The 3rd Army (german: 3. Armee) was a

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 **Ger ...

field army that fought during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Combat Chronicle

The 3rd Army was activated on September 1, 1939, the day German forces invaded

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 ...

. It was put under the command of

General der Artillerie General der Artillerie ( en: General of the artillery) may mean: 1. A rank of three-star general, comparable to modern armed forces OF-8 grade, in the Imperial German Army and its contingency armies of Prussia, Bavaria, Saxony and Württembe ...

Georg von Küchler Georg Carl Wilhelm Friedrich von Küchler (30 May 1881 – 25 May 1968) was a German field marshal and war criminal during World War II. He commanded the 18th Army and Army Group North during the Soviet-German war of 1941–1945. After the en ...

. Küchler later became commander of

Army Group North Army Group North (german: Heeresgruppe Nord) was a German strategic formation, commanding a grouping of field armies during World War II. The German Army Group was subordinated to the ''Oberkommando des Heeres'' (OKH), the German army high comma ...

in 1942 and also later became

Generalfeldmarschall ''Generalfeldmarschall'' (from Old High German ''marahscalc'', "marshal, stable master, groom"; en, general field marshal, field marshal general, or field marshal; ; often abbreviated to ''Feldmarschall'') was a rank in the armies of several ...

. At the start of the

Polish Campaign The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week afte ...

the 3rd Army was part of

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. ...

Feodor von Bock Moritz Albrecht Franz Friedrich Fedor von Bock (3 December 1880 – 4 May 1945) was a German who served in the German Army during the Second World War. Bock served as the commander of Army Group North during the Invasion of Poland in ...

's Army Group North, together with

Günther von Kluge Günther Adolf Ferdinand von Kluge (30 October 1882 – 19 August 1944) was a German field marshal during World War II who held commands on both the Eastern and Western Fronts. He commanded the 4th Army of the Wehrmacht during the invasion o ...

's 4th Army. The 4th Army was to capture the

Polish Corridor The Polish Corridor (german: Polnischer Korridor; pl, Pomorze, Polski Korytarz), also known as the Danzig Corridor, Corridor to the Sea or Gdańsk Corridor, was a territory located in the region of Pomerelia (Pomeranian Voivodeship, eastern ...

and enter

East Prussia East Prussia ; german: Ostpreißen, label=Low Prussian; pl, Prusy Wschodnie; lt, Rytų Prūsija was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 187 ...

, thus re-linking the two areas. The Third Army was to split into two and attack ''from''

. One part of the 3rd Army was to advance southwards into Modlin, cross near the confluence of the

Vistula The Vistula (; pl, Wisła, ) is the longest river in Poland and the ninth-longest river in Europe, at in length. The drainage basin, reaching into three other nations, covers , of which is in Poland. The Vistula rises at Barania Góra in ...

and Bug rivers and take part in the attack on

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

. The other part of the 3rd Army was to attack near

Narew The Narew (; be, Нараў, translit=Naraŭ; or ; Sudovian: ''Naura''; Old German: ''Nare''; uk, Нарва, translit=Narva) is a 499-kilometre (310 mi) river primarily in north-eastern Poland, which is also a tributary of the river Vis ...

, attack along the Bug River, and make a drive into Brest-Litovsk. When the attack on Poland was launched, a part of the 3rd Army moved toward the

and met with Kluge's 4th Army. Both the 3rd and 4th Armies implemented their plans well, and the Polish Campaign ended in victorious triumph for the German Army. The

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...

had attacked Poland from the east with a million men and advanced westwards to meet with the German troops, despite casualties that numbered more than expected. In Brest-Litovsk, a joint German and

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

victory parade was held. On November 5, 1939, only about five weeks following the end of the Polish Campaign, the Third Army was disbanded. The Third Army became one of the first German armies of World War II to be disbanded. The staff was moved to

Bad Bertrich Bad Bertrich is an '' Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Cochem-Zell district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' of Ulmen, w ...

as 16th Army for use in the west. Immediately after the Third Army was disbanded Küchler became commander of the newly formed 18th Army and led it during the Western Campaign of 1940. He stayed in that position until 1942, when he became commander of Army Group North to lead the Siege on Leningrad. That year he became

generalfeldmarschall ''Generalfeldmarschall'' (from Old High German ''marahscalc'', "marshal, stable master, groom"; en, general field marshal, field marshal general, or field marshal; ; often abbreviated to ''Feldmarschall'') was a rank in the armies of several ...

but was replaced in 1944 following the

breakthrough against

Commanders

References

* Barnett, Correlli. ''Hitler's Generals''. New York: Grove Weidenfeld, 1989. {{Subject bar , portal1=Military of Germany , portal2=World War II 03 Military units and formations established in 1939 Military units and formations disestablished in 1939