The 3rd Army () was an

army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

level command of the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. It was formed on mobilization in August 1914 seemingly from the II Army Inspectorate. The army was disbanded in 1919 during demobilization after the war.

History

Upon the mobilization Max von Hausen (Saxon War Minister) was given command of the 3rd Army which mainly consisted of Saxons. The army participated in the

Battle of the Frontiers The Battle of the Frontiers (; ; ) comprised battles fought along the eastern frontier of French Third Republic, France and in southern Belgium, shortly after the outbreak of the First World War. The battles resolved the military strategy, milita ...

, mainly in the Battle of

Dinant Dinant () is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia located in the Namur Province, province of Namur, Belgium. On the shores of river Meuse, in the Ardennes, it lies south-east of Brussels, south ...

and the Battle of Charleroi and the army were responsible for the destruction of

Reims Reims ( ; ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French Departments of France, department of Marne (department), Marne, and the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, 12th most populous city in Fran ...

in September 1914. When the 2nd Army retreated after the

First Battle of the Marne The First Battle of the Marne or known in France as the Miracle on the Marne () was a battle of the First World War fought from the 5th to the 12th September 1914. The German army invaded France with a plan for winning the war in 40 days by oc ...

, Hausen saw his flank exposed and ordered a retreat. Upon the stabilization of the front on the river

Aisne Aisne ( , ; ; ) is a French departments of France, department in the Hauts-de-France region of northern France. It is named after the river Aisne (river), Aisne. In 2020, it had a population of 529,374. Geography The department borders No ...

, Hausen was relieved of his command and replaced by General Karl von Einem. Repulsing the French

First Battle of Champagne The First Battle of Champagne () was fought from 1915 in World War I in the Champagne region of France and was the second offensive by the Allies against the German Empire since mobile warfare had ended after the First Battle of Ypres in Flande ...

(the Champagne-Marne offensive) from February–March and

Second Battle of Champagne The Second Battle of Champagne (, utumn Battle in the First World War was a French offensive against the German army at Champagne that coincided with the Third Battle of Artois in the north and ended with a French defeat. Battle On 25 Sep ...

(September–November) 1915 respectively, the 3rd Army took part in all three battles of the Aisne and defeated the Fourth Army (General Anthoine) part of (General Philippe Petain) during the

Second Battle of the Aisne The Second Battle of the Aisne ( or , 16 April – mid-May 1917) was the main part of the Nivelle Offensive, a French Third Republic, Franco-British attempt to inflict a decisive defeat on the German Empire, German armies in France. The Entente ...

as part of the Nivelle Offensive from 16 April – 15 May 1917. Einem's right flank units participate in the Champagne-Marne offensive on 15–17 July 1918 supporting the east flank of the 1st Army. After suffering severe casualties in battle with the

American Expeditionary Force The American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) was a formation of the United States Armed Forces on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front during World War I, composed mostly of units from the United States Army, U.S. Army. The AEF was establis ...

(General of the Armies John J. Pershing) from 26 September – 11 November in the Meuse-Argonne offensive, the army was forced to retreat northwards shortly before the war ended, when it was part of .

Order of Battle, 30 October 1918

Commanders

The 3rd Army had the following commanders during its existence:

Glossary

* (Army Detachment) in the sense of "something detached from an army". It is not under the command of an army being a small army. * (Army Group) a group within an army and under its command, generally formed as a temporary measure for a task. * (

Army Group An army group is a military organization consisting of several field army, field armies, which is self-sufficient for indefinite periods. It is usually responsible for a particular geographic area. An army group is the largest field organizatio ...

) several armies under a commander.

References

Bibliography