| Peruvian Army |
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| History |
| History of the Peruvian Army Battles of the Peruvian Army |
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ThePeruvian Army (Spanish:Ejército del Perú, abbreviatedEP) is the branch of thePeruvian Armed Forces tasked with safeguarding theindependence,sovereignty andintegrity of national territory on land throughmilitary force. Additional missions include assistance in safeguarding internal security, conductingdisaster relief operations and participating in internationalpeacekeeping operations. It celebrates the anniversary of theBattle of Ayacucho (1824) on December 9.
Military traditions in Peruvian territory go back toprehispanic times, ranging from small armed bands to the large armies assembled by theInca Empire. After theSpanish conquest, small garrisons were kept at strategic locations but no standing army existed until theBourbon reforms of the 18th century. The main purpose of this force was the defense of theViceroyalty frompirates andcorsairs as well as internalrebellions.
TheEjército del Perú was officially established on August 18, 1821, when the government of generalJosé de San Martín established theLegión Peruana de la Guardia (Peruvian Guard Legion), 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 generalSimón Bolívar, which ended victoriously in the battles ofJunín andAyacucho in 1824.
After theWar of Independence the strong position of the Army and the lack of solid political institutions meant that everyPeruvian president until 1872 held some military rank. TheEjército 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 (1828-1829) where naval victories were obtained and the blockade ofGuayaquil 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 (1836-1839), two military invasions to Bolivia and the subsequent expulsion of Bolivian troops from Peruvian soil (1828 and 1841) and a successful occupation ofEcuador (1858-1860). Starting in 1842, increased state revenues fromguano. 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 theBattle of Callao (1866). 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 againstChile in theWar of the Pacific (1879–1883). 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 presidentNicolás de Piérola. By 1900 the peacetime strength of the army was evaluated at six infantry battalions (nearly 2,000 soldiers), two regiments and four squadrons and cavalry (between six and seven hundred soldiers), and one artillery regiment (just over 500 soldiers) for a total of 3,075 personnel.[4] A military school was reportedly operating in theChorrillos District of Lima and French officers were continuing to assist in the army's reorganization.[5]
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 theGeneral Staff, the establishment of theEscuela Superior de Guerra (War College) in 1904, the creation of four military regions (North, Center, South and Orient) 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 withColombia (Colombian troops are expelled from the territory of La Pedrera in 1911 and the Peruvian Colombian war in 1933) and a victoriouswar against Ecuador (1941).
Even though the Peruvian Army was not involved inWorld War II, this conflict had a significant effect in its development, mainly through the replacement of French military influence by that of theUnited States. A US military mission started operations in 1945 followed by an influx of surplus American military equipment delivered asmilitary aid or sold at a very low cost.
Washington also established itself as the leader of continental defense through the creation of theInter-American Defense Board in 1942 and the signing of theInter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance in 1947. A parallel development was the founding in 1950 of theCentro de Altos Estudios Militares (CAEM, Center of High Military Studies) for the formation ofofficers in the major problems of the nation beyond those related to its military defense.
The Peruvian Army was the main protagonist of theGobierno Revolucionario de las Fuerzas Armadas (Revolutionary Government of the Armed Forces), an institutionalizedmilitary government that ruled the country between 1968 and 1980. During this period, defense expenditures underwent exponential growth allowing a rapid expansion of theArmed Forces and an unprecedented level of weapon acquisitions. In the early 1970s, US influence over the Army was replaced by a massive influx ofSoviet training and equipment, includingT-55 tanks, theBM-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 theterroristinsurgent groupSendero Luminoso (Shining Path) prompted the deployment of several Army units in acounter-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 Armymorale and readiness as well as a strain oncivil-military relations.
In 1981 during the government ofBelaúnde Terry, thePaquisha 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 ofAlberto Fujimori (1990–2000) saw the Army regain protagonism in the public scene, but its increased political power led to some cases ofcorruption. Theinternal conflict ceased for the most part after the capture in 1992 ofAbimael Guzmán, leader of the terrorist groupShining Path, but a briefborder war with Ecuador broke out in 1995. During this period, women were incorporated into the Army first asconscripts in 1993 and then asofficers in 1997. Army commandos had an important participation in operationChavín de Huantar which put an end to theJapanese embassy hostage crisis. In 1999, one year after the signing of a peace treaty with Ecuadorconscription was abolished and replaced by a voluntarymilitary service for both genders.
The downfall of theAlberto Fujimori regime left the Peruvian Army in a difficult state, with some of its senior officers compromised in scandals ofcorruption andhuman rights violations. Several reforms were undertaken during the presidencies ofValentín Paniagua (2000–2001) andAlejandro Toledo (2001–2006), 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 revampedMinistry of Defense. The outcome of this and other initiatives is a major factor of order, major preparation, new equipment and development of theEjército del Perú. G-3 America (G3 and Associates International Corporation) 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.
The Peruvian Ministry of Defence has awarded a US$67 million contract toGeneral Dynamics Land Systems-Canada for 32Light Armoured Vehicles (LAVs) for thePeruvian Marines. The contract was signed through the Canadian Commercial Corporation, a Crown corporation of the Government of Canada.[6] In 2016, theDefense Security Cooperation Agency of the United States made a determination to approve a possible Foreign Military Sale to Peru of 178 reconditionedStryker infantry carrier vehicles.[7] In 2023, amidst the2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the United States was reported to be pushing Central and South American countries with large quantities of Russian equipment to provide them to Ukraine, by either donating them or exchanging them for U.S. military equipment. Analysts report that Peru is a likely candidate, due to their large quantities of Russian equipment.[8]
The currentCommanding General of the Peruvian Army is GeneralRicardo Moncada Oblitas. Land forces are subordinated to theMinistry of Defense and ultimately to thePresident as Commander-in-Chief of theArmed 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.
North Military Region and 1st Division, formerly known as the Northern Army Detachment. Headquartered atPiura.[9]
Central/North Central Military Region and 2nd Division, headquartered atLima.[10]
South Military Region and 3rd division, headquartered atArequipa.[11]
4th (South Central) Military Region and Division.[12]
Eastern Military Region and 5th Division, headquartered atIquitos.[13]
| Personnel (as of 2001)[14] | |
|---|---|
| Commissioned Officers | 6,231 |
| Non-commissioned officers | 13,586 |
| Cadets | 1,090 |
| NCO in training | 1,000 |
| Enlisted | 54,321 |
| Civilians | 11,480 |
| Total | 76,228 (excl. civilians) |
| Rank group | General / flag officers | Senior officers | Junior officers | |||||||||||||||||||||
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 Peruvian Army[16] |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | ||||||||||||||
| Gran Mariscal del Perú | General de ejército | General de división | General de brigada | Coronel | Teniente coronel | Mayor | Capitán | Teniente | Subteniente | |||||||||||||||
| Rank group | Senior NCOs | Junior NCOs | Enlisted | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Peruvian Army[16] |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Suboficial primero | Suboficial segundo | Suboficial tercero | Sargento primero | Sargento segundo | Cabo | Soldado | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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