The United States Army North (ARNORTH) is a formation of the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

. An

Army Service Component Command Army Service Component Commands (ASCCs) are U.S. Army commands responsible for recommendations to the Joint Force Commander on the allocation and employment of U.S. Army forces within a combatant command or further assigned to subordinate unified c ...

(ASCC) subordinate to

United States Northern Command United States Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) is one of eleven unified combatant commands of the United States Department of Defense. The command is tasked with providing military support for non-military authorities in the U.S., and protect ...

(NORTHCOM), ARNORTH is the joint force land component of NORTHCOM.U.S. Army North (15 May 2020) Joint Forces Land Component Command
JFLCC component of NORTHCOM ARNORTH is responsible for homeland defense and defense support of civil authorities. ARNORTH is garrisoned at

Fort Sam Houston Fort Sam Houston is a U.S. Army post in San Antonio, Texas. "Fort Sam Houston, TX • About Fort Sam Houston" (overview), US Army, 2007, webpageSH-Army. Known colloquially as "Fort Sam," it is named for the U.S. Senator from Texas, U.S. Represen ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. Redesignated ARNORTH in 2004, it was first activated in early January 1943 as the United States Fifth Army, under the command of

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

Mark Wayne Clark Mark Wayne Clark (May 1, 1896 – April 17, 1984) was a United States Army officer who saw service during World War I, World War II, and the Korean War. He was the youngest four-star general in the US Army during World War II. During World War I ...

History

World War II

The United States Fifth Army was one of the principal formations of the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

in the Mediterranean during World War II, and was the first American

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 ...

ever to be activated outside of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. It was officially activated on 5 January 1943 at

Oujda Oujda ( ar, وجدة; ber, ⵡⵓⵊⴷⴰ, Wujda) is a major Moroccan city in its northeast near the border with Algeria. Oujda is the capital city of the Oriental region of northeastern Morocco and has a population of about 558,000 people. It ...

French Morocco The French protectorate in Morocco (french: Protectorat français au Maroc; ar, الحماية الفرنسية في المغرب), also known as French Morocco, was the period of French colonial rule in Morocco between 1912 to 1956. The prote ...

and made responsible for the defence of

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

and Morocco. It was also given the responsibility for planning the American part of the invasion of mainland Italy, and therefore was not involved in the

Allied invasion of Sicily The Allied invasion of Sicily, also known as Operation Husky, was a major campaign of World War II in which the Allied forces invaded the island of Sicily in July 1943 and took it from the Axis powers ( Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany). It bega ...

(codenamed

Operation Husky Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Man ...

), where it was instead assigned the role of training combat troops destined for Sicily. The United States Fifth Army was initially commanded by

, who would lead the Fifth Army for nearly two years, and was to experience some of the toughest fighting of

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 ...

, where it was engaged on the Italian Front, which was, in many ways, often more reminiscent of the

trench warfare Trench warfare is a type of land warfare using occupied lines largely comprising military trenches, in which troops are well-protected from the enemy's small arms fire and are substantially sheltered from artillery. Trench warfare became a ...

of the

Western Front Western Front or West Front may refer to: Military frontiers *Western Front (World War I), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (World War II), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (Russian Empire), a majo ...

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 ...

. Writing to Lieutenant General

Jacob L. Devers Jacob Loucks Devers (; 8 September 1887 – 15 October 1979) was a general in the United States Army who commanded the 6th Army Group in the European Theater during World War II. He was involved in the development and adoption of numerous w ...

(American deputy to

Field Marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered as ...

Sir Henry Maitland Wilson, Mediterranean Theater commander) in late March 1944, Clark explained the difficulties of the fighting in Italy so far, which could be said of the whole campaign. They were, he claimed, "''Terrain, weather, carefully prepared defensive positions in the mountains, determined and well-trained enemy troops, grossly inadequate means at our disposal while on the offensive, with approximately equal forces to the defender.''" The Fifth Army first saw action during the

Salerno landings Operation Avalanche was the codename for the Allied landings near the port of Salerno, executed on 9 September 1943, part of the Allied invasion of Italy during World War II. The Italians withdrew from the war the day before the invasion, but ...

(Operation Avalanche), the assault landings at

Salerno Salerno (, , ; nap, label= Salernitano, Saliernë, ) is an ancient city and ''comune'' in Campania (southwestern Italy) and is the capital of the namesake province, being the second largest city in the region by number of inhabitants, after ...

, part of the

Allied invasion of Italy The Allied invasion of Italy was the Allied amphibious landing on mainland Italy that took place from 3 September 1943, during the Italian campaign (World War II), Italian campaign of World War II. The operation was undertaken by General (Unit ...

, in September 1943. Due to the comparatively low numbers of American troops available in the Mediterranean Theater it was made up of one American and one British corps. They were the

U.S. VI Corps The VI Corps was activated as VI Army Corps in August 1918 at Neufchâteau, France, serving in the Lorraine Campaign. Constituted in the Organized Reserves in 1921, it was allotted to the Regular Army in 1933 and activated on 1 August 1940 at ...

, under

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

Ernest J. Dawley Major General Ernest Joseph "Mike" Dawley (17 February 1886 – 10 December 1973) was a senior officer of the United States Army, best known during World War II for commanding the VI Corps during Operation Avalanche, the Allied landings at Sal ...

Mikolashek, p. 57 and the British X Corps, under

Lieutenant-General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

Richard L. McCreery. At Salerno, VI Corps landed on the right flank, and X Corps on the left flank. Progress was initially slow, due in part to a lack of initiative by Dawley, the VI Corps commander, and due also to heavier than expected German resistance. However, heavy naval and air bombardment, along with a parachute drop by elements of the

U.S. 82nd Airborne Division The 82nd Airborne Division is an airborne infantry division of the United States Army specializing in parachute assault operations into denied areasSof, Eric"82nd Airborne Division" ''Spec Ops Magazine'', 25 November 2012. Archived from thori ...

, had saved the forces from any danger of being driven back into the sea, combined with the approach of the

British Eighth Army The Eighth Army was an Allied field army formation of the British Army during the Second World War, fighting in the North African and Italian campaigns. Units came from Australia, British India, Canada, Czechoslovakia, Free French Forces, ...

, under

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

Bernard Montgomery Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein, (; 17 November 1887 – 24 March 1976), nicknamed "Monty", was a senior British Army officer who served in the First World War, the Irish War of Independence and t ...

(the Eighth Army had landed further south in

Operation Baytown Operation Baytown was an Allied amphibious landing on the mainland of Italy that took place on 3 September 1943, part of the Allied invasion of Italy, itself part of the Italian Campaign, during the Second World War. Planning The attack was ...

, six days before Avalanche), the

German 10th Army The 10th Army () was a World War II field army of (Germany). A new 10th Army was activated in 1943 as part of Adolf Hitler's last stand, who saw action notably in late 1943 and early 1944 along the "Winter Line" at the Battle of San Pietro In ...

began to retreat. On 20 September, by which time the Fifth and Eighth Armies had linked up, Major General Dawley, VI Corps commander, was relieved of his command by Clark. Dawley was temporarily made deputy army commander, and was soon replaced in command of VI Corps by Major General

John P. Lucas Major General John Porter Lucas (January 14, 1890 – December 24, 1949) was a senior officer of the United States Army who saw service in World War I and World War II. He is most remembered for being the commander of VI Corps during the Battle of ...

Progress was then good for a couple of weeks and the Fifth Army crossed the

Barbara Line During the Italian Campaign of World War II, the Barbara Line was a series of German military fortifications in Italy, some south of the Gustav Line, from Colli al Volturno to the Adriatic Coast in San Salvo and a similar distance north of the ...

and the

Volturno Line The Volturno Line (also known as the Viktor Line; , ) was a German defensive position in Italy during the Italian Campaign of World War II. The line ran from Termoli in the east, along the Biferno River through the Apennine Mountains to the Vo ...

until the Germans turned, stood and fought. They had established a position on the

Winter Line The Winter Line was a series of German and Italian military fortifications in Italy, constructed during World War II by Organisation Todt and commanded by Albert Kesselring. The series of three lines was designed to defend a western section of ...

(also known as the Gustav Line), which included the formidable defensive positions at San Pietro Infine in the Liri Valley and at

Monte Cassino Monte Cassino (today usually spelled Montecassino) is a rocky hill about southeast of Rome, in the Latin Valley, Italy, west of Cassino and at an elevation of . Site of the Roman town of Casinum, it is widely known for its abbey, the first h ...

. By this point, Fifth Army had been reinforced by a second American corps,

II Corps 2nd Corps, Second Corps, or II Corps may refer to: France * 2nd Army Corps (France) * II Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * II Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French ...

, commanded by Major General

Geoffrey Keyes Lieutenant General Geoffrey Keyes (October 30, 1888 – September 17, 1967) was a highly decorated senior United States Army officer who served with distinction in Sicily and Italy during World War II. Early life Keyes was born on October 30, ...

. By the end of November Clark's Fifth Army had almost doubled in size, with the addition of French General

Alphonse Juin Alphonse Pierre Juin (16 December 1888 – 27 January 1967) was a senior French Army Army general (France), general who became Marshal of France. A graduate of the École Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr, École Spéciale Militaire class of 1912, ...

French Expeditionary Corps There have been several French Expeditionary Corps (French ''Corps expéditionnaire'' 'français'': * Expeditionary Corps of the Orient 'Corps expéditionnaire d'Orient'', CEO(1915), during World War I * Expeditionary Corps of the Dardanelles 'Co ...

, from 130,247 men to 243,827. With the failure of the first operations to capture Monte Cassino, an attempt was made to exploit the

Allied An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

preponderance in seapower before the coming

invasion of Normandy Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 (D-Day) with the Norm ...

robbed the Mediterranean of the naval forces necessary for an

amphibious assault Amphibious warfare is a type of offensive military operation that today uses naval ships to project ground and air power onto a hostile or potentially hostile shore at a designated landing beach. Through history the operations were conducted ...

to seize

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. VI Corps, with its experience of amphibious landings at Salerno, was chosen for the assault and withdrawn from the line, replaced by the French Expeditionary Corps. They made a second attempt to capture Monte Cassino in conjunction with the amphibious assault by VI Corps, which again failed. VI Corps landed at Anzio, unopposed, on 22 January 1944 in

Operation Shingle The Battle of Anzio was a battle of the Italian Campaign of World War II that took place from January 22, 1944 (beginning with the Allied amphibious landing known as Operation Shingle) to June 5, 1944 (ending with the capture of Rome). The ope ...

, and suffered many of the same problems as had been seen at Salerno. A perceived lack of initiative on the part of the commander, Major General Lucas, combined with worries about the Germans catching VI Corps off balance if it advanced too far inland resulted in the

beachhead A beachhead is a temporary line created when a military unit reaches a landing beach by sea and begins to defend the area as other reinforcements arrive. Once a large enough unit is assembled, the invading force can begin advancing inland. The ...

being bottled up. The Germans launched a series of attacks and counterattacks, with both sides sustaining heavy losses, and nearly breached the last beachhead defences before again being driven off by heavy naval and air support. The fault, however, ''"was not due to Lucas's incompetence; it was due instead to wishful thinking, faulty operational planning, and the

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 ...

's ability to respond forcefully and aggressively.''" After the failure of Shingle, a large reorganization took place. Previously the

Apennines The Apennines or Apennine Mountains (; grc-gre, links=no, Ἀπέννινα ὄρη or Ἀπέννινον ὄρος; la, Appenninus or – a singular with plural meaning;''Apenninus'' (Greek or ) has the form of an adjective, which wou ...

had been the rough dividing line between Fifth and Eighth Armies. However, the dividing line was shifted westwards, to allow the concentration of both armies on the western side of Italy for maximum firepower to break through to Rome.

British V Corps V Corps was an army corps of the British Army that saw service in both the First and the Second World Wars. It was first organised in February 1915 and fought through the First World War on the Western front. It was recreated in June 1940, duri ...

was left on the Adriatic coast to pin down any German units there. Fifth Army was relieved of responsibility for Cassino and the final phases of that battle saw

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

and finally Polish troops thrown against the fortress. Fifth Army also lost McCreery's British X Corps at this time, since it was felt that having exclusively American-organised units under Fifth Army and British-organised units under Eighth Army would ease logistics. The breakthrough was achieved during the spring of 1944. Coordinated assaults by all the Allied forces, except V Corps, which was confined to a holding action, broke through. II Corps attacked along the coast, the French Expeditionary Corps, in a classic demonstration of

mountain warfare Mountain warfare (also known as alpine warfare) is warfare in mountains or similarly rough terrain. Mountain ranges are of strategic importance since they often act as a natural border, and may also be the origin of a water source (for example, t ...

, broke through on the right flank of Fifth Army, and VI Corps, now commanded by Major General

Lucian K. Truscott General Lucian King Truscott Jr. (January 9, 1895 – September 12, 1965) was a highly decorated senior United States Army officer, who saw distinguished active service during World War II. Between 1943–1945, he successively commanded the 3rd ...

, broke out of the Anzio beachhead. By early summer, Allied forces were well on their way to capturing Rome. At this point, one of the more controversial incidents in the history of Fifth Army occurred. The strategic conception of

Sir Harold Alexander, commanding the

Allied Armies in Italy The Allied Armies in Italy (AAI) was the title of the highest Allied field headquarters in Italy, during the middle part of the Italian campaign of World War II. In the early and later stages of the campaign the headquarters was known as the 1 ...

(later redesigned

15th Army Group The 15th Army Group was an Army Group in World War II, composed of the British Eighth and the U.S. Fifth Armies, which apart from troops from the British Empire and U.S.A., also had whole units from other allied countries/regions; like two of t ...

), was that the forces of VI Corps, coming out of Anzio, would trap the retreating German forces, and leave them to be annihilated by the advancing Fifth and Eighth Armies. However, in contravention of orders, Clark diverted units of VI Corps towards Rome, leaving a small blocking force to attempt to stop the Germans. It failed to do so, and the German forces were able to escape and reestablish a coherent line to the north of Rome. Clark claimed that there were significant German threats which necessitated the diversion, but many believe that he was primarily glory-seeking by being the first to liberate Rome. Two days after Rome fell, on 4 June 1944,

Operation Overlord Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allies of World War II, Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Front (World War II), Western Europe during World War II. The operat ...

was launched. The strategic conception of Overlord called for a supporting operation to be mounted by invading southern France. In order to do so, forces would have to be withdrawn from the Allied Armies in Italy. In the end, VI Corps was withdrawn, forming the nucleus of the field forces of the

U.S. Seventh Army The Seventh Army was a United States army created during World War II that evolved into the United States Army Europe (USAREUR) during the 1950s and 1960s. It served in North Africa and Italy in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations and Fran ...

for the invasion of the

French Riviera The French Riviera (known in French as the ; oc, Còsta d'Azur ; literal translation " Azure Coast") is the Mediterranean coastline of the southeast corner of France. There is no official boundary, but it is usually considered to extend fro ...

Operation Dragoon Operation Dragoon (initially Operation Anvil) was the code name for the landing operation of the Allied invasion of Provence (Southern France) on 15August 1944. Despite initially designed to be executed in conjunction with Operation Overlord, th ...

. The French Expeditionary Corps was also withdrawn, to allow its men to be used to for the

French First Army The First Army (french: 1re Armée) was a field army of France that fought during World War I and World War II. It was also active during the Cold War. First World War On mobilization in August 1914, General Auguste Dubail was put in the ...

, a follow-up formation for Dragoon. In slightly less than two months, the strength of the Fifth Army dropped from 248,989 down to 153,323. However, the 25,000-strong

Brazilian Expeditionary Force The Brazilian Expeditionary Force ( pt, Força Expedicionária Brasileira, FEB), nicknamed Cobras Fumantes (literally "the Smoking Snakes"), was a military division of the Brazilian Army and Air Force that fought with Allied forces in the Me ...

, under

Marshal Marshal is a term used in several official titles in various branches of society. As marshals became trusted members of the courts of Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used for elevated o ...

J.B. Mascarenhas de Morais, as well as other divisions had arrived to align with U.S. IV Corps (which had arrived in June) under Major General

Willis D. Crittenberger Lieutenant General Willis Dale Crittenberger (December 2, 1890 – August 4, 1980) was a senior officer of the United States Army. He was a career soldier who served with distinction during the Italian campaign of World War II Early life and mi ...

, so two corps were maintained within Fifth Army. In the second half of 1944, the Allied forces fighting on the Italian Front within the U.S. Fifth Army and British Eighth Army resembled more a multi-national force being constituted by: Americans (including segregated African/and/Japanese-Americans), British, French, members of French and British colonies (New Zealanders, Canadians, Indians, Gurkhas, Black Africans, Moroccans, Algerians, Jews and Arabs from the British Mandate in Palestine, South Africans,

Rhodesia Rhodesia (, ), officially from 1970 the Republic of Rhodesia, was an unrecognised state in Southern Africa from 1965 to 1979, equivalent in territory to modern Zimbabwe. Rhodesia was the ''de facto'' successor state to the British colony of S ...

ns), as well as Brazilians and exiled forces from Poland, Greece, former Czechoslovakia and anti-fascist Italians. The Germans reestablished their line across Italy at the level of

Pisa Pisa ( , or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for its leaning tower, the cit ...

and

Rimini Rimini ( , ; rgn, Rémin; la, Ariminum) is a city in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy and capital city of the Province of Rimini. It sprawls along the Adriatic Sea, on the coast between the rivers Marecchia (the ancient ''Ariminu ...

. The Allied forces spent another winter, after fierce fighting in the summer and autumn in front of the

Gothic Line The Gothic Line (german: Gotenstellung; it, Linea Gotica) was a German Defense line, defensive line of the Italian Campaign (World War II), Italian Campaign of World War II. It formed Generalfeldmarschall, Field Marshal Albert Kesselring's la ...

, frustrated at their lack of ability to break through. This time Fifth Army, with

British XIII Corps XIII Corps was a corps-sized formation of the British Army that fought on the Western Front during the First World War and was reformed for service during the Second World War, serving in the Mediterranean and Middle East throughout its servi ...

under command, led by Lieutenant-General

Sidney Kirkman General Sir Sidney Chevalier Kirkman, (29 July 1895 – 29 October 1982) was a British Army officer, who served in both the First World War and Second World War. During the latter he commanded the artillery of the Eighth Army during the Second B ...

(whose relationship with Clark was apparently very stormy) was straddling the Apennines, with many of its units occupying high, exposed positions which were miserable to garrison. That winter also saw a significant change of command. Lieutenant General Clark moved to command 15th Army Group (previously styled the Allied Armies in Italy), and Lieutenant General Lucian K. Truscott was appointed to command Fifth Army in his place. Truscott would command the Army from 16 December 1944 until the war's end. Another change came in January 1945 when XIII Corps reverted to control of British Eighth Army, which had also seen many changes in composition and command, and was now commanded by Lieutenant-General Richard L. McCreery. In the final offensive of the Italian campaign, launched in April 1945, against the German

Army Group C Army Group C (in German, ''Heeresgruppe C'' or ''HGr C'') was an army group of the German Wehrmacht, that was formed twice during the Second World War. History Army Group C was formed from Army Group 2 in Frankfurt on 26 August 1939. It initia ...

, the Eighth Army initiated the main offensive on the Adriatic coast, and then the Fifth Army also broke through the German defenses around Bologna. The German units, in the main, were pinned against the

Po River The Po ( , ; la, Padus or ; Ligurian language (ancient), Ancient Ligurian: or ) is the longest river in Italy. It flows eastward across northern Italy starting from the Cottian Alps. The river's length is either or , if the Maira (river), Mair ...

and destroyed, or at the very least deprived of their transport and heavy weapons, which effectively made many of them useless. II Corps units raced through Milan towards the French frontier and the great port of

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian ce ...

. IV Corps pushed due north through Verona, Vicenza and as far as Bolzano and to the Brenner Pass, where they linked up with elements of the U.S. Seventh Army, under Lieutenant General

Alexander Patch General Alexander McCarrell Patch (November 23, 1889 – November 21, 1945) was a senior United States Army officer who fought in both world wars, rising to rank of general. During World War II, he commanded U.S. Army and Marine Corps force ...

. Its role in Italy cost Fifth Army dearly. It suffered 109,642 casualties in 602 days of combat, of which 19,475 were killed in action. The Fifth Army headquarters returned to the United States in September 1945. Fifth Army was inactivated on 2 October 1945 at

Camp Myles Standish Camp Myles Standish was a U.S. Army camp located in Taunton, Massachusetts during World War II. It was the main staging area for the Boston Port of Embarkation, with about a million U.S. and Allied soldiers passing through the camp on their way ...

, Massachusetts. In the informal athletic competitions held between units of the European and North African theaters, the Fifth Army was among the most successful, winning titles in baseball, boxing, swimming and football during the 1944 season. The football championship was gained after a victory over

12th Air Force The Twelfth Air Force (12 AF; Air Forces Southern, (AFSOUTH)) is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Air Force Air Combat Command (ACC). It is headquartered at Davis–Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona. The command is the air component to U ...

in the Spaghetti Bowl on 1 January 1945.

Order of Battle August 1944

(Part of

) *

United States Fifth Army – (

Mark Clark) **

U.S. II Corps The II Corps was a corps-sized formation of the United States Army that was active in both World War I and World War II. It was originally formed and fought on the Western Front during World War I and was also the first American formation of ...

– (

) ***

U.S. 34th Infantry Division – (Major General

Charles L. Bolte General Charles Lawrence Bolte (May 8, 1895 – February 11, 1989) was a senior United States Army officer who fought in both World War I and World War II. In World War II he distinguished himself as commander of the 34th Infantry Division durin ...

) ***

U.S. 88th Infantry Division – (Major General

John E. Sloan John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

) ***

U.S. 91st Infantry Division – (Major General

William G. Livesay William is a masculine given name of Norman French origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conques ...

) **

U.S. IV Corps – (Major General

) ***

6th South African Armoured Division The 6th South African Armoured Division was the second armoured warfare, armoured division (military), division of the South African Army and was formed during World War II. Established in early 1943, it was based on a nucleus of men from the ...

– (

Major-General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

Evered Poole Major General William Henry Evered Poole, , () was a senior South African Army commander during the Second World War and later a diplomat. Early life William Henry Evered Poole was born in Caledon, Cape Colony on 8 October 1902. He was the son ...

) ***

U.S. 85th Infantry Division – (Major General

John B. Coulter Lieutenant General John Breitling Coulter (April 27, 1891 – March 6, 1983) was a senior United States Army officer. Enjoying a distinguished 40-year military career, Coulter served during World War I, World War II and the Korean War. Early li ...

) ***

Brazilian Expeditionary Forces insignia (smoking snake)

– (Major General

Mascarenhas de Morais Mascarenhas may refer to: *Mascarenhas (surname), people named Mascarenhas *Mascarenhas (footballer), Domingos António da Silva (1937–2015), Angolan footballer *Mascarenhas, a civil parish of Mirandela, Portugal *Mascarenhas Islands The Masc ...

) ***

U.S. 442nd Infantry Regiment **

– (Lieutenant-General

) ***

British 1st Infantry Division – (Major-General

Charles Loewen General Sir Charles Falkland Loewen, (17 September 1900 – 17 August 1986) was a Canadian-born British Army officer who served as Adjutant-General to the Forces from 1956 to 1959. Early life and military career Educated at the Royal Military C ...

) ***

British 6th Armoured Division The 6th Armoured Division was an armoured division of the British Army, created in September 1940 during the Second World War and re-formed in May 1951 in the UK. History The division was formed in the United Kingdom under Northern Command on ...

– (Major-General

Horatius Murray General Sir Horatius Murray, (18 April 1903 – 1989) was a senior British Army officer who served with distinction during the Second World War and later in the Korean War. Early life and military career Educated at Peter Symonds School and th ...

) ***

8th Indian Infantry Division The 8th Mountain Division was raised as the 8th Indian Infantry division of the British Indian Army. It is now part of the Indian Army and specialises in mountain warfare. The 8th Indian Infantry Division was formed as an infantry division in ...

– (Major-General

Dudley Russell Lieutenant General Sir Dudley Russell KBE, CB, DSO, MC (1 December 18964 February 1978) was a senior officer of both the British Army and the British Indian Army, and served during World War I and World War II, where he commanded the 8th In ...

) ** Army Group Reserve *** United States Army 1st Armored Division CSIB

U.S. 1st Armored Division The 1st Armored Division, nicknamed "Old Ironsides," is a combined arms division of the United States Army. The division is part of III Armored Corps and operates out of Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas. It was the first armored division of the ...

– (Major General

Vernon Prichard Major General Vernon Edwin "Prich" Prichard (January 25, 1892 − July 10, 1949) was an American football quarterback and United States Army officer. He played college football with Army and was selected as a first-team All-American in 1914. He b ...

)

Post war

The Army's next role was considerably less violent, and it was reactivated on 11 June 1946 at

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

under the command of

, who had commanded

in the early stages of the

Battle of Anzio The Battle of Anzio was a battle of the Italian Campaign of World War II that took place from January 22, 1944 (beginning with the Allied amphibious landing known as Operation Shingle) to June 5, 1944 (ending with the capture of Rome). The op ...

(

) during

before being relieved. It was redesignated as the Fifth United States Army on 1 January 1957. Its postwar role was as a command and control headquarters for

U.S. Army Reserve The United States Army Reserve (USAR) is a reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the Army element of the reserve components of the United States Armed Forces. Since July 2020 ...

and National Guard units, formally responsible for the training of many Army troops and also the ground defense of part of the continental United States. In June 1971, the Fifth Army moved to its current base at

Redesignation in 2004

In 2004, Fifth Army transferred its Reserve preparation obligations to First Army, and became responsible for homeland defense and Defense Support of Civil Authorities (DSCA) as United States Army North, the Army Service Component Command of United States Northern Command.

Joint Task Force-Civil Support A joint or articulation (or articular surface) is the connection made between bones, ossicles, or other hard structures in the body which link an animal's skeletal system into a functional whole.Saladin, Ken. Anatomy & Physiology. 7th ed. McGraw- ...

, a subordinate command, is designated as the

Department of Defense Department of Defence or Department of Defense may refer to: Current departments of defence * Department of Defence (Australia) * Department of National Defence (Canada) * Department of Defence (Ireland) * Department of National Defense (Philippin ...

(DoD) command element for Department of Defense assistance to the overall federal response to a state governments request for assistance in the event of a catastrophic chemical, biological, nuclear or high yield explosive

CBRNE Chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear defence (CBRN defence) are protective measures taken in situations in which chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear warfare (including terrorism) hazards may be present. CBRN defence consist ...

emergency. The command also has a subordinate Contingency Command Post (CCP), known as Task Force-51, which is responsible for responding to all hazards incidents that require DOD assistance. TF-51 can be employed as an all-hazards task force or a Joint Task Force (JTF) with joint augmentation. In 2020, ARNORTH mitigated the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

by setting up hospitals using 15 Urban Augmentation Medical Task Forces.

2021 Organization

The current organization of US Army North as of 21 December 2021 is as follows: * Army Headquarters & Headquarters Battalion, at

** 323rd Army Band "Fort Sam's Own" *Joint Task Force North (JTF-N), at

Fort Bliss Fort Bliss is a United States Army post in New Mexico and Texas, with its headquarters in El Paso, Texas. Named in honor of William Wallace Smith Bliss, LTC William Bliss (1815–1853), a mathematics professor who was the son-in-law of President ...

, Texas *Defence Coordinating Elements (DCE) *Task Force 46 (

Michigan Army National Guard The Michigan Army National Guard is the Army component of the Michigan National Guard and a reserve component of the United States Army. During the Cold War only the 156th Signal Battalion was federalized on 1 October 1962 at its home stations in ...

), in

Lansing Lansing () is the capital of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is mostly in Ingham County, although portions of the city extend west into Eaton County and north into Clinton County. The 2020 census placed the city's population at 112,644, makin ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

– CBRN, part of

46th Military Police Command The 46th Military Police Command is a command level military police headquarters element within the Michigan Army National Guard capable of training, deploying, and providing command and control for military police, corrections, and criminal inves ...

*Task Force 51 *Task Force 76 (Army Reserve), in

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

– CBRN, part of

76th Operational Response Command The 76th Infantry Division was a unit of the United States Army in World War I, World War II and the Cold War. The division was inactivated in 1996 and has been reconstituted as the 76th US Army Reserve Operational Response Command in 2013. Wor ...

*Joint Task Force Civil Support, at

Joint Base Langley–Eustis Joint Base Langley–Eustis is a United States military facility located adjacent to Hampton and Newport News, Virginia. The base is an amalgamation of the United States Air Force's Langley Air Force Base and the United States Army's Fort Eu ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

*Civil Support Training Activity (CSTA) * US_Army_505th_MIB_SSI

505th Military Intelligence Brigade, 505th Military Intelligence Brigade (Theater) (Army Reserve) **Headquarters & Headquarters Company, at Fort Sam Houston, Texas **383rd Military Intelligence Battalion, HQ in Belton, Missouri, Belton, Missouri **549th Military Intelligence Battalion, at Camp Bullis, Texas * 263ADABdeSSI

263rd Army Air and Missile Defense Command (South Carolina Army National Guard) **Command Headquarters & Headquarters Battery, in Anderson, South Carolina, Anderson, South Carolina **2nd Battalion, 263rd Air Defence Artillery Regiment, in Anderson, South Carolina (4 x batteries in Seneca, Easley, and Clemson) * 3rd_Sustainment_Command_CSIB

3rd Sustainment Command (Expeditionary) – part of XVIII Airborne Corps **Command Special Troops Battalion, at Fort Bragg, North Carolina **330th Movement Control Battalion **264th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion * 4th_Infantry_Division_SSI

4th Infantry Division Sustainment Brigade – part of 4th Infantry Division (United States), 4th Infantry Division **4th Special Troops Battalion, at Fort Carson, Colorado **68th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion * 167_Sus_Cmd_SSI

167th Theater Sustainment Command (Alabama Army National Guard) **Command Special Troops Battalion, at Fort McClellan, Alabama **1169th Contingency Contracting Battalion, in Huntsville, Alabama **135th Sustainment Command (Expeditionary) ***Command Headquarters, in Birmingham, Alabama ***731st Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, in Tallassee, Alabama ***1103rd Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, in Eufaula, Alabama ***1200th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, in Ashland, Alabama ***440th Transportation Detachment, in Selma, Alabama **279th Army Field Support Brigade, HQ in Huntsville, Alabama ***1169th Contracting Battalion, at Fort Jackson (South Carolina), Fort Jackson, South Carolina – ''disbanded in 2020'' **111th Ordnance Group ***Group Headquarters & Headquarters Detachment, in Opelika, Alabama ***441st Ordnance Battalion, in Huntsville, Alabama

Commanding Officers

The commanding general of United States Army North is recommended to be a fully National Guard or reserve officer.https://www.congress.gov/112/plaws/publ81/PLAW-112publ81.pdf *LTG Mark W. Clark (January 1943 – December 1944) *LTG Lucian K. Truscott (December 1944 – October 1945) *Inactive (October 1945 – June 1946) *LTG Walton Walker (June 1946 – October 1948) *LTG Stephen J. Chamberlin (October 1948 – December 1951) *MG Albert C. Smith (general), Albert C. Smith (''acting'', December 1951 - July 1952) *LTG William B. Kean (July 1952 - September 1954) *LTG Hobart R. Gay (October 1954 - August 1955) *MG Philip De Witt Ginder (''acting'', August 1955 - October 1955) *LTG William Howard Arnold (November 1955 - December 1960) *LTG Emerson LeRoy Cummings (January 1961 - March 1962) *MG Lloyd R. Moses (''acting'', April 1962 - May 1962) *LTG John K. Waters (May 1962 - January 1963) *LTG Charles G. Dodge (February 1963 - March 1966) *MG Joseph E. Bastion Jr. (''acting'', April 1966) *LTG John H. Michaelis (April 1966 - January 1969) *LTG Vernon P. Mock (January 1969 - June 1971) *LTG George V. Underwood Jr. (July 1971 - September 1971) *LTG Patrick F. Cassidy (September 1971 - September 1973) *LTG George P. Seneff Jr. (October 1973 - June 1973) *GEN John J. Hennessey (July 1973 - November 1974) *MG Donald V. Rattan (''acting'', November 1974 - March 1975) *LTG Allen M. Burdett Jr. (March 1975 - June 1978) *LTG William B. Caldwell III (July 1978 - August 1980) *LTG John R. McGiffert II (August 1980 - January 1983) *LTG Edward A. Partain (January 1983 - January 1985) *LTG Charles L. Menetrey (January 1985 - May 1987) *LTG William H. Schneider (May 1987 - September 1989) *LTG George R. Stotser (September 1989 - July 1991) *MG Donald E. Eckelbarger (''acting'', July 1991 - September 1991) *BG F.J. Walters (''acting'', September 1991 - October 1991) *MG Bruce W. Moore (''acting'', October 1991 - November 1991) *LTG Neal T. Jaco (November 1991 - February 1994) *LTG Marc A. Cisneros (February 1994 - July 1996) *LTG Joseph W. Kinzer (July 1996 - August 1998) *LTG Robert F. Foley (August 1998 - August 2000) *LTG Freddy E. McFarren (August 2000 - December 2003) *LTG Robert T. Clark (December 2003 - December 2006) *LTG Thomas R. Turner II (December 2006 - December 2009) *LTG Guy C. Swan III (December 2009 - January 2012) *LTG William B. Caldwell IV (January 2012 - September 2013) *LTG Perry L. Wiggins (September 2013 - August 2016) *LTG Jeffrey S. Buchanan (August 2016 - July 2019) *LTG Laura J. Richardson (July 2019 – September 2021) *LTG John R. Evans Jr. (September 2021 – present)

References

Bibliography

* Ready, J. Lee. ''Forgotten Allies: The European Theatre, Volume I''. McFarland & Company, 1985. . * Ready, J. Lee. ''Forgotten Allies: The Military Contribution of the Colonies, Exiled Governments and Lesser Powers to the Allied Victory in World War II''. McFarland & Company, 1985. . * Jon B. Mikolashek. ''General Mark Clark: Commander of America's Fifth Army in World War II and Liberator of Rome''.

External links

''Answering the Call'', Stephen L. Wilson, 2007. Merriam Press.

* [http://www.arnorth.army.mil/ Fifth Army official website]
The "Blue Lapa" brazilian documentary about BEF – Brazilian Expeditionary Force in WWII subtitled in italian and english languages
* {{Authority control Field armies of the United States, 005 Army Military units and formations established in 1943 Military units and formations in Texas United States Army Service Component Commands, North Recipients of the Order of Military Merit (Brazil) Joint Base San Antonio

History

World War II

Order of Battle August 1944

Post war

Redesignation in 2004

2021 Organization

Commanding Officers

See also

References

Bibliography

External links