1st Army Division (Peru)

The 1st Army Division (Spanish: I División de Ejército), formerly the Northern Army Detachment (Spanish: Agrupamiento del Norte), is a combined infantry division unit of the Peruvian Army (EP) that specialized in combat patrol in mountain forest terrain, combined arms, counterinsurgency, jungle warfare, and maneuver warfare.

1st Army Division
I División de Ejército
Country	Peru
Branch	Peruvian Army
Size	Division
Garrison	Piura
Nickname(s)	I DE
Motto(s)	Siempre victoriosos[a]
Engagements	Ecuadorian–Peruvian Border War 1941 Ecuadorian–Peruvian War Battle of Zarumilla Paquisha War Cenepa War Expropriation of La Brea y Pariñas
Commanders
Current commander	Orestes Vargas Ortiz[2]
Notable commanders	Eloy Ureta

History

General Ureta and members of the Northern Army Detachment in 1941.

Generals of the Northern Army Detachment in 1941.

First founded as a Region, its headquarters were relocated by Luis Miguel Sánchez Cerro's administration from Lambayeque to Piura in 1930.^[3] It was then reorganized under Manuel Prado's administration and renamed as the Northern Army Detachment (Spanish: Agrupamiento del Norte) in January 1941, under the command of then General Eloy Ureta.^[4] After hostilities broke out with Ecuador on July of the same year, the division took on a major role during the conflict, carrying out an offensive on the Ecuadorian coast.^[5][6]

In the 1960s, the unit was again renamed to the 1st Military Region, and again in 2003 as the Northern Military Region.^[3] In 2012, by Legislative Decree No. 1137 “Peruvian Army Law”, the military regions again became army divisions. As a result, the unit's name was again changed to its current one.^[3][7]

The division's coat of arms features a Sun of May and other features that represent certain elements of the division.^[8]

Organization

The 1st Army Division is formed by the following units:^[9]

• 1st Infantry Brigade
• 1st Cavalry Brigade
• Artillery Group Crl. José Joaquín Inclán
• 6th Jungle Brigade
• 7th Infantry Brigade
• 32nd Infantry Brigade
• 9th Armored Brigade
• 1st Services Brigade

See also

• 2nd Army Division
• 3rd Army Division
• 4th Army Division
• 5th Army Division

Notes

1. A longer version, meant to be a call and response chant, is as follows:^[1]
   I División de Ejército: "Invencible"
   Como en el año 41: "Victoria"
   Como en el año 81: "Victoria"
   Como en el año 95: "Victoria"
   Sus fronteras: "Intocables"
   Todo el norte: "Protegido"
   Viva el Perú: ¡Viva!

References

1. "Himno y Lema de la I División de Ejército". Mil.pe (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 18 December 2019. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
2. "Comandante del Comando Operacional del Norte fue reconocido en ceremonia presidida por el Jefe del Comando Conjunto de las Fuerzas Armadas". Gob.pe (in Spanish). 4 March 2022. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
3. "Reseña Histórica de la I División de Ejército". Mil.pe (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 15 January 2020. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
4. Vadillo Vila, José (18 October 2020). "La muerte del mariscal Eloy G. Ureta, héroe de Zarumilla". El Peruano. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
5. Compendio de la Historia General del Ejército del Perú (in Spanish). Biblioteca General y Aula Virtual del Ejército. 2015. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
6. Monteza Tafur, Miguel (1976). El Conflicto Militar del Perú con el Ecuador, 1941 (in Spanish). Lima: Editorial Arica. pp. 32–36. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
7. "Decreto Legislativo N° 1137 - Norma Legal Diario Oficial El Peruano". El Peruano (in Spanish). 10 December 2012. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
8. "Heráldica de la I División de Ejército". Mil.pe (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 18 December 2019. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
9. "I División de Ejército". Mil.pe (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 14 July 2018. Retrieved 30 June 2022.