| First Army | |
|---|---|
 1st Army formation badge, Second World War | |
| Active | First World War 1914–1918 Second World War 1942–1943 |
| Country |  United Kingdom |
| Branch |  British Army |
| Type | Army |
| Size | Field army |
| Engagements | First World War Western Front Second World War Operation Torch Tunisia Campaign |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Sir Douglas Haig Sir Henry Rawlinson Sir Kenneth Anderson |
TheFirst Army was aformation of theBritish Army that existed during theFirst andSecond World Wars. The First Army includedIndian andPortuguese forces during the First World War andAmerican andFrench units during the Second World War.
The First Army was part of theBritish Army during the First World War and was formed on 26 December 1914 when thecorps of theBritish Expeditionary Force were divided into the First Army under Lieutenant-GeneralSir Douglas Haig and theSecond Army underHorace Smith-Dorrien.[1] First Army had theIst,IVth and theIndian Corps under command.[2] It made advances of 1,200 yards at the beginning of theBattle of Neuve Chapelle in March 1915 before the momentum died out.[3] The First Army suffered reverses atVimy Ridge in May 1916 and atFromelles the following month. From 1917, the First Army also included thePortuguese Expeditionary Corps. The First Army took part in the1918 offensive that drove the Germans back and virtually ended the war.
The British First Army was reformed during theSecond World War. It was formed to command the American and British land forces which had landed as part ofOperation Torch, theAllied invasion ofFrench North Africa, inMorocco andAlgeria on 8 November 1942. It was commanded byLieutenant-GeneralSir Kenneth Anderson. The First Army headquarters was formally activated on 9 November 1942 when Anderson arrived inAlgiers to assume command of the redesignatedEastern Task Force.[4]
The First Army initially consisted of American and British formations only. After the surrender of French forces following the German abrogation of theirarmistice agreement withVichy France, French units were also added to the First Army's order of battle. It eventually consisted of four corps, theUS II Corps, theBritish V Corps,British IX Corps andFrench XIX Corps.
After the landings, Anderson's forcesrushed east in a bid to captureTunis andBizerte 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 timeGeneralSir Bernard Montgomery'sBritish Eighth Army approached theTunisian border from the east, following its long pursuit ofGeneralfeldmarschallErwin Rommel's forces afterEl Alamein, the First Army was again ready to strike.
Supported by elements ofXII Tactical Air Command andNo. 242 Group RAF, the First Army carried the main weight of GeneralSir Harold Alexander's18th Army Group's offensive to conclude theTunisian Campaign and finishAxis forces in North Africa off. The victory was won in May 1943 in a surrender that, in numbers captured at least, equalledStalingrad. Shortly after the surrender, the First Army was disbanded, having served its purpose.