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 History of the British Army, long history. Unlike the French Army in World War I, French and German Army (German Empire), German Armies, the British Ar ...

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.

History

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

Hubert Gough General (United Kingdom), 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 controversial figure, he was a favourite of the Commander-in-chief, Commande ...

). 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 las ...

, which became the final British effort in the

Battle of the Somme The Battle of the Somme (; ), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and the French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place between 1 July and 18 Nove ...

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

Third Battle of Ypres The Third Battle of Ypres (; ; ), also known as the Battle of Passchendaele ( ), was a campaign of the First World War, fought by the Allies against the German Empire. The battle took place on the Western Front, from July to November 1917, f ...

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

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

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 World War I 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 to bre ...

. 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 General Sir William Eliot Peyton, (7 May 1866 – 14 November 1931) was a British Army officer who served as Military Secretary to the British Expeditionary Force from 1916 to 1918. He was Delhi Herald of Arms Extraordinary at the time of t ...

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 (United Kingdom), 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 Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl ...

. 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 (United Kingdom), 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 Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl ...

Second World War

The army was not reraised during the Second World War. However, due to various Allied deception efforts, German intelligence over-estimated the number of Allied forces based within the UK by the start of 1944. While there was no specific deception effort to create the Third Army, German intelligence believed that one had been formed from Eastern Command.

Footnotes

References

Books * * * * * * Websites *

History

Commanders

Second World War

Footnotes

References

Further reading