7th Mechanized Division (Syria)

7th Mechanized Division
فرقة المشاة الآلية السابعة
Syrian Armed Forces Flag
Active1970 – present[1]
Country Syria
AllegianceMilitary of Syria
Branch1st Corps of the Syrian Army
TypeMechanized infantry
RoleConventional warfare
SizeUp to 15,000
Garrison/HQAleppo[2]
EngagementsYom Kippur War

Syrian Civil War

Commanders
Notable
commanders		Col. Gen. Ali Habib Mahmud
Brig. Gen. Omar Abrash
Maj. Gen. Hossam Louka
Maj. Gen. Saleh Abdullah[5]

The 7th Mechanized Division (Arabic: فرقة المشاة الآلية السابعة) is a division of the Syrian Arab Army, currently engaged in the Syrian Civil War. It was established in 1970.

Command structure

7th Mechanized Division (2019)[6][2]
  • 88th Mechanized Brigade
  • 90th Mechanized Brigade
  • 121st Mechanized Brigade
  • 78th Armored Brigade
  • 70th Artillery Brigade

Combat history

Yom Kippur War

The division, formed as 7th Infantry Division, was a key component of the Syrian attack force in the 1973 Yom Kippur War, involved in some of the heaviest fighting in the Golan Heights, especially in the aptly named 'Valley of Tears'. The division, with its attached armoured brigade, lost a great number of tanks when trying on many accounts to rush the Israeli defenses. Omar Abrash was serving as the division commander.

Although Syrian division had a nominal strength of around 10,000 men, 200 tanks, 72 artillery pieces and similar numbers of SAMs and anti-aircraft guns, the 7th Infantry Division had only 80% of its tanks and APCs during the war. Furthermore, although designated as an infantry division, the division was essentially mechanised.[7] Because of the extensive losses suffered by the division during the battle of the Valley of Tears, one of the division's brigades had to be pulled out of action for 3 days before being reorganized as a battalion.[8]

In 1973, the division's equipment, organisation, tactics, and training were virtually identical to those of the 5th Infantry Division during its action in Jordan.[9]

Syrian Civil War

In August 2012, Mohamed Moussa al-Khairat, reported as the division commander, defected to Jordan. In 2015, the 68th Brigade was transferred from the 7th Division to the 1st Division. Elements of the brigade also deployed with the 7th Division's 137th Artillery Regiment to Deir ez-Zor and then to Beit Jin in the second half of 2017. The 241st Mechanized Battalion of the 68th Brigade was one of the first units deployed to Deir ez-Zor in 2011. The remnants of the battalion remained here until 2017.

The 88th Brigade, long stationed in northern Hama/Idlib, became part of the newly created 6th Division of the 4th Volunteer Assault Corps in early 2015, but suffered significant losses during the opposition offensive in the spring of 2015. The rest of the 7th Division has fought almost exclusively in southern Syria since at least late 2017, although elements of the 137th Artillery Regiment have been deployed to Deir ez-Zor Governorate in March 2017.

On 10 May 2018, the SAA High Command appointed Major General Hussam Louka in charge of the reorganization of the 7th Division.[2] Louka turned the remaining four brigades of the 7th Division into "elite units" as well as moved the division’s headquarters from Damascus to Aleppo.[2] In November 2018, he was promoted again to director of the Political Security Directorate of Syria.[2]

References

  1. ^ Samuel M. Katz, Arab Armies of the Middle East Wars, Osprey Publishing Men-at-Arms 194, 1988, 13.
  2. ^ a b c d e Gregory Waters (2019-07-18). "The Lion and The Eagle: The Syrian Arab Army's Destruction and Rebirth". Middle East Institute. Archived from the original on 2019-07-21. Retrieved 2019-10-19.
  3. ^ "Over 15,000 Syrian military personnel deployed to East Ghouta for upcoming offensive". Al-Masdar News. 22 February 2018. Archived from the original on 13 May 2019. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
  4. ^ "Confirmed: Syrian Army's full order of battle for east Damascus offensive". Al-Masdar News. 18 February 2018. Archived from the original on 13 May 2019. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
  5. ^ Gregory Waters (12 September 2022). "From Tiger Forces to the 16th Brigade: Russia's evolving Syrian proxies". Middle East Institute. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
  6. ^ "Appendix 1: Structure and Command of Armed Forces and Intelligence Agencies". Human Rights Watch.
  7. ^ Dunstan, Simon (2003). The Yom Kippur War 1973: Golan Heights Pt.1. Oxford, United Kingdom: Osprey Publishing Ltd. p. 18. ISBN 1-84176-220-2.
  8. ^ Pollack, Kenneth M. (2002). Arabs at War: Military Effectiveness, 1948–1991. University of Nebraska Press. p. 491. ISBN 0-8032-8783-6.
  9. ^ Pollack, Kenneth M. (2002). Arabs at War: Military Effectiveness, 1948–1991. University of Nebraska Press. p. 345. ISBN 0-8032-8783-6.