The Third Army was a field army of the British Army during World War I that saw active service 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 majo ...

throughout the war.

First World War

The Third Army was part of the British Army during World War I and was formed in France on 13 July 1915, under the command of

Lieutenant-General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

Charles Monro Charles Monro may refer to: *Sir Charles Monro, 1st Baronet General Sir Charles Carmichael Monro, 1st Baronet, (15 June 1860 – 7 December 1929) was a British Army General in the First World War. He held the post of Commander-in-Chief, India in ...

. During August 1915 the Third Army took over trench line south of the

French Tenth Army The Tenth Army (french: Xe Armée) was a Field army of the French Army during World War I and World War II. World War I The Tenth Army, first called ''détachement d'armée Maud'huy'', was formed on 1 October 1914 during the Race to the Sea. ...

, which had to keep in position for the forthcoming autumn offensive. This made the Third Army geographically separate from the other British Armies for the time being. This remained the case until March 1916, when the French Tenth Army was redeployed because of French losses at Verdun and the British Fourth Army was formed in preparation for 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 bet ...

. The battles it took part in on the Western Front included: *

* Battle of Cambrai * Second Battle of Arras (April 1917) *

Battle of Passchendaele 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 t ...

* Battle of Amiens (August 1918) *

Hundred Days Offensive The Hundred Days Offensive (8 August to 11 November 1918) was a series of massive Allied offensives that ended the First World War. Beginning with the Battle of Amiens (8–12 August) on the Western Front, the Allies pushed the Central Powers ...

Order of battle

Third Army Order of Battle, August 1918. * IV Corps ** 37th Division **

42nd (East Lancashire) Infantry Division The 42nd (East Lancashire) Infantry Division was an infantry division of the British Army. The division was raised in 1908 as part of the Territorial Force (TF), originally as the East Lancashire Division, and was redesignated as the 42nd (East ...

** 62nd (2nd West Riding) Division ** New Zealand Division **

5th Division In military terms, 5th Division may refer to: Infantry divisions *5th Division (Australia) * 5th Division (People's Republic of China) *5th Division (Colombia) *Finnish 5th Division (Continuation War) *5th Light Cavalry Division (France) *5th Moto ...

* V Corps ** 21st Division ** 38th (Welsh) Infantry Division **

17th (Northern) Division The 17th (Northern) Division was an infantry division of the British Army, a Kitchener's Army formation raised during the Great War. Formation history The 17th (Northern) Division was created under Northern Command in September 1914, just a m ...

** 33rd Division * VI Corps ** Guards Division ** 2nd Division ** 3rd Division **

59th (2nd North Midland) Division The 59th (2nd North Midland) Division was an infantry Division (military), division of the British Army during World War I. It was formed in late 1914/early 1915 as a 2nd Line Territorial Force formation raised as a duplicate of the 46th (North ...

* XVII Corps **

51st (Highland) Division The 51st (Highland) Division was an infantry division of the British Army that fought on the Western Front in France during the First World War from 1915 to 1918. The division was raised in 1908, upon the creation of the Territorial Force, as ...

** 52nd Division **

56th (London) Infantry Division The 56th (London) Infantry Division was a Territorial Army infantry division of the British Army, which served under several different titles and designations. The division served in the trenches of the Western Front during the First World War ...

57th (2nd West Lancashire) Division The 57th (2nd West Lancashire) Division was an infantry formation of the Territorial Force created in 1914 as part of the massive expansion of the British Army during the First World War. It served on the Western Front during 1917 and 1918. The ...

** 63rd (Royal Naval) Division

Commanders

* General

(July 1915 – September 1915) * General

Edmund Allenby Field Marshal Edmund Henry Hynman Allenby, 1st Viscount Allenby, (23 April 1861 – 14 May 1936) was a senior British Army officer and Imperial Governor. He fought in the Second Boer War and also in the First World War, in which he led ...

(23 October 1915 – 9 June 1917) * General Sir Julian Byng (9 June 1917 – 22 March 1919)

References

Sources

* 03 3 {{UK-mil-unit-stub