[185][186][187]

During that conflict, the PSP/PLA clashed with the Lebanese Army's

Kfar Matta, Ain Ksour, and Al-Bennay in the Aley District. Druze radio operators from the PSP/PLA Signal Corps managed to intercept, alter, and retransmit Lebanese Army radio communications, which allowed them to impersonate the LAF command in east Beirut by ordering 4th Infantry Brigade units to retreat to safer positions. Simultaneously, they ordered Lebanese Army's artillery units positioned at east Beirut to shell their own troops' positions in the western Chouf, which wreaked havoc among 4th Infantry Brigade units and forced them to fall back in disorder towards the coast while being subjected to friendly fire.[188]

On 22 March 1984, Druze PLA militiamen backed by the

Shia Sixth Brigade.[191]

The War of the Camps 1985–87

Main article: War of the Camps

When the

Lebanese Forces (LF) attempts to establish bridgeheads at Damour and Sidon.[192] This alliance was short-lived, however, and as soon this battle ended, they joined in May another powerful coalition that gathered Amal and LCP/Popular Guards militia forces backed by Syria,[193] the Lebanese Army,[194] and anti-Arafat dissident Palestinian guerrilla factions pitted against an alliance of pro-Arafat Palestinian refugee camps' PLO militias, the Al-Mourabitoun, the Communist Action Organization in Lebanon (OCAL), the Sixth of February Movement and the Kurdish Democratic Party – Lebanon (KDP-L). Although the PSP/PLA had attacked and seized the Al-Mourabitoun's radio and television studios in the Mahallat Abu Shaker Party headquarters' offices located near the Gamal Abdel Nasser Mosque in the Corniche El-Mazraa district earlier in March, and helped Amal in defeating the Al-Mourabitoun after a week of heavy fighting,[195] they were reluctant to suppress altogether the PLO and KDP-L militias defending the refugee camps, preferring instead to stay out of the fight and remain militarily neutral in the subsequent conflict. Despite the PLA's "neutrality" posture, however, they did allowed the pro-Arafat Palestinian fighters to station their artillery on Druze-controlled areas in the Chouf.[citation needed
]

Between July and November 1985, the PLA battled Amal for the control of some key positions in West Beirut previously held by the Multinational Force (MNF II), until a cease-fire agreement mediated by the Syrian military intelligence chief in Lebanon, Major general Ghazi Kanaan, was signed in late November.[183] The terms of the agreement clearly favored Amal, which forced Walid Jumblatt on 24 November to publicly "reconsider" the military presence of his own PSP/PLA militia in the western sector of the Lebanese Capital.[citation needed]

In January 1987, PLA bodyguards provided protection to the Church of England's special envoy Terry Waite during his trip to West Beirut to negotiate the release of several British hostages then held by the Islamic Jihad Organization (IJO), though they were unable to prevent him of being tricked and abducted in turn by the IJO on 20 January.[196][197] Besides personal protection, the PLA also provided security to the Commodore Hotel at Rue Baalbek on the Hamra district of West Beirut – which housed many foreign correspondents on assignment in the war-torn Lebanese Capital and served as an international news media center[198] – and to the Soviet Embassy at Rue Mar Elias in the Ain el-Tineh quarter in Ras Beirut, also in West Beirut.[118][183]

The following month, the PLA and Amal again turned against each other in what became known as the "War of the Flag". The conflict was started when a PLA fighter walked to the Channel 7 TV station (French: Télé Liban – Canal 7) building in the Tallet el-Khayat sector at Msaytbeh[199] and replaced the Lebanese national flag hoisted there by the Druze five-coloured flag,[200] which was interpreted by Amal militiamen as a deliberate act of provocation.[183] A new round of brutal fighting soon spread throughout western Beirut, and although Amal forces initially managed to restore the Lebanese national flag on the Channel 7 building, they were subsequently overpowered by an alliance of PLA, LCP/Popular Guard and SSNP militias, and driven out of large portions of West Beirut. On 21-22 February, the week of fighting was ended by the arrival in West Beirut of 7,000 Syrian Commando troops under the command of Maj. Gen. Kanaan, assisted by Lebanese Internal Security Forces (ISF) gendarmes, who immediately closed over fifty militia "offices" and banned the carrying of weapons in public, detaining in the process many young men with beards suspected of being militiamen.[201]

That same year, the PLA fought again the

Christian Maronite Fifth brigade had been deployed at the strategic town of Souk El Gharb to prevent Druze artillerymen from shelling the Lebanese Capital.[202][183]

The later years 1988–1990

During the

General Michel Aoun's Lebanese Army faction at the second battle of Souk El Gharb on 13 August 1989. The 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.[203][204][205] Later on 13 October 1990, the PLA participated in the final offensive that brought a decisive end to the Lebanese Civil War, assisting Syrian Social Nationalist Party (SSNP) and LFEC militiamen and Syrian troops in the capture of Gen. Aoun's HQ at the Presidential Palace in Baabda.[183]

Disbandment

Upon the end of the war in October 1990, PSP/PLA militia forces operating in Beirut and the Chouf were ordered by the Lebanese Government on 28 March 1991 to disband and surrender their heavy weaponry by 30 April as stipulated by the Taif Agreement to the Syrian Army and the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF).[206][207] Accordingly, the PLA's military hardware was collected and delivered to two central parks under Lebanese Army and Syrian supervision, one being located at the Beiteddine barracks where all the artillery pieces were stored, and the other at the Ain Zhalta barracks where the remaining equipment that included tanks, APCs, howitzers, anti-tank guns, tank transporters and their respective trailers, cargo trucks, and truck-mounted MBRLs was stored in turn.[208][209]

A total of 3,300 former PLA militiamen, including 50 officers, requested integration into the structure of the LAF, but only 1,300 of these applicants were actually integrated. Some 800 ex-PLA fighters joined the re-formed Lebanese Army during the first stage, 160 of whom were attached to the Internal Security Forces (ISF) or the Lebanese Customs Administration. At a later stage, probably towards the beginning of 1992, an additional 500 Druze militiamen were integrated into the LAF and the ISF, with the process being completed by mid-1994.[210][207]

Despite the order to disarm, some PSP/PLA guerrilla cells from the South Sector continued to operate in southern Lebanon against the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and their South Lebanon Army (SLA) proxies in the "Security Belt" until the final Israeli pull-out in May 2000.[183] The PLA is no longer active.

Uniforms and insignia

Usually, PLA militiamen wore in the field a mix of military uniforms, western civilian clothes and traditional Druze garb,[211] though they were known to have worn a variety of battle dress, depending on whom they allied to and what other armed forces were occupying their territory.[61]

Fatigue clothing

Pakistani Brushtroke pattern
PSP Pakistani Arid Brushtroke pattern.

Besides ex-

US Army OG-107 cotton sateen utilities),[212][213] a light mustard khaki work uniform of Soviet origin was also issued to PLA combat troops, which consisted of a cotton shirt and pants. The shirt featured a six-buttoned front and two unpleated, pointed breast pockets closed by pointed flaps, was provided with shoulder straps and had long sleeves with buttoned cuffs. It was worn with matching trousers, which had two side slashed pockets, two pleated cargo pockets closed by straight, dual-buttoned flaps, and two internal pockets at the back, closed by pointed flaps.[214] Locally-produced PLO copies of Iraqi Army olive green and light khaki fatigues, which comprised a shirt with a six-buttoned front, two pleated breast pockets closed by pointed flaps, shoulder straps and long sleeves with buttoned cuffs, plus matching trousers provided with two side slashed pockets and one internal pocket at the back, were widely worn by PLA militiamen;[215][216] Syrian Army olive green fatigues were used as well.[217]

Camouflage uniforms consisted of Czechoslovakian Vz 60 "Salamander" (Mlok) pattern fatigues,[6] Iraqi Highland pattern (a.k.a. "Iraqi Woodland") fatigues, Italian M1929 Telo mimetico fatigues,[58] West German Bundeswehr 1956 Splinter pattern jackets, Syrian or PLO Lizard horizontal and vertical patterns' fatigues,[218] Syrian copies of the Pakistani Arid Brushstroke (nicknamed "Wisp") fatigues,[215] captured U.S. Woodland Battle Dress Uniforms (BDU),[61] and Palestinian Brushstroke fatigues; the latter was a PLO Brushstroke variation incorporating very dark olive and purplish-brown strokes with very long and thin brush trails on a sandy-colored background. The PLA did develop though their own unique camouflage pattern, a hybrid Lizard/Pakistani Arid Brushstroke design, which was locally produced. T-shirts in US Highland pattern were sometimes used.[219]

Syrian-supplied OG US M-1965 field jackets,[211] captured Israeli olive Dubon Parkas[220][58] and ex-PLO Iraqi copies of the Pakistan Army olive-brown woollen pullover (a.k.a. 'woolly-pully') provided with breast pockets and shoulder straps, were worn in cold weather.

Headgear

PSP Beret and Soviet-made Afghanistan War Panamka Hat
PSP Beret and Soviet-made Afghanistan War Panamanka M-38 Field Hat resting on a PLA flag.

Usual headgear consisted of ex-

kaffiyeh was also worn around the neck as a foulard or wrapped around the head to conceal identity.[215][224]

In the field, PLA infantrymen could be found wearing a variety of helmet types, consisting of Syrian-supplied East German M-56, Soviet SSh-60 and SSh-68 steel helmets or captured US M-1 and French M1951 NATO (French: Casque Mle 1951 OTAN) steel helmets, and Israeli Orlite OR-201 (Model 76) ballistic helmets.[225] Armoured crews received Soviet black tanker's padded cloth helmets or wore US fibreglass "bone dome" Combat Vehicle Crewman (CVC) T-56-6 helmets and CVC DH-132 helmets in ballistic Kevlar captured from the Lebanese Army.[citation needed]

In addition to helmets, some PLA militiamen also used captured flak jackets, either the Ballistic Nylon US M-1952/69 "Half-collar" vest[226] and the Israeli-produced Kevlar Rabintex Industries Ltd Type III RAV 200 Protective Vest (Hebrew: "Shapats").[citation needed]

Footwear

Footwear was equally diverse. Black leather combat boots initially came from Lebanese Army stocks

Lebanese Forces and high-top Pataugas olive canvas-and-rubber patrol boots.[227] Several models of civilian sneakers or "trainers" and rubber gumboots were also used by PLA militiamen.[146]

Accoutrements

Web gear consisted on the US Army M-1956 Load-Carrying Equipment (LCE) in khaki cotton canvas and the All-purpose Lightweight Individual Carrying Equipment (ALICE) in OG Nylon captured from the Lebanese Army, ChiCom chest rigs in khaki cotton fabric for the AK-47 assault rifle and the SKS semi-automatic rifle,[228] Soviet three-cell AK-47 magazine pouches in khaki or OG canvas, and even IDF olive green Nylon Ephod Combat Vests;[229] several variants of locally-made, multi-pocket chest rigs and assault vests in camouflage cloth, khaki and OG canvas or nylon were also widely used.[211] Anti-tank teams issued with the RPG-7 rocket launcher received the correspondent Soviet rocket bag models in khaki canvas, the Gunner Backpack 6SH12, the Assistant Gunner Backpack and the Munitions Bag 6SH11; Polish and East German versions in rubberized canvas were employed as well.[230]

Insignia

Apart from sector, corps and unit flags, the PLA apparently never devised a system of rank, branch or unit insignia of their own, although its personnel did wore a variety of field recognition signs. A full-colour cloth embroidered round patch bearing the PSP crest was sometimes worn on the left pocket of fatigue shirts.[231] Berets were worn with the standard PLA cap badge placed above the right eye;[58] issued in gilt metal for all-ranks, it was sometimes found pinned to Soviet sun hats, Baseball caps and even combat uniforms. White, red, olive green and black T-shirts stamped with either the PSP crest, the PLA badge, PLA unit and sub-unit insignia or the Party leaders' effigy were commonly worn by Druze fighters.[211][232]

A red cloth or plastic brassard of roughly triangular shape and attached to a shoulder strap, bearing the stamped full-colour Progressive Socialist Party crest with the initials "PSP" below in white Latin script, flanked by the inscription of the Sector to which the bearer was assigned to and surmounted by another inscription bearing "People's Liberation Army" in white Arabic script, was worn on the upper left arm (the Tanukh Brigade and Security Police Corps were issued their own versions in plastic).[58][233] A simple red cloth or plastic oval armband bearing only the PSP crest with no lettering was also used. Steel helmets painted in red, marked with white stripes at the sides and the initials "PSP" were issued to Security Police Corps' troopers assigned patrol duties in urban areas.[234]

In popular culture

The Druze PLA has made a few major film appearances, most notably in the 1981 West German anti-war film Circle of Deceit (German title: Die Fälschung), where some of its fighters appear on a night chase scene driving technicals throughout the streets of west Beirut.[235] They are also mentioned in the 1990 American military action film Navy SEALs and in the 2001 American action thriller film Spy Game, appearing on a street fighting scene set during the War of the Camps in Beirut.

PLA troops are also featured on 1980s archived TV news footage in the episode of the 2018 Al Jazeera English War Hotels documentary series dedicated to the Commodore Hotel in west Beirut.[236]

See also

Notes

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  3. ^ Abi-Chahine, The People's Liberation Army Through the Eyes of a Lens, 1975–1991 (2019), p. 14.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Sex & Abi-Chahine, Modern Conflicts 2 – The Lebanese Civil War, From 1975 to 1991 and Beyond (2021), p. 26.
  5. ^ a b Rabah, Conflict on Mount Lebanon: The Druze, the Maronites and Collective Memory (2020), p. 153.
  6. ^ a b Abi-Chahine, The People's Liberation Army Through the Eyes of a Lens, 1975–1991 (2019), p. 16.
  7. ^ a b c Abi-Chahine, The People's Liberation Army Through the Eyes of a Lens, 1975–1991 (2019), p. 13.
  8. ^ Jureidini, McLaurin, and Price, Military Operations in Selected Lebanese Built-Up Areas (1979), Appendix B, B-39.
  9. ^ a b c d e f Rabah, Conflict on Mount Lebanon: The Druze, the Maronites and Collective Memory (2020), p. 154.
  10. ^ Rabah, Conflict on Mount Lebanon: The Druze, the Maronites and Collective Memory (2020), pp. 153-154.
  11. ^ Khalidi, Conflict and Violence in Lebanon (1984), p. 77.
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  13. ^ Collelo, Lebanon: A Country Study (1989), pp. 240–241.
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  15. ^ El-Kazen, The Breakdown of the State in Lebanon (2000), p. 302.
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  29. ^ Abi-Chahine, The People's Liberation Army Through the Eyes of a Lens, 1975–1991 (2019), p. 87.
  30. ^ Abi-Chahine, The People's Liberation Army Through the Eyes of a Lens, 1975–1991 (2019), pp. 87-97.
  31. ^ a b Abi-Chahine, The People's Liberation Army Through the Eyes of a Lens, 1975–1991 (2019), pp. 40-41.
  32. ^ a b Rabah, Conflict on Mount Lebanon: The Druze, the Maronites and Collective Memory (2020), p. 284.
  33. ^ Rabah, Conflict on Mount Lebanon: The Druze, the Maronites and Collective Memory (2020), pp. 256; 284.
  34. ^ Abi-Chahine, The People's Liberation Army Through the Eyes of a Lens, 1975–1991 (2019), p. 89.
  35. ^ Abi-Chahine, The People's Liberation Army Through the Eyes of a Lens, 1975–1991 (2019), p. 33.
  36. ^ a b c Abi-Chahine, The People's Liberation Army Through the Eyes of a Lens, 1975–1991 (2019), p. 109.
  37. ^ Rabah, Conflict on Mount Lebanon: The Druze, the Maronites and Collective Memory (2020), p. 254.
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  40. ^ Abi-Chahine, The People's Liberation Army Through the Eyes of a Lens, 1975–1991 (2019), p. 35.
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  42. ^ Rabah, Conflict on Mount Lebanon: The Druze, the Maronites and Collective Memory (2020), p. 250.
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  218. ^ Abi-Chahine, The People's Liberation Army Through the Eyes of a Lens, 1975–1991 (2019), p. 49.
  219. ^ Abi-Chahine, The People's Liberation Army Through the Eyes of a Lens, 1975–1991 (2019), p. 91.
  220. ^ a b Katz, Russel, and Volstad, Armies in Lebanon (1985), p. 45, Plate G3.
  221. ^ McNab, 20th Century Military Uniforms (2002), p. 174.
  222. ^ Abi-Chahine, The People's Liberation Army Through the Eyes of a Lens, 1975–1991 (2019), p. 37.
  223. ^ Abi-Chahine, The People's Liberation Army Through the Eyes of a Lens, 1975–1991 (2019), p. 81.
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References

Further reading

External links
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