Military traditions in Peruvian territory go back to prehispanic times, ranging from small armed bands to the large armies assembled by the Inca Empire.

Peruvian troops were key participants in the final campaign against Spanish rule in South America, under the leadership of general Simón Bolívar, which ended victoriously in the battles of Junín and Ayacucho in 1824.

After the War of Independence the strong position of the Army and the lack of solid political institutions meant that every Peruvian president until 1872 held some military rank.

This included a conflict against Gran Colombia (1828-1829) where naval victories were obtained and the blockade of Guayaquil but had setbacks in Tarqui, after that an armistice is signed where it is indicated that it remains in statu quo, the Great Colombia dissolves months later product of the war with Peru, the wars of the Peru-Bolivian Confederation (1836-1839), two military invasions to Bolivia and the subsequent expulsion of Bolivian troops from Peruvian soil (1828 and 1841) and a successful occupation of Ecuador (1858-1860).

[5] During the early years of the 20th century the Peruvian Army underwent a series of reforms under the guidance of the French Military Mission which operated in the periods 1896–1914, 1919–1924 and 1932–1939.

Even though the Peruvian Army was not involved in World War II, this conflict had a significant effect in its development, mainly through the replacement of French military influence by that of the United States.

During this period, defense expenditures underwent exponential growth allowing a rapid expansion of the Armed Forces and an unprecedented level of weapon acquisitions.

Political power returned to the civilians in the 1980s, but the rise of the terrorist insurgent group Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path) prompted the deployment of several Army units in a counter-insurgency role.

Human rights violations associated with this intervention and a sharp decrease in the defense budget due to a general economic crisis caused serious problems for the Army morale and readiness as well as a strain on civil-military relations.

The internal conflict ceased for the most part after the capture in 1992 of Abimael Guzmán, leader of the terrorist group Shining Path, but a brief border war with Ecuador broke out in 1995.

The downfall of the Alberto Fujimori regime left the Peruvian Army in a difficult state, with some of its senior officers compromised in scandals of corruption and human rights violations.

[6] In 2016, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency of the United States made a determination to approve a possible Foreign Military Sale to Peru of 178 reconditioned Stryker infantry carrier vehicles.