Argentine Army | |
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Ejército Argentino | |
Seal of the EA.
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Active | May 29, 1810 |
Country | Argentine Republic |
Branch | Army |
Size | 38,500 active personnel (2014) 16,000 reservists (2014) |
Part of | Ministry of Defense |
Motto(s) | Born with the Fatherland in May 1810 |
March | Argentine Army Song |
Anniversaries | Army Day (29 May) |
Equipment | Equipment of the Argentine Army |
Engagements |
List
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Website | ejercito.mil.ar |
Commanders | |
Commander-in-chief | President Mauricio Macri |
Chief of General Staff | Lieutenant general Diego Luis Suñer |
Deputy Chief of General Staff | Brigadier-General Santiago Julio Ferreyra |
Insignia | |
Identification symbol |
The Argentine Army (Ejército Argentino, EA) is the land armed force branch of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic and the senior military service of the country. Under the Argentine Constitution, the President of Argentina is the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, exercising his or her command authority through the Minister of Defense.
The Army's official foundation date is May 29, 1810 (celebrated in Argentina as the Army Day), four days after the Spanish colonial administration in Buenos Aires was overthrown. The new national army was formed out of several pre-existent colonial militia units and locally manned regiments; most notably the Infantry Regiment "Patricios", which to this date is still an active unit.
As of 2014, the active element of the Argentine Army numbered some 38,500 military personnel, a reduction from over 44,000 personnel in 2010.
Several armed expeditions were sent to the Upper Peru (now Bolivia), Paraguay, Uruguay and Chile to fight Spanish forces and secure Argentina's newly gained independence. The most famous of these expeditions was the one led by General José de San Martín, who led a 5000-man army across the Andes Mountains to expel the Spaniards from Chile and later from Perú. While the other expeditions failed in their goal of bringing all the dependencies of the former Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata under the new government in Buenos Aires, they prevented the Spaniards from crushing the rebellion.
During the civil wars of the first half of the 19th century, the Argentine Army became fractionalized under the leadership of the so-called caudillos ("leaders" or "warlords"), provincial leaders who waged a war against the centralist Buenos Aires administration. However, the Army was briefly re-unified during the war with the Brazilian Empire. (1824–1827).