Syrian Arab Army a symbol of heroism and sacrifice in defense of the homeland

Since its foundation, the Syrian Arab Army has offered great sacrifices in defense of the homeland as it has always been the hope of the Syrians in defending and protecting their dignity.

The Syrian Arab Army, from the very beginning, has adhered to political events and developments in Syria, the region, and throughout the Arab nation. It has always been present at all these stations and fought dozens of battles under national headings embodying the unity of destiny between Syria and the Arab nation.

In the second decade of last century, precisely before the Great Arab revolution against the Ottoman occupation, an Arab Army started to be formed spontaneously in Syria by patriotic Syrians in conjunction with the beginning of an Arab awakening that aimed at getting rid of the Ottoman occupation. After most Arab countries won independence from the Ottoman occupation an independent Arab government was formrd in 1918 which heralded the formation of a national army whose first mission was confronting the French occupation in the battle of Maysaloun in 1920, a mission that followed by many other stations.

During its occupation of Syria, the French forces endeavored to eliminate any hope of rebuilding a national army, fearing that it would be a decisive tool that would hinder their presence in the whole Arab East, not only in Syria.

Shortly after the establishment of the Syrian Arab Army in 1945, developments in the Palestinian cause forced the establishment of the so-called Salvation Army to go to Palestine to confront the Israeli occupation. Although the Arab armies achieved limited victories, the Syrian Arab Army was able to liberate the eastern part of the Tiberias Valley and much of the Hula Plain.

The heroics of the Syrian Arab Army in defending Palestine dedicated its honorable image in the minds of all Arabs. When the tripartite aggression against Egypt by the armies of Britain, France, and the Zionist entity began in 1956, the Syrian Arab Army established  a decisive and striking presence in defense of Egypt. The Syrian naval officer, Jules Jammal, managed to cause the French naval destroyer “Jean Bart” to sink; at the same time, the units of the Syrian Arab Army blew up the oil pipelines passing through Syrian territory to prevent feeding the countries of aggression with Arab oil, which was a major reason for stopping such aggression.

After the March 8th revolution, the idea of the ideological army was enshrined, which was approved by the conferences of the Arab Socialist Baath Party before and after the revolution, and the defense of the Arab nation became a major task of the Syrian Arab Army. it countered the attacks of the Zionist entity on Jordan in 1953 and in 1967 confronted the Israeli aggression, after which the Syrian Arab Army began to build up its forces and fought a war of attrition against the enemy and supported the Palestinian resistance to take the initiative and prepare for the October Liberation War, which changed the course of events in the history of the region.

Following the Movement of Correction  in the 16th of November, 1970, led by the founding leader Hafez Al-Assad, Syria signed a military agreement with Egypt to begin the liberation war under the banner of national battle. It strengthened friendship relations with the Soviet Union to build the armed forces. The army’s strength was increased and new formations were created, introducing qualitative changes in the arming of troops by land, sea, and air as the strategic decision was taken to start the October War of Liberation on the Syrian and Egyptian fronts.

The Syrian army continued its national role, and in June of 1982, it confronted the Israeli invasion of Lebanon where the enemy suffered significant losses. The army forces succeeded in preventing the enemy from occupying the Bekaa and taking control of the Damascus-Beirut Road.

The Syrian army subsequently provided unlimited support for resistance movements in Palestine and Lebanon until the Lebanese resistance was able to achieve liberation in 2000.

Amal Farhat