First Army (United Kingdom)

First Army
active	1914-1918 1942-1943
Country	United Kingdom
Armed forces	British Army
Type	army
Calls	First World War Western front Second World War Operation Torch Tunisian campaign

The First Army ( German  1st Army ) was a major unit of the British Army in the First and Second World War .

First World War

Combat compartment of the 1st Army in 1915

General Charles C. Monro

General Henry Sinclair Horne

The army was formed with the division of the British Expeditionary Force into two armies on December 26, 1914 under the command of Lieutenant General Sir Douglas Haig .

1915

The first army was in winter 1914/5 between Bethune and Armentières in trench warfare . In the Battle of Neuve-Chapelle (March 10/12, 1915) the 1st Army attacked with the IV Corps (7th and 8th Divisions) under Henry Rawlinson and the Indian Corps (Lahore and Meerut Divisions) James Willcocks took over the positions of the German VII Army Corps . After losing around 12,000 men, little land was gained.

During the Second Battle of La Bassée , the attack of the 1st Army was scheduled on September 25th at Neuve-Chapelle and directed towards Fromelles . General Haig tried to take the Aubers ridge by enclosing it on both sides (Battle of Aubers Ridge). The attack by the IV Corps collapsed after a few hours due to incorrect artillery preparation. The use of the Indian Corps was also unsuccessful, the British assault largely ended in disaster even before the German positions. The offensive was renewed on May 15 on the southern section of the 1st Army by the British I. Corps (1st and 2nd Divisions, Barter Group) under General Charles Monro . The breakthrough on Loos did not succeed in the Battle of Festubert, small gains in terrain were bought at the cost of high losses.

The Battle of Loos (September / October 1915) began on the morning of September 25th when British troops released 140 tons of chlorine gas. It was the first use of poison gas by Allied troops in World War I. The I Corps (2nd, 7th and 9th Divisions) under Hubert Gough in the north and the IV Corps (1st, 15th and 47th Divisions) under Rawlinson on the southern section were involved. The XI. Corps (21st, 24th Divisions and Guards ) under Richard Haking and the 3rd Cavalry Division were kept ready as reserves and only intervened later in the fighting. The goal of the breakthrough could not be achieved either at Loos or on the other sections of the front, the British losses amounted to about 50,000 men.

1916

In the Battle of Fromelles (July 1916) became the XI Corps with the 61st (2nd South Midland) Division set and the newly introduced to the front 5th Australian Division for the attack to the south of the Somme wrestling 4th Army to relieve.

1917

During the spring offensive of Arras (April 1917), the 1st Army under General Henry Horne formed the northern attack wing: On the left wing, the XI Corps under General Haking with the 5th and 49th Divisions remained defensive. The I Corps under General Arthur Holland (31st, 6th and 24th Divisions) was set up between Lens and Givenchy . The Canadian Corps under Sir Julian Byng was to lead the main thrust with four divisions: The Canadian 2nd Division (General Burstall) was set against the heights of Vimy , the Canadian 1st Division (General Currie ) covered the attack on the right against Thélus. Despite considerable territorial gains and the capture of the important ridge of Vimy, the battle was an overall failure, as no decisive breakthrough could be achieved. General Allenby was replaced and transferred to the Palestine Front .

1918

• Fourth Battle of Flanders (April 1918)

During the Hundred Days Offensive (August to November 1918) the 1st Army tried to break through at Lens for a long time, but in vain. The German 6th Army (General von Quast ) was able to hold its old positions between Lille and Douai until October 17th and was then forced to retreat. On the day of the armistice (November 11, 1918), the pursuit of 1st Army reached the line 14 miles east of Ath to Villers-Saint-Ghislain , southeast of Mons . On the last day of the war, the 1st Army was subordinate to the following corps groups:

Right wing: VIII Corps (Lieutenant General Aylmer Hunter-Weston )

• 8th Division (Major General William Heneker )
• 20th Division (Major General George Glas Sandeman Carey)
• 12th Division (Major General Harold Whitla Higginson)
• 52nd Division (Major General Francis James Marshall)

Center: Canadian Corps (Lieutenant General Arthur Currie )

• Canadian 1st Division (Major General Archibald Cameron McDonnell)
• Canadian 2nd Division (Major General Henry Edward Burstall)
• Canadian 3rd Division (Major General Frederick Oscar Warren Loomis)
• Canadian 4th Division (Major General David Watson)
• British 56th Division (Major General Charles Patrick Amyatt Hull)

Left wing: XXII. Corps (Lieutenant General Alexander Godley )

• 4th Division (Major General Cuthbert Henry Tindall Lucas)
• 11th Division (Major General Henry Rodolph Davies)
• 49th Division (Major General Neville JG Cameron)
• 51st Division (Major General George Tupper Carter-Campbell)

Commander

• Lieutenant General Sir Douglas Haig (December 1914 to December 1915)
• General Sir Henry Rawlinson (December 1915 to February 1916)
• General Sir Charles Monro (February to September 1916)
• General Sir Henry Horne (September 1916 until the end of the war)

Second World War

During the Second World War, after the American-British landings in North Africa ( Operation Torch ) , the army was activated on November 9, 1942 in Algiers under the command of Lieutenant General Sir Kenneth Anderson . She belonged to the 18th Army Group formed for the Tunisian campaign . Under their command were the British V. and IX. Corps and the French XIX. Corps. After the end of the Tunisian campaign, it was disbanded.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ British First Army in France and Flanders 1914-1918 , "The Long, Long Trail"