III Armored Corps
III Corps[4] 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.
For the Third Army Corps of the Union Army during the American Civil War, see III Corps (Union Army).III Corps
- 1918–1919
- 1927–1946
- 1951–1959
- 1961–present
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 April 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.
History[edit]
World War I[edit]
III Corps was first organized on 16 May 1918 in France.[5] 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.[6]
III Corps, Fort Cavazos, Texas