1st Corps
الفيلق الأول
Syrian Armed Forces Flag
Active1985 – present[1]
Country Syria
AllegianceMilitary of Syria
Branch Syrian Army
TypeCorps
Sizeup to 25,000 soldiers[2]
Garrison/HQDamascus
Daraa (5th Division)[2]
Latakia (6th Division)
Aleppo (7th Division)
Daraa (9th Division)
As-Suwayda (15th Division)
Engagements
Commanders
Current CommanderMaj. Gen. Suhail Asaad

The 1st Corps is a corps of the Syrian Army that was first formed in 1985. Richard Bennett wrote in 2001 that "three corps [were] formed in 1985 to give the Army more flexibility and to improve combat efficiency by decentralising the command structure, absorbing at least some of the lessons learned during the 1982 Lebanon War."[3] He said that the 1st Corps covered southern Syria, in particular the heavily fortified defense zone between Damascus and the Golan Heights and south to Daraa near the border with Jordan. On 29 December 2022, Major General Suhail Asaad was appointed as commander of the 1st Army Corps of the Syrian Arab Army.

Structure in 2001

Bennett's estimate of the 2001 order of battle was:

Bennett said the 1st Corps also had four independent special forces regiments, including two trained for helicopter-inserted commando operations against the Israeli signals intelligence and observation posts on Mount Hermon and elsewhere in the Golan Heights.

Cordesman et al. said from 2002 to 2005, the command of the 1st Corps was replaced three times.[5]

Tom Cooper wrote that prior to the Syrian Civil War, the 1st Corps' main role was defence against an Israeli invasion over the Golan Heights or through Jordan.[6] It had two lines of defence stretching along the cease-fire lines from 1973, and controlled over four divisions (three mechanised and one armoured), a special forces division and two independent infantry brigades (seemingly the 61st and 90th).

The corps commander Major General Faraq Shehada was seized as a prisoner of war on 29 June 2012.[7][8]

Structure in 2013

In addition, the corps still included the 61st and 90th Infantry Brigades (Independent) in 2013. Within the last one/two years, Brigade 90 has been reported in the Quneitra area,[11] but its base was reportedly overrun by rebels in February 2014.[10]

Structure in 2019

Source:[12]

Notes

  1. ^ Samuel M. Katz, Arab Armies of the Middle East Wars, Osprey Publishing Men-at-Arms 194, 1988, 13.
  2. ^ a b Waters, Gregory (18 July 2019). "The Lion and The Eagle: The Syrian Arab Army's Destruction and Rebirth". Middle East Institute. Retrieved 4 September 2019.
  3. ^ Richard M. Bennett, The Syrian Military: A Primer, Middle East Intelligence Bulletin, August/September 2001.
  4. ^ "Largest Syrian Brigade Nears Breaking Point". Arutz Sheva. 16 May 2013.
  5. ^ Cordesman et al, The Military Balance and Prospects for War, 165.
  6. ^ Cooper 2015, p. 13.
  7. ^ "Syrian Free Army say they captured two high-ranking officers". Al Jazeera. 29 June 2012. Archived from the original on 11 January 2013. Retrieved 21 July 2012.
  8. ^ a b c Cooper 2015, p. 17.
  9. ^ Joseph Holliday, Syrian Army Doctrinal Order of Battle, Institute for the Study of War
  10. ^ a b c Cooper 2015, p. 18.
  11. ^ "Wikimapia - Let's describe the whole world!".
  12. ^ a b c George Waters (18 July 2019). "The Lion and The Eagle: The Syrian Arab Army's Destruction and Rebirth". Middle East Institute. Retrieved 20 September 2022.
  13. ^ "SAA's 59th Battalion (Commandos)".
  14. ^ a b Gregory Waters. "Current Syrian Army Deployments". International Review. Retrieved 17 October 2023.
  15. ^ "Largest Syrian Brigade Nears Breaking Point". Arutz Sheva. 16 May 2013. Archived from the original on 7 June 2013. Retrieved 7 June 2013.
  16. ^ Fadel, Leith (12 September 2016). "Syrian Army restores all lost points in Golan Heights". Archived from the original on 13 September 2016. Retrieved 18 September 2016.
  17. ^ "Syrian Army kicks off new operation in Daraa". 8 May 2020.
  18. ^ Gregory Waters (8 April 2023). "SAA's 531st Battalion/44th Regiment/15th Division downed an HTS drone in Idlib". Twitter. Retrieved 24 February 2024.

References

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