Army Group Centre (french: Groupe d'armées du Centre, G. A. C.) was a grouping of French
field armies
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 withi ...
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 ...
, which was created on June 22, 1915. The army group covered the Western Front roughly between Rheims and Verdun.
Composition
July 1, 1915
from North to South :
*
6th Army (général
Pierre Joseph Dubois
Pierre Joseph Dubois (21 November 1852 - 17 January 1924) was a French World War I general.
Education
Dubois entered the École spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr in 1872, and on October 1, 1874, was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the ca ...
)
*
5th Army (général
Louis Franchet d'Espèrey)
*
4th Army (général
Fernand de Langle de Cary)
February 15, 1917
From West to East :
*
4th Army (général
Pierre Roques
Pierre Auguste Roques (28 December 1856 – 26 February 1920) was a French general and creator of the French air force.
Biography
Born to a modest family in Marseillan, Hérault, his lively intelligence earned him a study grant that allowed hi ...
)
*
2nd Army (général
Adolphe Guillaumat
Marie Louis Adolphe Guillaumat (4 January 1863 – 18 May 1940) was a French Army general during World War I.
Early years
Adolphe Guillaumat was born in Bourgneuf, Charente-Maritime. He graduated first from his class of 1884 at the Saint-Cyr ...
)
Commanders
* Général
Édouard de Castelnau Édouard is both a French given name and a surname, equivalent to Edward in English. Notable people with the name include:
* Édouard Balladur (born 1929), French politician
* Édouard Boubat (1923–1999), French photographer
* Édouard Colonne (1 ...
(June 22, 1915 – December 12, 1915)
* Général
Fernand de Langle de Cary (December 12, 1915 – May 2, 1916)
* Général
Philippe Pétain (May 2, 1916 – May 4, 1917)
* Général
Émile Fayolle (May 4, 1917 – December 1, 1917)
* Général
Paul Maistre
Paul André Marie Maistre, (20 June 1858 – 25 July 1922) was a highly decorated French general who fought in World War I.
He graduated from Saint Cyr in 1877, first in his class. He later returned as an instructor. He was promoted to captain in ...
(July 6, 1918 – December 1918)
Sources
The French Army and the First World Warby Elizabeth Greenhalgh
* Philippe Pétain et Marc Ferro (Avant-propos), La Guerre mondiale : 1914–1918, Toulouse, Éditions Privat, 2014, 372 p. ({{ISBN, 978-2-708-96961-2, OCLC 891408727)
Military units and formations of France in World War I
Military units and formations established in 1915
Army groups of France
Army groups of World War I