Timeline

	WWI \| WWII \| GULF WAR \| 9/11 \| WAR ON TERRORISM

	WORLD WAR I BEGINS IN EUROPE JULY 28, 1914
	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.
	WORLD WAR I ENDS NOVEMBER 11, 1918
	DECEMBER 15, 1918 Third Army establishes headquarters at Koblenz, Germany.
	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.
	AUGUST 9, 1932 Third Army is reconstituted in the Regular Army.
	OCTOBER 1, 1933 Third Army reactivates at Fort Sam Houston, Texas - training hundreds of thousands of Soldiers for the coming war.
	WORLD WAR II BEGINS IN EUROPE SEPTEMBER 1, 1939
	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.
	ATTACK ON PEARL HARBOR, HAWAII DECEMBER 7, 1941
	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.
	JANUARY 26, 1944 LTG General George S. Patton, Jr. takes command of Third Army.
	D-DAY JUNE 6, 1944
	JULY 5, 1944 Third Army Headquarters lands on French soil as part of the Normandy landings, which began on D-Day.
	AUGUST 1, 1944 Third Army activates and begins combat operations in Normandy, France.
	AUGUST 21, 1944 Third Army and the First Canadian Army seal the Falaise Pocket.
	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.
	SEPTEMBER 8, 1944 Third Army crosses the Moselle River.
	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.
	SEPTEMBER 27, 1944 Medal of Honor awarded to First Lieutenant James H. Fields on September 27, 1944 near Rechicourt, France. Read more here.
	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.
	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.
	NOVEMBER 13, 1944 Medal of Honor awarded to Staff Sergeant Junior J. Spurrier on November 13, 1944, near Achain, France. Read more here.
	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.
	NOVEMBER 22, 1944 Third Army captures the fortress city of Metz, France.
	BATTLE OF THE BULGE BEGINS DECEMBER 16, 1944
	DECEMBER 26, 1944 Third Army breaks through to Bastogne, Belgium.
	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.
	MARCH 22, 1945 Third Army crosses the Rhine river.
	MAY 5, 1945 Third Army liberates Pilzen, Czechoslovakia.
	WWII ENDS SEPTEMBER 2, 1945
	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.
	DECEMBER 21, 1945 General George S. Patton, Jr. dies in Heidelberg, Germany.
	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.
	NATIONAL SECURITY ACT OF 1947 RESTRUCTURES THE U.S. MILITARY AND CREATES THE DEPT. OF DEFENSE
	VIETNAM WAR NOVEMBER 1, 1955 - APRIL 30, 1975
	OCTOBER 1, 1973 As a result of post-Vietnam War Army downsizing, Third Army is inactivated at Fort McPherson, Georgia.
	IRAN HOSTAGE CRISIS NOVEMBER 4, 1979 - JANUARY 20, 1981
	RAPID DEPLOYMENT JOINT TASK FORCE (RDJTF) CREATED MARCH 1, 1980
	DECEMBER, 1982 Third Army reactivates at Fort McPherson, Georgia to serve as the Army Component Command for the newly forming U.S. Central Command.
	UNITED STATES CENTRAL COMMAND (USCENTCOM) CREATED FORMERLY RAPID DEPLOYMENT JOINT TASK FORCCE (RDJTF) JANUARY 1, 1983
	GOLDWATER NICHOLS DOD REORGANIZATION ACT OF 1986 REWORKS THE COMMAND STRUCTURE OF THE U.S. MILITARY
	GULF WAR BEGINS AUGUST 2, 1990
	AUGUST 2, 1990 Third Army deploys to Kuwait to command land forces for Operation Desert Shield.
	OPERATION DESERT SHIELD AUGUST 1990 - JANUARY 1991
	OPERATION DESERT STORM JANUARY 1991 - FEBRUARY 1991
	FEBRUARY 24, 1991 Operation Desert Storm ground campaign begins.
	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.
	GULF WAR ENDS FEBRUARY 28, 1991
	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.
	9/11 ATTACKS SEPTEMBER 11, 2001
	OPERATION ENDURING FREEDOM BEGINS OCTOBER 7, 2001
	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.
	2002 U.S. Central Command designates Third Army as the Coalition Forces Land Component Command for planned ground operations in Iraq.
	OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM BEGINS MARCH 20, 2003
	MARCH 20, 2003 Third Army begins a campaign to liberate Iraq - which takes only six weeks.
	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.
	APRIL 11, 2003 Third Army headquarters deploys from Kuwait to Baghdad to direct the occupation.
	JUNE 14, 2003 Third Army passes responsibility for Iraq to Combined Joint Task Force 7 and Third Army headquarters returns to Kuwait.
	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.
	JUNE 16, 2006 U.S. Army Central is established with the lineage and honors of the Third Army.
	OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM ENDS \| OPERATION NEW DAWN BEGINS SEPTEMBER 1, 2010
	JULY 15, 2011 U.S. Army Central relocates its main command post to Shaw Air Force Base in Sumter, South Carolina.
	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.
	OPERATION NEW DAWN ENDS DECEMBER 15, 2011
	JULY, 2014 U.S. Army Central deploys to Iraq to support what will later become Combined Joint Task Force - Operation Inherent Resolve.
	OPERATION ENDURING FREEDOM ENDS DECEMBER 28, 2014
	SEPTEMBER 9, 2015 U.S. Army Central passes their mission in Operation Inherent Resolve to U.S. III Corps.
	JOINT COMPREHENSIVE PLAN OF ACTION OCTOBER 18, 2015
	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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