Third Army (Turkey)

This article is about a field army of the Republic of Turkey. For a field army of the Ottoman Empire, see Third Army (Ottoman Empire).

Third Army
Active	October 1923-present
Country	Turkey
Size	Field Army
Part of	Turkish Army
Garrison/HQ	Erzincan
Patron	Citizens of the Republic of Turkey
Engagements	Sheikh Said rebellion Ararat rebellion
Commanders
Commander	General Ümit Dündar
Chief of staff	Major General Tayfun Özden
Notable commanders	Cevat Çobanlı (1923-1924) Kâzım İnanç (1925) İzzettin Çalışlar (1925-1933) Ali Sait Akbaytoğan (1933-1935) Kâzım Orbay (1935-1943) Mustafa Muğlalı (1943-1945) Sabit Noyan (1945-1946) Kurtcebe Noyan (1946-1948)

The Turkish Third Army is a field army of the Turkish Army and is the country's largest army.

It traces its origins to 1923, but further back, the Ninth Army Troops Inspectorate was redesignated the Third Army Troops Inspectorate on 15 June 1919.

General tr:Ragıp Gümüşpala commanded the army between 1958 and 1960.

In the days of the Soviet Union the Third Army was stationed on the Caucasus border to counter any Soviet attack by the Transcaucasus Military District. In 1973 the Army, with headquarters at Erzincan, had the 8th Corps at Elâzığ (including the 12th Infantry Division (Turkey), today 12th Mechanised Infantry Brigade at Ağrı^[1]), the 9th Corps at Erzurum (including 9th Infantry Division at Sarıkamış (which was active to at least 1996), and the 11th Corps at Trabzon.

After 1974-75 and the Turkish invasion of Cyprus 11th Corps headquarters was moved to North Cyprus.

When the Warsaw Pact and the Soviet Union broke up the General Staff decided to send 120,000 men of the Third Army to the border with Iraq. This was done in order to increase readiness against any possible crisis in the area (such as during Persian Gulf War and Iraqi War). Most of the armored, mechanized, and commando brigades are located in the central region in order to act rapidly into any scenario around Turkey's borders.^[2]

Today the Army patrols the borders with Armenia and Georgia. Some 300 men from the Third Army were sent to serve alongside the United Nations troops in Somalia (UNITAF/UNOSOM II).

9th Infantry Division was seemingly disbanded in 2005.

A Russian source in 2007 gave the following details on the army:^[3]

'..the 3rd Field Army, consist[s] of 8th and 9th Army Corps, 48th Separate Infantry Brigade, 4th Separate Armoured Brigade.

'..9th Army Corps, which has in its composition: the 3rd infantry division, 7th, 14th, 25th separate mechanized brigade, separate mechanized infantry battalion, a separate tank battalion, deployed in the area Argadan, Kagysman, Erzurum, along the Turkish-Georgian and Armenian-Turkish border. 8th Army Corps has in its composition: 10th separate infantry brigade, 1st, 12th (Ağrı), 34th, 42nd Mechanized Brigades, 9th Separate Armored Brigade and 151st Artillery Regiment IRGC (Iranian Revolutionary Guard), located along the Turkish-Iranian border.'

Order of Battle, 1941

Main article: Turkish Army order of battle in 1941

In June 1941, the Third Army was organized as follows:^[4]

Eastern Area
- IX Corps (Sarıkamış)
- Erzurum Fortified Area Command
- VIII Corps (Merzifon)
- VII Corps (Diyarbakır)
- XVIII Corps (Kars)
- Kars Fortified Area Command

External links

↑ HQ ARRC - Journal - December 2002
↑
↑ Балансируя между войной и миром (Russian)
↑ Mete Tunçay, "İkinci Dünya Savaşı'nın Başlarında (1939-1941) Türk Ordusu", Tarih ve Toplum, S. 35, Kasım 1986, p. 41. (Turkish)

Third Army order of battle 1996 - Source Conventional Forces in Europe Treaty data

Turkish Army Formations

Commands

1st Army

2nd Corps	4th Mechanized Infantry Brigade 8th Mechanized Infantry Brigade 18th Mechanized Infantry Brigade 95th Armored Brigade 102nd Artillery Regiment Corps Engineer Combat Regiment 5th Commando Brigade

3rd Corps	52nd Tactical Armored Division 2nd Armored Brigade 66th Mechanized Infantry Brigade 23rd Tactical Motorized Infantry Division 6th Motorized Infantry Regiment 23rd Motorized Infantry Regiment 47th Motorized Infantry Regiment

5th Corps	1st Armored Brigade 3rd Armored Brigade 54th Mechanized Infantry Brigade 55th Mechanized Infantry Brigade 65th Mechanized Infantry Brigade Corps Armored Cavalry Battalion 105th Artillery Regiment

2nd Army

4th Corps	28th Mechanized Infantry Brigade 58th Artillery Regiment 1st Commando Brigade 2nd Commando Brigade Presidential Guard Regiment

6th Corps	5th Armored Brigade 39th Mechanized Infantry Brigade 106th Artillery Regiment 6th Commando Brigade

7th Corps	3rd Tactical Infantry Division 34th Border Brigade 16th Mechanized Brigade 20th Mechanized Brigade 70th Mechanized Infantry Brigade 172nd Armored Brigade 2nd Motorized Infantry Brigade 6th Motorized Infantry Brigade 3rd Commando Brigade 107th Artillery Regiment Hakkari Mountain and Commando Brigade

3rd Army

8th Corps	1st Mechanized Infantry Brigade 12th Mechanized Infantry Brigade 10th Motorized Infantry Brigade 34th Motorized Infantry Brigade 49th Motorized Infantry Brigade 51st Motorized Infantry Brigade 4th Commando Brigade 108th Artillery Regiment 17th Motorized Infantry Brigade

9th Corps	9th Tactical Infantry Division 4th Armored Brigade 14th Mechanized Infantry Brigade 25th Mechanized Infantry Brigade 9th Motorized Infantry Brigade 48th Motorized Infantry Brigade 109th Artillery Regiment

Aegean Army

Cyprus Turkish Peace Force	28th Infantry Division 39th Infantry Division 14th Armoured Brigade Cyprus Special Forces Regiment Cyprus Artillery Regiment

Army units	Logistics Division 57th Artillery Training Brigade 19th Infantry Brigade 11th Motorised Infantry Brigade 5th Army Aviation School Command 2nd Infantry Regiment Commando Training School Command 3rd Infantry Training Brigade 1st Infantry Training Brigade

Turkish Army during World War II

Army	1st Army 2nd Army 3rd Army

Areas	Thrace Çatalca Istanbul and Bosphorus Dardanelles and Marmara Aegean and Mediterranean coasts East Kocaeli Syrian Border

Corps	I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X XII XVII XVIII XX Istanbul Command

Fortified Areas	Dardanelles Bosporus Çatalca Demirkapı İzmir Erzurum Kars

Infantry Divisions	1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 15 16 24 17 20 22 23 24 25 28 29 32 33 39 41 46 48 51 52 53 57 61 62 63 64 66 67 69 70 71

Other Divisions	1 Cav. 2 Cav. 14 Cav.

Brigades	26th Infantry Brigade Kırklareli Brigade 72nd Infantry Brigade Antalya Brigade 68th Infantry Brigade Independent Armored Brigade

Others	Çakmak Line 941-A Seferî Kuruluş

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