3rd Army (Austria-Hungary)
3. Armee 3rd Army | |
---|---|
Active | August 1914 – January 1918 |
Country | Austria-Hungary |
Type | Army |
Engagements |
|
Commanders | |
Notable commanders | Rudolf von Brudermann |
The 3rd Army (
History
1914
The 3rd Army was formed in August 1914 as part of
In September 1914, in the aftermath of the defense of Galicia, Bruderman had been replaced as the army commander by Svetozar Boroević von Bojna.[7] Under his command the 3rd Army spent the remaining winter months of that year defending important mountain passes throughout the Carpathians.[8]
1915
The 3rd Army, with support of the German South Army, spearheaded the offensive against Russian positions in the Carpathian Mountains in January 1915 in an attempt to reverse the losses during last year's Galicia debacle. By then it had been built up to include fifteen infantry and four and a half cavalry divisions for the assault, which began on January 23 with the goal of securing the rail and communications hubs of Medzilaborce, Sambir, and Sanok. Despite some early successes against numerically inferior enemy units which allowed them to advance about 38 kilometers, the Habsburg troops suffered from a lack of reinforcements and logistical problems. The mountain winter weather also turned for the worse as the overstretched 3rd Army had to defend its line from Russian counteroffensives, as it occupied a large gap between two important passes on January 26. By early February, the Austro-Hungarian offensive had stalled without reaching the besieged Przemyśl fortress, and the Russians remained in control of the strategically important passes while 3rd Army divisions had been reduced to the size of brigades and lower. Thus it ended up losing its numerical advantage. By mid-February the Russian army had regained the initiative while the Austro-Hungarian troop strength had been badly depleted. The remaining men of 3rd Army were subjected to below freezing temperatures and other environmental dangers, lack of supplies, and no possibility of relief. By late February, it lost around 88,000 men—about 75% of its initial strength—and had to finally be reinforced by the newly-formed 2nd Army.[9]
After the fighting in the Carpathians, the 3rd Army was assigned to take part in the
The 3rd Army was reactivated in early October 1915 for the
1916–18
In mid-1916, the 3rd Army was redeployed to the
During the
Order of battle in August 1914
Upon mobilization at the outbreak of war the 3rd Army consisted of the following units.[3]
Organization of 3rd Army in August 1914 | ||
---|---|---|
Army | Corps | Division |
3rd Army | XI Corps | 30th Infantry Division |
XIV Corps | 3rd Infantry Division | |
8th Infantry Division | ||
44th Landwehr Infantry Division | ||
(Subordinated to HQ) | 41st Honvéd Infantry Division | |
23rd Honvéd Infantry Division | ||
4th Cavalry Division | ||
2nd Cavalry Division | ||
11th Honved Cavalry Division |
Order of battle in 1914–15
The following units were assigned to 3rd Army during the time of the Carpathian and Gorlice-Tarnów operations.[4][16]
- Assigned in August 1914:
- II Corps (until May 1915)
- IX Corps (until January 1915)
- Assigned in November and December 1914:
- Corps "Szurmay" (until February 1915)
- XVIII Corps (until February 1915)
- Assigned in January 1915:
- V Corps (until February 1915)
- VII Corps (until May 1915)
- X Corps (until June 1915)
- XIX Corps (until February 1915)
- Assigned in February 1915:
- XVII Corps (until June 1915)
Order of battle after Gorlice–Tarnów
The following units were assigned to 3rd Army in the period between mid-1915 and the end of the war in 1918.[4][17]
- Assigned in October 1915:
- VIII Corps (until March 1916)
- XII Corps (until June 1916)
- XIX Corps (until September 1918)
- Assigned in May 1916:
- I Corps (until July 1916)
- XVII Corps (until August 1918)
- Assigned in June and July 1916:
- III Corps (until July 1916)
- 5th Infantry Division (until September 1916)
- Corps "Hadfy" (until June 1917)
- VIII Corps (until January 1917)
- Assigned in October 1916:
- XIII Corps (until January 1918)
- Assigned in March and April 1917:
- 5th Infantry Division (until December 1918)
- XXVI Corps (until September 1917)
Commanders
The following served as the commander of the 3rd Army during its existence.[7][16][17]
From | Rank | Name |
---|---|---|
14 August 1914 | General der Kavallerie |
Rudolf von Brudermann |
4 September 1914 | General der Infanterie |
Svetozar Boroević von Bojna
|
25 May 1915 | Feldzeugmeister |
Paul Puhallo von Brlog |
8 September 1915 | General der Kavallerie | Karl Tersztyánszky von Nádas |
27 September 1915 | Generaloberst |
Hermann Kövess von Kövessháza |
20 October 1916 | Generaloberst | Karl von Kirchbach auf Lauterbach
|
5 March 1917 | Generaloberst | Karl Tersztyánszky von Nádas |
July 1917 | Generaloberst | Karl Křitek |
Chiefs of staff
The following served as the chief of staff of the 3rd Army.[16][17]
From | Rank | Name |
---|---|---|
August 1914 | Generalmajor | Rudolf Pfeffer |
September 1914 | Generalmajor | Adolf von Boog |
September 1915 | Oberst | Adalbert Dani von Gyarmata und Magyar-Cséke |
September 1915 | Generalmajor | Theodor Konopicky |
March 1917 | Oberst | Heinrich von Salis-Samaden |
Sources
Notes
- ^ John Dixon-Nuttal. THE AUSTRO-HUNGARIAN ARMY 1914-18. Chapter 3: Organization and Command of the Austro-Hungarian Army
- ^ John Dixon-Nuttal. THE AUSTRO-HUNGARIAN ARMY 1914-18. Chapter 4: The Army in the Field
- ^ a b Glenn Jewison; Jörg C. Steiner (2016). "Order of Battle - Galicia August, 1914". Austro-hungarian-army.co.uk. Archived from the original on 9 December 2017. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
- ^ a b c d e f g John Dixon-Nuttal. THE AUSTRO-HUNGARIAN ARMY 1914-18. Chapter 6 App. B: Armeen
- ^ Rickard J. (28 August 2007). Battle of Gnila Lipa, 26-30 August 1914. History of War.org. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
- ^ Shea, John (2014). The Galician Battles of 1914 Retrieved 29 August 2017.
- ^ a b Glenn Jewison; Jörg C. Steiner (2016). "Higher Commands and Commanders". Austro-hungarian-army.co.uk. Archived from the original on 19 August 2017. Retrieved 14 January 2017.
- ^ a b Svetozar Boroević von Bojna Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine. Austro-hungarian-army.co.uk. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
- ^ Graydon A. Tunstall (13 May 2014). "The Carpathian Winter War, 1915". HistoryNet.com. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
- ^ Di Nardo (2010), p. 72
- ^ 100 Years Ago: The Gorlice–Tarnów Offensive. Published 2 May 2015. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
- ^ DiNardo (2010), p. 86
- ^ Herwig (2009), pp. 159–161
- ^ Duffy, Michael (22 August 2009). Battles - The Battle of Asiago, 1916. Firstworldwar.com. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
- ^ Herwig (2009), p. 325.
- ^ a b c 3. armáda [1914-1915]. (in Czech). Retrieved 29 August 2017.
- ^ a b c 3. armáda [1915-1918]. (in Czech). Retrieved 29 August 2017.
Books
- DiNardo, Richard L. (2010). Breakthrough: The Gorlice-Tarnow Campaign, 1915. Praeger. ISBN 978-0275991104.
- DiNardo, Richard L. (2015). Invasion: The Conquest of Serbia, 1915. Santa Barbara: Praeger.
- Herwig, Holger H. (2009). The First World War: Germany and Austria-Hungary 1914-1918. Bloomsbury Academic. ISBN 978-0340573488.