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TheNinth Army (French:IXe Armée) was a field army of theFrench Army duringWorld War I[1] andWorld War II.
The Ninth Army, first named "détachement d'armée Foch", was formed for the first time on 29 August 1914, to fill the gap between theFourth andFifth Army. It played an important role in thefirst Battle of the Marne. The Ninth Army was disbanded on 5 October 1914, when Foch became commander of Army Group North.
The Ninth Army was recreated on 6 July 1918 under command of Antoine de Mitry to fight in theSecond Battle of the Marne.
In 1940, it was initially the only part of the French army that faced the Germans directly as they came unexpectedly through the Ardennes during the early stages of theFall of France. It included the41st Army Corps, of two fortress divisions.
For much of WWII, the division was made up, in part, of soldiers from French colonies in Africa and the West Indies—including Frantz Fanon.[2] However, in October of 1944, the High Command initiated what they referred to as ablanchiment (whitening) of the ninth division, relocating the African soldiers to other areas.[2] They typically moved them to areas with more temperate climate, giving the reasoning that cold temperatures were unfamiliar to them.[2] Some soldiers criticized them for this decision, believing they did it to reserve the honor of crossing the Rhine into Germany for white Frenchmen.[2]
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