The 3rd Army (german: k.u.k. 3. Armee) was a
field army
A field army (or numbered army or simply army) is a military formation in many armed forces, composed of two or more corps and may be subordinate to an army group. Likewise, air armies are equivalent formation within some air forces, and with ...
-level command within the
ground forces
An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
of
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...
during
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 ...
. It was primarily active on the
Eastern Front against the
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...
and in
the Balkans
The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...
against
Serbia
Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...
and
Montenegro
)
, image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Podgorica
, coordinates =
, largest_city = capital
, official_languages = M ...
. Later on, the 3rd Army took part in some
fighting
Combat ( French for ''fight'') is a purposeful violent conflict meant to physically harm or kill the opposition. Combat may be armed (using weapons) or unarmed ( not using weapons). Combat is sometimes resorted to as a method of self-defense, or ...
on the
Italian Front before returning to the eastern theater by 1917 to repulse the
Kerensky Offensive. Its remaining units were merged with the
7th Army in January 1918.
History
1914
The 3rd Army was formed in August 1914 as part of
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...
's mobilization following its declaration of war on
Serbia
Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...
and
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
, carrying out the prewar plans for the formation of six
field armies
A field army (or numbered army or simply army) is a military formation in many armed forces, composed of two or more corps and may be subordinate to an army group. Likewise, air armies are equivalent formation within some air forces, and with ...
. Just as all Austro-Hungarian field armies, it consisted of a headquarters and several corps, along with some unattached units.
[John Dixon-Nuttal]
THE AUSTRO-HUNGARIAN ARMY 1914-18. Chapter 4: The Army in the Field
/ref> The 3rd Army initially consisted of the XI and XIV Corps, based in Lemberg
Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in Western Ukraine, western Ukraine, and the List of cities in Ukraine, seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is o ...
(modern day Lviv, Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
), and Innsbruck
Innsbruck (; bar, Innschbruck, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian ) is the capital of Tyrol (state), Tyrol and the List of cities and towns in Austria, fifth-largest city in Austria. On the Inn (river), River Inn, at its junction with the ...
, respectively. In addition there were several divisions that were attached directly to army headquarters. It was placed under the overall command of ''General der Kavallerie General of the Cavalry (german: General der Kavallerie) was a General officer rank in the cavalry in various states of which the modern states of German and Austria are successors or in other armies which used the German model. Artillery officers ...
'' Rudolf Ritter von Brudermann. Early on in the war the formation took part in the Battle of Galicia
The Battle of Galicia, also known as the Battle of Lemberg, was a major battle between Russia and Austria-Hungary during the early stages of World War I in 1914. In the course of the battle, the Austro-Hungarian armies were severely defeated and ...
in the northeastern part of the Dual Monarchy, where it was part of the Austro-Hungarian force advancing from Lemberg towards the Russian Southwestern Front's positions.[John Dixon-Nuttal]
THE AUSTRO-HUNGARIAN ARMY 1914-18. Chapter 6 App. B: Armeen
/ref> On 25 August 1914, they received word of advancing Russian forces near Zlota Lipa
Zolota Lypa ( uk, Золота Липа, pl, Złota Lipa) is a river in Western Ukraine. It flows through the Ternopil and Chortkiv Raions, forming the Berezhany Lake north of the city of Berezhany. It is a left tributary of Dniester, belonging t ...
river and 3rd Army was ordered to engage them. The clash began on August 26, with what the Austrians believed were small Russian units, but turned out to be eight corps. It was not long before they were forced to retreat, reaching Lemberg on August 27. Although 3rd Army had the time to form a defensive line near the Gnila Lipa river, the advancing Russians outnumbered Bruderman's army three to one and drove them back on August 30, before seizing Lemberg itself in early September. Thus the Austro-Hungarian line had to retreat back to the Carpathians, losing the country's territory east of the mountain range to the Russians.
In September 1914, in the aftermath of the defense of Galicia, Bruderman had been replaced as the army commander by Svetozar Boroević von Bojna. Under his command the 3rd Army spent the remaining winter months of that year defending important mountain passes throughout the Carpathians.[Svetozar Boroević von Bojna](_blank)
. ''Austro-hungarian-army.co.uk.'' Retrieved 29 August 2017.
1915
The 3rd Army, with support of the German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
South Army, spearheaded the offensive
Offensive may refer to:
* Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative
* Offensive (military), an attack
* Offensive language
** Fighting words or insulting language, words that by their very utterance inflict inj ...
against Russian positions in the Carpathian Mountains
The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians () are a range of mountains forming an arc across Central Europe. Roughly long, it is the third-longest European mountain range after the Urals at and the Scandinavian Mountains at . The range stretches ...
in January 1915 in an attempt to reverse the losses during last year's Galicia debacle. By then it had been built up to include fifteen infantry and four and a half cavalry divisions for the assault, which began on January 23 with the goal of securing the rail and communications hubs of Medzilaborce
Medzilaborce ( rue, Міджілабірцї, ''Midzhilabirtsyi''; uk, Міжлабірці, ''Mizhlabirtsi''; hu, Mezőlaborc) is a town in northeastern Slovakia close to the border with Poland, located near the towns of Sanok and Bukowsko (in ...
, Sambir
Sambir ( uk, Самбір, pl, Sambor, yi, סאמבאָר, Sambor) is a city in Sambir Raion, Lviv Oblast, Ukraine. It serves as the administrative center of Sambir Raion (district) and is located close to the border with Poland. Sambir hosts t ...
, and Sanok
Sanok (in full the Royal Free City of Sanok — pl, Królewskie Wolne Miasto Sanok, rue, Санок, ''Sanok'', ua, Cянік, ''Sianik'', la, Sanocum, yi, סאניק, ''Sonik'') is a town in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship of south-eastern ...
. Despite some early successes against numerically inferior enemy units which allowed them to advance about 38 kilometers, the Habsburg troops suffered from a lack of reinforcements and logistical problems. The mountain winter weather also turned for the worse as the overstretched 3rd Army had to defend its line from Russian counteroffensives, as it occupied a large gap between two important passes on January 26. By early February, the Austro-Hungarian offensive had stalled without reaching the besieged
Besieged may refer to:
* the state of being under siege
* ''Besieged'' (film), a 1998 film by Bernardo Bertolucci
{{disambiguation ...
Przemyśl
Przemyśl (; yi, פשעמישל, Pshemishl; uk, Перемишль, Peremyshl; german: Premissel) is a city in southeastern Poland with 58,721 inhabitants, as of December 2021. In 1999, it became part of the Subcarpathian Voivodeship; it was pr ...
fortress, and the Russians remained in control of the strategically important passes while 3rd Army divisions had been reduced to the size of brigades and lower. Thus it ended up losing its numerical advantage. By mid-February the Russian army had regained the initiative while the Austro-Hungarian troop strength had been badly depleted. The remaining men of 3rd Army were subjected to below freezing temperatures and other environmental dangers, lack of supplies, and no possibility of relief. By late February, it lost around 88,000 men—about 75% of its initial strength—and had to finally be reinforced by the newly-formed 2nd Army.
After the fighting in the Carpathians, the 3rd Army was assigned to take part in the Gorlice–Tarnów Offensive
The Gorlice–Tarnów offensive during World War I was initially conceived as a minor German offensive to relieve Russian pressure on the Austro-Hungarians to their south on the Eastern Front, but resulted in the Central Powers' chief offensi ...
in southern Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
and Galicia. It was entrusted with seizing Przemyśl fortress as in the failed offensive earlier in 1915. The 3rd and 4th armies ended up retaking the Carpathian passes and took the fortifications outside of Przemyśl in the early days of June, with the fortress itself finally being retaken on 3 June 1915. The 3rd Army was briefly disbanded as its component units were broken up to reinforce other formations. Afterwards, from June until September, the formation was temporarily deactivated.
The 3rd Army was reactivated in early October 1915 for the second invasion of Serbia
Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...
, as part of Army Group Mackensen, this time under the command of Hermann Kövess von Kövessháza
Hermann Albin Josef Freiherr Kövess von Kövessháza ( hu, kövessházi báró Kövess Hermann; 30 March 1854 – 22 September 1924) was the final, and completely ceremonial, Commander-in-Chief of the Austro-Hungarian Army. He served as a gener ...
. This army group crossed the Sava
The Sava (; , ; sr-cyr, Сава, hu, Száva) is a river in Central and Southeast Europe, a right-bank and the longest tributary of the Danube. It flows through Slovenia, Croatia and along its border with Bosnia and Herzegovina, and finally th ...
–Danube
The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...
line into Serbia on October 5. The Habsburg troops, along with the Bulgarian
Bulgarian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the country of Bulgaria
* Bulgarians, a South Slavic ethnic group
* Bulgarian language, a Slavic language
* Bulgarian alphabet
* A citizen of Bulgaria, see Demographics of Bulgaria
* Bul ...
forces of the 1st Army, were tasked with driving the main Serbian force into the awaiting German 11th Army. However, Field Marshal Radomir Putnik
Radomir Putnik ( sr, Радомир Путник; ; 24 January 1847 – 17 May 1917) was the first Serbian Field Marshal and Chief of the General Staff of the Serbian army in the Balkan Wars and in the First World War. He served in every war in ...
met the attacking forces while executing a series of retreats that kept most of his strength intact. August von Mackensen
Anton Ludwig Friedrich August von Mackensen (born Mackensen; 6 December 1849 – 8 November 1945), ennobled as "von Mackensen" in 1899, was a German field marshal. He commanded successfully during World War I of 1914–1918 and became one of t ...
's 11th Army entered Belgrade
Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...
on October 9, while Kövess's 3rd Army pursued the retreating Serbs. The campaign resulted in about 18,000 Habsburg casualties. The Serbs entered Montenegro
)
, image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Podgorica
, coordinates =
, largest_city = capital
, official_languages = M ...
in an attempt to reach Allied ships on the coast, and Austro-Hungarian supreme commander Franz Conrad von Hötzendorf
Franz Xaver Josef Conrad von Hötzendorf (after 1919 Franz Conrad; 11 November 1852 – 25 August 1925), sometimes anglicised as Hoetzendorf, was an Austrian general who played a central role in World War I. He served as '' K.u.k. Feldmarschall ...
gave the 3rd Army orders to not stop and to invade the small country as well. Their forces occupied Cetinje
Cetinje (, ) is a town in Montenegro. It is the former royal capital (''prijestonica'' / приjестоница) of Montenegro and is the location of several national institutions, including the official residence of the president of Montenegro ...
, the capital, on 13 January 1916.
1916–18
In mid-1916, the 3rd Army was redeployed to the Italian Front, where it was part of Army Group Archduke Eugen (commanded by Archduke Eugen of Austria
Archduke Eugen Ferdinand Pius Bernhard Felix Maria of Austria-Teschen (21 May 1863 – 30 December 1954) was an Archduke of Austria-Hungary, Austria and a Prince of Kingdom of Hungary, Hungary and Bohemia. He was the last Grand Master of the Teu ...
), once again led by von Kövess. In the spring of that year, Hötzendorf decided to attempt an offensive in a part of the front away from the Isonzo river area where the main fighting had been occurring. It saw action against the Italians in the Battle of Asiago
The Battle of Asiago (Battle of the Plateaux) or the Südtirol Offensive (in Italian: Battaglia degli Altipiani), nicknamed ''Strafexpedition'' ("Punitive expedition") by the Italians, was a major counteroffensive launched by the Austro-Hungari ...
alongside the 11th Army, which began on 15 May 1916. The assault was initially very successful, pushing 8 kilometers on a front 70 kilometers in length, and then another 10 kilometers before reaching Asiago
Asiago (; Venetian: ''Axiago'', Cimbrian: ''Slege'', German: ''Schlägen'' ) is a minor township (population roughly 6,500) in the surrounding plateau region (the ''Altopiano di Asiago'' or '' Altopiano dei Sette Comuni'', Asiago plateau) in ...
. However, the Brusilov Offensive in the east forced the Habsburg army command to withdraw some units there, and thus Archduke Eugen's force retreated just 5 kilometers ahead of where they had begun. In total the 3rd and 11th armies had taken some 150,000 casualties.
During the Kerensky Offensive of 1917, the 3rd Army fought under ''Generaloberst
A ("colonel general") was the second-highest general officer rank in the German ''Reichswehr'' and ''Wehrmacht'', the Austro-Hungarian Common Army, the East Germany, East German National People's Army and in their respective police services. ...
'' Karl Tersztyánszky von Nádas
Karl Tersztyánszky von Nádas, officially Károly Tersztyánszky, also alternatively written Tersztyánszky de Nádas (28 October 1854 – 7 March 1921) was an Austro-Hungarian general who served in World War I.
Biography
Tersztyánszky was born ...
against the 8th Army of General Lavr Kornilov
Lavr Georgiyevich Kornilov (russian: Лавр Гео́ргиевич Корни́лов, ; – 13 April 1918) was a Russian military intelligence officer, explorer, and general in the Imperial Russian Army during World War I and the ensuing Russ ...
. Clashing with the 8th Army at Stanislau (modern day Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine), the 3rd Army drove back Kornilov's forces.[ Herwig (2009), p. 325.] The formation's remaining units were merged with the 7th Army in January 1918.
Order of battle in August 1914
Upon mobilization at the outbreak of war the 3rd Army consisted of the following units.
Order of battle in 1914–15
The following units were assigned to 3rd Army during the time of the Carpathian and Gorlice-Tarnów operations.
*Assigned in August 1914:
**II Corps (until May 1915)
**IX Corps (until January 1915)
*Assigned in November and December 1914:
**Corps "Szurmay" (until February 1915)
**XVIII Corps (until February 1915)
*Assigned in January 1915:
**V Corps (until February 1915)
**VII Corps (until May 1915)
**X Corps (until June 1915)
**XIX Corps (until February 1915)
*Assigned in February 1915:
**XVII Corps (until June 1915)
Order of battle after Gorlice–Tarnów
The following units were assigned to 3rd Army in the period between mid-1915 and the end of the war in 1918.
*Assigned in October 1915:
**VIII Corps (until March 1916)
**XII Corps (until June 1916)
**XIX Corps (until September 1918)
*Assigned in May 1916:
**I Corps (until July 1916)
**XVII Corps (until August 1918)
*Assigned in June and July 1916:
**III Corps (until July 1916)
**5th Infantry Division (until September 1916)
**Corps "Hadfy" (until June 1917)
**VIII Corps (until January 1917)
*Assigned in October 1916:
**XIII Corps (until January 1918)
*Assigned in March and April 1917:
**5th Infantry Division (until December 1918)
**XXVI Corps (until September 1917)
Commanders
The following served as the commander of the 3rd Army during its existence.[3. armáda [1914-1915]](_blank)
. Retrieved 29 August 2017.[3. armáda [1915-1918]](_blank)
. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
Chiefs of staff
The following served as the chief of staff of the 3rd Army.
Sources
Notes
Books
*
*
*
{{Austro-Hungarian forces during World War I
Field armies of Austria-Hungary
1914 establishments in Austria-Hungary
1918 establishments in Austria-Hungary
Military units and formations established in 1914
Military units and formations disestablished in 1918