10th Infantry Brigade (Lebanon)

10th Infantry Brigade
10th Infantry Brigade
Active	1984 – present
Country	Lebanon
Allegiance	Lebanon
Branch	Ground Forces
Type	Mechanized infantry
Role	Armoured warfare; Combined arms; Desert warfare; Forward observer; Maneuver warfare; Raiding; Reconnaissance; Urban warfare
Size	Brigade
Nickname(s)	the "Green Berets"
Engagements	Lebanese Civil War Battle of Souk El Gharb of September 1983; Mountain War; War of Liberation (1989–1990); War of Elimination (1990, Lebanon); October 13 massacre; Syrian civil war spillover in Lebanon Qalamoun offensive (2014); Battle of Arsal;
Commanders
Colonel	Nassib Eid
Colonel	Makhoul Hakmeh

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

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]

Structure and organization

By 1985 the 10th Brigade comprised an armoured battalion (104th) equipped with Panhard AML-90 armoured cars,^[3] AMX-13 light tanks (replaced in the 1990s by T-55A tanks donated by Syria),^[4] US M48A5 main battle tanks (MBTs), three mechanized infantry battalions (101st, 102nd, and 103rd) provisionally issued with US M113 armored personnel carriers (APC), an artillery battalion (105th) equipped with US M114 155 mm howitzers and a support company, the latter divided into one anti-tank and two heavy mortar sections equipped with French Hotchkiss-Brandt TDA MO-120-RT-61 120mm towed heavy mortars. The brigade also fielded a logistics support battalion, equipped with liaison and transport vehicles such as US M151A2 jeeps, Land-Rover long wheelbase series III, Chevrolet C20 and Dodge Ram (1st generation) pickups, plus US M35A2 2½-ton (6x6) military trucks.^[5] The Brigade's Headquarters in 1983 was located at the Shukri Ghanem Barracks in the Fayadieh District of East Beirut, and placed under the command of Colonel Nassib Eid, replaced in 1989 by Col. Makhoul Hakmeh.^[6]^[7]

Combat history

The Lebanese Civil War

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 Druze People's Liberation Army (PLA) militia led by Walid Jumblatt.^[9]

The Liberation War 1989–1990

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

The 13 October 1990 offensive and the end of the civil war

The post-civil war years 1990–present

Upon the end of the war in October 1990, the 10th Infantry Brigade was re-integrated into the structure of the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF).

Notes

^ Barak, The Lebanese Army: A National institution in a divided society (2009), p. 123.
^ "10th Infantry Brigade | Official Website of the Lebanese Army". Lebarmy.gov.lb. Retrieved 20 February 2023.
^ Dunstan, Panhard Armoured Car: 1961 Onwards (AML 60, AML 90, Eland), Enthusiasts' Manual (2019), p. 154.
^ Kinnear, Sewell & Aksenov, Soviet T-55 Main Battle Tank (2019), Appendix six: known client users of the T‑55 medium tank, p. 160.
^ "Annex C Appendix II". US Army Technical Manual of Foreign Military Sales: Battlefield Damage Assessment and Repair (PDF). Washington, D.C. 18 December 1987. p. 262. TM 9-2320-356-BD. Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 September 2012. Retrieved 15 June 2013.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^ Micheletti and Debay, La 10e Brigade Heliportée, RAIDS magazine (1989), p. 21 (box).
^ Hokayem, L'armée libanaise pendant la guerre: un instrument du pouvoir du président de la République (1975-1985) (2012), pp. 85-86.
^ Hokayem, L'armée libanaise pendant la guerre: un instrument du pouvoir du président de la République (1975-1985) (2012), pp. 85-86.
^ Hokayem, L'armée libanaise pendant la guerre: un instrument du pouvoir du président de la République (1975–1985) (2012), p. 88.
^ Collelo, Lebanon: a country study (1989), p. 224.
^ Collelo, Lebanon: a country study (1989), p. 224.
^ Middle East International No 357, 25 August 1989, Publishers Lord Mayhew, Dennis Walters MP; Jim Muir, pp. 3-4.
^ Micheletti and Debay, Victoire a Souk El Gharb – la 10e Brigade sauve le Liban, RAIDS Magazine (1989), pp. 18-24.
^ Barak, The Lebanese Army: A National Institution in a Divided Society (2009), p. 159.

References

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Are J. Knudsen, Lebanese Armed Forces: A United Army for a Divided Country?, CMI INSIGHT, November 2014 No 9, Chr. Michelsen Institute (CMI), Bergen – Norway.
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Edgar O'Ballance, Civil War in Lebanon 1975–92, Palgrave Macmillan, London 1998. ISBN 0-333-72975-7
Éric Micheletti and Yves Debay, Liban – dix jours aux cœur des combats, RAIDS Magazine No. 41, October 1989, Histoire & Collections, Paris. ISSN 0769-4814 (in French)
James Kinnear, Stephen Sewell & Andrey Aksenov, Soviet T-54 Main Battle Tank, General Military series, Osprey Publishing Ltd, Oxford 2018. ISBN 978-1-4728-3330-3
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Oren Barak, The Lebanese Army – A National institution in a divided society, State University of New York Press, Albany 2009. ISBN 978-0-7914-9345-8 – The Lebanese Army: A National Institution in a Divided Society
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Samuel M. Katz, Lee E. Russel, and Ron Volstad, Armies in Lebanon 1982–84, Men-at-Arms series 165, Osprey Publishing Ltd, London 1985. ISBN 0-85045-602-9
Samuel M. Katz and Ron Volstad, Arab Armies of the Middle East wars 2, Men-at-Arms series 194, Osprey Publishing Ltd, London 1988. ISBN 0-85045-800-5
Steven J. Zaloga, Tank battles of the Mid-East Wars (2): The wars of 1973 to the present, Concord Publications, Hong Kong 2003. ISBN 962-361-613-9 – Tank Battles of the Mid-East Wars : (2) The Wars of 1973 to the present
Simon Dunstan, Panhard Armoured Car: 1961 Onwards (AML 60, AML 90, Eland), Enthusiasts' Manual, Haynes Publishing UK, Somerset 2019. ISBN 978-1-78521-194-2
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. EAN 8435568306073