Army Group East (french: Groupe d'armées de l'Est, G. A. E.) 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 with ...

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 from the (G. P. E.) which had been formed in January 1915. The army group covered the Western Front from the Swiss border to roughly east of Verdun.

Composition

July 1, 1915

from North to South : * 3rd Army (général

Maurice Sarrail Maurice Paul Emmanuel Sarrail (6 April 1856 – 23 March 1929) was a French general of the First World War. Sarrail's openly socialist political connections made him a rarity amongst the Catholics, conservatives and monarchists who dominated th ...

) * Détachement d'armée de Lorraine (DAL) (général

George Humbert George Humbert (born Umberto Gianni; July 29, 1880 – May 8, 1963) was an Italian-born American actor who appeared in more than 100 films between 1918 and the 1950s. He emigrated to the United States as a steerage passenger on board the Italian ...

) * 7th Army (général

Louis de Maud'huy Louis Ernest de Maud'huy (1857–1921) was a French World War I General and the first Chief Scout of Scouts de France. Biography His father was Pierre Adrien de Maud'huy, Battalion Chief in the Napoleon III Imperial Guard and his mother Thérès ...

)

February 15, 1917

From West to East : * 8th Army (général Augustin Gérard) * 7th Army (général Marie-Eugène Debeney)

May 25, 1918

From West to East : * 2nd Army (général

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

) * 8th Army (général Augustin Gérard) * 7th Army (général Antoine de Boissoudy)

Commanders

* Général

Augustin Dubail Augustin Yvon Edmond Dubail (15 April 1851 – 7 January 1934) was a French Army general. He commanded the First Army and Army Group East during World War I. Biography Augustin Dubail was born in Belfort on April 15, 1851. He graduated from ...

(July 1, 1915 – March 31, 1916) * Général

Louis Franchet d'Espèrey Louis Félix Marie François Franchet d'Espèrey (25 May 1856 – 8 July 1942) was a French general during World War I. As commander of the large Allied army based at Salonika, he conducted the successful Macedonian campaign, which caused t ...

(March 31, 1916 – December 27, 1916) * 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 ...

(December 27, 1916 – December 1918)

Sources

The French Army and the First World War
by 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) * Victor Giraud, Histoire de la Grande Guerre, Paris, Librairie Hachette, 1920, 777 p. 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