The III Corps of the Ottoman Empire (Turkish: 3üncü KolorduorÜçüncü Kolordu) was one of the corps of the Ottoman Army. 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 in 1911 was structured as such:[2]
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.[15]
After Mudros
Order of Battle, November 1918
In November 1918, the corps was structured as follows:[16]
III Corps (Syria)
11th Division, 24th Division
Order of Battle, January 1919
In January 1919, the corps was structured as follows:[17][18]
^T.C. Genelkurmay Harp Tarihi Başkanlığı Yayınları, Türk İstiklâl Harbine Katılan Tümen ve Daha Üst Kademelerdeki Komutanların Biyografileri, Genkurmay Başkanlığı Basımevi, Ankara, 1972, p. 186. (in Turkish)
^Edward J. Erickson, Defeat in Detail, The Ottoman Army in the Balkans, 1912–1913, Westport, Praeger, 2003, pp. 373–374.
^Edward J. Erickson, Defeat in Detail, The Ottoman Army in the Balkans, 1912–1913, Westport, Praeger, 2003, p. 83.
^Edward J. Erickson, Defeat in Detail, The Ottoman Army in the Balkans, 1912–1913, Westport, Praeger, 2003, p. 103.
^Edward J. Erickson, Defeat in Detail, The Ottoman Army in the Balkans, 1912–1913, Westport, Praeger, 2003, p. 128.
^Edward J. Erickson, Defeat in Detail, The Ottoman Army in the Balkans, 1912–1913, Westport, Praeger, 2003, p. 287.
^Edward J. Erickson, Order to Die: A History of the Ottoman Army in the First World War, Greenwood Press, 2001, ISBN0-313-31516-7, p. 38, 43.
^Edward J. Erickson, Order to Die: A History of the Ottoman Army in the First World War, Greenwood Press, 2001, ISBN0-313-31516-7, p. 86.
^Uyar, Mesut (2015). The Ottoman Defence Against The Anzac Landing. Australian Army Campaigns. Vol. 16. Newport, NSW: Big Sky. p. 53. ISBN978-1-925275-01-8.
^Edward J. Erickson, Order to Die: A History of the Ottoman Army in the First World War, Greenwood Press, 2001, ISBN0-313-31516-7, p. 109, 126.
^Edward J. Erickson, Order to Die: A History of the Ottoman Army in the First World War, Greenwood Press, 2001, ISBN0-313-31516-7, p. 134.
^Edward J. Erickson, Order to Die: A History of the Ottoman Army in the First World War, Greenwood Press, 2001, ISBN0-313-31516-7, p. 170.
^Edward J. Erickson, Order to Die: A History of the Ottoman Army in the First World War, Greenwood Press, 2001, ISBN0-313-31516-7, p. 181.
^Edward J. Erickson, Order to Die: A History of the Ottoman Army in the First World War, Greenwood Press, 2001, ISBN0-313-31516-7, p. 197.
^Erickson, Edward J. (2007). John Gooch; Brian Holden Reid (eds.). Ottoman Army Effectiveness in World War I: A Comparative Study. No. 26 of Cass series: military history and policy. Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge. ISBN978-0-203-96456-9. ISBN020396456X. p. 14, & Erickson 2001 tables 4.2, 5.4, 6.1, 7.1 and 7.3
^Edward J. Erickson, Order to Die: A History of the Ottoman Army in the First World War, Greenwood Press, 2001, ISBN0-313-31516-7, p. 202.
^Edward J. Erickson, Order to Die: A History of the Ottoman Army in the First World War, Greenwood Press, 2001, ISBN0-313-31516-7, p. 209.
^Zekeriya Türkmen, Mütareke Döneminde Ordunun Durumu ve Yeniden Yapılanması (1918-1920), Türk Tarih Kurumu Basımevi, 2001, ISBN975-16-1372-8, p. 326.
