- First Army (United Kingdom)
Infobox Military Unit
unit_name= First Army
caption=Emblem of the British First Army (1942-1943)
dates=World War I
1914 - 1918World War II
1942 -1943
country=United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
allegiance=
branch=British Army
type=Army
role=
size=
command_structure=
garrison=
equipment=
current_commander=
ceremonial_chief=
colonel_of_the_regiment=
notable_commanders= Field MarshallDouglas Haig
General Sir Henry Rawlinson
General Kenneth Anderson
identification_symbol=
identification_symbol_2=
nickname=
patron=
motto=
colors=
march=
mascot=
battles=Western Front Operation Torch
anniversaries=
decorations=
battle_honours=The First Army was a field army of the
British Army that existed during the First andSecond World War s.First World War
The First Army was formed on
26 December ,1914 when thecorps of theBritish Expeditionary Force were divided into the First Army under Lieutenant-General Sir Douglas Haig and the Second Army (Horace Smith-Dorrien ). The First Army suffered reverses atVimy Ridge in May 1916 and atFromelles 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)
* GeneralSir Charles Monro (1916)
* GeneralSir Henry Horne (1916 - 1918)Second World War
The First Army was formed to command the land forces of in
Operation Torch , the assault landings inMorocco andAlgeria on8 November 1942 , duringWorld War II . It was commanded by Lieutenant-General Sir Kenneth Anderson. First Army formally came into being on1 January 1943 with the redesignation of the Eastern Task Force.It initially consisted of British and American forces only. They were organised into three separate components, one for each landing site; Oran, Algiers and Casablanca. 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 andFrench XIX Corps .After the landings, Anderson's forces rushed east in a bid to capture the
Tunisia n shoreline 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 theBritish Eighth Army approached the Tunisian border, following its long pursuit of Rommel's forces afterEl Alamein , 1st Army was again ready to strike.Supported by elements of
XII Tactical Air Command andNo. 242 Group RAF , First Army carried the main weight of 18th Army Group's offensive to finish off Axis forces in North Africa. The victory was won by mid-1943 in a surrender that, in numbers captured at least, equalledStalingrad . Shortly after the surrender, First Army disbanded, having served its purpose.ee also
*
British First Army order of battle, 20 April 1943
*British First Army order of battle, 4 May 1943
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.