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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, during theBattle of France, the Ninth Army was part of theFirst Army Group. It was tasked with defending the central sector of theArdennes, holding the Meuse river line between Namur and Sedan. This sector became the focal point of the German breakthrough (Schwerpunkt) byPanzer Group Kleist.
At the start of the German invasion on 10 May 1940, the Ninth Army was commanded byGénéral d'arméeAndré Corap. Its composition was as follows:
At the start of the German invasion on 10 May 1940, the Ninth Army was commanded byGénéral d'arméeAndré Corap.[2] Headquarters was located at Vervins. In addition to the major corps, the army controlled several organic assets and attached units:
For much of WWII, the army was made up, in part, of soldiers from French colonies in Africa and the West Indies—includingFrantz Fanon.[3] However, in October of 1944, the High Command initiated what they referred to as ablanchiment (whitening) of the ninth division (by then restructured), relocating the African soldiers to other areas.[3] They typically moved them to areas with more temperate climate, giving the reasoning that cold temperatures were unfamiliar to them.[3] Some soldiers criticized them for this decision, believing they did it to reserve the honor of crossing the Rhine into Germany for white Frenchmen.[3]
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