Armenian Army
| Army of the Republic of Armenia Հայաստանի Հանրապետության բանակ |
|
|---|---|
| Active | January 28, 1992 – Present |
| Country | Republic of Armenia |
| Type | Army |
| Role | Ground warfare |
| Size | 45,850 (including 19,950 professional and 25,900 conscripts) (2013 census) |
| Engagements |
Nagorno-Karabakh War Peacekeeping roles in Kosovo, Afghanistan and Lebanon |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders |
-Vazgen Sargsyan -Arkady Ter-Tatevosyan |
The Armenian Army (Armenian: Հայկական բանակ) is the largest branch of the Armed Forces of Armenia and consists of the ground forces responsible for the country's land-based operations. It was established in conjunction with the other components of Armenia's military on January 28, 1992, several months after the republic declared its independence from the Soviet Union. The army's first head was the former deputy commander-in-chief of the main staff of the Soviet Ground Forces, Norat Ter-Grigoryants.
Since the end of the Nagorno-Karabakh War, Armenia has committed many elements of the army to help bolster the defense and defend the unrecognized Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh from a possible renewal of hostilities with neighboring Azerbaijan. Jane's World Armies reports that both conscripts and officers from Armenia are routinely sent for duty to Karabakh, often posted to the frontline between Karabakh Armenian and Azerbaijani forces.
The Armenian army's history is described to have gone through three stages of development. It entered the first stage in February 1988, from the beginning of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, when Armenian militias were formed to combat Azerbaijani units in Nagorno-Karabakh. The second phase of the development of the army began in 1992, several months after Armenia declared its independence from the Soviet Union. Ter-Grigoryants and civilian officials in the Armenian Ministry of Defense, including Vazgen Manukyan and Vazgen Sargsyan, sought to establish a "small, well-balanced, combat-ready defense force." The third phase began after the end of the war and continues to today.
Most of the army's staff officers were members of the former Soviet military. An estimated 5,000 Armenians were serving as high-level officers in the military at the time of the collapse of the Soviet Union. Almost immediately after its independence, Armenia was embroiled in the Nagorno-Karabakh War with neighboring Azerbaijan. Intending to establish a force of 30,000 men, the army's standing force increased to 50,000 by early 1994. During the war, the military remained on high alert and bolstered defenses in the region of Zangezur, opposite the Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhichevan. Purported artillery bombardment in May 1992 from the region led to skirmishes between the two sides, including the Armenian army's incursion into several villages into Nakhichevaan.
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Wikipedia