Peruvian Army


The Peruvian Army is the branch of the Peruvian Armed Forces tasked with safeguarding the independence, sovereignty and integrity of national territory on land through military force. Additional missions include assistance in safeguarding internal security, conducting disaster relief operations and participating in international peacekeeping operations. It celebrates the anniversary of the Battle of Ayacucho on December 9.

History

Military traditions in Peruvian territory go back to prehispanic times, ranging from small armed bands to the large armies assembled by the Inca Empire. After the Spanish conquest, small garrisons were kept at strategic locations but no standing army existed until the Bourbon reforms of the 18th century. The main purpose of this force was the defense of the Viceroyalty from pirates and corsairs as well as internal rebellions.

Independence

The Ejército del Perú was officially established on August 18, 1821 when the government of general José de San Martín established the Legión Peruana de la Guardia, although some militia units had been formed before. Peruvian troops were key participants in the final campaign against Spanish rule in South America, under the leadership of general Simón Bolívar, which ended victoriously in the battles of Junín and Ayacucho in 1824.

19th century

After the War of Independence the strong position of the Army and the lack of solid political institutions meant that every Peruvian president until 1872 held some military rank. The Ejército del Perú also had a major role in the definition of national borders by participating in several wars against neighbor countries. This included a conflict against Gran Colombia where naval victories were obtained and the blockade of Guayaquil but had setbacks in Tarqui, after that an armistice is signed where it is indicated that it remains in statu quo, the Great Colombia dissolves months later product of the war with Peru, the wars of the Peru-Bolivian Confederation, two military invasions to Bolivia and the subsequent expulsion of Bolivian troops from Peruvian soil and a successful occupation of Ecuador. Starting in 1842, increased state revenues from guano. Exports allowed the expansion and modernization of the Army, as well as the consolidation of its political power. These improvements were an important factor in the defeat of a Spanish naval expedition at the Battle of Callao. However, continuous overspending and a growing public debt led to a chronic fiscal crisis in the 1870s which severely affected defense budgets. The consequent lack of military preparedness combined with bad leadership were major causes of Peru's defeat against Chile in the War of the Pacific. The reconstruction of the Army started slowly after the war due to a general lack of funds. A major turning point in this process was the arrival in 1896 of a French Military Mission contracted by president Nicolás de Piérola. By 1900 the peacetime strength of the army was evaluated at six infantry battalions, two regiments and four squadrons and cavalry, and one artillery regiment for a total of 3,075 personnel. A military school was reportedly operating in the Chorrillos District of Lima and French officers were continuing to assist in the army's reorganization.

20th century

During the early years of the 20th century the Peruvian Army underwent a series of reforms under the guidance of the French Military Mission which operated in the periods 1896–1914, 1919–1924 and 1932–1939. Changes included the streamlining of the General Staff, the establishment of the Escuela Superior de Guerra in 1904, the creation of four military regions in 1905 and a general professionalization of the military career. Improvements such as these were fundamental for the good performance of the Army in the border skirmishes with Colombia and a victorious war against Ecuador.
Even though the Peruvian Army was not involved in World War II, this conflict had a significant effect in its development, mainly through the replacement of French military influence by that of the United States. A US military mission started operations in 1945 followed by an influx of surplus American military equipment delivered as military aid or sold at a very low cost.
Washington also established itself as the leader of continental defense through the creation of the Inter-American Defense Board in 1942 and the signing of the Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance in 1947. A parallel development was the founding in 1950 of the Centro de Altos Estudios Militares for the formation of officers in the major problems of the nation beyond those related to its military defense.
The Peruvian Army was the main protagonist of the Gobierno Revolucionario de las Fuerzas Armadas, an institutionalized military government that ruled the country between 1968 and 1980. During this period, defense expenditures underwent exponential growth allowing a rapid expansion of the Armed Forces and an unprecedented level of weapon acquisitions. In the early 1970s, US influence over the Army was replaced by a massive influx of Soviet training and equipment, including T-55 tanks, the BM-21 Grad, AK series rifles and the BTR series APCs plus a new Soviet-styled national military strategy of regaining the lost southern provinces which were now part of Chile. Political power returned to the civilians in the 1980s, but the rise of the terrorist insurgent group Sendero Luminoso prompted the deployment of several Army units in a counter-insurgency role. Human rights violations associated with this intervention and a sharp decrease in the defense budget due to a general economic crisis caused serious problems for the Army morale and readiness as well as a strain on civil-military relations.
In 1981 during the government of Belaúnde Terry, the Paquisha war broke out where 3 infiltrated bases from Ecuador were detected in Peruvian territory on the source of the Comaina River, ending with the eviction and bombardment of Ecuadorian bases.
The presidency of Alberto Fujimori saw the Army regain protagonism in the public scene, but its increased political power led to some cases of corruption. The internal conflict ceased for the most part after the capture in 1992 of Abimael Guzmán, leader of the terrorist group Shining Path, but a brief border war with Ecuador broke out in 1995. During this period, women were incorporated into the Army first as conscripts in 1993 and then as officers in 1997. Army commandos had an important participation in operation Chavín de Huantar which put an end to the Japanese embassy hostage crisis. In 1999, one year after the signing of a peace treaty with Ecuador conscription was abolished and replaced by a voluntary military service for both genders.

21st century

The downfall of the Alberto Fujimori regime left the Peruvian Army in a difficult state, with some of its senior officers compromised in scandals of corruption and human rights violations. Several reforms were undertaken during the presidencies of Valentín Paniagua and Alejandro Toledo, among them the prosecution of criminal cases related to the military, the reorganization of the military rank system and an increased civilian supervision through a revamped Ministry of Defense. The outcome of this and other initiatives is a major factor of order, major preparation, new equipment and development of the Ejército del Perú. G-3 America facilitated the incorporation of new technology to eliminate or reduce terrorism. They have been working tenaciously in getting the right equipment for the Armed Forces while working with the US State Department and US companies to accomplish it.
The Ollanta Humalla administration has also had the Army engaged in training members of Peru's indigenous peoples for the duties of national defense as well as, through the BECA 18 program, helping to reduce poverty while teaching the youth of the values of national service. His term also saw the revival of the Army's modernization process with the arrival of the Type 81 MRL, pushing its BM-21s into retirement.

Organization

The current Commanding General of the Peruvian Army is General Ricardo Moncada Oblitas. Land forces are subordinated to the Ministry of Defense and ultimately to the President as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. They are organized as follows:
Operational units are assigned to one of the following military regions, which are directly subordinate to the Army General Command through the Ground Operations Command.

''Región Militar del Norte''

North Military Region and 1st Division, headquartered at Piura
Central/North Central Military Region and 2nd Division, headquartered at Lima
South Military Region and 3rd division, headquartered at Arequipa
Eastern Military Region and 5th Division, headquartered at Iquitos
4th Military Region and Division

Ranks

;Officers
;Enlisted

Equipment

Infantry weapons

Pistols

Shotguns

Assault rifles and carbines

Battle and sniper rifles

Submachine guns

Machine guns

Portable anti-materiel weapons

Vehicles

Armoured Vehicles

Light Utility Vehicles

Artillery

Anti-tank weapons

Air-defense systems

Army aviation

The Peruvian army aviation was formed in 1971 to support army ground units. A large number of MI-8 Hip Cs were purchased in the mid-1970s to provide an airborne assault assets. This led to the purchase of the MI-17 which now makes up much of the army transport fleet. A number of Aerospatiale SA 315Bs are used for training purposes, also used in the training role are nine Enstrom F28F Falcons that were received in 1992. The mainstay of long range army logistics are three AN-32s acquired in 1994.
;Aircraft Inventory

Future Equipment

Peru is expected to acquire between 120 and 170 tanks, Russian T-90S, US M1A1 Abrams, Spanish Leopard 2A4s, Chinese/Pakistani Al-Khalid-1, Chinese VT-4 and Dutch Leopard 2E6s, as well as Ukrainian T-64E and T-84 MBTs are under consideration. By September 2013, the Leopard 2A4/6 entries were disqualified due to logistical complexities. Current contenders are the Ukrainian T-84, Russian T-90S or T-80, and the American M1A1 Abrams. In late September 2013, the South Korean K2 Black Panther was entered in the competition. In October 2015, China offered the MBT-3000 tank for the competition.
Russia is pushing for the sale of 110 BTR-80A armored personnel carriers to Peru. Peru is also looking to replace its SA-3 air defense systems. Peru has requested information from Russia about the BTR-80A and BMP-3.
The Peruvian Ministry of Defence has awarded a USD$67 million contract to General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada for 32 Light Armoured Vehicles for the Peruvian Marines. The contract was signed through the Canadian Commercial Corporation, a Crown corporation of the Government of Canada.

Heroes and Patrons