The First Army was a

formation Formation may refer to: Linguistics * Back-formation, the process of creating a new lexeme by removing or affixes * Word formation, the creation of a new word by adding affixes Mathematics and science * Cave formation or speleothem, a secondar ...

of the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

that existed during the

First First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

and

Second World War 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 ...

s. The First Army included

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 ...

and

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

forces during the First World War and

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

and French units during the Second World War.

First World War

The First Army was part of the

British Army during the First World War The British Army during the First World War fought the largest and most costly war in its long history. Unlike the French and German Armies, the British Army was made up exclusively of volunteers—as opposed to conscripts—at the beginning ...

and was formed on 26 December 1914 when the

corps Corps (; plural ''corps'' ; from French , from the Latin "body") is a term used for several different kinds of organization. A military innovation by Napoleon I, the formation was first named as such in 1805. The size of a corps varies great ...

of the British Expeditionary Force were divided into the First Army under Lieutenant-General

Sir Douglas Haig Field Marshal Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig, (; 19 June 1861 – 29 January 1928) was a senior officer of the British Army. During the First World War, he commanded the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) on the Western Front from late 1915 until ...

and the Second Army under

Horace Smith-Dorrien General Sir Horace Lockwood Smith-Dorrien, (26 May 1858 – 12 August 1930) was a British Army General. One of the few British survivors of the Battle of Isandlwana as a young officer, he also distinguished himself in the Second Boer War. Smith ...

. First Army had the

Ist Ist or IST may refer to: Information Science and Technology * Bachelor's or Master's degree in Information Science and Technology * Graduate School / Faculty of Information Science and Technology, Hokkaido University, Japan * Graduate School ...

, IVth and the

Indian Corps The I Indian Corps was an army corps of the British Indian Army in the World War I. It was formed at the outbreak of war under the title Indian Corps from troops sent to the Western Front. The British Indian Army did not have a pre-war corps stru ...

under command. It made advances of 1,200 yards at the beginning of the

Battle of Neuve Chapelle The Battle of Neuve Chapelle (10–13 March 1915) took place in the First World War in the Artois region of France. The attack was intended to cause a rupture in the German lines, which would then be exploited with a rush to the Aubers Ridge and ...

in March 1915 before the momentum died out. The First Army suffered reverses at

Vimy Ridge The Battle of Vimy Ridge was part of the Battle of Arras, in the Pas-de-Calais department of France, during the First World War. The main combatants were the four divisions of the Canadian Corps in the First Army, against three divisions of ...

in May 1916 and at

Fromelles Fromelles () is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. it had a population of 1,041; its inhabitants are called ''Fromellois''. It is located about to the west of Lille. First World War The village of Fromelles was captured by a ...

the following month. From 1917, the First Army also included the

Portuguese Expeditionary Corps The Portuguese Expeditionary Corps (CEP, Portuguese: ''Corpo Expedicionário Português'') was the main military force from Portugal that fought in the Western Front, during World War I. Portuguese neutrality ended in 1916 after the Portuguese ...

. The First Army took part in the 1918 offensive that drove the Germans back and virtually ended the war.

Commanders

* 26 December 1914 – 22 December 1915 General

* 22 December 1915 – 4 February 1916 General

Sir Henry Rawlinson Sir Henry Creswicke Rawlinson, 1st Baronet, KLS (5 April 1810 – 5 March 1895) was a British East India Company army officer, politician and Orientalist, sometimes described as the Father of Assyriology. His son, also Henry, was to beco ...

* 4 February – 7 August 1916 General

Sir Charles Monro General Sir Charles Carmichael Monro, 1st Baronet, (15 June 1860 – 7 December 1929) was a British Army General in the First World War. He held the post of Commander-in-Chief, India in 1916–1920. From 1923 to 1929 he was the Governor of Gibr ...

* 7 August – 30 September 1916 Lieutenant-General Sir Richard Haking (temporary) * 30 September 1916 – 1918 General Sir Henry Horne

Second World War

The British First Army was reformed during the

. It was formed to command the American and British land forces which had landed as part of

Operation Torch Operation Torch (8 November 1942 – Run for Tunis, 16 November 1942) was an Allies of World War II, Allied invasion of French North Africa during the Second World War. Torch was a compromise operation that met the British objective of secu ...

, 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 ...

invasion of

French North Africa French North Africa (french: Afrique du Nord française, sometimes abbreviated to ANF) is the term often applied to the territories controlled by France in the North African Maghreb during the colonial era, namely Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia. In ...

, in

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

and

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

on 8 November 1942. It was commanded by

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 ...

Sir Kenneth Anderson. The First Army headquarters was formally activated on 9 November 1942 when Anderson arrived in

Algiers Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques ...

to assume command of the redesignated Eastern Task Force. The First Army initially consisted of American and British formations only. After the surrender of French forces following the German abrogation of their armistice agreement with

Vichy France Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of its ter ...

, French units were also added to the First Army's order of battle. It eventually consisted of four corps, the US II Corps, the

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 ...

, British IX Corps and

French XIX Corps The 19th Army Corps (:fr:19e corps d'armée (France), 19e Corps d'Armée) was a corps of the French army. In December 1870, the Government of National Defense, Tours delegation created the 19th Army Corps which was formed in Alençon. It was recre ...

. After the landings, Anderson's forces rushed east in a bid to capture

Tunis ''Tounsi'' french: Tunisois , population_note = , population_urban = , population_metro = 2658816 , population_density_km2 = , timezone1 = CET , utc_offset1 ...

and

Bizerte Bizerte or Bizerta ( ar, بنزرت, translit=Binzart , it, Biserta, french: link=no, Bizérte) the classical Hippo, is a city of Bizerte Governorate in Tunisia. It is the northernmost city in Africa, located 65 km (40mil) north of the cap ...

before German forces could reach the two cities in large numbers. They failed. Following that lack of success, a period of consolidation was forced upon them. The logistics support for the First Army was greatly improved and bases for its accompanying aircraft greatly multiplied. By the time

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 ...

Sir Bernard Montgomery's

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, ...

approached the

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

n border from the east, following its long pursuit of ''

Generalfeldmarschall ''Generalfeldmarschall'' (from Old High German ''marahscalc'', "marshal, stable master, groom"; en, general field marshal, field marshal general, or field marshal; ; often abbreviated to ''Feldmarschall'') was a rank in the armies of several ...

Erwin Rommel Johannes Erwin Eugen Rommel () (15 November 1891 – 14 October 1944) was a German field marshal during World War II. Popularly known as the Desert Fox (, ), he served in the ''Wehrmacht'' (armed forces) of Nazi Germany, as well as servi ...

's forces after

El Alamein El Alamein ( ar, العلمين, translit=al-ʿAlamayn, lit=the two flags, ) is a town in the northern Matrouh Governorate of Egypt. Located on the Arab's Gulf, Mediterranean Sea, it lies west of Alexandria and northwest of Cairo. , it had ...

, the First Army was again ready to strike. Supported by elements of

XII Tactical Air Command The XII Tactical Air Command was a formation of the United States Army Air Forces. Its last assignment was with the United States Air Forces in Europe at Bad Kissingen, Germany, where it was inactivated on 10 November 1947. History The 12th Gr ...

and No. 242 Group RAF, the First Army carried the main weight of General Sir Harold Alexander's 18th Army Group's offensive to conclude the

Tunisian Campaign The Tunisian campaign (also known as the Battle of Tunisia) was a series of battles that took place in Tunisia during the North African campaign of the Second World War, between Axis and Allied forces from 17 November 1942 to 13 May 1943. The ...

and finish

Axis forces The Axis powers, ; it, Potenze dell'Asse ; ja, 枢軸国 ''Sūjikukoku'', group=nb originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis, was a military coalition that initiated World War II and fought against the Allies. Its principal members were Na ...

in North Africa off. The victory was won in May 1943 in a surrender that, in numbers captured at least, equalled

Stalingrad Volgograd ( rus, Волгогра́д, a=ru-Volgograd.ogg, p=vəɫɡɐˈɡrat), geographical renaming, formerly Tsaritsyn (russian: Цари́цын, Tsarítsyn, label=none; ) (1589–1925), and Stalingrad (russian: Сталингра́д, Stal ...

. Shortly after the surrender, the First Army was disbanded, having served its purpose.

Commanders

*July 1942 – August 1942 Lieutenant-General

Edmond Schreiber Lieutenant-General Sir Edmond Charles Acton Schreiber, (30 April 1890 – 8 October 1972) was a senior British Army officer who served in both the First World War and the Second World War. In the latter he commanded the 45th Infantry Division, ...

*August 1942 – July 1943 Lieutenant-General Kenneth AndersonOrders of Battle
/ref>

Notes

References

* * {{British armies, commands, and corps during the Second World War Military units and formations established in 1914 Military units and formations disestablished in 1943 1914 establishments in the United Kingdom 01 01 01 Military units and formations of the British Empire in World War II

First World War

Commanders

Second World War

Commanders

See also

Notes

References