Америка армиясының III корпусы тарихы

the Third Army Corps of the Union Army during the American Civil War
One of four active corps of the U. S. Army, currently part of U. S. Army Forces Command

III Corps is a corps of the United States Army headquartered at Fort Cavazos, Texas. It is a major formation of the United States Army Forces Command. Activated in World War I in France, III Corps oversaw US Army divisions as they repelled several major German offensives and led them into Germany. The corps was deactivated following the end of the war. Reactivated in the interwar years, III Corps trained US Army formations for combat before and during World War II, before itself being deployed to the European Theater where it participated in several key engagements, including the Battle of the Bulge where it relieved the surrounded 101st Airborne Division. For the next 50 years, the corps was a key training element for the US Army as it sent troops overseas in support of the Cold War, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. The corps saw no combat deployments, however, until Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003. as of 2019, III Corps includes some of the oldest formations of their type in the US Army: 1st Infantry Division, 1st Cavalry Division, 1st Armored Division and 1st Medical Brigade.

III Corps was first organized on 16 May 1918 in France. It was designed as three of the four newly activated corps of the American Expeditionary Force, which at that time numbered over one million men in 23 divisions. The corps took command of US forces training with the French Seventh Army at the same time that IV Corps took command of US forces training with the French Eighth Army.

In July, the corps was rushed to the Villers Cotterêts area in preparation for the Third Battle of the Aisne, the first major Allied counteroffensive of the year. There, it was put under the French Tenth Army and given administrative command of the 1st Division and the 2nd Division which were previously under command of the French XX Corps. However, the command group arrived in the area too late to exercise tactical command, and it was instead attached to the French XX Corps. On 18 July, the attack was launched, with the force spearheading the French Tenth Army's assault on the high ground south of Soissons. During this attack, the Corps also cut rail lines supplying the German Army. The first day of the attack was a success, but on the second day, the Germans were reinforced with heavier weapons and were able to blunt the attack, inflicting high casualties. The force was successful despite heavy casualties, and German forces were forced to retreat. On 1 August, the corps arrived in the Vesle area near the Marne River, where it assumed command of the 3rd Division, 28th Division, and 32nd Division from the French XXXVIII Corps, placing side by side with the U. S. I Corps for a few days. Troops continued to advance until September when they withdrew to form the new First United States Army.

First Army formed up in preparation to advance in the Meuse Argonne campaign. It consisted of over 600,000 men in I Corps, III Corps, and V Corps. III Corps took the Army's east flank, protecting it as the Army advanced to Montfaucon, then Cunel and Romagne sous Montfaucon. The offensive was slow and hampered by inexperience of many of the divisions under the Army's command, though III Corps was effective in protecting its sector. They advanced through September and October, taking a few weeks for rest after the formation of Second United States Army. On 1 November, the First Army went on a general offensive, pushing north to the Meuse River and the Barricourt Ridge. It was successful, pushing German forces back and advancing to the river until the end of the war. Around that time, III Corps received its shoulder sleeve insignia, approved it by telegram, though the insignia would not be officially authorized until 1922. The corps was demobilized in Neuwied, Germany at the close of hostilities. In 1940, III Corps was tasked specifically with training newly formed US Army combat divisions in preparation for deployment. It was moved to Camp Hood, Texas for this mission.

Following the end of the Cold War, III Corps headquarters itself saw no major contingencies; however, it saw numerous units under its command deploy to contingencies around the world. III Corps units were sent to Grenada, Panama, Honduras, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Iraq. In the fall of 1990, two 6th Cavalry Brigade (Air Combat) units deployed to Iraq during Operation Desert Shield. One of those units was 2nd Battalion, 158th Aviation Regiment, a Chinook battalion from Fort Hood. Other corps units also provided humanitarian support for Operation Restore Hope in Somalia. III Corps elements supported Operation Joint Endeavor in Bosnia and Herzegovina as well. III Corps has for many years participated in an exchange program which sees a Canadian Army officer appointed as a deputy commanding general. Notably, Peter Devlin deployed with the corps to Iraq in 2005. III Corps Artillery was inactivated on 8 September 2006. Henceforth the field artillery brigades, soon to become Fires Brigades, would be assigned to the corps and division headquarters directly. In December 2006, the corps returned to Iraq for a second time to serve as commanding headquarters for Multi National Corps Iraq. During this 15 month deployment, the corps took command of the force at its largest with Iraq War troop surge. The corps conducted a similar mission to its first deployment, focusing on providing personnel management, training, communications, convoy escort, and other duties to support the commanding elements of Multi National Force Iraq. III Corps fulfilled this mission until February 2008, when it returned home, again relieved by XVIII Airborne Corps. In 2009, the corps began a number of training initiatives with the Republic of Korea Army. These included Operation Key Resolve, a command post exercise simulating major, high intensity combat operations. The exercises were held in Yongin, South Korea. These operations were designed to keep the corps familiar with commanding during large scale conventional warfare, as opposed to counter insurgency tactics it employed during its two tours in Iraq. Upon return to the United States, the corps conducted similar exercises at Fort Cavazos. On 5 November 2009, a gunman opened fire in the Soldier Readiness Center of Fort Hood, killing 13 people and wounding 30 others. Nidal Hasan, a Muslim U. S. Army major and psychiatrist, was alleged to be the gunman. He was shot several times and then arrested by civilian police officers Sergeants Mark Todd and Kimberly Munley. Much of the subsequent investigation was handled by III Corps, as the soldiers killed were under the corps' chain of command. III Corps, commanded by LTG Robert W. Cone, assumed its final Iraq mission from I Corps from Joint Base Lewis–McChord, Washington in February 2010. As the core element of United States Forces – Iraq headquarters, III Corps oversaw a theater wide transition from full spectrum operations to stability operations. The corps changed the counterinsurgency (COIN) fight dynamic from partnered combat operations, led by brigade combat teams, to training, advising, and assisting operations, led by brigades organized as advise and assist brigades. The corps also completed the transition to complete Iraqi lead for security operations. During the deployment, III Corps reduced the amount of aviation assets in Iraq, resulting in one enhanced combat aviation brigade with six maneuver battalions having responsibility for the entire joint operations area. III Corps also oversaw the reduction of the force in Iraq from 110,000 to 50,000 U. S. personnel by 1 Sept. 2010, which established the conditions for the end of Operation Iraqi Freedom and the transition to Operation New Dawn. XVIII Airborne Corps from Fort Liberty, North Carolina, assumed the Iraq follow on mission from III Corps in February 2011. The corps saw its first action in Afghanistan when it deployed to Kabul in early April 2013. The corps, under the command of LTG Mark A. Milley, replaced the U. S. V Corps from Stuttgart, Germany, in May 2013 and assumed the mission of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) Joint Command, or IJC, which was responsible for day to day operations throughout Afghanistan. During the corps' deployment, IJC oversaw Milestone 13/Tranche 5 ceremony on 18 June 2013, which marked the official transition of full responsibility for nationwide security operations from ISAF to the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. After the Milestone 13 ceremony, IJC transitioned from Coalition led combat operations to Afghan led combat operations and Coalition forces providing training, advice, and assistance. The ANSF, officially less than three years old, reached its peak of more than 350,000 members and conducted more than 70 major operations in more than 22 provinces. In November 2013, IJC forces provided technical support to the ANSF as it secured the Loya Jirga, a country wide gathering of Afghan local leaders and officials, in Kabul. The Loya Jirga successfully laid the groundwork for a U. S. Afghanistan Bilateral Security Agreement. During the deployment, III Corps also oversaw the drawdown of U. S. forces from more than 80,000 to 34,000 by 1 Feb. 2014. XVIII Airborne Corps from Fort Liberty, North Carolina, assumed the ISAF Joint Command mission from III Corps in March 2014. On 22 September 2015, III Corps assumed command of CJTF OIR from United States Army Central. On 13 October 2020, the III Corps commander launched Operation People First at Fort Cavazos, Fort Bliss, Fort Carson, Fort Riley, and other III Corps units.

The corps received five campaign streamers in World War I and four campaign streamers in World War II.