The Third Army was one of the field armies of the Ottoman Empire established during its military reforms of the mid to late 19th century, as part of the program to modernize the Ottoman Army.
History[]
The Third Army was established in the middle of the 19th century during the Ottoman government's program to reform its armed forces. It was first formed as a provisional unit out of several brigades during military operations against Egypt from 1837 to 1840. These same units would also briefly see action against the forces of the rebellious Bey of Tunis in the Ottoman Empire's campaign to pacify Tunisia, in 1841–1842. In the years to following, by 1850 a formal command structure had been established for the new Ottoman forces that were in the process of modernizing, and the Third Army was one of the five new permanent field armies established for the Sultan. Its first formal campaign was the Acquisition of Ottoman Hejaz, under the command of the gifted administrator General Celaledin Bey, helped reassert Ottoman authority over the Sharifate of Mecca. It was responsible for capturing and occupying the holy cities of Medina and Mecca.
It remained an active command for the rest of the 19th century until the outbreak of World War I in 1914. During that conflict, the Third Army fought primarily in the Caucasus against the Imperial Russian Army and later against the Armenian volunteer forces loyal to the Armenian National Congress. Many officers who had taken part in the 1908 Young Turk Revolution and became famous later on had served in the Third Army, including Enver Pasha and Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.
With the end of the Ottoman Empire's engagement in World War I, the Third Army was demobilized in 1918.
Notable Commanders[]
- General Celaledin Bey (1850–1853)
- General Husrev Bey (1853–)
- General Enver Pasha (1914–1915)