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Colombian Army

Colombian National Army
Ejército Nacional de Colombia
Escudo Ejercito Nacional de Colombia.svg
Active August 19, 1819 – present
Country Colombia
Role Foreign and Domestic Defense
Size 235,538 (2009)
Garrison/HQ Colombian Ministry of Defense
Motto(s) Patria, Honor, Lealtad - ("Homeland, Honor, Loyalty")
Colors Red with Army Crest
March "Himno del Ejército"
Anniversaries August 7 (Battle of Boyacá)
Engagements Colombian Independence War
Gran Colombia–Peru War
Ecuadorian–Colombian War
Thousand Days War (Civil war)
War Against Peru
Korean War
Colombian Armed Conflict
Commanders
Commander-in-Chief President Juan Manuel Santos
Notable
commanders
Simon Bolivar,
Francisco de Paula Santander,
Gustavo Rojas Pinilla,
Harold Bedoya Pizarro,
Manuel José Bonett
Rafael Reyes Prieto
Insignia
Flag Flag of the Colombian Army.png

The National Army of Colombia (Spanish: Ejército Nacional de Colombia) is the land military force of Colombia and the largest branch of the Colombian Armed Forces. It is responsible for carrying out land-based military operations along with the Colombian Naval Infantry (Infanteria de Marina) and for protecting the Colombian state against domestic or foreign threats.

The modern Colombian Army has its roots in the Army of the Commoners (Ejército de los Comuneros), which was formed on 7 August 1819 – before the establishment of the present day Colombia – to meet the demands of the Revolutionary War against the Spanish Empire. After their triumph against the Spanish, the Congress of Angostura created the Greater Colombian Army, to replace the disbanded Commoners Army.

The Colombian Army traces its history back to the 1770s and 1780s, when the Comuneros (Commoners) – mostly descendants of Spanish and Amerindians – decided to separate from the Spanish Empire to create their own country and initiated a revolutionary war.

On July 20 of 1810, Colombia declared its independence from the Spanish Empire, a Volunteer National Guard was raised composed of infantry and cavalry units. As independence was declared, and with the Spanish driven out temporarily, a nationwide civil war known as la Patria Boba (the Foolish Fatherland) broke out from 1810 to 1816 between federalists and centralists as many cities and provinces across the country set up their own autonomous junta. The junta declared themselves sovereign from each other as result of the lack of communications between many provinces and cities due to Colombia's complicated mountain terrain. This prevented a full establishment of a regular army, and it would take 9 years before a truly national army would be formed. This gave a rise to a prolonged period of instability and Spanish were able to take advantage of this with Spanish crown sending General Pablo Morillo.


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Wikipedia

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