The
First Army was a
field armyAn army An army An army (from Latin armata "armed (things)" via Old French armée, "armed" (feminine), in the broadest sense, is the land-based Military of a nation. It may also include other branches of the military such as the air force via means of aviation corps...
of the
British ArmyThe British Army is the land armed forces branch of the British Armed Forces. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdoms of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England and Scotland and...
that existed during the First and Second World Wars.
The First Army was part of the
British Army during World War IThe British Army during World War I fought the largest and most costly war in its long history. Unlike the French and German Armies, its units were made up exclusively of volunteers—as opposed to conscripts—at the outset of the conflict...
and was formed on 26 December, 1914 when the
corpsA Corps is either a large formation, or an administrative grouping of troops within an armed force with a common function such as Artillery or Signals representing an arm of service...
of the British Expeditionary Force were divided into the First Army under Lieutenant-General
Sir Douglas HaigField Marshal Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig,
KT,
GCB,
OM,
GCVO,
KCIE,
ADC was a British soldier and senior commander during World War I. He commanded the British Expeditionary Force from 1915 to the end of...
and the
Second ArmyThe British Second Army existed in both the First and Second World Wars.-World War I:The Second Army was part of the British Army during World War I, it was formed on 26 December 1914 when the British Expeditionary Force was split in two due to becoming too big to control its subordinate...
(
Horace Smith-DorrienGeneral Sir Horace Lockwood Smith-Dorrien GCB, GCMG, DSO, ADC was a British soldier and commander of the British II Corps and Second Army of the BEF during the Great War.-Early life and career:...
). First Army having the I Corps, IV Corps and the Indian Corps under command.
The
First Army was a
field armyAn army An army An army (from Latin armata "armed (things)" via Old French armée, "armed" (feminine), in the broadest sense, is the land-based Military of a nation. It may also include other branches of the military such as the air force via means of aviation corps...
of the
British ArmyThe British Army is the land armed forces branch of the British Armed Forces. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdoms of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England and Scotland and...
that existed during the First and Second World Wars.
First World War
The First Army was part of the
British Army during World War IThe British Army during World War I fought the largest and most costly war in its long history. Unlike the French and German Armies, its units were made up exclusively of volunteers—as opposed to conscripts—at the outset of the conflict...
and was formed on 26 December, 1914 when the
corpsA Corps is either a large formation, or an administrative grouping of troops within an armed force with a common function such as Artillery or Signals representing an arm of service...
of the British Expeditionary Force were divided into the First Army under Lieutenant-General
Sir Douglas HaigField Marshal Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig,
KT,
GCB,
OM,
GCVO,
KCIE,
ADC was a British soldier and senior commander during World War I. He commanded the British Expeditionary Force from 1915 to the end of...
and the
Second ArmyThe British Second Army existed in both the First and Second World Wars.-World War I:The Second Army was part of the British Army during World War I, it was formed on 26 December 1914 when the British Expeditionary Force was split in two due to becoming too big to control its subordinate...
(
Horace Smith-DorrienGeneral Sir Horace Lockwood Smith-Dorrien GCB, GCMG, DSO, ADC was a British soldier and commander of the British II Corps and Second Army of the BEF during the Great War.-Early life and career:...
). First Army having the I Corps, IV Corps and the Indian Corps under command. The First Army suffered reverses at Vimy Ridge in May 1916 and at
FromellesFromelles is a commune in the Nord department in northern France.In 2004 it had a population of 907; its inhabitants are called Fromellois.-Battle of Fromelles, and mass war burial there:...
the following month. The First Army took part in the 1918 offensive that drove the Germans back and virtually ended the war.
Commanders
- Lieutenant-General Sir Douglas Haig
Field Marshal Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig,
KT,
GCB,
OM,
GCVO,
KCIE,
ADC was a British soldier and senior commander during World War I. He commanded the British Expeditionary Force from 1915 to the end of...
(1914 - 1915)
- General Sir Henry Rawlinson (1915 - 1916)
- General Sir Charles Monro (1916)
- General Sir Henry Horne (1916 - 1918)
Second World War
The First Army was also part of the
British Army during World War IIThe British Army during World War II was in 1939, a volunteer army, that introduced conscription shortly after the declaration of war with Germany. During the early years of the war, the army suffered defeat in almost every theatre it deployed. With mass conscription the expansion of the army was...
. It was formed to command the British and American land forces which had landed in Algiers as part of
Operation TorchOperation Torch was the British-American invasion of French North Africa in World War II during the North African Campaign, started 8 November 1942....
, the assault landings in
MoroccoMorocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country located in North Africa with a population of nearly 32 million and an area just under . Its capital is Rabat, and its largest city is Casablanca. Morocco has a coast on the Atlantic Ocean that reaches past the Strait of Gibraltar into the...
and
AlgeriaAlgeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country located in North Africa. It is the largest country on the Mediterranean sea, the second largest on the African continent and the eleventh-largest country in the world in terms of land area.It is bordered by Tunisia in...
on 8 November 1942. It was commanded by Lieutenant-General
Sir Kenneth AndersonGeneral Sir Kenneth Arthur Noel Anderson, KCB, MC was a British Army officer in both the First and Second World Wars. He is mainly remembered as the commander of the First Army during Operation Torch, the Allied invasion of Tunisia. He had an outwardly reserved character and did not court...
. First Army headquarters was formally activated on 9 November 1942 when Anderson arrived in Algiers to assume command of the redesignated Eastern Task Force.
It initially consisted of British and American forces only. After the surrender of French forces, French units were also added to its order of battle. It eventually consisted of four corps, the U.S. II Corps, the
British V CorpsV Corps was an army corps of the British Army in both World War I and World War II. The first formation of V Corps was during World War I as part of the Third Army and was composed of the 17th Division and the 38th Division as its major units...
,
British IX CorpsThe British IX Corps was an army corps formation that existed during World War I and World War II.-World War I:The IX Corps was originally formed in England in 1915 in readiness to make a new landing at Suvla during the Battle of Gallipoli. Command of the corps was given to Lieutenant-General Sir...
and
French XIX CorpsThe French XIX Corps was formed in 1873. Anthony Clayton writes that the title of the 19th Army Corps was given to the Army of Africa in 1873. Antoine Chanzy commanded the corps between 1873 and 1879, at which time the commander also held the post of Governor of Algeria.It was in service since...
.
After the landings, Anderson's forces
rushed eastThe Run for Tunis, part of the Tunisia Campaign in World War II, took place during the November and December 1942. Once French opposition to the Allied Operation Torch landings had ceased in mid-November, the Allies made a rapid advance by a division-sized force west from Algeria in an attempt to...
in a bid to capture
TunisTunis is the capital of the Tunisian Republic and also the Tunis Governorate, with a population of 1,200,000 in 2008 and over 3,980,500 in the greater Tunis area...
and
BizerteBizerte or Bizerta is a capital city of Bizerte Governorate in Tunisia. It has a population of 114,371 .-History:...
before German forces could reach there in large numbers. They failed. After that failure, a period of consolidation was forced upon them. The logistics support for the Army was greatly improved and airfields for its supporting aircraft greatly multiplied. By the time the British Eighth Army approached the Tunisian border from the east, following its long pursuit of Rommel's forces after
El AlameinEl Alamein is a town in northern Egypt on the Mediterranean Sea coast in Matruh Governorate. It is west of Alexandria and northwest of Cairo...
, 1st Army was again ready to strike.
Supported by elements of
XII Tactical Air CommandThe XII Tactical Air Command is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the United States Air Forces in Europe, based at Bad Kissingen, Germany...
and
No. 242 Group RAFNo. 242 Group was a group of the British Royal Air Force formed on August 24, 1942. Its first commander was Air Commodore George Lawson.-History:...
, First Army carried the main weight of 18th Army Group's offensive to conclude the
Tunisia CampaignThe Tunisia Campaign was a series of World War II battles that took place in Tunisia in the North African Campaign of World War II, between Axis and Allied forces. The Allies consisted primarily of British Imperial Forces along with American and the French Army...
and finish off Axis forces in North Africa. The victory was won in May 1943 in a surrender that, in numbers captured at least, equaled Stalingrad. Shortly after the surrender, First Army disbanded, having served its purpose.
See also
- British First Army order of battle, 20 April 1943
This is an outline order of battle of the British First Army on 20 April 1943 during the Tunisia Campaign.* British First Army
Commanded by: Lieutenant-General Kenneth Anderson** V Corps
Commanded by Lieutenant-General Charles Allfrey...
- British First Army order of battle, 4 May 1943
This is an outline order of battle of the British First Army on 4 May 1943 during the Tunisia Campaign.* British First Army
Commanded by: Lieutenant-General Kenneth Anderson** British V Corps
Commanded by Lieutenant-General Charles Allfrey...