Islamic Republic of Iran Army
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The Islamic Republic of Iran Army In Iran, it is also called Artesh, which is Persian for "army." As of 2006, the regular Iranian Army was estimated to have 350,000 personnel (220,000 conscripts and 130,000 professionals), according to the CSIS.[1] Conscripts serve for 18 months and have limited military training. [2]
Iran has two parallel land forces with some integration at the command level: the regular Artesh, and the Army of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution or Pasdaran (IRGC).
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[edit] History
[edit] Antiquity
A national army of sorts has existed in Iran since the establishment of the Persian Empire. National armies usually appeared throughout the country's points of strength, while in times of weakness mercenaries and conscript armies were recruited temporarily from fiefdoms. The original core of full time troops and imperial body guards were called the Immortals, these were established in 580BC by Cyrus the Great. These were replaced by the Junishapur Shâhanshâh (King of Kings) in the Sassanid Dynasty after a period of disunity and chaos in the country. Following the Arab 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. 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.
Training over the centuries has varied wildly, however until the Qajar era it was common to see many train for combat in Zurkhaneh (Persian: House of Strength زورخانه).
[edit] The pre-revolutionary (Pahlavi) period
Following the rise of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1925 the new Imperial Iranian Army became a priority. Dramatic reforms brought in a host of western advisors and over the course of the next 50 years the army was to become the worlds 5th strongest by 1979. Throughout the 1970s the Imperial Iranian Ground Forces, as they were then known, underwent a rapid transformation and increase in strength.
In 1979 the Army was a largely mechanized and armored force of about 285,000 troops; Organized in 3 corps, with headquarters in Tehran area, in Shiraz in the south, and in Kermanshah near the Iraq border. There were additional plans for a fourth corps to be established at the Chah Bahar complex at the eastern end of the Persian Gulf. Major ground formations included 3 armored divisions (One more in organization in Sistan Baluchestan) each with six tank battalions and five mechanized infantry battalions, 3 infantry divisions, 2 Iranian Imperial Guard Divisions and 4 independent brigades (1 armored, 1 infantry, 1 airborne and 1 Special Forces) and the Army Aviation Command. These combat units, backed up by the usual complement of support units, were said to be 85 percent operational.
[edit] Post-revolution
Immediately after the 1979 revolution a series of purges gutted the core of the Army's western trained senior commanders. This left it poorly prepared when Iraq invaded Iran in the advent of Iran-Iraq War, a situation similar to that faced by the Soviet Union during the opening stages of Operation Barbarossa. A new cadre of commanders, shaped by their experiences in the war, drastically reduced reliance on foreign supplied equipment and training. Following the war the military pursued a dramatic restructuring, much of it under total secrecy. While still only a mere shadow of its pre-revolutionary self, the Artesh rapidy re-asserted its abilities and started to grow again.
[edit] 1987
In 1987, and on the verge of the end of the Iran-Iraq war the Artesh was organized as follows:
- Three mechanized divisions,
- Each of which composed of three armored and six mechanized battalions organized into three brigades
- Seven infantry divisions,
- One Special Forces division composed of four brigades,
- One airborne brigade,
- One Air Support Command,
and some independent armored brigades including infantry and a "coastal force."
[edit] Current status
Force structure, order of battle, and unit identifications for Iranian forces differ greatly among sources. It is unclear which identifications are accurate. The evolution of Iranian units over time is somewhat opaque, and rather dated wartime designations are often published, sometimes confusing brigades with divisions. During the Iran-Iraq war some brigades formed the nuclei of new divisions, and may have reverted to that status with the end of the war.
Jane's reported that the Army was commanded via three army level headquarters with 12 divisions.[3]. The IISS reported in the Military Balance 2008 that there five Corps level regional headquarters, four armoured divisions with some independent brigades, six infantry divisions with some independent brigades, one special forces brigade, two commando divisions with some independent brigades, plus an airborne brigade. There were also six artillery groups, and aviation forces. [4] The number of divisions reported has not changed for some years. Often reported formations include the 23rd Special Forces Division, established in 1993-1994, and the 55th Paratroop Division. One source reports that the 23rd Special Forces Division is amongst the most professional units in the Iranian Army, with 5,000 regulars soldiers and strictly no conscripts.
The regular armoured divisions are sub-divided into three brigades.
The regular army also 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 defense units, a growing number of air defense 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 Iran-Iraq War. This formation is said to include the 29th Special Forces Division, which was formed in 1993-1994, and the 55th Paratroop Division. Other sources[who?] claim that the commando forces of the regular army and 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.
[edit] Equipment
The main battle tank of Iran is the Zulfiqar MBT, named after a legendary sword. Born as the brainchild of Brigadier General Mir-Younes Masoumzadeh, deputy ground force commander for research and self-sufficiency of the armed forces, the Iranian Zulfiqar [Zolfaqar] main battle tank is developed from major components of the American M-48 tank. One of the features of the Zulfiqar tank which has drawn the attention of the Defense Ministry is that indigenously-made parts have been used in it. The testing prototypes of the tank were tested in 1993. Six semi-industrial prototypes of the tank were produced and tested in 1997. The IISS estimates that 100 are now in service.[5]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ "Iranian Armed Forces, CSIS (Page 14)", 2006-07-25.
- ^ Untitled Document
- ^ Untitled Document, probably originally from Jane's World Armies. post 2004
- ^ IISS Military Balance 2008, p.242
- ^ IISS Military Balance 2007, p.224
[edit] External links
- First Persian Military Web Site
- Iranian Military Pictures & videos
- Iran Military Multimedia and Forum
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