The Tenth 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 Tenth Army, first called ''détachement d'armée Maud'huy'', was formed on 1 October 1914 during the

Race to the Sea The Race to the Sea (; , ) took place from 17 September to 19 October 1914 during the First World War, after the Battle of the Frontiers () and the German Empire, German advance into France. The invasion had been stopped at the First Battle of ...

. It gained a victory in the Battle of Arras (1914). Later, it took part in the

Second Battle of Artois The Second Battle of Artois (, ) from 9 May to 18 June 1915, took place on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front during the First World War. A German-held Salient (military), salient from Reims to Amiens had been formed in 1914 which me ...

(May 1915), the Third Battle of Artois (September 1915), 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 ...

(July 1916), and the

Second Battle of the Aisne The Second Battle of the Aisne ( or , 16 April – mid-May 1917) was the main part of the Nivelle Offensive, a French Third Republic, Franco-British attempt to inflict a decisive defeat on the German Empire, German armies in France. The Entente ...

(April 1917). In October 1917, at the request of the Italian Supreme Commander, General

Luigi Cadorna Marshal of Italy Luigi Cadorna, (4 September 1850 – 21 December 1928) was an Italian people, Italian general, Marshal of Italy and Count, most famous for being the Chief of Staff of the Italian Army from 1914 until 1917 during World War I ...

, the Tenth Army moved onto the Italian Front alongside British Expeditionary Force units, together forming the Italian Expeditionary Force. For this operation the army included the 12th Army Corps and the 31st Army Corps, for a total of six infantry divisions of French troops. The Italians had been pushed back at the

Battle of Caporetto The Battle of Kobarid (also known as the Twelfth Battle of the Isonzo, the Battle of Caporetto or the Battle of Karfreit) took place on the Italian front of World War I. The battle was fought between the Kingdom of Italy and the Central P ...

German Army The German Army (, 'army') is the land component of the armed forces of Federal Republic of Germany, Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German together with the German Navy, ''Marine'' (G ...

reinforced

Austro-Hungarian Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...

divisions. French forces were settled mostly west of the city of

Verona Verona ( ; ; or ) is a city on the Adige, River Adige in Veneto, Italy, with 255,131 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region, and is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and in Northeast Italy, nor ...

, supposedly to counter a rumoured offensive by Austro-Hungarian forces that would purportedly come from the

County of Tyrol The (Princely) County of Tyrol was an Imperial State, estate of the Holy Roman Empire established about 1140. After 1253, it was ruled by the House of Gorizia and from 1363 by the House of Habsburg. In 1804, the County of Tyrol, unified with th ...

via the

Adige The Adige is the second-longest river in Italy, after the Po. It rises near the Reschen Pass in the Vinschgau in the province of South Tyrol, near the Italian border with Austria and Switzerland, and flows through most of northeastern Italy ...

river valley.La Grande Guerra: The Allies Post-Caporetto Support of Italy
/ref> On 26 March 1918, the Tenth Army returned to France, where it fought in the

Third Battle of the Aisne The Third Battle of the Aisne () was part of the German spring offensive during World War I that focused on capturing the Chemin des Dames Ridge before the American Expeditionary Forces arrived completely in French Third Republic, France. It w ...

, Second Battle of the Marne and the

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 Imperial Germa ...

.
The two divisions of 12th Army Corps under command of Jean César Graziani remained in Italy until the end of the war.

Interwar Period

After the

Armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from t ...

it was part of the

occupation of the Rhineland The Occupation of the Rhineland placed the region of Germany west of the Rhine river and four bridgeheads to its east under the control of the victorious Allies of World War I from 1December 1918 until 30June 1930. The occupation was imposed a ...

. On 21 October 1919 it was combined with the Eighth Army to form the French Army of the Rhine.

World War II

It was reformed in the

Second World War 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 ...

. A first Tenth Army is disbanded between 7 and 8 June 1940, with on the one hand the encirclement of the 9th Army Corps at Saint-Valéry-en-Caux and on the other hand the attachment of the 10th and 25th Army Corps to the ''Armée de Paris''. After the rupture of the Somme front, on 5 et 6 June 1940, the last phase of the Battle of France began. For the Allies it was essential to regroup on the Seine River to prevent the Germans from crossing. This is why a new 10th Army was formed to hold the front at the Lower Seine and placed under command of General Robert Altmayer (1875 - 1959). His troops were not yet in place when the Germans appeared at the Seine on 9 June and immediately crossed it in the Portejoie, Saint-Pierre-du-Vauvray and Venables sector. The Weygand Line had been broken.

Commanders

World War I

* General de Maudhuy (3 October 1914 – 2 April 1915) * General d'Urbal (2 April 1915 – 4 April 1916) * General Micheler (4 April – 27 December 1916) * General Duchene (27 December 1916 – 11 December 1917) * General Maistre (11 December 1917 – 10 June 1918) * General

Charles Mangin Charles Emmanuel Marie Mangin (6 July 1866 – 12 May 1925) was a French general during World War I. Early career Charles Mangin was born on 6 July 1866 in Sarrebourg. After initially failing to gain entrance to Saint-Cyr, he joined the 77th In ...

(10 June 1918 – 21 October 1919)

World War II

* General Robert Altmayer (24 May – 19 June 1940)

World War I

Interwar Period

World War II

Commanders

World War I

World War II

See also

References

Further reading