The Land Component (Dutch: Landcomponent, French: Composante terre), historically and commonly still referred to as the Belgian Army (Dutch: Landmacht, French: Armée Belge), is the land branch of the Belgian Armed Forces.

It was initially expected that as neutral buffer state with borders guaranteed by France, Britain, and Prussia, Belgium could avoid the need for an expensive permanent military, relying instead on the part-time militia of the existing Garde Civique (Civil Guard); however, the need of a regular full-time army was soon acknowledged, and the Belgian Army was promptly established.According to the Law of August 1837, the Belgian Army was to consist of:[citation needed] Note: A battalion (864 men) consists of four companies of 216 men Note: A squadron had approximately 130 horses Note: A battery has 6 guns A major reorganisation of the army had been authorised by the government in 1912, providing for a total army of 350,000 men by 1926: 150,000 in the field forces, 130,000 in fortress garrisons and 70,000 reserves and auxiliaries.

At the outbreak of war this reorganisation was nowhere near complete and only 117,000 men could be mobilised for the field forces, with the other branches equally deficient.

In 1940, the King of Belgium was the commander in chief of the Belgian Army which had a mobilised strength of 610,000 troops.

An additional three divisions were raised and trained in Northern Ireland, but the war ended before they could see action.

During the Korean War, Belgium provided combat troops for South Korea and became part of the United Nations Forces.

During the Cold War, Belgium provided the I Belgian Corps (HQ Haelen Kaserne, Junkersdorf, Lindenthal (Cologne)), consisting of the 1st Infantry Division in Liège and 16th Mechanised Division in Neheim-Hüsten, to NATO's Northern Army Group for the defence of West Germany.

The service capacity comprises the following units: Some of the regiments in the Land Component, such as the 12/13th Battalion of the Line, have names consisting of multiple elements.

To enhance organizational efficiency, the Belgian Army will, by 2032, establish a dedicated brigade for each of Belgium's major linguistic communities.

56 of the tanks were sold, about 24 will stay as historic monuments or serve as a museum pieces; the rest will be phased out or used for target practice.

[12][13] In 2008 a sale of 43 Leopard 1A5(BE) to Lebanon was concluded, but as of 2018 was not finalized due to "the absence of licensing for export from Germany.