First Army (Turkey) Explained

Unit Name:First Army
Dates:November 1921 – June 1923
October 1923–present
Country:Turkey
Size:120,000 men Field Army
Command Structure:Turkish Army
Garrison:Selimiye, Istanbul
Patron:Citizens of the Republic of Turkey
Current Commander:General Ali Sivri
Commander2:Brigadier General Faruk Metin
Commander2 Label:Chief of Staff
Notable Commanders:Ali İhsan Pasha (1921–1922)
Nureddin Pasha (1922–1923)
Kâzım Karabekir Pasha (1923–1924)
Ali Sait Pasha (1924–1933)
Fahrettin Altay (1933–1943)
Cemil Cahit Toydemir (1943–1946)
Salih Omurtak (1946)
Nuri Yamut (1946–1949)

The First Army of the Republic of Turkey is one of the four field armies of the Turkish Army. Its headquarters is located at Selimiye Barracks in Istanbul. It guards the sensitive borders of Turkey with Greece and Bulgaria, including the straits Bosporus and Dardanelles. The First Army is stationed in East Thrace.

History

Ali İhsan Sabis is the first commander of the 1st Army, which has been operating since the Ottoman Empire. The 1st army depends on the Turkish Land Forces. The army is responsible for the Thrace region, the straits and the safety of Istanbul. Is commanded by a 4 star general. Under normal circumstances, the second duty of the Turkish Chief of General Staff is the next task. From 1983 to the present day, it was the first place where all the chiefs of the general staff served.

Formations

Order of Battle, 30 August 1922

On 30 August 1922, the First Army was organized as follows:

First Army HQ (Commander: Mirliva Nureddin Pasha, Chief of Staff: Miralay Mehmet Emin Bey[1])

Order of Battle, 1941

See main article: Turkish Army order of battle in 1941. In June 1941, the First Army was organized as follows:[2]

First Army HQ (Istanbul, Commander: Fahrettin Altay)

Order of Battle, late 1980s

In the late 1980s it comprised four corps:[3]

Order of Battle, 2010

As of November 2000, the 3rd Mechanized Infantry Division Command (3. Mekanize Piyade Tümen Komutanlığı) existed.[4] Also reported during at ceremony in October 2005 at Edirne.[5]

See also

References

  1. https://web.archive.org/web/20070526133250/http://www.zafer.aku.edu.tr/komutan1.htm Kocatepe Zafer Yürüyüşü
  2. Mete Tunçay, "İkinci Dünya Savaşı'nın Başlarında (1939–1941) Türk Ordusu", Tarih ve Toplum, S. 35, Kasım 1986, p. 41.
  3. Nigel Thomas's NATO Armies 1949–87, published in 1988.
  4. https://kararlar.uyusmazlik.gov.tr/Karar/Content/15a4adf8-54a5-410f-a197-af5991a196e3?excludeGerekce=False&wordsOnly=False
  5. https://www.haber7.com/guncel/haber/117638-haci-ilbeyin-muhtesem-zaferi