The Sixth Army () was a field army of the
French Army
The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (, , ), is the principal Army, land warfare force of France, and the largest component of the French Armed Forces; it is responsible to the Government of France, alongside the French Navy, Fren ...
during
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
and
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 ...
.
World War I
The Sixth Army was formed 26 August 1914, composed of troops from various disparate French armies: two active army corps, the (
4th and 7th respectively detached from the Third Army and First Army, the 5th and 6th groups of reserve divisions (commanded by
General de Lamaze), the 45th and
37th Infantry Divisions, a native brigade and a cavalry corps.
After
Alexander von Kluck rotated his
German First Army away from Paris to reinforce
Karl von Bülow's
German Second Army,
Joseph Gallieni ordered the Sixth Army to attack von Kluck's forces. Although the German First Army counterattacked, this allowed
John French's
British Expeditionary Force to occupy a twenty-mile salient between the two armies beginning the
First Battle of the Marne
The First Battle of the Marne or known in France as the Miracle on the Marne () was a battle of the First World War fought from the 5th to the 12th September 1914. The German army invaded France with a plan for winning the war in 40 days by oc ...
.
France would end up contributing three corps to the opening attack of 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 ...
(the
20th Army Corps, I Colonial and 35th Corps of the Sixth Army).
Commanders
World War I
*General
Michel-Joseph Maunoury (26 August 1914 – 13 March 1915)
*General
Pierre Joseph Dubois (13 March 1915 – 26 February 1916)
*General
Émile Fayolle
Marie Émile Fayolle (14 May 1852 – 27 August 1928) was a French general during World War I and a diplomat, elevated to the dignity of Marshal of France.
Early life
Marie Émile Fayolle was born on 14 May 1852, in Puy-en-Velay, at ''9 ...
(26 February – 19 December 1916)
*General
Charles Mangin (19 December 1916 – 4 May 1917)
*General
Paul Maistre (4 May – 11 December 1917)
*General
Denis Auguste Duchêne (11 December 1917 – 10 June 1918)
*General
Jean Degoutte (10 June – 11 September 1918)
*General
Antoine Baucheron de Boissoudy (15 October – 18 November 1918)
*General
Jean Degoutte (18 November 1918)
World War II
*General
Antoine-Marie-Benoît Besson (2 September 1939 - 16 October 1939)
*General
René Olry (16 October 1939 – 13 February 1940)
*General
Robert-Auguste Touchon (13 February – 1 July 1940)
See also
*
List of French armies in WWI
Footnotes
References
*
Field armies of France in World War I
06
Field armies of France in World War II
Military units and formations established in 1914
1914 establishments in France
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