4th Infantry Brigade (Lebanon)

4th Infantry Brigade
Active 1982 – 1984
Country Lebanon
Allegiance  Lebanon
Branch Ground Forces
Type Light Mechanized Infantry
Role Infantry
Size Brigade
Engagements

Lebanese Civil War

  • Battle of Souk El Gharb - 1983
Commanders
General Unknown

The 4th Infantry Brigade (Lebanon) was a Lebanese Army unit that fought in the Lebanese Civil War, being active from its creation in September 1982 to its destruction in September 1983, in wake of the Mountain War.

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. In late 1982, the 4th Infantry Regiment was therefore re-organized and expanded to a brigade group numbering 2,000 men, most of whom were Maronite Christians from the Mount Lebanon region and Druzes from the Chouf.

Structure and organization

The new unit grew from an understrength battalion comprising three rifle companies to a fully equipped mechanized infantry brigade, capable of aligning an armoured battalion equipped with Panhard AML-90 armoured cars, AMX-13 light tanks and twenty-one M48A5 main battle tanks (MBTs), three mechanized infantry battalions issued with M113 and AMX-VCI armored personnel carriers (APC), plus an artillery battalion fielding US M114 155 mm howitzers and FH-70 155mm Howitzers. The Brigade also fielded a logistics battalion, equipped with US M151 1/4-Ton jeeps, Chevrolet C20 and Dodge Ram (1st generation) pickups, plus US M35A2 2½-ton (6x6) military trucks.

Combat history

The Mountain War

After linking up at Khalde with their Shi'ite Amal Movement allies, the Druze PSP/PLA militia forces drove the 4th Brigade 3½ miles south to the vicinity of Damour, in the Iqlim al-Kharrub coastal enclave, as they attempted to create a salient from Aley to the coast at Khalde, south of Beirut. Surrounded and badly mauled, the Brigade disintegrated when approximately 900 Druze enlisted men, plus 60 Officers and NCOs, deserted to join their coreligionists of Jumblatt’s PLA or SSNP militias. The remainder 1,000 or so Maronite Christian Officers’ and men fled south across the Awali River, seeking protection behind Israeli lines while leaving behind some US-made Tanks and APCs, Jeeps, trucks, Howitzers, and ammunition.[1] After reaching Sidon, the soldiers were evacuated by sea under the auspices of the Israeli Navy to East Beirut, where they enrolled in the 10th Airmobile Brigade[2] and other Christian-dominated army units.

Most of the 4th Brigade equipment was shared by several Lebanese militias, namely the Lebanese Forces (LF), the Druze PSP/PLA and the South Lebanon Army (SLA). The LF salvaged seven M48A5 MBTs,[3] five AMX-13 light tanks, twelve Panhard AML-90 armoured cars, some M113 APCs,[4] and a number of FH-70 155mm Howitzers, while the Druze militias seized several M113 APCs and AMX-13 light tanks and seven M48A5 MBTs;[5] the SLA captured a few AMX-VCIs and also seven M48A5 tanks. The LF and the PSP/PLA also seized all the Brigade's liaison and transport vehicles, which they turned into technicals armed with heavy machine guns, recoilless rifles and anti-aircraft autocannons.

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Laurence I. Barrett, Failure of a Flawed Policy, TIME Magazine, February 27, 1984. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,921522,00.html
  2. ↑ Micheletti and Debay, La 10e Brigade Heliportée, RAIDS magazine (1989), p. 21 (box).
  3. ↑ Zaloga, Tank battles of the Mid-East Wars (2) (1998), pp. 63-64.
  4. ↑ Katz and Volstad, Arab Armies of the Middle East wars 2 (1988), p. 47, Plate H4.
  5. ↑ Kassis, 30 Years of Military Vehicles in Lebanon (2003), p. 59.

References

External links

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