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WWI | WWII | GULF WAR | 9/11 | WAR ON TERRORISM
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WORLD WAR I BEGINS IN EUROPE
JULY 28, 1914 |
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NOVEMBER 7, 1918
Third Army is activated at Chaumont, France with orders to disarm and disband German forces during World War I. Five days later, WWI ends in victory for the Allies.
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WORLD WAR I ENDS
NOVEMBER 11, 1918 |
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DECEMBER 15, 1918
Third Army establishes headquarters at Koblenz, Germany. |
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JULY 2, 1919
Third Army deactivates in Germany, where it had served as part of the Allied Army of Occupation since the end of the war. |
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AUGUST 9, 1932
Third Army is reconstituted in the Regular Army.
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OCTOBER 1, 1933
Third Army reactivates at Fort Sam Houston, Texas - training hundreds of thousands of Soldiers for the coming war.
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WORLD WAR II BEGINS IN EUROPE
SEPTEMBER 1, 1939
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1940 - 1941
Third Army conducts several large-scale field exercises known as the Louisiana Maneuvers. Third Army's Louisiana Maneuvers provided vital training for soldiers who would go on to fight and win in Europe and the Pacific. |
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ATTACK ON PEARL HARBOR, HAWAII
DECEMBER 7, 1941
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DECEMBER 31, 1943
Third Army is called to participate in the Allied Invasion of Europe. They depart to the U.K. to meet their new commander, General George S. Patton.
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JANUARY 26, 1944
LTG General George S. Patton, Jr. takes command of Third Army.
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D-DAY
JUNE 6, 1944
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JULY 5, 1944
Third Army Headquarters lands on French soil as part of the Normandy landings, which began on D-Day.
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AUGUST 1, 1944
Third Army activates and begins combat operations in Normandy, France.
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AUGUST 21, 1944
Third Army and the First Canadian Army seal the Falaise Pocket.
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AUGUST 25, 1944
Medal of Honor awarded to Private Harold A. Garman for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty on August 25, 1944 near Montereau, France. Read more here.
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SEPTEMBER 8, 1944
Third Army crosses the Moselle River.
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SEPTEMBER 14, 1944
Medal of Honor awarded to First Lieutenant Edgar H. Lloyd on September 14, 1944 near Pompey, France. Read more here.
Medal of Honor awarded to Sergeant Joseph J. Sadowski on September 14, 1944 at Valhey, France. Read more here.
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SEPTEMBER 27, 1944
Medal of Honor awarded to First Lieutenant James H. Fields on September 27, 1944 near Rechicourt, France. Read more here.
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NOVEMBER 8, 1944
Medal of Honor awarded to Technician Fifth Grade Alfred L. Wilson on November 8, 1944 near Bezange la Petite, France. Read more here.
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NOVEMBER 12, 1944
Medal of Honor awarded to Private First Class Foster J. Sayers on November 12, 1944 near Thionville, France. Read more here.
Medal of Honor awarded to Technical Sergeant Forrest E. Everhart on November 12, 1944 at Korling, France. Read more here.
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NOVEMBER 13, 1944
Medal of Honor awarded to Staff Sergeant Junior J. Spurrier on November 13, 1944, near Achain, France. Read more here.
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NOVEMBER 19, 1944
Medal of Honor awarded to Staff Sergeant Ruben Rivers for extraordinary heroism in action during November 15-19, 1944, toward Guebling, France. Read more here.
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NOVEMBER 22, 1944
Third Army captures the fortress city of Metz, France.
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BATTLE OF THE BULGE BEGINS
DECEMBER 16, 1944 |
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DECEMBER 26, 1944
Third Army breaks through to Bastogne, Belgium. |
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FEBRUARY 1, 1945
Medal of Honor awarded to Corporal Edward Bennett for fearless initiative, stalwart combat ability, and outstanding gallantry at Heckhuscheid, Germany. Read more here.
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MARCH 22, 1945
Third Army crosses the Rhine river. |
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MAY 5, 1945
Third Army liberates Pilzen, Czechoslovakia. |
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WWII ENDS
SEPTEMBER 2, 1945 |
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SEPTEMBER 2, 1945
By the end of the war, Patton had led Third Army on eight major campaigns across France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Czechoslovakia, and Austria. Third Army becomes part of the Army of Occupation, remaining in Germany until 1947. |
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DECEMBER 21, 1945
General George S. Patton, Jr. dies in Heidelberg, Germany. |
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MARCH 15, 1947
Third Army returns to the U.S. and sets up headquarters at Fort McPherson, Georgia. Third Army assumes a training role similar to its mission pre-World War II. |
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NATIONAL SECURITY ACT OF 1947
RESTRUCTURES THE U.S. MILITARY AND CREATES THE DEPT. OF DEFENSE |
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VIETNAM WAR
NOVEMBER 1, 1955 - APRIL 30, 1975 |
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OCTOBER 1, 1973
As a result of post-Vietnam War Army downsizing, Third Army is inactivated at Fort McPherson, Georgia. |
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IRAN HOSTAGE CRISIS
NOVEMBER 4, 1979 - JANUARY 20, 1981 |
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RAPID DEPLOYMENT JOINT TASK FORCE (RDJTF) CREATED
MARCH 1, 1980 |
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DECEMBER, 1982
Third Army reactivates at Fort McPherson, Georgia to serve as the Army Component Command for the newly forming U.S. Central Command. |
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UNITED STATES CENTRAL COMMAND (USCENTCOM) CREATED
FORMERLY RAPID DEPLOYMENT JOINT TASK FORCCE (RDJTF)
JANUARY 1, 1983 |
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GOLDWATER NICHOLS DOD REORGANIZATION ACT OF 1986
REWORKS THE COMMAND STRUCTURE OF THE U.S. MILITARY |
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GULF WAR BEGINS
AUGUST 2, 1990 |
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AUGUST 2, 1990
Third Army deploys to Kuwait to command land forces for Operation Desert Shield.
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OPERATION DESERT SHIELD
AUGUST 1990 - JANUARY 1991 |
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OPERATION DESERT STORM
JANUARY 1991 - FEBRUARY 1991 |
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FEBRUARY 24, 1991
Operation Desert Storm ground campaign begins. |
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FEBRUARY 27, 1991
Third Army and coalition forces liberate Kuwait from the Iraqi Republican Guard. Third Army remains engaged in the region for more than a decade afterwards. |
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GULF WAR ENDS
FEBRUARY 28, 1991 |
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MARCH 1991 - DECEMBER 1996
As part of Operation Provide Comfort, Third Army provides humanitarian aid to Kurdish refugees who fled their homes in northern Iraq after the Gulf War. |
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9/11 ATTACKS
SEPTEMBER 11, 2001 |
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OPERATION ENDURING FREEDOM BEGINS
OCTOBER 7, 2001 |
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NOVEMBER 11, 2001 - MAY 31, 2002
As the Coalition Forces Land Component for U.S. Central Command, Third Army commands the ground war in Afghanistan and the surrounding countries. |
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2002
U.S. Central Command designates Third Army as the Coalition Forces Land Component Command for planned ground operations in Iraq. |
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OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM BEGINS
MARCH 20, 2003 |
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MARCH 20, 2003
Third Army begins a campaign to liberate Iraq - which takes only six weeks. |
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APRIL 4, 2003
Medal of Honor awarded to Sergeant First Class Paul R. Smith for acts of gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty in action with an armed enemy near Baghdad International Airport, Iraq on April 4, 2003. Read more here.
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APRIL 11, 2003
Third Army headquarters deploys from Kuwait to Baghdad to direct the occupation. |
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JUNE 14, 2003
Third Army passes responsibility for Iraq to Combined Joint Task Force 7 and Third Army headquarters returns to Kuwait. |
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APRIL 14, 2004
Medal of Honor awarded to Corporal Jason L. Dunham for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while conducting a reconnaissance mission in the town of Karabilah, Iraq. Read more here.
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JUNE 16, 2006
U.S. Army Central is established with the lineage and honors of the Third Army. |
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OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM ENDS | OPERATION NEW DAWN BEGINS
SEPTEMBER 1, 2010 |
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JULY 15, 2011
U.S. Army Central relocates its main command post to Shaw Air Force Base in Sumter, South Carolina. |
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DECEMBER 18, 2011
U.S. Army Central concludes Operation Nickel, the withdrawal of forces and equipment out of Iraq, as the last U.S. convoy departs on this date. |
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OPERATION NEW DAWN ENDS
DECEMBER 15, 2011 |
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JULY, 2014
U.S. Army Central deploys to Iraq to support what will later become Combined Joint Task Force - Operation Inherent Resolve. |
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OPERATION ENDURING FREEDOM ENDS
DECEMBER 28, 2014 |
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SEPTEMBER 9, 2015
U.S. Army Central passes their mission in Operation Inherent Resolve to U.S. III Corps. |
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JOINT COMPREHENSIVE PLAN OF ACTION
OCTOBER 18, 2015
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TODAY
U.S. Army Central continues to support the fight and prepare for the future, protecting our forces and building partner nation capacity in the U.S. Central Command area of operations... |
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