page_title: National Army of Colombia
section_title: Military reform of 1907
hierarchical_section_title: National Army of Colombia / History / 19th Century and civil wars (1819–1903) / Military reform of 1907
caption_attribution_description: English: Colombian Cadets standing at attention, Colombian military academy circa 1910
context_page_description: The National Army of Colombia is the land warfare service branch of the Military Forces of Colombia. With over 220,000 active personnel as of 2018, it is the largest and oldest service branch in Colombia, and the third largest army in the Americas after Brazil and the United States.
  It is headed by the Commander of the National Army, falls under the authority of the General Commander of the Military Forces, and is supervised by the Ministry of National Defense, which answers to the President of Colombia.
  The modern Colombian Army has its roots in the Army of the Commoners, which was formed on 7 August 1819 – before the establishment of the present day Colombia – to meet the demands of the Revolutionary War against the Spanish Empire. After their triumph against the Spanish, the Army of the Commoners disbanded, and the Congress of Angostura created the Gran Colombian Army to replace it. Throughout its history, the Colombian Army has seen action in several wars and civil conflicts, including the Gran Colombia-Peru War, the Ecuadorian–Colombian War, the Thousand Days War, and the Korean War.
context_section_description: In 1907 a military reform was carried out by President Rafael Reyes Prieto right in the aftermath of the Thousand Days War which had devastated the country economically and morally. The ministry of war hired a Chilean military mission to advise the ministry on how to professionalize the army. This led to the creation of the Colombian Military School in June 1907. The Army was then dramatically reorganized under the guise of the Chilean military mission, the Chilean army which had adopted Prussian military doctrine and uniforms since 1886 did the same to the Colombian army as Colombian troops began using Prussian military uniforms and doctrine, which is still present today in the Colombian Military Academy with ceremonial uniforms being of Prussian influence and the use of Pickelhaube helmets. The Chileans reorganized the Colombian Army into Divisions made up of a divisional HQ, 3 Infantry regiments,1 Artillery regiment, and 1 Cavalry regiment each, meanwhile, military engineers were grouped with the Infantry regiments. This military reform allowed the Colombian army to become professionalized and a truly National army was established. The army remained under the influence of the Chilean military mission until the mission left in 1914. Colombia remained neutral during World War 1 but did watch how the conflict progressed and sent military attachés to Europe after the war to study new technological advancements in aviation, infantry, cavalry, engineering and training methods.
caption: Colombian cadets circa 1910 wearing Prussian inspired uniforms introduced by the Chilean military mission
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