3rd Corps (Turkey)

The 3rd Corps (Turkish: 3. Kolordu Komutanlığı) is a field corps of the Turkish Army and the NATO Rapid Deployable Corps — Türkiye (NRDC-T). Headquartered at Ayazaga, Sarıyer in Istanbul, it is part of the First Army. It was established at Kirklareli on March 14, 1911, as the 3. Corps (3. Kolordu) in the Ottoman Empire. It took part in the First Balkan War, the Second Balkan War, the Gallipoli Campaign, operations in the Caucasus 1916–1917, and operations in Palestine in 1918. It then took part in the Battles of Kutahya-Eskişehir and Sakarya in 1921, and the Battle of Dumlupınar and the Great Offensive of 1922, during the Turkish War of Independence. Under Şükrü Naili Gökberk, 3rd Corps entered Istanbul with a ceremony on 6 October 1923, following the end of the city's occupation by the Allies of World War I. In 1923 the corps included the 1st Division and the 6th Division, under the First Army Troops Inspectorate. In 1941, the corps, as part of First Army, Catalca Area, with its headquarters at Çorlu, comprised 1st Infantry Division, 61st Infantry Division, 46th Infantry Division, and 62nd Infantry Division. In 1947 initial U.S. reports on assistance to Turkey said the corps comprised the 7th Division, 46th Division, and 61st Division, within First Army. In August 1966, the corps headquarters was relocated to the former Military Academy building in Istanbul. On April 27, 1973, it moved to its current location in the Ayazağa neighborhood of Sarıyer.