| Unit Name: | III Army Corps |
| Dates: | October 1934 – 8 May 1945 |
| Native Name: | III. Armeekorps |
| Branch: | Army |
| Type: | Panzer corps |
| Role: | Armoured warfare |
| Size: | Corps |
| Battles: | World War II |
| Notable Commanders: | Hermann Breith Eberhard von Mackensen Leo Freiherr Geyr von Schweppenburg |
III Army Corps was a corps level formation of the German Army during World War II.
The III Corps was formed in October 1934 as III. Armeekorps. The corps took part in Fall Weiss, the 1939 invasion of Poland as a part of Army Group North.It then took part in Fall Gelb as a part of Army Group A, participating in the assault through the Ardennes. In March 1941, the corps was upgraded to a motorised corps status and redesignated III Armeekorps (mot). The Corps was attached to Army Group South for Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union. The corps advanced through Ukraine and took part in the Battle of Brody, Battle of Kiev, Battle of Rostov, Battle of Kharkov and Battle of Uman.
III Panzer Corps was formed in June 1942 from III Army Corps and attached to Army Group A, the formation tasked with capturing the Caucasus as a part of Fall Blau.
In mid-1943, following the loss of the 6th Army at the Battle of Stalingrad, III Panzer Corps took part in the battles around Kharkov as part of Army Group Don. During Operation Citadel, the Corps was the striking force of Army Detachment Kempf as they attempted to protect the right flank of the 4th Panzer Army. It also took part in Operation Roland, and was involved in the retreat from Belgorod to the Dniepr.
At the beginning of 1944, the Corps participated in the relief of the forces trapped in the Korsun-Cherkassy Pocket. In March the Corps was encircled in the Kamenets-Podolsky pocket, along with the rest of the 1st Panzer Army. III Corps drove the breakout and escape. Due to heavy losses, from November 1944 to January 1945, the corps was redesignated as Gruppe Breith, after its commander Hermann Breith.
In late 1944, III Panzerkorps participated in Operation Konrad, the failed attempts to relieve the German and Hungarian garrison at Budapest. The corps then took part in Operation Spring Awakening in Hungary. After its failure, the corps retreated through Austria, surrendering to the U.S. Army on 8 May 1945.
III.Armeekorps, May 1940 - Fall Gelb
III.Armeekorps (mot), September 1941 - Operation Barbarossa
III.Panzerkorps, July 1943 - Operation Citadel
III Panzerkorps, March 1944 - Korsun-Cherkassy Pocket
III Panzerkorps, March 1945 - Operation Spring Awakening
Web site: Lexikon der Wehrmacht. III. Armeekorps. 30 November 2010.