1st Corps (Syria)

Not to be confused with First Corps (Syrian rebel group).

The 1st Corps (Arabic: الفيلق الأول) 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."^[5] 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.^[3]

1st Corps
الفيلق الأول
Syrian Armed Forces Flag
Active	1985 – present[1]
Country	Syria
Allegiance	Syrian Armed Forces
Branch	Syrian Army
Type	Corps
Size	up to 45,000 soldiers[2]
Garrison/HQ	Damascus Daraa (5th Division)[2] Latakia (6th Division) Aleppo (7th Division) Daraa (9th Division) As-Suwayda (15th Division)
Engagements	Lebanese Civil War Syrian Civil War
Commanders
Current Commander	Maj. Gen. Suhail Asaad[3]
Chief of Staff	Maj. Gen. Hatem Abbas[4]

Structure in 2001

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

• 1st Corps, HQ Damascus
  • 5th Armoured Division, which included the 17th and 96th Armoured Brigades and the 112th Mechanised Brigade
  • 6th Armoured Division, with the 12th and 98th Armoured Brigades and the 11th Mechanised Brigades
  • 7th Mechanised Division, with the 58th and 68th Armoured Brigades and the 78th Mechanised Brigade
  • 8th Armoured Division, which included the 62nd and 65th Armoured Brigades and the 32nd Mechanised Brigade
  • 9th Armoured Division, with the 43rd and 91st Armoured Brigades and the 52nd Mechanised Brigade. The 52nd Armoured Brigade was reported in Daraa in May 2013.^[6]

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.^[7]

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.^[8] 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.^[9][10]

Structure in 2013

• 5th Mechanized Division^[11]
  • 112th Mechanised Brigade - Isra
  • 132nd and 15th Mechanised Brigades (Cooper 2015 says 132nd and 35th Mech Brigades)
  • 12th Armoured Brigade - Isra
  • 175th Artillery Regiment - Cooper 2015 says this regiment, at Isra equipped with the 2S1, was a cadre and never deployed outside its base, and then overrun in February 2014.^[10]
• 6th Armoured Division
  • 45th Regiment
  • 85th Brigade
  • 76th Armored Brigade - now defunct. Formerly part of 1st Division
• 7th Mechanized Division
  • 68th, 121st and 88 Mechanised Brigades
  • 78th Armoured Brigade
  • (an unspecified) Artillery Regiment (nb. Cooper 2015 identified this regiment as the 85th)^[10]
• 9th Armoured Division - Major General Yusuf Ahmed
  • 33rd, 34th and 43rd Armoured Brigades
  • 52nd Mechanised Brigade - disbanded c. 2011^[12]
  • (an unspecified) Artillery Regiment (nb. Cooper 2015 identified this regiment as the 15th)^[12]

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,^[13] but its base was reportedly overrun by rebels in February 2014.^[12]

Structure in 2019

Source:^[14]

• 5th Mechanized Division
  • 15th, 112th and 132nd Mechanized Brigades
  • 12th Armored Brigade
  • 38th Infantry Brigade^[14]
  • 59th Commando Battalion^[15]
  • 175th Artillery Regiment
• 6th Armored Division (formed in 2015)^[14]
  • 76th, 85th and 88th Armored Brigades^[16]
  • 55th Mechanized Brigade
  • 45th Special Forces Regiment
• 7th Mechanized Division
  • 88th, 90th and 121st Mechanized Brigades^[16]
  • 78th Armored Brigade
  • 70th Artillery Brigade
• 9th Armored Division
  • 34th, 43rd and 701st Armored Brigades
  • 52nd Mechanized Brigade^[17][18]
  • 467th Special Forces Regiment
  • 89th Artillery Brigade^[19]
• 15th Special Forces Division^[20]
  • 35th, 44th and 127th Special Forces Regiments^[21]
  • 404th and 405th Armored Regiments^[22]
  • 176th Artillery Battalion

Notes

• Cooper, Tom (2015). Syrian Conflagration: The Civil War 2011-2013. Middle East@War Volume 1. Helion & Co. ISBN 978-1-910294-10-9.

References

1. Samuel M. Katz, Arab Armies of the Middle East Wars, Osprey Publishing Men-at-Arms 194, 1988, 13.
2. 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. الفيلق الأول" السوري... في مواجهة كيان الاحتلال
4. Gregory Waters (30 April 2023). "M.G. Hatem Abbas now chief of staff of southern command". Twitter. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
5. Richard M. Bennett, The Syrian Military: A Primer, Middle East Intelligence Bulletin, August/September 2001.
6. "Largest Syrian Brigade Nears Breaking Point". Arutz Sheva. 16 May 2013.
7. Cordesman et al, The Military Balance and Prospects for War, 165.
8. Cooper 2015, p. 13.
9. "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.
10. Cooper 2015, p. 17.
11. Joseph Holliday, Syrian Army Doctrinal Order of Battle, Institute for the Study of War
12. Cooper 2015, p. 18.
13. "Wikimapia - Let's describe the whole world!".
14. 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.
15. "SAA's 59th Battalion (Commandos)".
16. Gregory Waters. "Current Syrian Army Deployments". International Review. Retrieved 17 October 2023.
17. "Largest Syrian Brigade Nears Breaking Point". Arutz Sheva. 16 May 2013. Archived from the original on 7 June 2013. Retrieved 7 June 2013.
18. 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.
19. Gregory Waters (12 May 2019). "Fighter from the 109th Battalion, 89th Brig of the #9th_Division KIA in #Idlib". Twitter. Retrieved 22 March 2024.
20. "Syrian Army kicks off new operation in Daraa". 8 May 2020.
21. Gregory Waters (8 April 2023). "SAA's 531st Battalion/44th Regiment/15th Division downed an HTS drone in Idlib". Twitter. Retrieved 24 February 2024.
22. Armor depot of the 404th Armored Reg, 15th Special Forces Div.