The Tenth Army (french: Xe Armée) was a Field army of the

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (french: Armée de Terre, ), is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. It is responsible to the Government of France, along with the other components of the Armed For ...

during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

World War I

The Tenth Army, first called ''détachement d'armée Maud'huy'', was formed on 1 October 1914 during the

Race to the Sea The Race to the Sea (; , ) took place from about 1914 during the First World War, after the Battle of the Frontiers () and the German advance into France. The invasion had been stopped at the First Battle of the Marne and was followed by the ...

. It gained a victory in the

Battle of Arras (1914) The Battle of Arras (also known as the First Battle of Arras, was an attempt by the French Army to outflank the German Army, which was attempting to do the same thing during the " Race to the Sea", the reciprocal attempts by both sides, to e ...

. Later, it took part in the

Second Battle of Artois The Second Battle of Artois (french: Deuxième bataille de l'Artois, german: Lorettoschlacht) from 9 May to 18 June 1915, took place on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front during the First World War. A German-held Salient (military), ...

(May 1915), the

Third Battle of Artois The Third Battle of Artois (25 September – 4 November 1915, also the Loos–Artois Offensive), was fought by the French Tenth Army against the German 6th Army on the Western Front of the First World War. The battle included the Battle of Lo ...

(September 1915), the

Battle of the Somme The Battle of the Somme ( French: Bataille de la Somme), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place bet ...

(July 1916), and the

Second Battle of the Aisne The Second Battle of the Aisne (french: Bataille du Chemin des Dames or french: Seconde bataille de l'Aisne, 16 April – mid-May 1917) was the main part of the Nivelle Offensive, a Franco-British attempt to inflict a decisive defeat on the Germa ...

(April 1917). In October 1917, at the request of the Italian Supreme Commander, General

Luigi Cadorna Marshal of Italy Luigi Cadorna, (4 September 1850 – 21 December 1928) was an Italian general, Marshal of Italy and Count most famous for being the Chief of Staff of the Italian Army from 1914-1917 of World War I. Early career Luigi Cador ...

, the Tenth Army moved onto the Italian Front alongside British Expeditionary Force units, together forming the

Italian Expeditionary Force During World War I, both Britain and France sent military forces to Italy in October 1917. Following the Battle of Caporetto (24 October to 19 November 1917), the Italian Front collapsed. In order to ensure this did not lead to Italy withdrawing f ...

. For this operation the army included the 12th Army Corps and the 31st Army Corps, for a total of six infantry divisions of French troops. The Italians had been pushed back at the

Battle of Caporetto The Battle of Caporetto (also known as the Twelfth Battle of the Isonzo, the Battle of Kobarid or the Battle of Karfreit) was a battle on the Italian front of World War I. The battle was fought between the Kingdom of Italy and the Central ...

German Army The German Army (, "army") is the land component of the armed forces of Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German ''Bundeswehr'' together with the ''Marine'' (German Navy) and the ''Luftwaf ...

reinforced

Austro-Hungarian Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

divisions. French forces were settled mostly west of the city of

Verona Verona ( , ; vec, Verona or ) is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Northern Italy, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and the ...

, supposedly to counter a rumoured offensive by Austro-Hungarian forces that would purportedly come from the

County of Tyrol The (Princely) County of Tyrol was an estate of the Holy Roman Empire established about 1140. After 1253, it was ruled by the House of Gorizia and from 1363 by the House of Habsburg. In 1804, the County of Tyrol, unified with the secularised pr ...

via the

Adige The Adige (; german: Etsch ; vec, Àdexe ; rm, Adisch ; lld, Adesc; la, Athesis; grc, Ἄθεσις, Áthesis, or , ''Átagis'') is the second-longest river in Italy, after the Po. It rises near the Reschen Pass in the Vinschgau in the prov ...

river valley.La Grande Guerra: The Allies Post-Caporetto Support of Italy
/ref> On 26 March 1918, the Tenth Army returned to France, where it fought in the

Third Battle of the Aisne The Third Battle of the Aisne (french: 3e Bataille de l'Aisne) was a battle of the German spring offensive during World War I that focused on capturing the Chemin des Dames Ridge before the American Expeditionary Forces arrived completely in ...

Second Battle of the Marne The Second Battle of the Marne (french: Seconde Bataille de la Marne) (15 July – 18 July 1918) was the last major German offensive on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front during the World War I, First World War. The attack failed wh ...

and the

Hundred Days Offensive The Hundred Days Offensive (8 August to 11 November 1918) was a series of massive Allies of World War I, Allied offensives that ended the First World War. Beginning with the Battle of Amiens (1918), Battle of Amiens (8–12 August) on the Wester ...

.
The two divisions of 12th Army Corps under command of

Jean César Graziani Jean César Graziani (; Bastia, Corsica, 15 November 1859 – Paris, 8 February 1932) was a French Army general during World War I. Early years He started his studies at the Ecole Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr in October 1878. He participated ...

remained in Italy until the end of the war.

Interwar Period

After the

Armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from the La ...

it was part of the

occupation of the Rhineland The Occupation of the Rhineland from 1 December 1918 until 30 June 1930 was a consequence of the collapse of the Imperial German Army in 1918, after which Germany's provisional government was obliged to agree to the terms of the 1918 armist ...

. On 21 October 1919 it was combined with the Eighth Army to form the

French Army of the Rhine French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with France ...

World War II

It was reformed in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. A first Tenth Army is disbanded between 7 and 8 June 1940, with on the one hand the encirclement of the 9th Army Corps at

Saint-Valéry-en-Caux Saint-Valery-en-Caux (, literally ''Saint-Valery in Caux'') is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region in northern France. The addition of an acute accent on the "e" (Valéry) is incorrect. Geography The town is locate ...

and on the other hand the attachment of the 10th and 25th Army Corps to the ''Armée de Paris''. After the rupture of the Somme front, on 5 et 6 June 1940, the last phase of the Battle of France began. For the Allies it was essential to regroup on the Seine river to prevent the Germans from crossing. This is why a new 10th Army was formed to hold the front at the Lower Seine and placed under command of General

Robert Altmayer Marie-Robert Altmayer (1875–1959) was a French army corps general. He was the eldest son of the divisional general Victor Joseph Altmayer (1844–1908) and elder brother of general René Altmayer. They were of German descent. He commanded caval ...

(1875 - 1959). His troops were not yet in place when the Germans appeared at the Seine on 9 June and immediately crossed it in the Portejoie, Saint-Pierre-du-Vauvray and Venables sector. The Weygand Line had been broken.

Commanders

World War I

* General de Maudhuy (3 October 1914 – 2 April 1915) * General d'Urbal (2 April 1915 – 4 April 1916) * General Micheler (4 April – 27 December 1916) * General Duchene (27 December 1916 – 11 December 1917) * General

Maistre Maistre is a surname. It may refer to: Persons * Joseph de Maistre (1753 – 1821), French-language Savoyard political philosopher and diplomat * Casimir Maistre (1867-1957), French geographer * François Maistre François Maistre (14 May 1 ...

(11 December 1917 – 10 June 1918) * General

Charles Mangin Charles Emmanuel Marie Mangin (6 July 1866 – 12 May 1925) was a French general during World War I. Early career Charles Mangin was born on 6 July 1866 in Sarrebourg. After initially failing to gain entrance to Saint-Cyr, he joined the 77th I ...

(10 June 1918 – 21 October 1919)

World War II

* General

(24 May – 19 June 1940)

World War I

Interwar Period

World War II

Commanders

World War I

World War II

See also

References

Further reading