The Seventh Army was a United States army created during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

that evolved into the United States Army Europe (USAREUR) during the 1950s and 1960s. It served in North Africa and Italy in the

Mediterranean Theater of Operations The Mediterranean Theater of Operations, United States Army (MTOUSA), originally called the North African Theater of Operations, United States Army (NATOUSA), was a military formation of the United States Army that supervised all U.S. Army for ...

and France and Germany in the

European Theater The European theatre of World War II was one of the two main Theater (warfare), theatres of combat during World War II, taking place from September 1939 to May 1945. The Allies of World War II, Allied powers (including the United Kingdom, the ...

between 1942 and 1945. Originally the I Armored Corps under command of Lieutenant General George S. Patton, it made landfall at Morocco during

Operation Torch Operation Torch (8–16 November 1942) was an Allies of World War II, Allied invasion of French North Africa during the Second World War. Torch was a compromise operation that met the British objective of securing victory in North Africa whil ...

as the Western Task Force, the first all-U.S. force to enter the European war. Following successful defeat of the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...

under Field Marshal

Erwin Rommel Johannes Erwin Eugen Rommel (; 15 November 1891 – 14 October 1944), popularly known as The Desert Fox (, ), was a German '' Generalfeldmarschall'' (field marshal) during World War II. He served in the ''Wehrmacht'' (armed forces) of ...

in North Africa, the I Armored Corps was redesignated the Seventh Army on 10 July 1943 while at sea en route to the Allied invasion of

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

as the spearhead of

Operation Husky Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Man ...

. After the conquests of

Palermo Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The ...

and

Messina Messina ( , ; ; ; ) is a harbour city and the capital city, capital of the Italian Metropolitan City of Messina. It is the third largest city on the island of Sicily, and the 13th largest city in Italy, with a population of 216,918 inhabitants ...

the Seventh Army prepared for the invasion of France by its Mediterranean coast as the lead element of

Operation Dragoon Operation Dragoon (initially Operation Anvil), known as Débarquement de Provence in French ("Provence Landing"), was the code name for the landing operation of the Allies of World War II, Allied invasion of Provence (Southern France) on 15Augu ...

in August 1944. It then drove a retreating German army north and then east toward the

Alsace Alsace (, ; ) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in the Grand Est administrative region of northeastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine, next to Germany and Switzerland. In January 2021, it had a population of 1,9 ...

, being absorbed into the newly created

Sixth United States Army Group The 6th United States Army Group (also referred to as the Southern Group of Armies) was an Allied army group that fought in the European Theater of Operations during World War II. Made up of field armies from both the United States Army an ...

in mid-September. In January 1945 it repelled a fierce but brief enemy counter-offensive in the Colmar Pocket south of

Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

during the German Operation Nordwind, then completed its reduction of the region by mid-March. In a lead role in

Operation Undertone Operation Undertone, also known as the Saar-Palatinate Offensive, was a large assault by the Seventh United States Army, U.S. Seventh, United States Army Central, Third, and First Army (France), French First Armies of the Sixth United States Arm ...

launched 15 March, the Seventh Army fought its way across the

Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...

into Germany, capturing

Nuremberg Nuremberg (, ; ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the Franconia#Towns and cities, largest city in Franconia, the List of cities in Bavaria by population, second-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Bav ...

and then

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

. Elements reached Austria and crossed the

Brenner Pass The Brenner Pass ( , shortly ; ) is a mountain pass over the Alps which forms the Austria-Italy border, border between Italy and Austria. It is one of the principal passes of the Alps, major passes of the Eastern Alpine range and has the lowes ...

into Italy by 4 May, followed shortly by war's end on

VE-Day Victory in Europe Day is the day celebrating the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II of German Instrument of Surrender, Germany's unconditional surrender of Wehrmacht, its armed forces on Tuesday, 8 May 1945; it marked the official su ...

, 8 May 1945.Fifth Army History • Race to the Alps, Chapter VI : Conclusio

"On 3 May the 85th and 88th nfantryDivisions sent task forces north over ice and snow 3 feet deep to seal the Austrian frontier and to gain contact with the American Seventh Army, driving southward from Germany. The 339th Infantry 5th Divisionreached Austrian soil east of Dobbiaco at 0415, 4 May; the Reconnaissance Troop, 349th Infantry 8th Division met troops from 03rd Infantry DivisionVI Corps of Seventh Army at 1051 at Vipiteno, 9 miles south of Brenner."

History

World War II

I Armored Corps in North Africa

The predecessor of Seventh Army was the I Armored Corps, which was activated on 15 July 1940 at

Fort Knox Fort Knox is a United States Army installation in Kentucky, south of Louisville and north of Elizabethtown, Kentucky, Elizabethtown. It is adjacent to the United States Bullion Depository (also known as Fort Knox), which is used to house a larg ...

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

. With the goal of stopping German expansion in Europe and Africa, it was decided that the first operation for United States Army forces would be to assist the British in driving German forces from North Africa. On 15 January 1942, Major General George S. Patton Jr. assumed command of I Armored Corps and began planning for the invasion of North Africa. On 6 March 1943, following the defeat of the U.S. II Corps by the German

Afrika Korps The German Africa Corps (, ; DAK), commonly known as Afrika Korps, was the German expeditionary force in Africa during the North African campaign of World War II. First sent as a holding force to shore up the Italian defense of its Africa ...

, commanded by Generalfeldmarschall Erwin Rommel, at the

Battle of Kasserine Pass The Battle of Kasserine Pass took place from 19-24 February 1943 at Kasserine Pass, a gap in the Grand Dorsal chain of the Atlas Mountains in west central Tunisia. It was a part of the Tunisian campaign of World War II. The Axis forces, led b ...

, Patton replaced Major General Lloyd Fredendall as Commanding General of the II Corps and was promoted to lieutenant general. On 8 November 1942, General Patton was in command of the Western Task Force (a temporary redesignation of I Armored Corps for tactical deception), the only all-American force landing for

, code name for the Allied invasion of

French North Africa French North Africa (, sometimes abbreviated to ANF) is a term often applied to the three territories that were controlled by France in the North African Maghreb during the colonial era, namely Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia. In contrast to French ...

. I Armored Corps then began to drive east which complemented British forces driving from the west. The result was that Axis forces were trapped in Tunisia and were forced to surrender in May 1943.

Sicily and the Italian Peninsula

After succeeding in North Africa, Patton, now promoted to the rank of

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank 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 battlefield, who was norma ...

, became commander of the newly formed Seventh Army, which was formed at midnight on 10 July 1943 by the redesignation of the I Armored Corps. The

Allied invasion of Sicily The Allied invasion of Sicily, also known as the Battle of Sicily and Operation Husky, was a major campaign of World War II in which the Allies of World War II, Allied forces invaded the island of Sicily in July 1943 and took it from the Axis p ...

in July 1943, was conducted in conjunction with the

British Eighth Army The Eighth Army was a field army of the British Army during the Second World War. It was formed as the Western Army on 10 September 1941, in Egypt, before being renamed the Army of the Nile and then the Eighth Army on 26 September. It was cr ...

, commanded by

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

Sir Bernard Montgomery, Patton's rival. Patton commanded the Seventh Army until early 1944. The Seventh Army landed on several beaches in southern Sicily on 10 July 1943 and captured the Sicilian capital of

on 22 July and, along with the British Eighth Army, captured

on 16 August. During the fighting, the elements of the Seventh Army killed or captured thousands of enemy soldiers, mainly Italians. During the operation the Seventh and Eighth Armies came under the command of the 15th Army Group, under General Sir Harold Alexander. The headquarters of the Seventh Army remained relatively inactive at Palermo, Sicily, and

Algiers Algiers is the capital city of Algeria as well as the capital of the Algiers Province; it extends over many Communes of Algeria, communes without having its own separate governing body. With 2,988,145 residents in 2008Census 14 April 2008: Offi ...

until January 1944, when Lieutenant General Mark W. Clark, then commanding the U.S. Fifth Army on the Italian Front, was assigned as commander and the Seventh Army began planning for the invasion of southern France.

France, Germany, and back into Italy

The invasion was originally given the code name of "Operation Anvil", but was changed to "

" before the landing. In March 1944, Major General

Alexander Patch Alexander McCarrell Patch (23 November 1889 – 21 November 1945) was a senior United States Army Officer (armed forces), officer who fought in World war, both world wars, rising to rank of General (United States), general. During World War ...

, a highly experienced and competent commander, was assigned to command the Seventh Army, which moved to

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, the following July. On 15 August 1944, elements of the Seventh Army assaulted the beaches of

southern France Southern France, also known as the south of France or colloquially in French as , is a geographical area consisting of the regions of France that border the Atlantic Ocean south of the Marais Poitevin,Louis Papy, ''Le midi atlantique'', Atlas e ...

in the St. Tropez and St. Raphael area. On 15 September, the Seventh was put under the field control of the 6th Army Group, under Lieutenant General Jacob L. Devers. The 6th Army Group also included the French First Army. Within one month, the Seventh Army, which by then employed three American

divisions Division may refer to: Mathematics *Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication * Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division Military *Division (military), a formation typically consisting of 10,000 t ...

, five French divisions and the 1st Airborne Task Force, had advanced 400 miles north and joined with the Allied forces coming south from Normandy. In the process, the Seventh Army had liberated

Marseilles Marseille (; ; see below) is a city in southern France, the prefecture of the department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the Provence region, it is located on the coast of the Mediterranean S ...

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

Toulon Toulon (, , ; , , ) is a city in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the French Riviera and the historical Provence, it is the prefecture of the Var (department), Var department. The Commune of Toulon h ...

and all of Southern France. The Seventh Army then assaulted the German forces in the

Vosges Mountains The Vosges ( , ; ; Franconian (linguistics), Franconian and ) is a range of medium mountains in Eastern France, near its France–Germany border, border with Germany. Together with the Palatine Forest to the north on the German side of the bor ...

and broke into the Alsatian Plain. During the

Battle of the Bulge The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive or Unternehmen Die Wacht am Rhein, Wacht am Rhein, was the last major German Offensive (military), offensive Military campaign, campaign on the Western Front (World War II), Western ...

in late December, it extended its flanks to take over much of the area that had been the responsibility of U.S. Third Army then under the command of Patton, which allowed the Third to relieve surrounded American forces besieged at Bastogne. In mid-January 1945, the Seventh engaged in pitched battle seeking to regain ground lost to Germany's Operation Nordwind New Year's offensive. Along with the French First Army, the Seventh went on the offensive in February 1945 and eliminated the Colmar Pocket. After capturing the city of

, the Seventh went into the

Saar Saar or SAAR has several meanings: People Given name * Sarr Boubacar (born 1951), Senegalese professional football player * Saar Ganor, Israeli archaeologist * Saar Klein (born 1967), American film editor Surname * Ain Saar (born 1968), E ...

, assaulted the

Siegfried Line The Siegfried Line, known in German as the ''Westwall (= western bulwark)'', was a German defensive line built during the late 1930s. Started in 1936, opposite the French Maginot Line, it stretched more than from Kleve on the border with the ...

, and reached the River Rhine during the first week of March, 1945. In a lead role in

, the Seventh Army fought its way across the Rhine into Germany, captured

and then

. Finally it crossed the

and made contact with Lieutenant General

Lucian Truscott General (United States), General Lucian King Truscott Jr. (9 January 1895 – 12 September 1965) was a highly decorated senior United States Army Officer (armed forces), officer, who saw distinguished Active duty, active service during World War ...

's U.S. Fifth Army at Vipiteno – once again on Italian soil. In less than nine months of continuous fighting, the Seventh Army had advanced over 1,000 miles and for varying times had commanded 24 U.S. and Allied divisions, including the 3rd, 36th, 42nd, 44th, 45th, 63rd, 70th, 100th, and 103rd Infantry Divisions.

Cold War

The Seventh Army was inactivated in March 1946, in Germany, then reactivated for a short time at

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

. Third Army then took on its duties in Atlanta and Seventh Army was inactivated again o15 March 1947. Lieutenant General Oscar Griswold commanded both Seventh and Third Armies during the Atlanta period. It was reactivated by the

United States European Command The United States European Command (EUCOM) is one of the eleven Unified Combatant Command, unified combatant commands of the United States military, headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany. Its area of focus covers and 51 countries and territori ...

(EUCOM) with headquarters at Patch Barracks,

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...

-Vaihingen, Germany, on 24 November 1950 and assigned to command the ground and service forces of United States Army Europe (USAREUR). The two U.S. Army division sized units in the U.S. Occupation Zone of Germany, the 1st Infantry Division and the

U.S. Constabulary The United States Constabulary was a United States Army military gendarmerie force. From 1946 to 1952, in the aftermath of World War II, it acted as an occupation and security force in the Allied Occupation Zones in Germany, U.S. Occupation Zone ...

with its headquarters at

Bad Tölz Bad Tölz (; Bavarian: ''Däiz'') is a town in Bavaria, Germany and the administrative center of the Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen district. History Archaeology has shown continuous occupation of the site of Bad Tölz since the retreat of the gla ...

, were assigned to the Seventh Army. Within a few weeks other assignments to the Seventh Army included the V and VII Corps. For over a decade the Seventh Army Symphony Orchestra performed in support of the United States Army's cultural diplomacy initiatives throughout Germany and Europe in the aftermath of World War II (1952–1962).''New Music New Allies''
Amy C. Beal, University of California Press, Berkeley, 2006, P. 49, "Seventh Army Symphony Orchestra (1952–1962) performing works by Roy Harris, Morton Gould and Leroy Anderson" on books.google.com On 30 November 1966, the Seventh Army was relocated from Patch Barracks to

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...

. Following French disagreements with certain

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

policies, including the control of foreign nuclear weapons on French soil,

relocated from Paris the following year. From that time forward the Seventh Army has been the headquarters for all Army units under the European Command. Its major subordinate elements were the V Corps and VII Corps (Inactivated 1992.) From 1 December 1966 to present, the commander of Seventh Army has been "dual hatted" as Commanding General, United States Army Europe. The Seventh Army was deactivated on 17 April 2010.

Commanding generals

*LTG George S. Patton (10 July 1943 – 1 January 1944) *LTG Mark W. Clark (1 January 1944 – 2 March 1944) *LTG

(2 March 1944 – 2 June 1945) *LTG Wade H. Haislip (2 June 1945 - August 1945) *LTG Geoffrey Keyes (8 September 1945 – 31 March 1946) (inactivated) *LTG Oscar Griswold (11 June 1946 – 15 March 1947) (inactivated) *LTG Manton S. Eddy (1950–1952) *LTG Charles Bolte (1952–1953) *LTG William M. Hoge (1953) *LTG Anthony C. McAuliffe (1953–1954) *LTG Henry I. Hodes (1954–1956) *LTG Bruce C. Clarke (1956–1958) *LTG Clyde D. Eddleman (1958–1959) *LTG Francis W. Farrell (1959–1960) *LTG Garrison H. Davidson (1960–1962) *LTG John C. Oakes (1962–1963) *LTG Hugh P. Harris (1963–1964) *LTG William W. Quinn (1964–1966) Note - Starting in 1966, the commander of the United States Seventh Army was "dual hatted" as the Commanding General, United States Army Europe. *GEN Andrew P. O'Meara (1 March 1966 – 1 June 1967) *GEN James H. Polk (1 June 1967 – 20 March 1971) *LTG Arthur S. Collins Jr. (20 March 1971 – 26 May 1971) (acting) *GEN Michael S. Davison (26 May 1971 – 29 June 1975) *GEN George S. Blanchard (30 June 1975 – 29 May 1979) *GEN Frederick J. Kroesen Jr. (29 May 1979 – 15 April 1983) *GEN Glenn K. Otis (15 April 1983 – 23 June 1988) *GEN Crosbie E. Saint (24 June 1988 – 9 July 1992) *GEN David M. Maddox (9 July 1992 – 19 December 1994) *GEN William W. Crouch (19 December 1994 – 5 August 1997) *GEN Eric K. Shinseki (5 August 1997 – 10 November 1998) *GEN Montgomery C. Meigs (10 November 1998 – 3 December 2002) *GEN Burwell B. Bell III (3 December 2002 – 14 December 2005) *GEN David D. McKiernan (3 December 2002 – 2 May 2008) *LTG Gary D. Speer (2 May 2008 – 28 August 2008) (acting) *GEN Carter F. Ham (28 August 2008 – 17 April 2010)

References

External links