Royal Moroccan Army

Royal Moroccan Armed Forces Royal Armed Forces القوات الملكية المغربية
Active	November, 1956 – present
Country	Morocco
Allegiance	King of Morocco
Type	Army
Size	175,000 regular (2011 est.)[1] 150,000 reserve (2011 est.)[1]
Part of	Royal Moroccan Armed Forces
Engagements	World War I Rif War Spanish Civil War World War II First Indochina War Ifni War Sand War Six-Day War Yom Kippur War Gulf War Western Sahara War Operation Scorched Earth SFOR KFOR MINUSTAH MONUC UNOCI UNOSOM II UNOSOM I Operation Active Endeavour ISAF Joint Command[2] Operation Enduring Freedom – Trans Sahara
Commanders
King of Morocco	Mohammed VI of Morocco
Insignia
Army Insignia

The Royal Moroccan Army, officially The Royal Army (Arabic: الجيش الملكي‎, French: l'Armée Royale) is the branch of the Royal Moroccan Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations.

The army is about 175,000 troops strong. In case of war or state of siege, an additional force of 150,000 Reservists, and paramilitary forces, including 20,000 regulars of the Royal Moroccan Gendarmerie, 25,000 Auxiliary Forces and 5,000 mobile intervention corps regulars come under the Ministry of Defence command.

Army forces from Morocco have taken part in different wars and battles during the twentieth century, from World War I, to the present International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan.

History

During the period of the French protectorate of Morocco (1912–1956) large numbers of Moroccans were recruited for service in the Spahi and Tirailleur regiments of the French Army of Africa. Many served during World War I. During World War II more than 300,000 Moroccan troops (including goumier auxiliaries) served with the Free French forces in North Africa, Italy, France and Austria. The two world conflicts saw Moroccan units earning the nickname of "Todesschwalben" (death swallows) by German soldiers as they showed particular toughness on the battlefield. After the end of World War II, Moroccan troops formed part of the French Far East Expeditionary Corps engaged in the First Indochina War from 1946 to 1954.

The Spanish Army also made extensive use of Moroccan troops recruited in the Spanish Protectorate, during both the Rif War of 1921-26 and the Spanish Civil War of 1936-39. Moroccan Regulares, together with the Spanish Legion, made up Spain's elite Spanish Army of Africa. A para-military gendarmerie, known as the "Mehal-la Jalifianas" and modelled on the French goumieres, was employed within the Spanish Zone.

Other wars that Moroccan troops have taken part in include the Ifni War and Sand War.

The Royal Armed Forces were created on 14 May 1956, after the French Protectorate was dissolved.^[3] Fourteen thousand Moroccan personnel from the French Army and ten thousand from the Spanish Armed Forces transferred into the newly formed armed forces. This number was augmented by approximately 5,000 former guerrillas from the "Army of Liberation" (see below). About 2,000 French officers and NCOs remained in Morocco on short term contracts, until crash training programs at the military academies of St-Cyr, Toledo and Dar al Bayda produced sufficient numbers of Moroccan commissioned officers.

The Royal Moroccan Army fought during the Six-Day War and on the Golan front during the Yom Kippur War of 1973 (mostly in the battle for Quneitra) and intervened decisively in the 1977 conflict known as Shaba I to save Zaire's regime. The Armed Forces also took a symbolic part in the Gulf War among other Arab armies. But the Moroccan Armed Forces were mostly notable in fighting a 25-year war against the POLISARIO, an Algerian backed rebel national liberation movement seeking the independence of Western Sahara from Morocco. (Western Sahara War)

• Other recent missions and conflicts:
  • Shaba I (under Colonel Loubaris? - operation Bonite?)
  • SFOR
  • KFOR
  • MINUSTAH
  • MONUC
  • UNOCI
  • UNOSOM II
    • Battle of Mogadishu (1993)
  • UNOSOM I
  • Perejil Island crisis
  • Operation Active Endeavour
  • International Security Assistance Force Joint Command
  • Operation Enduring Freedom – Trans Sahara
  • Operation Scorched Earth

Algeria, Morocco, and other Maghreb states affected by the GSPC insurgency have been assisted in fighting Islamist militants by the United States and the United Kingdom since 2007, when Operation Enduring Freedom – Trans Sahara began.

Forces today

The Royal Moroccan Army performs annual training exercise called "African Lion" with the United States Marine Corps. The exercise is a regularly scheduled, combined U.S. - Moroccan military exercise designed to promote improved interoperability and mutual understanding of each nation's tactics, techniques, procedures, unit readiness and enhancing foreign relations.^[4]

Morocco has also been the venue for Exercise "Jebel Sahara" since September 2002, gathering elements from 33 Squadron, 230 Squadron, 18 Squadron, 27 Squadron, Joint Helicopter Force HQ from RAF Benson, 1st Battalion Royal Gibraltar Regiment and 2nd Battalion Infanterie Parachutisme of the Royal Moroccan Army. The aim of the Exercise was to increase the Support Helicopter warfighting capability in desert ‘hot and high' conditions and foster good relations between the UK and Morocco. To achieve this, the scenario consisted of a joint counter insurgency operation in the desert and mountain foothills to re-establish control and authority within a troubled region of North Africa. ^[5]

The Royal Gibraltar Regiment ran an exercise with the Moroccan 2e Brigade d'Infantere Parachutiste (2e BIP) in late 2008.^[6]

The Royal Armed Forces also take part of different international exercises as Leapfest [11], Flintlock [12], Blue Sand [13], and occasional military operations exercises with Belgium, U.A.E., Spain, France and others.

Equipment

Sources are the INSS Israel's Middle East Military Balance,^[7] World Small Arms Inventory,^[8] SIPRI Trade registres ^[9] and the The Military Balance in the Middle East by CSIS ^[10],Army-Guide.

Infantry weapons

M109A5 Howitzer from the Moroccan 15th Royal Artillery Group

Logistics and utility vehicles

Engineering and support vehicles

Tanks

APCs/AFVs

Artillery

MRLs

Air Defense Systems

Radars

Planned or considered purchases

The army's modernisation program is taking shape with the planned acquisitions of weapons such as the Chinese VT-1A, the HAWK air defense system or the Chinese MRLS AR2. Possible future weapons buys include M-1A1 Abrams main battle tanks.

References

• John Keegan "World Armies" ISBN 0-333-17236-1
• R. Hure "L'Armee d' Afrique 1830-1962"

Further reading

• Anthony Cordesman, 'A Tragedy of Arms'

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