The Second Army (french: IIe Armée) was a

field army A field army (or numbered army or simply army) is a military formation in many armed forces, composed of two or more corps and may be subordinate to an army group. Likewise, air armies are equivalent formation within some air forces, and with ...

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 ...

. The Army became famous for fighting the

Battle of Verdun The Battle of Verdun (french: Bataille de Verdun ; german: Schlacht um Verdun ) was fought from 21 February to 18 December 1916 on the Western Front in France. The battle was the longest of the First World War and took place on the hills north ...

in 1916 under Generals

Philippe Pétain Henri Philippe Benoni Omer Pétain (24 April 1856 – 23 July 1951), commonly known as Philippe Pétain (, ) or Marshal Pétain (french: Maréchal Pétain), was a French general who attained the position of Marshal of France at the end of World ...

and

Robert Nivelle Robert Georges Nivelle (15 October 1856 – 22 March 1924) was a French artillery general officer who served in the Boxer Rebellion and the First World War. In May 1916, he succeeded Philippe Pétain as commander of the French Second Army in th ...

Commanders

World War I

* General de Curières de Castelnau (Mobilization – 21 June 1915) * General Pétain (21 June 1915 – 1 May 1916) * General

Nivelle Nivelle () is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. Heraldry See also *Communes of the Nord department * Nivelle Offensive The Nivelle offensive (16 April – 9 May 1917) was a Franco-British operation on the Western Front ...

(1 May 1916 – 15 December 1916) * General Guillaumat (15 December 1916 – 11 December 1917) * General

Auguste Edouard Hirschauer André Auguste Édouard Hirschauer (16 June 1857 in Saint-Avold, Moselle, France – 27 December 1943 in Versailles (city), Versailles, Yvelines, France) was a French lieutenant general in the First World War and from 1920 to 1936 represen ...

(11 December 1917 – 22 December 1918) * General

Antoine Baucheron de Boissoudy Antoine Baucheron de Boissoudy ( Cherbourg-en-Cotentin, France, 12 October 1864 – Paris, 17 March 1926) was a French General in the First World War. He was the son of Admiral Philippe Baucheron de Boissoudy and studied at the École spécia ...

(22 December 1918 – 11 February 1919)

World War II

* General

Charles Huntziger Charles Huntziger (; 25 June 1880 – 11 November 1941) was a French Army general during World War I and World War II. He was born at Lesneven ( Finistère), in Brittany of a family which settled in the region, after the Prussian invasion of ...

(2 September 1939 – 5 June 1940) * General

Henry Freydenberg Lieutenant-General Henry Freydenberg (14 December 1876 – 20 August 1975) was a French army officer. He was born in Paris on 14 December 1876 of German descent family. In 1919 he was chief of staff to general d'Anselme during the French occup ...

(5 June – 31 July 1940)