The Fifth Army was a field army of the

British Army during World War I The British Army during the First World War fought the largest and most costly war in its long history. Unlike the French and German Armies, the British Army was made up exclusively of volunteers—as opposed to conscripts—at the beginnin ...

that formed part of the British Expeditionary Force on the

Western Front Western Front or West Front may refer to: Military frontiers * Western Front (World War I), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (World War II), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (Russian Empire), a maj ...

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.

History

The Fifth Army was created on 30 October 1916, by renaming the

Reserve Army A military reserve force is a military organization whose members have military and civilian occupations. They are not normally kept under arms, and their main role is to be available when their military requires additional manpower. Reserve f ...

(General

Hubert Gough General Sir Hubert de la Poer Gough ( ; 12 August 1870 – 18 March 1963) was a senior officer in the British Army in the First World War. A favourite of the British Commander-in-Chief, Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig, he experienced a meteor ...

). It participated in the

Battle of the Ancre The Battle of the Ancre was fought by the British Fifth Army (Lieutenant-General Hubert Gough), against the German 1st Army (General Fritz von Below). The Reserve Army had been renamed the Fifth Army on 30 October. The battle was the last ...

, which became the final British effort in the

Battle of the Somme The Battle of the Somme (French: Bataille de la Somme), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place be ...

. In 1917, the Fifth Army was involved in the Battle of Arras and then the

Third Battle of Ypres The Third Battle of Ypres (german: link=no, Dritte Flandernschlacht; french: link=no, Troisième Bataille des Flandres; nl, Derde Slag om Ieper), also known as the Battle of Passchendaele (), was a campaign of the First World War, fought by ...

. The following year, the Fifth Army took over a stretch of front-line previously occupied by the

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

south of the

River Somme The Somme ( , , ) is a river in Picardy, northern France. The river is in length, from its source in the high ground of the former at Fonsomme near Saint-Quentin, to the Bay of the Somme, in the English Channel. It lies in the geologica ...

and on 21 March, bore the brunt of the opening phase of the German Spring Offensive, known as

Operation Michael Operation Michael was a major German military offensive during the First World War that began the German Spring Offensive on 21 March 1918. It was launched from the Hindenburg Line, in the vicinity of Saint-Quentin, France. Its goal was t ...

. The failure of the Fifth Army to withstand the German advance led to Gough's dismissal and replacement by General Henry Rawlinson on 28 March and on 2 April, the army was renamed the Fourth Army. Gough and his remaining staff officers were to be renamed the Reserve Army with a headquarters at

Crécy-en-Ponthieu Crécy-en-Ponthieu (), known in archaic English as Cressy, is a commune located south of Calais in the northern French department of Somme. It gives its name to Crécy Forest, which starts about two kilometres to the south-west of the town and i ...

, to survey a defensive line west of Amiens as a precaution and to oversee the building of all GHQ lines. After Gough was removed and sent home, General William Peyton took over the HQ until 23 May, when the Reserve Army title was dropped and the Fifth Army HQ was re-formed, under the command of General

William Birdwood Field Marshal William Riddell Birdwood, 1st Baron Birdwood, (13 September 1865 – 17 May 1951) was a British Army officer. He saw active service in the Second Boer War on the staff of Lord Kitchener. He saw action again in the First World War ...

. Although the Fifth Army was blamed for failing to hold the German advance, it was later "triumphantly vindicated".

Commanders

* October 1916 – March 1918 General Sir Hubert Gough * April–May 1918 General Sir William Peyton * May–November 1918 General

Sir William Birdwood Field Marshal William Riddell Birdwood, 1st Baron Birdwood, (13 September 1865 – 17 May 1951) was a British Army officer. He saw active service in the Second Boer War on the staff of Lord Kitchener. He saw action again in the First World War ...

Footnotes

References

Books * * * * * Websites *

History

Commanders

Footnotes

References

Further reading