Third Army (Egypt)

The Third Field Army is a field army of the Egyptian Army, with its headquarters in Suez. It is now part of the Unified Command of the area east of the canal (Egypt).

Third Field Army
الجيس الثالث الميداني
ActiveNovember 1968 - Present
Country Egypt
TypeField Army
RoleDefense of Suez and South Sinai
Size90,000 - 120,000
Part ofUnified Command of the area east of the canal
HeadquartersSuez
Colors IdentificationRed, White and Black
   
EngagementsWar of Attrition
Yom Kippur War
Sinai Insurgency
Commanders
Field Army Commander Major General Khaled Qenawi
Notable
commanders		Kadri Osman
Ahmed Badawi
Abdul Munim Wassel
Osama Askar

On 31 January 2015 a "unified command" was established to oversee counterterrorism operations east of the Suez Canal.[1] Osama Askar, commander of the Third Army, was promoted to lieutenant general and given command of the new "unified command."[2] Askar will also retain his seat on the SCAF. Askar's former deputy, Muhammad Abdullah, has been appointed commander, and Tarek Anwar Helal the chief of staff, of the Third Army.[3]

In May 2018 the Third Army comprised the 4th Armoured Division; the 19th Infantry Division, which included an armoured brigade, but whose remaining troops might have been un-mechanized infantry; the 23rd Mechanized Division; and the 11th Armoured Brigade.[4] Previous army commander Osama Askar had previously commanded the 23rd Mechanized Division earlier in his career.[5] The 23rd Division, under Brig Gen Ahmad 'Aboud el Zommer, was previously part of the Second Field Army during the Yom Kippur War.[6]

Operation Badr order of battle, 1973

Just before the beginning of Operation Badr in October 1973, the army had the following troops under its control:[6]

  • Headquarters Third Army (Southern Canal Zone) - Maj Gen Abdel Mun'im Wasel
Chief of Staff - Maj Gen Mustafa Shaheen
Chief of Artillery - Maj Gen Munir Shash
    • 7th Infantry Division* - Brig Gen Ahmad Badawi Said Ahmad
      • 2nd Infantry Brigade
      • 11th Mechanized Infantry Brigade
      • 8th Mechanized Infantry Brigade
    • 19th Infantry Division* - Brig Gen Yusuf Afifi Mohamed
      • 5th Infantry Brigade
      • 7th Infantry Brigade
      • 2nd Mechanized Infantry Brigade
    • 4th Armoured Division - Brig Gen Mohamed Abd el Aziz Qabil
      • 2nd Armored Brigade
      • 3rd Armored Brigade*[7]
      • 6th Armored Brigade
    • 6th Mechanised Division - Brig Gen Mohamed Abul Fath Muharam
      • 22nd Armored Brigade*[8]
      • 113th Mechanised Brigade
      • 1st Mechanised Brigade
    • 130th Independent Amphibious Brigade[9] - Col Mahmoud Shu'aib. At the start of the war the brigade had seventy-four BTR-50 or OT-64 SKOT armoured personnel carriers and 24 PT-76 amphibious light tanks.[10]
    • 25th Independent Armored Brigade*[11] - Col Ahmed Helmy Badawy

As a brigadier general, Ahmed Badawi commanded the 7th Infantry Division during the Yom Kippur War, and after the Third Field Army became encircled, was placed in command of the cut-off force. The isolated part of the army was made up of the 7th and 19th Infantry Divisions, plus two independent armoured brigades, on the east bank, and a mixture of units in Suez city itself.[12]

Notes
  1. "Egypt's New Military Brass". www.washingtoninstitute.org. Retrieved 2016-01-30.
  2. "Egyptian army makes leadership changes". Middle East Monitor – The Latest from the Middle East. Retrieved 2016-01-30.
  3. "Egypt: Land of the Generals". Middle East Eye. Retrieved 2016-01-30.
  4. "Egyptian Army Maps". Egyptian Institute for Studies. May 17, 2018.
  5. "Osama Askar". timep.org. Retrieved 2017-10-18.
  6. Dupuy, Trevor N. (2002). Elusive Victory: The Arab-Israeli Wars, 1947-1974. Military Book Club. ISBN 0-9654428-0-2.
  7. Attached to 19th Division
  8. Attached to 19th Division
  9. Joseph Bermudez. "The Egyptian 130th Amphibious Brigade". www.dtic.mil. Marine Corps Gazette. Retrieved 2016-03-20.
  10. Asher, Dani (2009). The Egyptian Strategy for the Yom Kippur War: An Analysis. McFarland. p. 260. ISBN 9780786454006.
  11. Attached to 7th Division
  12. Trevor Dupuy, Elusive Victory, 1978, 543.
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