The 3rd Army Corps (french: 3e Corps d'Armée) was a

corps Corps (; plural ''corps'' ; from French , from the Latin "body") is a term used for several different kinds of organization. A military innovation by Napoleon I, the formation was first named as such in 1805. The size of a corps varies great ...

-sized military formation of the

French Army History Early history The first permanent army, paid with regular wages, instead of feudal levies, was established under Charles VII of France, Charles VII in the 1420 to 1430s. The Kings of France needed reliable troops during and after the ...

that fought during both

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

and

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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, and was active after World War II until finally being disbanded on 1 July 1998.

Cold War

Reformed at Ste Germain-en-Laye on 1 July 1979 under the orders of Général de Barry, with its HQ fused with HQ 1st Military Region. Its major units were 2nd Armored Division and 8th Infantry Division (8 DI). On 1 July 1979 the Corps was transferred to Lille and its HQ fused with HQ 2nd Military Region. In 1991 the functions were separated, and Generals Arnold, Vaujour, Billot, and Heinrich held command as commanders of 3rd Corps solely. With its transfer to Lille, the corps took control of a force of 50,000 personnel including reservists, with 380 AMX-30, 1,300 armoured vehicles, 106 artillery pieces, and 56 Roland anti-aircraft missiles. In 1984 the 6th Engineers Regiment joined the corps. At the end of the 1980s, the Corps comprised three major formations, the 2nd Armored Division and 10th Armoured Divisions and the 8th DI. There was also a logistics brigade stationed at Beauvais. On 1 July 1990, with the promulgation of the ‘Armées 2000’ plan, the 3rd Army Corps became the only army corps in the metropolitan territory, and the 7th Armored Division joined it, with the grouping rising to 44,000 men with 15,000 vehicles. : In 1993, after the disbandment of the 8th DI, the Corps was reorganised to include three armoured divisions, the 2nd, 7th, and 10th, the 12th Light Armoured Division with its command post at

Saumur Saumur () is a commune in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France. The town is located between the Loire and Thouet rivers, and is surrounded by the vineyards of Saumur itself, Chinon, Bourgueil, Coteaux du Layon, etc.. Saumur s ...

,In Isby's Armies of NATO's Central Front, p127, the Armour of the 12th Light Armoured Division (c. 1985) is the 507 Regiment de Chars de Combat, used AMX-30. The 14th Light Armoured Division's Armour is 11 Regiment Cuirassier, and 1 Regiment de Chasseurs; both used AMX-30. the 15th Infantry Division at

Limoges Limoges (, , ; oc, Lemòtges, locally ) is a city and Communes of France, commune, and the prefecture of the Haute-Vienne Departments of France, department in west-central France. It was the administrative capital of the former Limousin region ...

, and the 3rd Logistics Brigade, all reporting to Corps HQ at

Lille Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France region, the prefecture of the No ...

. On 1 July 1993 three specialist brigades, engineer, artillery, and signals, were created at Lille. In 1994, the 27th DIA left the FAR to rejoin the 3rd Corps as the 27th DIM. In February 1996 the President of the Republic decided on a transition to a professional service force, and as part of the resulting changes, ten regiments were dissolved in 1997. The specialist brigades were transferred on 1 July 1997 to Lunéville (signals), Haguenau (the artillery brigade) and Strasbourg (engineers). The 2nd Armoured Division left Versailles on 1 September 1997 and was installed at Châlons-en-Champagne in place of the disbanding 10th Armoured Division. On 5 March 1998, in view of the ongoing structural adoptions of the French Army, the Minister of Defence decided to disband 3rd Corps, and the dissolution became effective 1 July 1998. The headquarters transitioned to become Headquarters Commandement de la force d'action terrestre (CFAT) (the Land Forces Action Command).

Commanders

* 1859 - 1862 : Maréchal Certain de Canrobert * 1862 - 1864 : Maréchal de Mac Mahon * 1864 - 1867 : Maréchal Forey * 1867 - 1869 : Maréchal Bazaine * 1869 - 1869 : Maréchal Bazaine * 1873 - 1879 : Général Lebrun * 1879 - 1881 : Général Borel * 1911 - 1914 : Général Valabrègue * 1914 - 1915 : Général Hache * 1915 - 1916 : Général Nivelle * 1916 - 1919 : Général Lebrun * 1919 - 1921 : Général Naulin * 1921 - 1924 : Général Duchêne * . * 1939 - 1940 : Général de Fornel de La Laurencie * . * 20 February 1945 - 18 August 1945 :

Général Leclerc Philippe François Marie Leclerc de Hauteclocque (22 November 1902 – 28 November 1947) was a Free-French general during the Second World War. He became Marshal of France posthumously in 1952, and is known in France simply as le maréchal ...

* 4 September 1945 - 5 November 1945 : Général de Larminat * . *General Jacques Antoine de Barry (1979–1980) *General Alain Bizard (1983–1985)

Sources

*Terre Magazine No.95, June/July 1998, p. 26-7

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:3rd Army Corps (France) 003 003 003 Military units and formations established in 1871 Military units and formations disestablished in 1998

Cold War

Commanders

Sources

See also

References