Fourth United States Army 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

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 ...

between 1932 and 1991.

History

In 1922, Fourth Army was organized as a unit of the Organized Reserves in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. It was allotted to the Regular Army as an inactive unit on 9 August 1932. It was activated 1 October 1933 and headquartered at the

Presidio of San Francisco The Presidio of San Francisco (originally, El Presidio Real de San Francisco or The Royal Fortress of Saint Francis) is a park and former U.S. Army post on the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula in San Francisco, California, and is part o ...

, California. In January 1944, Fourth Army moved its headquarters to Fort Sam Houston in

San Antonio, Texas ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

. It was redesignated Fourth United States Army on 1 January 1957. Fourth Army remained in the Continental United States during

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 ...

, largely responsible for the defense of the West Coast and training tactical units to operate efficiently in combat. During the 1960s, Fourth Army operated "Tigerland", an infantry training school at Louisiana's Fort Polk that prepared recruits for infantry combat in

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

. In July 1971, Fourth Army was consolidated with

Fifth United States Army Fifth is the ordinal form of the number five. Fifth or The Fifth may refer to: * Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, as in the expression "pleading the Fifth" * Fifth column, a political term * Fifth disease, a contagious rash that ...

at Fort Sam Houston. Between 1984 and 1991, Fourth Army was based at Fort Sheridan, Illinois.

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 ...

James R. Hall James Reginald Hall Jr. (born July 15, 1936) is a retired senior officer in the United States Army who served as the final commander of the Fourth United States Army before its inactivation in 1991. Prior to serving as commander of the Fourth Ar ...

served as the last commanding general, holding the position from 1989 until Fourth Army was inactivated in 1991.

Past commanders

* MG

Johnson Hagood Johnson Hagood may refer to: *Johnson Hagood (governor) (1828–1898), American Civil War soldier and Governor of South Carolina, 1880–1882 * Johnson Hagood (1873–1948), American World War I general See also *Johnson Hagood Stadium Johnson ...

(1932–1933) * MG Malin Craig (1933–1935) * MG Paul B. Malone (1935–1936) * MG

George S. Simonds George Sherwin Simonds (March 12, 1874 – November 1, 1938) was a U.S. Army officer with the rank of major general. Early life He was born in Cresco, Iowa on March 12, 1874, the son of son of William O. Simonds and Ellen Sherwin Simonds . ...

(1936–1938) * LTG

Albert Jesse Bowley Sr. Albert Jesse Bowley Sr. (November 24, 1875 – May 23, 1945) was a Lieutenant General in the United States Army. He was the son of First Lieutenant Freeman S. Bowley, who served in the Civil War with the 30th United States Colored Infantry. Earl ...

(1938–1939) * GEN John L. DeWitt (1939–1943) * GEN

William Hood Simpson General William Hood Simpson (May 18, 1888 – August 15, 1980) was a senior United States Army officer who served with distinction in both World War I and World War II. He is best known for being the Commanding General of the Ninth United Stat ...

(1943–1944) * MG John P. Lucas (1944–1945) * LTG Alexander Patch (1945) * GEN Jonathan Mayhew Wainwright IV (1946–1947) * GEN Thomas Troy Handy (1947–1949) * MG

Andrew D. Bruce Lieutenant General Andrew Davis Bruce (September 14, 1894 – July 28, 1969) was an American academic and soldier who served as the third president of the University of Houston. He retired from the United States Army in 1954 as a lieutenant gener ...

(1949) * LTG

LeRoy Lutes Lieutenant general LeRoy Lutes (October 4, 1890 – January 30, 1980) was a decorated American military officer who was in critical staff and supply positions during and after World War II. His last assignment was a commanding general of the Four ...

(1949–1952) * MG

Hobart R. Gay Lieutenant General Hobart Raymond Gay (May 16, 1894 – August 19, 1983), nicknamed "Hap", was a United States Army officer who served in numerous conflicts, including World War II, where he worked closely alongside General George S. Patton, and l ...

(1952) * GEN

William M. Hoge General William Morris Hoge (January 13, 1894 – October 29, 1979) was a United States Army officer who fought in World War I, World War II and the Korean War, with a military career spanning nearly forty years. Early life and military career ...

(1952–1953) * GEN

John E. Dahlquist General John Ernest Dahlquist (March 12, 1896 – July 30, 1975) was a senior United States Army officer. In the course of his military career, Dahlquist commanded three different army divisions, commanded at the corps and field army level and ros ...

(1953) * MG Haydon L. Boatner (1953) * LTG

Isaac D. White Isaac Davis White (March 6, 1901 – June 11, 1990) was a senior officer in the United States Army who commanded the U.S. Army, Pacific (USARPAC) from July 1957 to March 1961. He was commissioned in the cavalry in 1923 and went on to serve in ...

(1953–1955) * LTG Samuel Tankersley Williams (1955) * LTG John H. Collier (1955–1958) * LTG

Guy S. Meloy Jr. General Guy Stanley Meloy Jr. (September 4, 1903 – December 14, 1968) was a U.S. Army general, World War II and Korean War veteran, and served as commander of all U.S. forces in Korea during the Cold War. Early life and education Meloy was ...

(1958–1961) * LTG

Donald Prentice Booth Donald Prentice Booth (December 21, 1902 – October 30, 1993) was a lieutenant general in the United States Army. During World War II he was the US Army's youngest theater commander. After World War II he was known for his commands of the 28th ...

(1961–1962) * LTG Carl H. Jark (1962–1964) * LTG Robert W. Colglazier (1964–1966) * LTG

Thomas W. Dunn Lieutenant General Thomas Weldon Dunn (September 12, 1908 – January 19, 1983) was a senior officer in the United States Army. Early life Dunn was born in Fort Worth, Texas, on September 12, 1908. On graduation from high school, he entered the ...

(1966–1967) * LTG Lawrence J. Lincoln (1967–1968) * LTG

Harry H. Critz Lieutenant General Harry Herndon Critz (26 February 1912 – 2 May 1982) was a native Texan, born in Teague. Rising through the ranks during periods of war, his final post was as Commanding General of Fort Sam Houston, in San Antonio, Texas. Whi ...

(1968–1971) * LTG George G. O'Connor (1971) * LTG

George V. Underwood Jr. George Vernon Underwood Jr. (December 17, 1913 – August 3, 1984) was a United States Army four-star general who served as Commander in Chief, United States Southern Command (USCINCSO) from 1971 to 1973. He graduated from Shortridge High School i ...

(1971) * Unit inactive * LTG Edward C. Peter II (1984–1986) * LTG

Frederic J. Brown III Frederic J. Brown III (born July 18, 1934) is a retired United States Army officer. A veteran of the Vietnam War, he attained the rank of lieutenant general and was a recipient of the Army Distinguished Service Medal (2), Silver Star, Legion o ...

(1986–1989) * LTG

(1989–1991) * Unit inactive

Notes

References

General references

* ''History of the Fourth Army'', Jack B. Beardwood, Washington, D.C., 1946 (N.P. Army Ground Force Study No. 18)

External links

Fourth Army web page at globalsecurity.org

i

a publication of the

United States Army Center of Military History The United States Army Center of Military History (CMH) is a directorate within the United States Army Training and Doctrine Command. The Institute of Heraldry remains within the Office of the Administrative Assistant to the Secretary of the Arm ...

* {{Authority control 004 Army Military units and formations established in 1932