First Army

First Army
Emblem of the British First Army (1942-1943)
Active	World War I 1914 - 1918 World War II 1942 -1943
Country	United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Branch	British Army
Type	Army
Engagements	Western Front Operation Torch Tunisia Campaign
Commanders
Notable commanders	Douglas Haig Sir Henry Rawlinson Kenneth Anderson

The First Army was a field army of the British Army that existed during the First and Second World Wars.

First World War

The First Army was part of the British Army during World War I and was formed on 26 December 1914 when the corps of the British Expeditionary Force were divided into the First Army under Lieutenant-General Sir Douglas Haig and the Second Army (Horace Smith-Dorrien). First Army having the I Corps, IV Corps and the Indian Corps under command.^[1] The First Army suffered reverses at Vimy Ridge in May 1916 and at Fromelles the following month. The First Army took part in the 1918 offensive that drove the Germans back and virtually ended the war.

Commanders

• Lieutenant-General Sir Douglas Haig (1914 - 1915)
• General Sir Henry Rawlinson (1915 - 1916)
• General Sir Charles Monro (1916)
• General Sir Henry Horne (1916 - 1918)

Second World War

The First Army was also part of the British Army during World War II. It was formed to command the British and American land forces which had landed in Algiers as part of Operation Torch, the assault landings in Morocco and Algeria on 8 November 1942. It was commanded by Lieutenant-General Sir Kenneth Anderson. First Army headquarters was formally activated on 9 November 1942 when Anderson arrived in Algiers to assume command of the redesignated Eastern Task Force.^[2]

It initially consisted of British and American forces only. After the surrender of French forces, French units were also added to its order of battle. It eventually consisted of four corps, the U.S. II Corps, the British V Corps, British IX Corps and French XIX Corps.

After the landings, Anderson's forces rushed east in a bid to capture Tunis and Bizerte before German forces could reach there in large numbers. They failed. After that failure, a period of consolidation was forced upon them. The logistics support for the Army was greatly improved and airfields for its supporting aircraft greatly multiplied. By the time the British Eighth Army approached the Tunisian border from the east, following its long pursuit of Rommel's forces after El Alamein, 1st Army was again ready to strike.

Supported by elements of XII Tactical Air Command and No. 242 Group RAF, First Army carried the main weight of 18th Army Group's offensive to conclude the Tunisia Campaign and finish off Axis forces in North Africa. The victory was won in May 1943 in a surrender that, in numbers captured at least, equaled Stalingrad. Shortly after the surrender, First Army disbanded, having served its purpose.

See also

World War II portal

• British First Army order of battle, 20 April 1943
• British First Army order of battle, 4 May 1943

Notes

References

• Playfair, Major-General I.S.O.; Molony, Brigadier C.J.C.; with Flynn, Captain F.C. (R.N.) & Gleave, Group Captain T.P. (2004) [1st. pub. HMSO:1966]. Butler, Sir James. ed. The Mediterranean and Middle East, Volume IV: The Destruction of the Axis Forces in Africa. History of the Second World War, United Kingdom Military Series. Uckfield, UK: Naval & Military Press. ISBN 1-845740-68-8.