In
1914, no formation later established as an Army existed. First
and Second Armies were formed on the Western
Front only very late in 1914, and an official establishment
was not defined until March 1915.
Once defined, the Army was composed of at least 2 Corps,
with various units attached at the Army level and an Army HQ.
Army reported up to GHQ. The Army HQ
consisted of 31 officers and 106 other ranks. The Corps were not
permanently attached to an Army, and neither were the Divisions
below them. The attached units varied greatly; the establishments
shown below really only applied to the five Armies on the Western
Front.
The
number of Corps under the command of the Army remained nominally
at two, but could be increased if fighting conditions required.
The Army HQ generally remained fixed in place, as did the Corps,
while the Divisions were moved around.
The
average Tommy often knew which Army he was in at the time. The
commanders of the Armies rarely changed, and became identifiable
figures, with their reputation either one of respect (especially
for Plumer and Byng) or something rather less. |
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| The
British Armies formed during the Great War |
| Army |
History |
| First |
Formed
in France from 26 December 1914, initially under the command
of Sir Douglas
Haig. Remained on the Western Front, coming under the
command of Sir Henry Horne. |
| Second |
Formed
in France from 26 December 1914, initially under the command
of Sir Horace Smith-Dorrien. Later under the command of Sir
Herbert Plumer, the Army moved to Italy between 13 November
1917 and 17 March 1918. Second Army was always associated
with the Ypres Salient. |
| Third |
Formed
in France from 13 July 1915, initially under the command of
Sir Edmund Allenby. Later taken over by Sir Julian Byng. |
| Fourth |
Formed
in France from 5 February 1916, under the command of Sir Henry
Rawlinson. Was renamed Second Army when Plumer moved to Italy,
and reverted to Fourth Army when he returned. |
| Fifth |
On
22 May 1916, the Reserve Corps HQ under Sir Hubert Gough became
the Reserve Army, which was renamed Fifth Army. Destroyed
by the great German assault in March 1918, it was renamed
Fourth Army on 2 April, and its HQ became HQ Reserve Army
once again, It was restored as HQ Fifth Army on 23 May 1918
under the command of Sir William Birdwood. |
| British
Salonika Army |
Formed
in Salonika from October 1915; the Army HQ became a GHQ in
January 1917. |
| First
(Home Forces) |
Formed
in UK on outbreak of war, and disbanded 12 March 1916. |
| Second
(Home Forces) |
Formed
in UK on outbreak of war, and disbanded 12 March 1916. |
| Third
(Home Forces) |
Formed
in UK 6 September 1914, and disbanded 11 December 1915. |
| Northern
(Home Forces) |
Formed
in UK 11 April 1916, and disbanded 16 February 1918. |
| Southern
(Home Forces) |
Formed
in UK 11 April 1916, and disbanded 16 February 1918. |
|
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| The
troops under command of an Army |
The
Army HQ had under its command, in addition to the two or more
Corps, various bodies of troops required
to supply and maintain the tactical units, and to provide extra
strategic firepower. These troops included artillery, engineers,
transport, medical, machine gun, veterinary, labour and mounted
troops.
Artillery
The
artillery of an Army consisted of the following Heavy and Medium
Artillery (figures as at November 1918)
- 2-4
Mobile Brigades of Heavy and Medium Artillery
- 1-6
Mixed Brigades of Heavy and Medium Artillery
- 3-5
Brigades of 8-inch Howitzers
- 2-6
Brigades of 9.2-inch Howitzers
- 1-3
Army Brigades of the Royal Garrison Artillery
- 4-10
Batteries of 6-inch guns
- 6-11
Batteries of heavier guns
The
Army also had the following Field Artillery (most of which was
under Corps and Division command) (figures as at November 1918)
- 4-16
Army Brigades of the Royal Field Artillery
- 3-5
Anti-Aircraft Batteries
In
total, Army had more than 900 artillery pieces under direct command.
In addition were the workshops of the Ordnance.
Machine
Guns
2-4
Machine Gun Battalions came under Army command, and there was
one Motor Brigade MGC between them.
Engineers
The
engineers of the Army were mainly employed on building and maintaining
large-scale supply networks (roads, bridges, pipelines etc), or
were specialist units.
- 2
Field Companies
- 2-3
Advanced RE Parks
- 9-16
Army Troops Companies
- 1-2
Siege Companies
- 5-8
Tunnelling Companies
- 1
Electrical and Mechanical Company
- 1
Army Workshop Company
- 1
Field Survey Battalion
- 4-11
Anti-aircraft searchlight sections
- a
number of searchlight companies
- 1
Pontoon Park
- 1
Tranportation (Works) Company
- various
drainage or barge companies
- 2
Forestry Companies
Transport
Army-level
transport was primarily maintenance units.
Medical
The
Army would typically command
- 4
Motor Ambulance Convoys
- 12
Casualty Clearing Stations
- 3
Medical Stores Depots
- 4
Mobile Laboratories
- 2
Mobile X-Ray units
- 1
Mobile Dental unit
- 1
Stationary Hospital
- 10
Sanitary Sections and 5 Sanitary Squads
Signals
The
Army would command
- 1
Army Signal Company
- 1
Motor Mobile Pigeon Loft
- 14
horse lofts
- 3
fixed lofts
Veterinary
3
horse evacuating stations.
Labour
and Guard Duties
The
Army would command
- 1
Garrison Battalion
- 3
Garrison Companies
- 1
Anti-aircraft Company, infantry
- 7
Labour Group HQ, consisting of 39 Labour Companies, 10 Area
Employment Companies, 2 Area Employment (Artisan) Companies,
1 Agricultural Company, and 17 Chinese Labour Companies.
Printing
and Stationery
The
Army ran on forms and instructions, printed by the hundreds of
thousands. An Army would have photographic and printing sections. |
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| What
was a GHQ? | What
was a Corps? | Who commanded the Armies? |
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