The III Hellenic Army Corps / NATO Rapid Deployable Corps – Greece, abbreviated NRDC-GR (Greek: Γ' Σωμα Στρατού), is an operational headquarters of the

Hellenic Army The Hellenic Army ( el, Ελληνικός Στρατός, Ellinikós Stratós, sometimes abbreviated as ΕΣ), formed in 1828, is the land force of Greece. The term ''Hellenic'' is the endogenous synonym for ''Greek''. The Hellenic Army is the ...

, intended for the direction of international operations undertaken by the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

and

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

. The HQ was originally going to replace the III Army Corps of the

altogether, taking control of its rapid response units, but this was changed in 2009, so that the two HQs essentially co-exist as a joint formation, each controlling different units of the old Army Corps. The Corps is based in the city of

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area, and the capi ...

since 1946.

Mission

NDC-GR will provide the HQ capabilities for sustainment and rotation for prolonged operations. In order to operate throughout the entire spectrum of

missions which may range from high to low intensity, an FLR(L) HQ must be able to fulfill the two broad functions of sustaining/rotating an HRF(L) HQ or as an AJFCC. NDC-GR HQ will be declared to NATO and will be placed under OPCOM to

SACEUR The Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) is the commander of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO) Allied Command Operations (ACO) and head of ACO's headquarters, Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE). The commander is ...

once the

North Atlantic Council The North Atlantic Council (NAC) is the principal political decision-making body of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), consisting of permanent representatives of its member countries. It was established by Article 9 of the North A ...

has agreed upon a mission. The HQ can be deployed as an FLR (L) HQ Alliance-wide and beyond. It will be able to operate throughout the entire mission spectrum, ranging from PSO up to high intensity combat operations in any physical environment.

History

III Army Corps was founded after the

Balkan Wars The Balkan Wars refers to a series of two conflicts that took place in the Balkan States in 1912 and 1913. In the First Balkan War, the four Balkan States of Greece, Serbia, Montenegro and Bulgaria declared war upon the Ottoman Empire and defe ...

, on 16 August 1913 (O.S.), provisionally based at

Ioannina Ioannina ( el, Ιωάννινα ' ), often called Yannena ( ' ) within Greece, is the capital and largest city of the Ioannina regional unit and of Epirus, an administrative region in north-western Greece. According to the 2011 census, the c ...

and comprising the 2nd Infantry Division at

Missolonghi Missolonghi or Messolonghi ( el, Μεσολόγγι, ) is a municipality of 34,416 people (according to the 2011 census) in western Greece. The town is the capital of Aetolia-Acarnania regional unit, and the seat of the municipality of Iera Polis ...

, the 3rd Infantry Division at Korytsa, and the 9th Infantry Division at Ioannina. Headquarters of the Third Army Corps, Thessalonki

A new royal decree on 23 December 1913 (O.S.) finalized the peace-time structure of the Hellenic Army, and III Corps was moved to its new base at

, comprising the 10th Infantry Division at

Veroia Veria ( el, Βέροια or Βέρροια), officially transliterated Veroia, historically also spelled Berea or Berœa, is a city in Central Macedonia, in the geographic region of Macedonia, northern Greece, capital of the regional unit of I ...

, 11th Infantry Division at Thessaloniki, and 12th Infantry Division at

Kozani Kozani ( el, Κοζάνη, ) is a city in northern Greece, capital of Kozani (regional unit), Kozani regional unit and of Western Macedonia. It is located in the western part of Macedonia (Greece), Macedonia, in the northern part of the Aliakmona ...

, as well as the necessary corps units (5th Field Artillery Regiment, III Sappers Regiment, III Nursing Regiment and III Transport battalion). III Corps remained at Thessaloniki until October 1916, when the establishment of the pro-

entente Entente, meaning a diplomatic "understanding", may refer to a number of agreements: History * Entente (alliance), a type of treaty or military alliance where the signatories promise to consult each other or to cooperate with each other in case o ...

Provisional Government of National Defence The Provisional Government of National Defence (), also known as the State of Thessaloniki (Κράτος της Θεσσαλονίκης), was a parallel administration, set up in the city of Thessaloniki by former Prime Minister Eleftherios Ve ...

in the city finalized the

National Schism The National Schism ( el, Εθνικός Διχασμός, Ethnikós Dichasmós), also sometimes called The Great Division, was a series of disagreements between Constantine I of Greece, King Constantine I and Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizel ...

. The entente powers demanded and secured the withdrawal of the loyalist formations to

Thessaly Thessaly ( el, Θεσσαλία, translit=Thessalía, ; ancient Thessalian: , ) is a traditional geographic and modern administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, Thes ...

, where III Corps was based in Tsaritsaina, and after the ''

Noemvriana The ''Noemvriana'' ( el, Νοεμβριανά, "November Events") of , or the Greek Vespers, was a political dispute which led to an armed confrontation in Athens between the royalist government of Greece and the forces of the Allies over th ...

'' even further south to the

Peloponnese The Peloponnese (), Peloponnesus (; el, Πελοπόννησος, Pelopónnēsos,(), or Morea is a peninsula and geographic regions of Greece, geographic region in southern Greece. It is connected to the central part of the country by the Isthmu ...

. The corps remained there until June 1917, when Greece, reunified under

Eleftherios Venizelos Eleftherios Kyriakou Venizelos ( el, Ελευθέριος Κυριάκου Βενιζέλος, translit=Elefthérios Kyriákou Venizélos, ; – 18 March 1936) was a Greek statesman and a prominent leader of the Greek national liberation movem ...

, formally entered

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

on the side of the entente. With the reorganization of the army for operations on the

Macedonian front The Macedonian front, also known as the Salonica front (after Thessaloniki), was a military theatre of World War I formed as a result of an attempt by the Allied Powers to aid Serbia, in the autumn of 1915, against the combined attack of German ...

, III Corps was disbanded. In December 1919, following the

occupation of Smyrna The city of Smyrna (modern-day İzmir) and surrounding areas were under Greek military occupation from 15 May 1919 until 9 September 1922. The Allied Powers authorized the occupation and creation of the Zone of Smyrna ( el, Ζώνη Σμύρν� ...

, the Smyrna Army Corps (Σώμα Στρατού Σμύρνης) was established, comprising the newly raised

Smyrna Division The Smyrna Division ( el, Μεραρχία Σμύρνης) was an infantry division of the Hellenic Army, active in 1919–1920 during the Asia Minor Campaign. Following the Greek landing at Smyrna on 2 May 1919, and the establishment of an occup ...

and the

Archipelago Division The Archipelago Division ( el, Μεραρχία Ἀρχιπελάγους, Merarchia Archipelagous) was an infantry division of Greece in World War I and the early stages of the Asia Minor Campaign. Establishment The division began being raised i ...

, to which was added in January 1920 the 12th Infantry Division. After the Venizelist electoral defeat in November 1920, the corps was renamed "III Army Corps", and continued to participate in the

Asia Minor Campaign Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Afr ...

under this name. In the

interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days), the end of the World War I, First World War to the beginning of the World War II, Second World War. The in ...

, the corps returned to Thessaloniki. It participated in the

Greco-Italian War The Greco-Italian War (Greek language, Greek: Ελληνοϊταλικός Πόλεμος, ''Ellinoïtalikós Pólemos''), also called the Italo-Greek War, Italian Campaign in Greece, and the War of '40 in Greece, took place between the kingdom ...

and capitulated with the rest of the Hellenic Army after the

German invasion of Greece The German invasion of Greece, also known as the Battle of Greece or Operation Marita ( de , Unternehmen Marita, links = no), was the attack of Greece by Italy and Germany during World War II. The Italian invasion in October 1940, which is usu ...

in April 1941. After liberation, corps-level formations began again to be raised in March 1946, when the hitherto superior military commands were converted to army corps: on 16 May 1946, the Central Macedonia Superior Military Command became III Army Corps, once more based at Thessaloniki, with 11th Infantry Division (31st, 32nd, 33rd brigades, 592nd Inf. Battalion, 616th National Guard Battalion) and 10th Infantry Division (35th, 36th, 37th brigades, 603rd Inf. Battalion, 615th National Guard Battalion) at Thessaloniki and 7th Infantry Division (25th, 26th, 27th brigades) at

Kavala Kavala ( el, Καβάλα, ''Kavála'' ) is a city in northern Greece, the principal seaport of eastern Macedonia and the capital of Kavala regional unit. It is situated on the Bay of Kavala, across from the island of Thasos and on the Egnat ...

. It participated in the ongoing

Greek Civil War The Greek Civil War ( el, ο Eμφύλιος �όλεμος ''o Emfýlios'' 'Pólemos'' "the Civil War") took place from 1946 to 1949. It was mainly fought against the established Kingdom of Greece, which was supported by the United Kingdom ...

(1946–49), with a zone of responsibility covering most of northern Greece, from the Kaimakchalan— Mount Vermion—

Mount Olympus Mount Olympus (; el, Όλυμπος, Ólympos, also , ) is the highest mountain in Greece. It is part of the Olympus massif near the Thermaic Gulf of the Aegean Sea, located in the Olympus Range on the border between Thessaly and Macedonia, be ...

line in the west to the border with Turkey in the east. With the reorganization of the army after the end of the civil war, the III Corps, still headquartered at Thessaloniki, assumed responsibility for the defence of northeastern Greece east of the

Axios River The Vardar (; mk, , , ) or Axios () is the longest river in North Macedonia and the second longest river in Greece, in which it reaches the Aegean Sea at Thessaloniki. It is long, out of which are in Greece, and drains an area of around . Th ...

. To this end, it comprised

6th Infantry Division 6th Division may refer to: Infantry divisions * 6th Division (Australia) * 6th Division (Austria) *6th (United Kingdom) Division * Finnish 6th Division (Winter War) *Finnish 6th Division (Continuation War) * 6th Division (Reichswehr) * 6th Divisi ...

Kilkis Kilkis ( el, Κιλκίς) is a city in Central Macedonia, Greece. As of 2011 there were 22,914 people living in the city proper, 28,745 people living in the municipal unit, and 51,926 in the municipality of Kilkis. It is also the capital city o ...

, 10th Infantry Division at

Serres Sérres ( el, Σέρρες ) is a city in Macedonia, Greece, capital of the Serres regional unit and second largest city in the region of Central Macedonia, after Thessaloniki. Serres is one of the administrative and economic centers of Northe ...

, 11th Infantry Division at Kavala and 12th Infantry Division at

Alexandroupoli Alexandroupolis ( el, Αλεξανδρούπολη, ), Alexandroupoli, or Alexandrople is a city in Greece and the capital of the Evros regional unit. It is the largest city in Western Thrace and the region of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace. It h ...

. The 6th Infantry Division was transferred to II Army Corps in 1960, but a new 16th Infantry Division was formed in 1975. In the next year, the establishment of IV Army Corps, which took over responsibility for

Western Thrace Western Thrace or West Thrace ( el, �υτικήΘράκη, '' ytikíThráki'' ; tr, Batı Trakya; bg, Западна/Беломорска Тракия, ''Zapadna/Belomorska Trakiya''), also known as Greek Thrace, is a Geography, geograp ...

and the Turkish border, III Corps was limited to 10th Division (Serres) and 11th Division (Kavala), with the 3rd Support Brigade in Thessaloniki. On 1 January 1998, a wide-ranging reorganization of the army took place, and III Corps assumed the zone of II Corps as well, now comprising 6th Infantry Division (Kilkis), 10th Infantry Division (Serres), 11th Infantry Division (Kavala),

4th Infantry Brigade (Greece) The 4th Infantry Brigade ( el, IV Ταξιαρχία Πεζικού, ''IV Taxiarchia Pezikou'') was an infantry brigade of the Hellenic Army. Originally formed in 1897, it served until 1912. Re-formed in the lead-up to the Greco-Italian War in 194 ...

( Axioupolis), 3rd Support Brigade (Thessaloniki) and the

5/42 Evzone Regiment The 5/42 Evzone Regiment "Delvinaki" ( el, 5/42 Σύνταγμα Ευζώνων «Δελβινάκι», 5/42 ΣΕ) is an active infantry unit of the Hellenic Army. It was established in 1913 as an elite regiment of Evzones, recruited in Central Gre ...

(

Skydra Skydra ( el, Σκύδρα, in modern Greek, before 1926: Βερτεκόπ - ''Vertekop'', Slavic: Вртикоп, ''Vrtikop'') is a municipality in the Pella regional unit of Macedonia in Greece. Municipality The municipality Skydra was forme ...

). On 30 June 2004, the corps was dissolved as a national territorial formation and was reduced to a headquarters for the NATO Deployable Corps – Greece (NDC-GR), with a parallel secondary mission as garrison of Thessaloniki. The decision to dissolve III Corps as a territorial formation was gradually reversed: in 2006 it was re-established as a national formation under First Army in tandem with its role as NDC-GR, while in 2009 it re-acquired a separate area of responsibility with the allocation of 10th Infantry Brigade at Serres. In 2013, after another wide-ranging reorganization, III Corps assumed control over 8th Infantry Division at Ioannina (despite its name a brigade-level formation) and 9th Infantry Brigade (Greece) at Kozani, while the 10th and 15th infantry brigades were reduced to regimental level.

Structure

* III Army Corps, based in

** III Army Corps HQ Battalion ** 8th Infantry Brigade, based at

Epirus sq, Epiri rup, Epiru , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = Historical region , image_map = Epirus antiquus tabula.jpg , map_alt = , map_caption = Map of ancient Epirus by Heinrich ...

** 9th Infantry Brigade, based at

West Macedonia Western Macedonia ( el, Δυτική Μακεδονία, translit=Ditikí Makedonía, ) is one of the thirteen regions of Greece, consisting of the western part of Macedonia. Located in north-western Greece, it is divided into the regional unit ...

** 10th Infantry Regiment "X Inf. Div.", based at

, Macedonia ** 15th Infantry Regiment "XV Inf. Div.", based at

Kastoria Kastoria ( el, Καστοριά, ''Kastoriá'' ) is a city in northern Greece in the modern regions of Greece, region of Western Macedonia. It is the capital of Kastoria (regional unit), Kastoria regional unit, in the Geographic regions of Gree ...

, Macedonia ** 3rd Signals Brigade *** 489th Signals Battalion *** 490th Signals Battalion *** 31st Intelligence Support Company ** 957th Military Police Battalion ** 723rd Engineers Battalion ** 737th Army Construction Command ** CIMIC Company ** Thessaloniki Central Military Fund ** 3rd Expenditures Command

References

External links

NATO Deployable Corps – Greece / Official Site
{{Authority control Military units and formations of NATO Corps of Greece Greece and NATO