Syrian Army Brigade List 1967 and 1973

Syrian Army Brigade List 1967 and 1973

v.1.0 September 2, 2001

A current brigade list including new raisings and new divisions is available in the subscriber-paid entry for the Syrian Army.

Note: While some divisions appear to have had three organic brigades and some four, attachments increased the strength of the 3^rd Armored, and the 5^th, 7^th, and 9^th Mechanized Divisions.

That General Herzog did not list brigades appearing on Mr. Bennett's tally is not surprising, because Israeli intelligence would not have known the location of every single brigade; and in any case General Herzog was not writing a comprehensive orbat of the Syrian Army. That General Herzog has listed one brigades not on Mr. Bennett's list is also not surprising: the General could be wrong, and also Mr. Bennett has not claimed his list is complete. In a list so extensive, one discrepency is of little consequence.

While Syria fielded only five divisions in 1973, it had at least 31 brigades. Mr. Bennett notes that the divisional structure was introuduced into the Syrian Army only in 1970 and the strategic decisions taken with Eygpt that led to the 1973 War. The transformation from a brigade to a division structure was probably incomplete at the outbreak of war.

The introduction of the division, by Soviet advisors, was largely for the confrontation with Israel, on the narrow front of the Golan. Elsewhere, Syria retained independent brigades, and does so to this day. In 2001 the divisions are between the Golan and Damascus or in the Lebanon; every where else the Syrian continue to use brigades.


Brigade	Identified in
	Herzog	Bennett
		1967	1973
				Division	Brigade
			X	GHQ Reserve [Damascus Garrison]	Assad Armored Brigade
			X	9^th Mechanized Division	1^st Armored Brigade (attached)
8^th Armored Brigade		X	X	GHQ Reserve [Damascus Garrison]	8^th Armored Brigade
11^th Infantry Brigade		X	X	Central Syria	11^th Infantry Brigade
12^th Armored Brigade			X	GHQ Reserve [Damascus Garrison]	12^th Armored Brigade
14^th Armored Brigade		X	X	Between Damascus & Lebanon border	14^th Armored Brigade
			X	Between Damascus & Lebanon border	15^th Armored Brigade
17^th Armored Brigade		X	X	5^th Mechanized Division	17^th Armored Brigade (attached)
19^th Infantry Brigade		X	X	Between Damascus & Lebanon border	19^th Infantry Brigade
			X	Central Syria	32^nd Infantry Brigade
33^rd Mechanized Brigade	X		X	9^th Mechanized Division	33^rd Mechanized Brigade
42^nd Armored Brigade			X	Central Syria	42^nd Mechanized Brigade
43^rd Armored Brigade			X	9^th Mechanized Division	43^rd Armored Brigade (attached)
44^th Armored Brigade	X	X	X	1^st Armored Division [Central & South Reserve]	44^th Armored Brigade
46^th Mechanized Brigade	X		X	1^st Armored Division [Central & South Reserve]	46^th Armored Brigade
47^th Mechanized Brigade	X		X	3^rd Armored Division [Northern Reserve]	47^th Armored Brigade
51^st Armored Brigade	X		X	9^th Mechanized Division	51^st Armored Brigade (attached)
52^nd Mechanized Brigade	X		X	9^th Mechanized Division	52^nd Mechanized Brigade
			X	7^th Mechanized Division	58^th Armored Brigade (attached)
61^st Mechanized Brigade	X
			X	5^th Mechanized Division [Attached]	62^nd Armored Brigade [1^st Armored Division]
			X	3^rd Armored Division [Northern Reserve]	65^th Armored Brigade
68^th Mechanized Brigade	X		X	7^th Mechanized Division	68^th Armored Brigade (attached)
78^th Mechanized Brigade	X		X	7^th Mechanized Division	78^th Mechanized Brigade
			X	3^rd Armored Division [Northern Reserve]	82^nd Armored Brigade
85^th Mechanized Brigade	X		X	7^th Mechanized Division	85^th Mechanized Brigade
89^th Infantry Brigade		X	X	Aleppo	89^th Infantry Brigade
91^st Armored Brigade			X	Between Damascus & Lebanon border	91^st Armored Brigade
			X	5^th Mechanized Division	96^th Armored Brigade (attached)
112^th Mechanized Brigade	X		X	5^th Mechanized Division	112^nd Mechanized Brigade
123^rd Infantry Brigade		X	X	Jordanian border	123^rd Infantry Brigade
132^nd Mechanized Brigade	X		X	5^th Mechanized Division	132^nd Mechanized Brigade (attached)

Mr. Bennett adds: Some sources suggest Hertzog's 61^st Brigade was a typo error for the 62^nd, certainly the IDF maps I have seen do not list a 61^st, and there are 31 brigades in 1973 without this unit.

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