"ZNA" redirects here. For the airport with IATA code ZNA, see Nanaimo Harbour Water Airport.
Zimbabwe National Army
National Army Flag
Founded
18 April 1980 (44 years)
Country
Zimbabwe
Type
Army
Size
25,000[1]
Part of
Zimbabwe Defence Forces
Motto(s)
"Our swords are the shield of the nation"[2]
Colors
Green, Yellow
Anniversaries
Defence Forces Day (12 August)[3]
Engagements
Military history of Zimbabwe
1980 Entumbane clashes
1981 Entumbane Uprising
Gukurahundi (Operations against Matabeleland 'dissidents'), 1982 to 1987
Mozambican Civil War, 1983 to 1992
Angolan Civil War
Somalia (UNOSOM II), 1992 to 1994
Second Congo War, 1998 to 2002
Website
www.ZNA.gov.zw
Commanders
Commander-In-Chief
President Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa
Commander of the National Army
Lieutenant General Anselem Sanyatwe
Chief of Staff, General Staff
Major General Kasirai Tazira
Chief of Staff, Administration Staff
Major General Emmanuel Matatu
Chief of Staff, Quartermaster Staff
Major General Hlanganani Dube
Notable commanders
Peter Walls
Vitalis Zvinavashe
Edzai Absolom Chimonyo
Solomon Mujuru
Constantino Chiwenga
Philip Valerio Sibanda
Military unit
The Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) is the primary branch of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces responsible for land-oriented military operations. It is the largest service branch under the Zimbabwean Joint Operations Command (JOC). The modern army has its roots in the Rhodesian Army, which was raised between 1963 and 1964 after the breakup of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland.[4] A Joint High Command created in March 1980 to oversee integration of the formerly belligerent Rhodesian Security Forces, Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army (ZANLA), and the Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA) officially established the Zimbabwe National Army in late 1980, nearly a year after the end of the Rhodesian Bush War.[5]
The mission statement of the army is "to defend the sovereignty, territorial integrity and national interests of Zimbabwe and to contribute to international peace and security" a mandate the force has been able live up to in the region.[2] It is considered an integral component of the JOC, and falls under the ultimate authority of the President of Zimbabwe. The ZNA is directed by a Chief of the Army, the senior official being an Army Chief of Staff. Zimbabwe's highest ranking army officer as of October 2023 is Lt. Gen. Anselem Sanyatwe. In 2011, Harare continued to maintain a statutory strength of 40,000 active personnel; actual numbers hover closer to 30,000.[6] ZNA reserves claim another 21,800, putting the combined component strength total at approximately 51,800.
^IISS 2019, p. 500.
^ abZimbabwe National Army Archived May 18, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
^"Zimbabwe's holidays". Archived from the original on 26 March 2014. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
^Nelson, Harold D, ed. (1983). Zimbabwe, a Country Study. Area Handbook Series (Second ed.). Washington, D.C.: Department of the Army, American University. pp. 237–272, 316. OCLC 227599708.
^Alasdair Dennis, "The Integration of Guerrilla Armies into Conventional Forces: Lessons Learnt from BMATT in Africa Archived 2005-12-29 at the Wayback Machine," South African Defence Review 5 (1992). Retrieved June 2012. Paper presented at a conference on Changing Dynamics: Military-Strategic Issues for a Future South Africa, hosted by the Institute for Defence Politics in conjunction with the Hanns Seidel Foundation, CSIR conference centre, Pretoria, 6 August 1992.
^Cite error: The named reference Mopani was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
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Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe Defence Forces