The III Corps of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

( 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 formally introduced March 1, 1800, when Napoleon ordered Gener ...

of the

Ottoman Army The Military of the Ottoman Empire () was the armed forces of the Ottoman Empire. It was founded in 1299 and dissolved in 1922. Army The Military of the Ottoman Empire can be divided in five main periods. The foundation era covers the years ...

. 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 lasted from October 1912 to May 1913 and involved actions of the Balkan League (the Kingdoms of Kingdom of Bulgaria, Bulgaria, Kingdom of Serbia, Serbia, Kingdom of Greece, Greece and Kingdom of Montenegro, Montenegro) agai ...

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

Yemen Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in South Arabia, southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, the north, Oman to Oman–Yemen border, the northeast, the south-eastern part ...

***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 (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 (Miralay Kadri) ***25th Infantry Regiment, Yemen ***26th Infantry Regiment, Babaeski ***27th Infantry Regiment, Lüleburgaz ***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 municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Tekirdağ Province, Turkey. Its area is 175 km2, and its population is 29,549 (2022). 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 (; ), historically known as Orestias, Adrianople, is a city in Turkey, in the northwestern part of the Edirne Province, province of Edirne in Eastern Thrace. Situated from the Greek and from the Bulgarian borders, Edirne was the second c ...

*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, 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) ** 7th Division, 8th 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 Chataldja Army) ** 3rd Division **Yozgat Redif Division *III Corps (Thrace, under the command of the Chataldja Army) ** 7th Division, 8th Division, 9th Division

Order of Battle, July 1913

*III Corps ** 7th Division, 8th 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, 8th 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

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 is a city in central Turkey. It is the seat of Sivas Province and Sivas District.İl Beledi ...

, Commander: Miralay Selâhaddin Bey) ** 15th Division (

Samsun Samsun is a List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, city on the north coast of Turkey and a major Black Sea port. The urban area recorded a population of 738,692 in 2022. The city is the capital of Samsun Province which has a population of ...

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

Trabzon Trabzon, historically known as Trebizond, is a city on the Black Sea coast of northeastern Turkey and the capital of Trabzon Province. The city was founded in 756 BC as "Trapezous" by colonists from Miletus. It was added into the Achaemenid E ...

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