The III Corps of the Ottoman Empire (Turkish:3üncü Kolordu or Üçüncü Kolordu) was one of the corps of the Ottoman Army. It was formed in the early 20th century during Ottoman military reforms.

It lives on today as the 3rd Corps (Turkey), retained and reorganised as part of the post-1922 Turkish Land Forces.

Formation Order of Battle, 1911 With further reorganizations of the Ottoman Army, to include the creation of corps level headquarters, by 1911 the III Corps was headquartered in Kırk Kilise. The Corps before the First Balkan War in 1911 was structured as such:Edward J. Erickson, Defeat in Detail, The Ottoman Army in the Balkans, 1912–1913, Westport, Praeger, 2003, pp. 373–374.

III Corps, Kırk Kilise 7th Infantry Division, Kırk Kilise (Miralay Hilmi) 19th Infantry Regiment, Yemen 20th Infantry Regiment, Kırk Kilise 21st Infantry Regiment, Tırnovacık 7th Rifle Battalion, Yemen 7th Field Artillery Regiment, Kırk Kilise 7th Division Band, Kırk Kilise 8th Infantry Division, Çorlu (Mirliva Celâl Pasha) 22nd Infantry Regiment, Çorlu 23rd Infantry Regiment, Saray 24th Infantry Regiment, Samakof 8th Rifle Battalion, Çorlu 8th Field Artillery Regiment, Çorlu 8th Division Band, Çorlu 9th Infantry Division, Babaeski (Miralay Kadri) 25th Infantry Regiment, Yemen 26th Infantry Regiment, Babaeski 27th Infantry Regiment, Lüleburgaz 9th Rifle Battalion, Yemen 9th Field Artillery Regiment, Lüleburgaz 9th Division Band, Babaeski Units of III Corps 3rd Rifle Regiment, Kırk Kilise 3rd Cavalry Brigade, Kırk Kilise 7th Cavalry Regiment, Çorlu 8th Cavalry Regiment, Kırk Kilise 10th Cavalry Regiment, Marmara Ereğlisi 2nd Mountain Artillery Battalion, Marmara Ereğlisi 3rd Mountain Artillery Battalion, Marmara Ereğlisi 2nd Field Howitzer Battalion, Adrianople 3rd Engineer Battalion, Adrianople 2nd Transport Battalion, Kırk Kilise Border companies x 2

Balkan Wars Order of Battle, October 17, 1912 On October 17, 1912, the corps was structured as follows:Edward J. Erickson, Defeat in Detail, The Ottoman Army in the Balkans, 1912–1913, Westport, Praeger, 2003, p. 83.

III Corps (Thrace, under the command of the Eastern Army) 7th Division, 8th Division, 9th Division Afyon Karahisar Redif Division

Order of Battle, October 29, 1912 On October 29, 1912, the corps was structured as follows:Edward J. Erickson, Defeat in Detail, The Ottoman Army in the Balkans, 1912–1913, Westport, Praeger, 2003, p. 103.

III Corps (Thrace, under the command of the Second Eastern Army) 7th Division, 8th Division, 9th Division Konya Redif Division, Amasya Redif Division

Order of Battle, November 17, 1912 On November 17, 1912, the corps was structured as follows:Edward J. Erickson, Defeat in Detail, The Ottoman Army in the Balkans, 1912–1913, Westport, Praeger, 2003, p. 128.

III Corps (Thrace, under the command of the Chataldja Army) 7th Division, 8th Division, 9th Division South Wing Detachment III Provisional Reserve Corps Selimiye Redif Division, Fatih Redif Division, Afyon Redif Division

Order of Battle, March 25, 1913 On March 25, 1913, the corps was structured as follows:Edward J. Erickson, Defeat in Detail, The Ottoman Army in the Balkans, 1912–1913, Westport, Praeger, 2003, p. 287.

III Provisional Reserve Corps (Thrace, under the command of the Chataldja Army) 3rd Division Yozgat Redif Division III Corps (Thrace, under the command of the Chataldja Army) 7th Division, 8th Division, 9th Division

Order of Battle, July 1913 III Corps 7th Division, 8th Division, 9th Division

World War I

Order of Battle, August 1914, November 1914 In August 1914, November 1914, the corps was structured as follows:Edward J. Erickson, Order to Die: A History of the Ottoman Army in the First World War, Greenwood Press, 2001, , p. 38, 43.

III Corps (Thrace) 7th Division, 8th Division, 9th Division

Order of Battle, April 1915 In late April 1915, the corps was structured as follows:Edward J. Erickson, Order to Die: A History of the Ottoman Army in the First World War, Greenwood Press, 2001, , p. 86.

III Corps (Gallipoli) 7th Division, 9th Division, 19th Division

Order of Battle, Late Summer 1915, January 1916 In late Summer 1915, January 1916, the corps was structured as follows:Edward J. Erickson, Order to Die: A History of the Ottoman Army in the First World War, Greenwood Press, 2001, , p. 109, 126.

III Corps (Gallipoli) 7th Division, 8th Division, 9th Division, 19th Division

Order of Battle, August 1916 In August 1916, the corps was structured as follows:Edward J. Erickson, Order to Die: A History of the Ottoman Army in the First World War, Greenwood Press, 2001, , p. 134.

III Corps (Caucasus) 1st Division, 7th Division, 14th Division, 53rd Division

Order of Battle, August 1917 In August 1917, the corps was structured as follows:Edward J. Erickson, Order to Die: A History of the Ottoman Army in the First World War, Greenwood Press, 2001, , p. 170.

III Corps (Syria) 24th Division, 50th Division

Order of Battle, January 1918 In January 1918, the corps was structured as follows:Edward J. Erickson, Order to Die: A History of the Ottoman Army in the First World War, Greenwood Press, 2001, , p. 181.

III Corps (Palestine) 1st Division, 19th Division, 24th Division

Order of Battle, September 1918 In September 1918, the corps was structured as follows:Edward J. Erickson, Order to Die: A History of the Ottoman Army in the First World War, Greenwood Press, 2001, , p. 197.

III Corps (Palestine) 1st Division, 11th Division

The Ottoman III Corps has been described as consisting of 7th, 8th and 9th Infantry Divisions from the beginning of the war to late April 1915 when the 19th Infantry Division was added while it was serving at Gallipoli. In August 1916 while serving in the Caucasus it is said to have consisted of 1st, 7th, 14th and 53rd Infantry Divisions and by August 1917 it formed part of the 7th Army in Palestine and made up of the 224th and 50th Infantry Divisions. By January 1918 it consisted of 1st, 19th and 24th Infantry Divisions with the 3rd Cavalry Division added in June 1918. p. 14, & Erickson 2001 tables 4.2, 5.4, 6.1, 7.1 and 7.3

After Mudros Order of Battle, November 1918 In November 1918, the corps was structured as follows:Edward J. Erickson, Order to Die: A History of the Ottoman Army in the First World War, Greenwood Press, 2001, , p. 202.

III Corps (Syria) 11th Division, 24th Division

Order of Battle, January 1919 In January 1919, the corps was structured as follows:Edward J. Erickson, Order to Die: A History of the Ottoman Army in the First World War, Greenwood Press, 2001, , p. 209.Zekeriya Türkmen, Mütareke Döneminde Ordunun Durumu ve Yeniden Yapılanması (1918-1920), Türk Tarih Kurumu Basımevi, 2001, , p. 326.

III Corps (Anatolia, Sivas, Commander: Miralay Selâhaddin Bey) 15th Division (Samsun) 9th Infantry Regiment, 13th Infantry Regiment, 15th Infantry Regiment 5th Caucasian Division (Trabzon) 13th Infantry Regiment, 45th Infantry Regiment, 56th Infantry Regiment

Sources

See also Central Army (Turkey)