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Ethiopia Army
Constituting about 97 percent of the uniformed services,
the army was the backbone of the armed forces. In early
1991, the army was organized into five revolutionary armies,
which included thirty-one infantry divisions supported by
thirty-two tank battalions, forty artillery battalions,
twelve air defense battalions, and eight commando brigades.
The army had expanded in size from 41,000 in 1974 to 50,000
in 1977, 65,000 in 1979, and 230,000 in early 1991. Ground
order of battle was difficult to ascertain because of the
army's rapid increase in size, frequent reorganization and
redeployment of units, and constant reshuffling within the
command structure. Units from the 200,000-member People's
Militia augmented army divisions, especially in Eritrea and
Tigray. The First Revolutionary Army had headquarters in
Harer, the Second Revolutionary Army in Asmera, the Third
Revolutionary Army in Kembolcha, the Fourth Revolutionary
Army in Nekemte, and the Fifth Revolutionary Army in Gonder.
Ethiopian armored and mechanized units had approximately
1,200 T-54/55 tanks and 100 T-62 tanks, all of Soviet
manufacture, and about 1,100 armored personnel carriers
(APCs), most of which were of Soviet origin. However, combat
losses and constant resupply by the Soviet Union, East
Germany, North Korea, and other communist nations reduced
the reliability of these estimates. Artillery units
possessed a variety of Soviet-manufactured light and medium
guns and howitzers, rocket launchers, and heavy mortars. Air
defense units had quick-firing antiaircraft guns and
surface-to-air missiles.
Because training in maintenance techniques had failed to
keep pace with the influx of new equipment, weapons
maintenance by the army was poor. Moreover, Ethiopian troops
often deployed new weapons systems without understanding how
to operate them. During the late 1970s and early 1980s,
Ethiopia relied on Soviet and Cuban technicians to maintain
military equipment and to provide logistical support.
However, because of the reduction in military assistance,
spare parts, and Soviet military advisers, as well as the
withdrawal of all Cuban troops in the late 1980s, the army's
maintenance ability again deteriorated. By 1991 most army
equipment was operational only about 30 percent of the time.
Data as of 1991
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