People's National Army (Algeria)
| Armée Nationale Populaire الجيش الوطني الشعبي |
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|---|---|
ANP emblem
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| Active | 1962 (Formerly the Armée de Libération Nationale) |
| Country |
 Algeria
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| Branch | Army |
| Size | Total 423,500 incl paramilitary and reserve |
| Commanders | |
| Chief of Staff of the People's National Army | Ahmed Gaid Salah |
The Armée Nationale Populaire (ANP) (in Arabic : الجيش الوطني الشعبي) is the land force of the Military of Algeria. The Armée Nationale Populaire's equipment is provided by Russia, and various other countries.
The Army include two armoured and three mechanised divisions (IISS Military Balance 2007), one of which is the 8th Armoured Division based at Ras El Ma, 90 kilometres from Sidi Bel Abbes, in the 2nd Military Region. The division was formed from the 8th Armoured Brigade after 1988 (the 8th Armoured Brigade seems to have been formed in 1976). Another is the 40th Mechanised Infantry Division apparently based in the 3rd Military Region. The mission of the 40th Division is usually the protection of the Algerian-Moroccan frontier. The IISS Military Balance 2013 named one of the other mechanised divisions as the 12th.
There is also French reporting of an airborne division formed in the early 1990s. A division with five airborne regiments, seemingly similar to the French reporting, was listed in the IISS Military Balance for 2001-02 and 2006. However it was not list in the 2007 edition of the Military Balance.
After the end of the liberation war in June 1962, the first objective was to establish a logistics organization to meet the needs of the army - a structure, feed, clothe, care for and train . The directions of Stewardship, Hardware, Engineering and Health, Transport and Supply were the first to emerge. These directions, which came quickly join those of the staff of the Air Force, Navy and Education, at the Ministry, would form the backbone of the National People's Army. The bases of the general structure of the army were consolidated with the creation of the main directions, the establishment of an effective organization, the opening of schools and instruction centers and sending abroad trainees for different weapons and services.
Efforts to develop and modernize the ANP continued throughout the 1970s and 80s, at the organizational level, the formation of battalions and brigades. During the eighties, the army experienced a considerable growth. Thus, in 1986, a restructuring began, based primarily on the implementation of large units combining firepower and gradual movement, i.e. combat divisions, equipped with sophisticated weapons systems and other equipment necessary for the use and maintenance of these systems. This modernization was not just about the hardware, but included all organizational areas and combat. Thus was created the General Inspection of the PNA.
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