The Islamic National Army of Afghanistan, also referred to as the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan Army, and simply as the Afghan Army, is the land force branch of the Afghan Armed Forces. The roots of an army in Afghanistan can be traced back to the early 18th century when the Hotak dynasty was established in Kandahar followed by Ahmad Shah Durrani's rise to power. It was reorganized in 1880 during Emir Abdur Rahman Khan's reign. Afghanistan remained neutral during the First and Second World Wars. From the 1960s to the early 1990s, the Afghan Army was equipped by the Soviet Union.

After the resignation of President Mohammad Najibullah in 1992, the army effectively dissolved. In 1996 the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (Taliban regime) took power, creating their own army, which lasted until the United States invasion of Afghanistan in October–November 2001.

In mid-2001, with the Taliban dispersed, the British and the United States began creating a new Afghan National Army (ANA). By 2013, the Afghan government transferred security responsibilities from NATO to the ANA. However, over the next several years the government slowly lost territory to the Taliban, and eventually collapsed, with Kabul falling to the Taliban in 2021. The majority of training of the ANA was undertaken in the Kabul Military Training Centre. In 2019, the ANA had approximately 180,000 soldiers out of an authorized strength of 195,000. Despite its significant manpower on paper, in reality a significant portion of the Afghan National Army manpower were made up of ghost soldiers.

Following the withdrawal of U.S. and allied troops from Afghanistan in the summer of 2021, in the face of a rapid Taliban offensive, the Afghan National Army largely disintegrated. Following the escape of President Ashraf Ghani and the fall of Kabul, remaining ANA soldiers either deserted their posts or surrendered to the Taliban. Some ANA remnants reportedly joined the anti-Taliban National Resistance Front of Afghanistan in the Panjshir Valley (see Republican insurgency in Afghanistan). The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan Army is currently led by Fasihuddin Fitrat.

History

The Royal Afghan Army

thumb|150px|[[Afghans|Afghan royal soldiers of the Durrani Empire]]

Historically, Afghans have served in the army of the Ghaznavids (963–c.1187), Ghurids (1148–1215), Delhi Sultanate (1206–1527), and the Mughals (1526–1858). The Afghan Army traces its origin to the early 18th century when the Hotak dynasty rose to power in Kandahar and defeated the Persian Safavid Empire at the Battle of Gulnabad in 1722.

When Ahmad Shah Durrani formed the Durrani Empire in 1747, in general, tribes were responsible for providing troops to the king. The only national army that existed during Ahmad Shah's time consisted of small groups that functioned as royal bodyguards. The Afghan Army fought a number of battles in the Punjab region of India during the 19th century. One of the famous battles was the 1761 Battle of Panipat in which the Afghan army decisively defeated the Hindu Maratha Empire. The Afghans then fought with the Sikh Empire, until finally, the Sikh Marshal Hari Singh Nalwa died and Sikh conquests stopped. In 1839, the British successfully invaded Afghanistan and installed the exiled Shah Shujah Durrani into power. Their occupation of Afghanistan was challenged after Dost Mohammad's son, Wazir Akbar Khan and the forces he led revolted against the occupying British. By October 1841 disaffected Afghan tribes were flocking to the support of Wazir Akbar Khan in Bamian. The success of Akbar Khan's uprising led to the 1842 retreat from Kabul where the Afghan army decimated British forces, thanks to effective use of the rugged terrain and weapons such as the Jezail.

thumb|150px|left|Afghan infantry soldier in 1890

At the outbreak of the Second Anglo-Afghan War (1878–80), Ali Ahmad Jalali cites sources saying that the regular army was about 50,000 strong and consisted of 62 infantry and 16 cavalry regiments, with 324 guns mostly organized in horse and mountain artillery batteries. Jalali writes that '..although Amir Shir Ali Khan (1863–78) is widely credited for founding the modern Afghan Army, it was only under Abdur Rahman that it became a viable and effective institution.' The Library of Congress Country Study for Afghanistan states that when Abdur Rahman came to the throne circa 1880:

<blockquote>"..the army was virtually nonexistent. With the assistance of a liberal financial loan from the British, plus their aid in the form of weapons, ammunition, and other military supplies, [Abdur Rahman] began a 20-year task of creating a respectable regular force by instituting measures that formed the long-term basis of the military system. These included increasing the equalization of military obligation by setting up a system known as the hasht nafari (whereby one man in every eight between the ages of 20 and 40 took his turn at military service); constructing an arsenal in Kabul to reduce dependence on foreign sources for small arms and other ordnance; introducing supervised training courses; organizing troops into divisions, brigades, and regiments, including battalions of artillery; developing pay schedules; and introducing an elementary (and harsh) disciplinary system.</blockquote>

thumb|Afghan Army soldiers in the 1950s, wearing the iconic [[Stahlhelm]]

Further improvements to the Army were made by King Amanullah Khan in the early 20th century just before the Third Anglo-Afghan War. King Amanullah fought against the British in 1919, resulting in Afghanistan becoming fully independent after the Treaty of Rawalpindi was signed. It appears from reports of Naib Sular Abdur Rahim's career that a Cavalry Division was in existence in the 1920s, with him being posted to the division in Herat Province in 1913 and Mazar-i-Sharif after 1927. A military academy was in existence by Amanullah's reign. The Army fought the Soviet Union in the Urtatagai conflict (1925–1926) over a border island, following earlier fighting in 1913. In 1927 Afghanistan invited Turkey to send a military advisory mission, resulting in a strengthening of Afghan divisions and brigades, "augmenting each echelon headquarters with supporting staff;" and "regularizing the officer corps". The Afghan Army was expanded during King Zahir Shah's reign, starting in 1933. In 1934, soldiers of the Royal Afghan Army were also taught the Japanese martial art of Jujutsu by His Excellency Abdullah Khan, at the royal army school.

From 1949–1950 to 1961, Afghanistan-Pakistan skirmishes took place along the frontier, culminating in fighting in Bajaur Agency in September 1960. This led to a breakoff in diplomatic relations between the two countries in September 1961.

In 1953, Lieutenant General Mohammed Daoud Khan, cousin of the King who had previously served as Minister of Defence, was transferred from command of the Central Corps in Kabul to become Prime Minister of Afghanistan. The Central Corps was headquartered at Amanullah's Darulaman Palace. On the opening day of Parliament in October 1965, a violent student demonstration among which Babrak Karmal was at the forefront forced Zahir Shah's new prime minister Yousef to resign. Two students were killed when the new corps commander, General Abdul Wali, sent in troops to restore order.

left|thumb|Royal Afghan Army soldier poses for the cover of a magazine in 1969

From the 1960s to the early 1990s, the Afghan Army received training and equipment mostly from the Soviet Union. More specifically, a $100,000,000 contract was awarded to Afghanistan which led to the Afghan Army being transformed, due to the arrival and new weaponry and armour in 1958. Prime Minister Mohammad Daoud Khan, now emboldened by Soviet support, began making changes to the Afghan Army’s formations. The name of the Ministry of War was changed to the Ministry of Defence, with the Chief of Staff being given greater managerial and administrative powers. The most significant change included the addition of readiness categories known as “Type A” and “Type B”. The former being used to refer to units that were fully operational and combat-ready at all times, with complete personnel, full weaponry and combat equipment, and an active logistics system. Type B, on the other hand, was used to refer to units that weren’t fully active or operational during peacetime, being used for administration, training and as strategic reserve forces.

The 1st Central Army Corps’ divisions were all “Type A”, such as the 7th, 8th and 11th Infantry Divisions. The 2nd Army Corps (Kandahar) was “Type B”, with only one operational unit known as the 100th Division, with two other unnamed divisions being used as reserves. The divisions of the 3rd Army Corps (Paktia) were all “Type B”, such as the 12th, 14th and 35th Infantry Divisions. Under the premiership of Daoud Khan, the personnel of the Afghan Army increased to 80,000, with “Type B” units being able to be deployed within 72 hours and act as “Type A” units.

The Royal Afghan Army were photographed wearing white “snegurochka” winter suits in snowy areas of the country and also had armored riverboats in their inventory, as seen in a parade in Kabul. In February–March 1957, the first group of Soviet military specialists (about 10, including interpreters) was sent to Kabul to train Afghan officers and non-commissioned officers. At the time, there seems to have been significant Turkish influence in the Afghan Armed Forces, which waned quickly after the Soviet advisors arrived. By the late 1950s, Azimi describes three corps, each with a number of divisions, along the eastern border with Pakistan and several independent divisions.

thumb|The military emblem of the Royal Afghan Army from 1961–1974

In a 1961 manual titled “Royalist Regulations” for the Royal Afghan Army, there were illustrations of numerous branch insignias, denoting the specialities and the role of the soldier wearing them. These include:

  • “Academy” (اکادمی), worn by recruits who were still in a military academy
  • “Infantry” (پیاده), the most common insignia, worn by most soldiers who have finished training and graduated from the academy
  • “Cavalry” (سواری), worn by the Royal Afghan Army's cavalrymen on horseback
  • “Artillery” (طومي), worn by artillery men
  • “Tank”(تانک), worn by tank operators of the Royal Afghan Army's tank brigades
  • “Fortification” (استحكام), worn by soldiers involved in the construction of defensive structures
  • “Communications” (مخابره), worn by soldiers part of the army's signal regiments
  • “Gendarmerie” (شاندارم), worn by the paramilitary police force
  • “Vehicle” (نقلیه) worn by motorized/mechanized units
  • “Logistics” (لفوازير), worn by units specializing in transportation and supply
  • “Cartography” (خریطہ), worn by soldiers specializing in map-making and mapping
  • “Judicial” (قضا), worn by members of the military court
  • “Field Medic” (صحید), worn by soldiers who are qualified medics
  • “Subfield Medic” ( پرسونال فرعی صحید), worn by soldiers who distributed medicine
  • “Veterinary” (وترین), worn by veterinarians who specialized in animal care
  • “Minor Personnel” (پرسونال فرعی و ریز), worn by support staff and soldiers with specialized technical skills
  • “Instructor” (معلم), worn by personnel responsible for training recruits
  • “Chemical Warfare” (کیمیای عربی), worn by units that specialize in the use of chemical agents
  • “Engineer” (انجنیر), worn by soldiers who specialize in engineering
  • “Ordnance” (وسله پالی), worn by soldiers managing equipment such as weapons, bombs and ammunition
  • “Finance” (مالی), worn by the army's accountants who manage finances and budgeting
  • “Music” (موزیک), worn by the military band of the Royal Afghan Army

thumb|The flag of the Royal Afghan Army's military band under the Kingdom of Afghanistan The senior Soviet specialist at this time (from 29 November 1972 until 11 December 1975) was a Major General I.S. Bondarets (И.С. Бондарец), and from 1975 to 1978, the senior Soviet military adviser was Major General L.N. Gorelov. Before the [[Saur Revolution in 1978, according to Jacobs, the army included three armored divisions; infantry divisions averaging 4,500 to 8,000 men each; “two mountain infantry brigades, one artillery brigade, a guards regiment (for palace protection), three artillery regiments, two commando regiments, and a parachute battalion, which was largely grounded. All the formations were under the control of three corps level headquarters. All but three infantry divisions were facing Pakistan along a line from Bagram south to Kandahar." The guards regiment additionally performed ceremonial duties. There were 570 medium tanks, plus more Soviet T-55 tanks on order. The Afghan Army was also referred to as the Afghan Republican Army, or simply the “Republican Army”, in a Kabul Times newspaper, a few days after the 1973 Afghan coup d'état.

Socialist Afghanistan

thumb|right|250px|In 1989, the Soviet Union transferred numbers of [[Scud missiles, a tactical ballistic missile, as seen in the footage in 2004.]]

On 27 April 1978 the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan, led by Nur Mohammad Taraki, Babrak Karmal and Amin overthrew the regime of Mohammad Daoud, who was killed the next day, along with most of his family. On 1 May, Taraki became President, Prime Minister and General Secretary of the PDPA. The country was then renamed the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan (DRA), and the PDPA government lasted until April 1992.

In 1980, under President Babrak Karmal, the Ministry of Defense drafted plans to form three Spetsnaz battalions for each of the army corps. A year later, in 1981, the 203rd Separate Spetsnaz Battalion was formed (alongside the 212th, 230th and 211th) under the 1st Central Army Corps in Kabul and subordinated to KhAD-e Nezami (military intelligence). The 203rd Battalion reportedly worked alongside the Spetsnaz GRU and the Soviet Border Troops, as well as with the Soviet Airborne Forces.

The army lost much of its strength during the early stages of PDPA rule. One of the main reasons for the small size was that the Soviet military were afraid the Afghan army would defect en masse to the enemy if total personnel increased. There were several sympathisers of the mujahideen within the military. Even so, there were several elite units under the command of the Afghan army, for instance, the 26th Airborne Battalion, 444th, 37th and 38th Commando Brigades, all part of the Afghan Commando Forces. The 26th Airborne Battalion proved politically unreliable, and in 1979, they revolted against the PDPA government. As a result, the 26th Airborne Battalion was reformed and turned into the 37th Commando Battalion. In the same year, the 81st Artillery Regiment were given airborne training and converted into the 38th Commando Battalion. The Commando Brigades were, in contrast, considered reliable and were used as mobile strike forces until they sustained excessive casualties. Insurgents ambushed and inflicted heavy casualties on the 38th Commando Brigade during the Second Battle of Zhawar in Paktika Province in May 1983. After sustaining heavy casualties the commando brigades were turned into battalions.

Most soldiers were recruited for a three-year term, later extended to four-year terms in 1984.