The III Corps of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University ...

( Turkish: ''3üncü Kolordu'' ''or'' ''Üçüncü Kolordu'') was one of the

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 ...

of the

Ottoman Army The military of the Ottoman Empire ( tr, Osmanlı İmparatorluğu'nun silahlı kuvvetleri) was the armed forces of the Ottoman Empire. Army The military of the Ottoman Empire can be divided in five main periods. The foundation era covers the ...

. It was formed in the early 20th century during Ottoman military reforms.

Formation

Order of Battle, 1911

With further reorganizations of the Ottoman Army, to include the creation of corps level headquarters, by 1911 the III Corps was headquartered in Kırk Kilise. The Corps before the

First Balkan War The First Balkan War ( sr, Први балкански рат, ''Prvi balkanski rat''; bg, Балканска война; el, Αʹ Βαλκανικός πόλεμος; tr, Birinci Balkan Savaşı) lasted from October 1912 to May 1913 and invo ...

in 1911 was structured as such: *III Corps, Kırk Kilise ** 7th Infantry Division, Kırk Kilise (Miralay Hilmi) ***19th Infantry Regiment,

Yemen Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the north and Oman to the northeast and ...

***20th Infantry Regiment, Kırk Kilise ***21st Infantry Regiment, Tırnovacık ***7th Rifle Battalion, Yemen ***7th Field Artillery Regiment, Kırk Kilise ***7th Division Band, Kırk Kilise ** 8th Infantry Division,

Çorlu Çorlu () is a northwestern Turkish city in inland Eastern Thrace that falls under the administration of the Province of Tekirdağ. It is a rapidly growing industrial centre built on flatland located on the motorway Otoyol 3 and off the highwa ...

(Mirliva Celâl Pasha) ***22nd Infantry Regiment, Çorlu ***23rd Infantry Regiment, Saray ***24th Infantry Regiment, Samakof ***8th Rifle Battalion, Çorlu ***8th Field Artillery Regiment, Çorlu ***8th Division Band, Çorlu ** 9th Infantry Division,

Babaeski Babaeski is a town and district of Kırklareli Province in the Marmara region of Turkey. The countyship has a population of 29,342 and the total area of the district is 652 km2. Name The name Babaeski is believed to have originated accordin ...

(Miralay Kadri) ***25th Infantry Regiment, Yemen ***26th Infantry Regiment, Babaeski ***27th Infantry Regiment,

Lüleburgaz Lüleburgaz (, Modern Greek: Λουλέ Μπουργκάς ''Lule Burgas'', Bulgarian: Люлебургаз ''Lyuleburgaz''), Bergoulion ( Ancient Greek: Βεργούλιον) or Arcadiopolis (Ancient Greek: Αρκαδιόυπολις ''Arkadióp ...

***9th Rifle Battalion, Yemen ***9th Field Artillery Regiment, Lüleburgaz ***9th Division Band, Babaeski *Units of III Corps *3rd Rifle Regiment, Kırk Kilise *3rd Cavalry Brigade, Kırk Kilise **7th Cavalry Regiment, Çorlu **8th Cavalry Regiment, Kırk Kilise **10th Cavalry Regiment,

Marmara Ereğlisi Marmara Ereğlisi (also spelled Marmaraereğlisi) () is a town, located in a district bearing the same name, in Tekirdağ Province in the Marmara region of Turkey. The mayor, , is Hikmet Ata ( DSP). Facts Ereğli is 30 km east of the to ...

*2nd Mountain Artillery Battalion, Marmara Ereğlisi *3rd Mountain Artillery Battalion, Marmara Ereğlisi *2nd Field Howitzer Battalion,

Adrianople Edirne (, ), formerly known as Adrianople or Hadrianopolis ( Greek: Άδριανούπολις), is a city in Turkey, in the northwestern part of the province of Edirne in Eastern Thrace. Situated from the Greek and from the Bulgarian border ...

*3rd Engineer Battalion, Adrianople *2nd Transport Battalion, Kırk Kilise *Border companies x 2

Balkan Wars

Order of Battle, October 17, 1912

On October 17, 1912, the corps was structured as follows:Edward J. Erickson, ''Defeat in Detail, The Ottoman Army in the Balkans, 1912–1913'', Westport, Praeger, 2003, p. 83. *III Corps (Thrace, under the command of the Eastern Army) ** 7th Division,

8th Division 8th Division, 8th Infantry Division or 8th Armored Division may refer to: Infantry divisions * 8th Division (Australia) * 8th Canadian Infantry Division * 8th Air Division (People's Republic of China) * 8th Division (1st Formation) (People's Repu ...

, 9th Division **Afyon Karahisar Redif Division

Order of Battle, October 29, 1912

On October 29, 1912, the corps was structured as follows:Edward J. Erickson, ''Defeat in Detail, The Ottoman Army in the Balkans, 1912–1913'', Westport, Praeger, 2003, p. 103. *III Corps (Thrace, under the command of the Second Eastern Army) **7th Division, 8th Division, 9th Division **Konya Redif Division, Amasya Redif Division

Order of Battle, November 17, 1912

On November 17, 1912, the corps was structured as follows:Edward J. Erickson, ''Defeat in Detail, The Ottoman Army in the Balkans, 1912–1913'', Westport, Praeger, 2003, p. 128. *III Corps (Thrace, under the command of the

Chataldja Army The Chataldja Army or Çatalca Army of the Ottoman Empire ( Turkish: ''Çatalca Ordusu'') was one of the field armies of the Ottoman Army. It was formed after Ottoman retreat to the Chataldja line during the First Balkan War. It confronted Bulgar ...

) ** 7th Division,

, 9th Division **South Wing Detachment *III Provisional Reserve Corps **Selimiye Redif Division, Fatih Redif Division, Afyon Redif Division

Order of Battle, March 25, 1913

On March 25, 1913, the corps was structured as follows:Edward J. Erickson, ''Defeat in Detail, The Ottoman Army in the Balkans, 1912–1913'', Westport, Praeger, 2003, p. 287. *III Provisional Reserve Corps (Thrace, under the command of the

) ** 3rd Division **Yozgat Redif Division *III Corps (Thrace, under the command of the

) ** 7th Division,

, 9th Division

Order of Battle, July 1913

*III Corps ** 7th Division,

, 9th Division

World War I

Commanders of the Ottoman III Corps at the Gallipoli Front

Order of Battle, August 1914, November 1914

In August 1914, November 1914, the corps was structured as follows:Edward J. Erickson, ''Order to Die: A History of the Ottoman Army in the First World War'', Greenwood Press, 2001, , p. 38, 43. *III Corps (Thrace) ** 7th Division,

, 9th Division

Order of Battle, April 1915

In late April 1915, the corps was structured as follows:Edward J. Erickson, ''Order to Die: A History of the Ottoman Army in the First World War'', Greenwood Press, 2001, , p. 86. *III Corps (Gallipoli) **7th Division, 9th Division, 19th Division

Order of Battle, Late Summer 1915, January 1916

In late Summer 1915, January 1916, the corps was structured as follows:Edward J. Erickson, ''Order to Die: A History of the Ottoman Army in the First World War'', Greenwood Press, 2001, , p. 109, 126. *III Corps (Gallipoli) **7th Division, 8th Division, 9th Division, 19th Division

Order of Battle, August 1916

In August 1916, the corps was structured as follows:Edward J. Erickson, ''Order to Die: A History of the Ottoman Army in the First World War'', Greenwood Press, 2001, , p. 134. *III Corps (Caucasus) ** 1st Division, 7th Division, 14th Division, 53rd Division

Order of Battle, August 1917

In August 1917, the corps was structured as follows:Edward J. Erickson, ''Order to Die: A History of the Ottoman Army in the First World War'', Greenwood Press, 2001, , p. 170. *III Corps (Syria) ** 24th Division,

50th Division 50th Division or 50th Infantry Division may refer to: Infantry divisions: * 50th Division (1st Formation)(People's Republic of China) * 50th Infantry Division (German Empire) * 50th Reserve Division (German Empire) * 50th Infantry Division Regina, ...

Order of Battle, January 1918

In January 1918, the corps was structured as follows:Edward J. Erickson, ''Order to Die: A History of the Ottoman Army in the First World War'', Greenwood Press, 2001, , p. 181. *III Corps (Palestine) **1st Division, 19th Division, 24th Division

Order of Battle, September 1918

In September 1918, the corps was structured as follows:Edward J. Erickson, ''Order to Die: A History of the Ottoman Army in the First World War'', Greenwood Press, 2001, , p. 197. *III Corps (Palestine) **1st Division, 11th Division The Ottoman III Corps has been described as consisting of 7th, 8th and 9th Infantry Divisions from the beginning of the war to late April 1915 when the 19th Infantry Division was added while it was serving at Gallipoli. In August 1916 while serving in the Caucasus it is said to have consisted of 1st, 7th, 14th and 53rd Infantry Divisions and by August 1917 it formed part of the 7th Army in Palestine and made up of the 224th and 50th Infantry Divisions. By January 1918 it consisted of 1st, 19th and 24th Infantry Divisions with the 3rd Cavalry Division added in June 1918.

After Mudros

Order of Battle, November 1918

In November 1918, the corps was structured as follows:Edward J. Erickson, ''Order to Die: A History of the Ottoman Army in the First World War'', Greenwood Press, 2001, , p. 202. *III Corps (Syria) **11th Division, 24th Division

Order of Battle, January 1919

In January 1919, the corps was structured as follows:Edward J. Erickson, ''Order to Die: A History of the Ottoman Army in the First World War'', Greenwood Press, 2001, , p. 209.Zekeriya Türkmen, ''Mütareke Döneminde Ordunun Durumu ve Yeniden Yapılanması (1918-1920)'', Türk Tarih Kurumu Basımevi, 2001, , p. 326. *III Corps (Anatolia,

Sivas Sivas (Latin and Greek: ''Sebastia'', ''Sebastea'', Σεβάστεια, Σεβαστή, ) is a city in central Turkey and the seat of Sivas Province. The city, which lies at an elevation of in the broad valley of the Kızılırmak river, is ...

, Commander:

Miralay ''Miralay'' or ''Mîr-i alay'' (Gendarmerie: ''Alaybeyi'') was a military rank of the Ottoman Army and Navy. The modern Turkish equivalent is ''Albay'', meaning Colonel.Selâhaddin Bey) ** 15th Division (

Samsun Samsun, historically known as Sampsounta ( gr, Σαμψούντα) and Amisos (Ancient Greek: Αμισός), is a city on the north coast of Turkey and is a major Black Sea port. In 2021, Samsun recorded a population of 710,000 people. The cit ...

) ***9th Infantry Regiment, 13th Infantry Regiment, 15th Infantry Regiment ** 5th Caucasian Division (

Trabzon Trabzon (; Ancient Greek: Tραπεζοῦς (''Trapezous''), Ophitic Pontic Greek: Τραπεζούντα (''Trapezounta''); Georgian: ტრაპიზონი (''Trapizoni'')), historically known as Trebizond in English, is a city on the B ...

) ***13th Infantry Regiment, 45th Infantry Regiment, 56th Infantry Regiment

Formation

Order of Battle, 1911

Balkan Wars

Order of Battle, October 17, 1912

Order of Battle, October 29, 1912

Order of Battle, November 17, 1912

Order of Battle, March 25, 1913

Order of Battle, July 1913

World War I

Order of Battle, August 1914, November 1914

Order of Battle, April 1915

Order of Battle, Late Summer 1915, January 1916

Order of Battle, August 1916

Order of Battle, August 1917

Order of Battle, January 1918

Order of Battle, September 1918

After Mudros

Order of Battle, November 1918

Order of Battle, January 1919

Sources

See also