Fourth Army (United Kingdom)

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Fourth Army
4th Army WW1.jpg
4th Army formation badge.
Active First World War (1916–1918)
Second World War (1943–1944, as deception only)
CountryFlag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom
BranchFlag of the British Army.svg  British Army
Type Army
EngagementsFirst World War
Commanders
Notable
commanders
Sir Henry Rawlinson

The Fourth Army was a field army that formed part of the British Expeditionary Force during the First World War. The Fourth Army was formed on 5 February 1916 under the command of General Sir Henry Rawlinson to carry out the main British contribution to the Battle of the Somme.

Contents

First World War

General Sir Henry Rawlinson Gen. Rawlinson.jpg
General Sir Henry Rawlinson

History

The Fourth Army was formed in France on 5 February 1916, under the command of Sir Henry Rawlinson. [1] It was created in preparation for the Battle of the Somme after the French Tenth Army was transferred to the Battle of Verdun. [2] On the first day on the Somme, eleven Fourth Army divisions (from XIII Corps, XV Corps, III Corps, X Corps and VIII Corps) attacked astride the Albert–Bapaume road. The attack was completely defeated on the northern sector, so subsequent Fourth Army operations concentrated on the southern sector, handing control of the northern sector to the Reserve Army.

The plan for the Fourth Army during the Third Battle of Ypres (31 July – 10 November 1917), was to mount Operation Hush, an amphibious invasion of the Belgian coast. Once the Germans had been pushed back from the Passchendaele–Westroosebeke ridge and an advance begun on Roeselare and Torhout, the XV Corps would mount the coastal operation. As the Ypres fighting became bogged down, the Fourth Army divisions were drawn off as reinforcements until the army was effectively disbanded.

The Fourth Army was reformed in early 1918—once again under Rawlinson—following the virtual destruction and subsequent disbanding of the Fifth Army during the German offensive known as Operation Michael.

The Fourth Army spearheaded the British Hundred Days offensive that began with the Battle of Amiens and ended with the Armistice in November, 1918.

Order of Battle

On the first day of the Somme the Fourth Army comprised: [3]

When reformed for the Battle of Amiens: [4]

In September 1918 the Army was the only British force reinforced with substantial American (AEF) forces: [5]

Commanders

Second World War

In the Second World War, no Fourth Army took the field but as part of the deception plans Operation Cockade and the later Operation Fortitude North, the Germans were encouraged to believe that a Fourth Army had been established with its headquarters in Edinburgh Castle and was preparing to invade Norway. The selection of the inactive Fourth Army was likely very deliberate because of its combat history during the First World War. That diverted and kept German units away from the real invasion zone in Normandy. In the subsequent Operation Fortitude South, the Fourth Army, with different units, was presented as part of the fictitious First United States Army Group (FUSAG) in its threat to the Pas-de-Calais. [7] After Operation Market Garden, the Fourth Army was notionally intended to conduct Operation Trolleybar, an amphibious assault upon the coast of the Netherlands and later along the German coast. It was to involve a landing by the phantom 76th Infantry Division until the deception was ended in January 1945.

Fictitious composition during Fortitude

Fortitude North

HQ at Edinburgh

Fortitude South

HQ at Hathfield

Related Research Articles

The British Expeditionary Force (BEF) was the six divisions the British Army sent to the Western Front during the First World War. Planning for a British Expeditionary Force began with the 1906–1912 Haldane Reforms of the British Army carried out by the Secretary of State for War Richard Haldane following the Second Boer War (1899–1902).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I Corps (United Kingdom)</span> Inactive British Army formation

I Corps was an army corps in existence as an active formation in the British Army for most of the 80 years from its creation in the First World War until the end of the Cold War, longer than any other corps. It had a short-lived precursor during the Waterloo Campaign. It served as the operational component of the British Army of the Rhine during the Cold War, and was tasked with defending West Germany.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">IV Corps (United Kingdom)</span> Military unit

IV Corps was a corps-sized formation of the British Army, formed in both the First World War and the Second World War. During the First World War the corps served on the Western Front throughout its existence. During the Second World War it served in Norway and Britain until it was transferred to India, which was threatened with attack after Japan entered the war.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">II Corps (United Kingdom)</span> Military unit

The II Corps was an army corps of the British Army formed in both the First World War and the Second World War. There had also been a short-lived II Corps during the Waterloo Campaign.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">III Corps (United Kingdom)</span> Corps of the British Army in the First and Second World Wars

III Corps was an army corps of the British Army formed in both the First World War and the Second World War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Third Army (United Kingdom)</span> Military unit

The Third Army was a field army of the British Army during World War I that saw active service on the Western Front throughout the war.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry Rawlinson, 1st Baron Rawlinson</span> British Army general (1864–1925)

General Henry Seymour Rawlinson, 1st Baron Rawlinson,, known as Sir Henry Rawlinson, 2nd Baronet between 1895 and 1919, was a senior British Army officer in the First World War who commanded the Fourth Army of the British Expeditionary Force at the battles of the Somme (1916) and Amiens (1918) as well as the breaking of the Hindenburg Line (1918). He commanded the Indian Army from 1920 to 1925.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Amiens (1918)</span> First World War allied offensive operation

The Battle of Amiens, also known as the Third Battle of Picardy, was the opening phase of the Allied offensive which began on 8 August 1918, later known as the Hundred Days Offensive, which ultimately led to the end of World War I. Allied forces advanced over 11 kilometres (7 mi) on the first day, one of the greatest advances of the war, with Gen Henry Rawlinson's British Fourth Army, with nine of its 19 divisions supplied by the fast-moving Australian Corps of Lt. General John Monash and Canadian Corps of Lt General Arthur Currie, and Gen Marie Eugène Debeney's French First Army playing a decisive role. The battle is also notable for its effects on both sides' morale and the large number of surrendering German forces. This led Erich Ludendorff to later describe the first day of the battle as "the black day of the German Army". Amiens was one of the first major battles involving armoured warfare.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reserve Army (United Kingdom)</span> Field army of the British Army during the First World War

The Reserve Army was a field army of the British Army and part of the British Expeditionary Force during the First World War. On 1 April 1916, Lieutenant-General Sir Hubert Gough was moved from the command of I Corps and took over the Reserve Corps, which in June before the Battle of the Somme, was expanded and renamed Reserve Army. The army fought on the northern flank of the Fourth Army during the battle and became the Fifth Army on 30 October.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fifth Army (United Kingdom)</span> Field army of the British Army during WWI

The Fifth Army was a field army of the British Army during World War I that formed part of the British Expeditionary Force on the Western Front between 1916 and 1918. The army originated as the Reserve Corps during the preparations for the British part of the Somme Offensive of 1916, was renamed Reserve Army when it was expanded and became the Fifth Army in October 1916.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">VII Corps (United Kingdom)</span> Corps of the British Army

VII Corps was an army corps of the British Army active in the First and Second World Wars. In the early part of the Second World War it was part of the defence forces of the United Kingdom, and later acted as a shadow formation for deception purposes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">First United States Army Group</span> Fictitious WWII Allied military unit

First United States Army Group was a fictitious Allied Army Group in World War II prior to D-Day, part of Operation Quicksilver, created to deceive the Germans about where the Allies would land in France. To attract Axis attention, prominent US general George S. Patton was placed in command of the fabricated formation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">X Corps (United Kingdom)</span> Military unit

X Corps was a corps of the British Army that served in the First World War on the Western Front before being disbanded in 1919. The corps was re-formed in 1942 during the Second World War and saw service in the North African Campaign and the Italian Campaign where it came under command of the US Fifth Army and the British Eighth Army.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">XIII Corps (United Kingdom)</span> Corps-sized formation of the British Army during the First and Second World Wars

13th Corps was a corps-sized formation of the British Army that fought on the Western Front during the First World War and was reformed for service during the Second World War, serving in the Mediterranean and Middle East throughout its service.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">V Corps (United Kingdom)</span> Military unit

V Corps was an army corps of the British Army that saw service in both the First and the Second World Wars. It was first organised in February 1915 and fought through the First World War on the Western front. It was recreated in June 1940, during the Second World War and was substantially reorganised in 1942 for participation in Operation Torch. It fought through the Tunisia Campaign and later the Italian Campaign.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Order of battle for the Battle of the Somme</span>

This is the order of battle for the Battle of the Somme. The Battle of the Somme was an offensive fought on the Western Front during World War I from 1 July to 18 November 1916 as one of the greatest engagements of the war. It was fought between French, British and Dominion forces and the German Empire in the Somme River valley and vicinity in northern France.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">VI Corps (United Kingdom)</span> WW1 British Army formation

VI Corps was an army corps of the British Army in the First World War. It was first organised in June 1915 and fought throughout on the Western Front. It was briefly reformed during the Second World War to command forces based in Northern Ireland, but was reorganized as British Forces in Ireland one month later.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">58th (2/1st London) Division</span> Military unit

The 58th Division was an infantry division created in 1915 as part of the massive expansion of the British Army during the First World War. It was a 2nd Line Territorial Force formation raised as a duplicate of the 56th Division. After training in Britain, the division joined the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) on the Western Front in 1917. It saw action at the battles of Arras and Passchedaele in 1917 and the German spring offensive in 1918. It then took part in the Battle of Amiens and the final Allied Hundred Days Offensive of the war. The division was recreated during the Second World War, as an imaginary deception formation.

Brigadier-General Norman William Webber was a staff officer in the British Army in World War I, who served as Chief of Staff to Lieutenant-General Sir Arthur Currie, Commander of the Canadian Corps, prior to and during the period known as ‘Canada's Hundred Days.’ He received 9 'Mentions in Despatches' during the war.

References

  1. The British Armies of 1914-1918
  2. Robson, Stuart (2007). The First World War (1 ed.). Harrow, England: Pearson Longman. pp. 61–62. ISBN   978-1-4058-2471-2 via Archive Foundation.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  3. Baker, Chris. "Battles of the Somme, 1916". The Long, Long Trail. Retrieved 4 December 2015.
  4. Baker, Chris. "The Battle of Amiens". The Long, Long Trail. Retrieved 4 December 2015.
  5. Hart, Peter (2008). 1918 A Very British Victory (2 ed.). London: Phoenix. p. 446. ISBN   978-0-7538-2689-8.
  6. Major A. F. Becke, History of the Great War: Order of Battle of Divisions, Part 4 (1944) pp. 99–105
  7. Roger Hesketh. Fortitude: The D-Day Deception Campaign. St Ermins Press. 1999. ISBN   978-0-316-85172-5
  8. Thaddeus Holt. The Deceivers: Allied Military Deception in the Second World War. Phoenix. 2005. ISBN   978-0-7538-1917-3