| Unit Name: | Tunisian Army |
| Native Name: | Arabic: جيش البر التونسي |
| Start Date: | 1831 |
| Size: | 90,000 active personnel and 60,000 reserves (estimation) |
| Command Structure: | Tunisian Armed Forces |
| Garrison: | Tunis |
| Garrison Label: | HQ |
| Nickname: | TAF |
| Battles: | French conquest of Tunisia Bizerte Crisis Yom Kippur War Battle of Wazzin Chaambi Operations Battle of Ben Guerdane |
| Current Commander: | General Mohamed El Ghoul |
| Current Commander Label: | Commander |
The Tunisian Land Army (Arabic: جيش البر التونسي|Jaîsh el-Barr et'Tunsi, French: Armée de terre tunisienne) is the ground component of the Tunisian Armed Forces . The Land Forces Command is located in Bizerte. The TAF itself was created on June 30, 1956.
The Land Army is the largest service branch within the Tunisian Armed Forces and has a dominant presence in the current General Staff. It is estimated to number around 90,000, in addition to 60,000 reservists for a total of 150,000 strong.
The modern army was created in the 1830s. It has seen substantive combat on one occasion: against France during the 1961 Bizerte crisis. The mission of the Tunisian army is to defend the country against any foreign attack, to allow the development of a diplomatic counterattack and encourage the involvement of the United Nations, protect Tunisian nationals around the world and participate in peacekeeping missions.
The modern Tunisian army was formed in 1831 by Al-Husayn II ibn Mahmud.
The first battalions of the regular modern Tunisian army were created at the same time as the reform of the Ottoman army and after the French conquest of Algeria in 1830.[1]
At the initiative of Minister of Hussein Bey II, Mamluk Shakir Saheb Ettabaâ, a battalion of Tunisian infantry was established in Tunis in January 1831. The next year, another battalion was raised, composed mainly of Sahelians and based in Sousse. Soldiers and officers were trained, equipped and dressed in European fashion, like the first regiments of the Ottoman army after the reforms of Sultan Mahmud II which followed the removal of the Janissary Corps.
Ahmed Bey I built on the initial reforms of the reign of his uncle, Hussein Bey II and initiated more extensive changes in both the Tunisian army and state. The former changes included the raising of Tunisia's first regular cavalry regiment in 1838, the opening of a military academy in 1840 and the creation of four conscript based regiments of infantry by 1842. Four artillery units were organised between 1838 and 1847, to be brigaded with the conscripted infantry.[2]
By 1855 the Tunisian army was divided into 7 infantry brigades spread throughout the country as listed below. Each was under the command of an Amir Liwa (Brigadier-General). From 1864 an Amir Oumar (General of Division was appointed). The numbers of each brigade varies from 1 000 to 2 000 men at different times.
Also available from 1835 to 1860 were 4 artillery brigades (topjiya) of 1000 men each, distributed as follows:
The Army also had several Tunisian irregular regiments made up of Berber tribal levies (or Zouaoua mkhaznia) spread across the country. The full strength of these irregular units reached up to 40,000 infantry and cavalry. They were based mainly in barracks at Kef, Nefza and Tunis, and were commanded by Turkish Mamluks. When the need for a regular cavalry regiment (spahis) arose, Ahmed Bey I created one regiment in 1850, based in Manouba.
The country was surrounded by 110 fortresses garrisoned by detachments ranging in strength from 50 to 200 men. These comprised infantry and some artillery. They were responsible for ensuring the safety of cities, borders and coasts, the latter under the authority of the Ministry of the Navy. These forts were also used as residences by senior officials and governors, as well as serving as prisons or granaries and depots for military supplies such as gunpowder and ammunition. Every city and large village had one of these forts.
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The Kasbah of Tunis, fortress and former residence of the Bey of Tunis, had a special status. Inherited from the Hafsid period, it was refurbished and enlarged by the Ottomans becoming their center of power. It could accommodate up to 4,000 Ottoman troops together with their weapons and equipment.It also housed the apartments of the Dey and senior officials of the Turkish troops from Tunis plus some departments of the Chancery. It was transformed into barracks by the French troops during the Protectorate and razed after Tunisian Independence.
Hammouda Pacha Bey was the first leader to give the country a military industry; with the creation of a modern cannon foundry in 1810; at Hafsia in the heart of the Medina of Tunis.The foundry was small but provided most of the guns required for Tunisia's small navy guns and proved quite effective according to the commentators of the time. However, to ensure the provision of equipment for the new Tunisian army, Ahmed Bey I provided the country with more modern factories on the European model from about 1840:
Around 1865 many of these plants were dismantled or abandoned during a financial crisis.
In 1840 a military school called the Ecole Polytechnique was established in the Bardo Palace . Several instructors were French and Italians teaching science and military technology. The school staff also included several professors from the Zitouna University. The reformer Mahmoud Kabadou taught Arabic. The school was closed in the aftermath of the Mejba revolt in 1864, for financial reasons.
During the period of the French Protectorate (1881-1956), Tunisians were recruited in significant numbers into the French Army, serving as tirailleurs (infantry) and spahis (cavalry). These units saw active service in Europe during both World Wars, as well as in Indo-China prior to 1954. The only exclusively Tunisian military force in existence under the French administration was the Beylical Guard.
On 21 June 1956 the transfer of about 9,500 Tunisian soldiers who had served in the French army and the Beylical Guard, made possible the speedy establishment of a combined arms regiment. The necessary equipment was made available to the young state from French and other sources. Of this number 25 officers, 250 warrant officers and 1,250 soldiers were veterans of the French army. On 30 June 1956 the new national Tunisian army was officially established by decree. The integration of the Beylical Guard, the induction of conscripts performing their military service as mandated in January 1957, and the recall of reservists enabled the army to expand from three to twelve battalions numbering 20,000 men in 1960. Approximately 60% of forces were used for border patrol and surveillance duties. The Tunisian army experienced combat for the first time in 1958; against French units crossing the southern border in pursuit of Algerian FLN fighters. However, the main battle experience of the Tunisian army, since its creation, occurred during the Bizerte crisis, when over 600 Tunisian soldiers were killed in combat against French forces.
Tunisia has contributed military forces to United Nations peacekeeping missions, including an army company to UNAMIR during the Rwandan Genocide. In his book Shake Hands with the Devil, Canadian force commander Roméo Dallaire gave the Tunisian soldiers high credit for their work and effort in the conflict and referred to them as his "ace in the hole".From 1960 the Tunisian army has participated in the following missions:
1,545 Tunisian soldiers have received United Nations medals for serving a minimum of 90 days as members of one or another United Nations peacekeeping missions.
During the 2011 Libyan Civil War, Tunisian forces, mostly border guards, saw some limited action when fighting between Libyan rebels and loyalist soldiers spilled over the border and clashes ensued between the Libyan Army and the Tunisian Army, resulting in at least one Tunisian civilian being injured by a Libyan rocket.
In October 2016, a British Short Term Training Team of 40 troops provided operational planning, intelligence, surveillance, and patrolling training to about 200 Tunisian personnel of the Tunisian 1st Infantry Brigade, to help Tunisia to better guard their land borders.[3] The training, provided under the auspices of the 4th Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom), involved theoretical and practical exercises.
Following the Tunisian Revolution, the army strength increased up to 90,000 men in order to face the new security challenges. However the organisation remains mainly the same compared to the pre-revolution one. Most noticed change is the adding of an Intervention Battalion in each of the three mechanized infantry Brigade. These new battalions mostly focused on anti-terror fighting was seen during 61st army anniversary parade.
Main Tunisian Army formations are as follows :
The Tunisian Army is composed of the corps of officers, NCOs and other ranks.
See main article: List of equipment of the Tunisian Army.