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35-433: The Twelfth United States Army Group was the largest and most powerful United States Army formation ever to take to the field, commanding four field armies at its peak in 1945: First United States Army , Third United States Army , Ninth United States Army , and Fifteenth United States Army . The order of battle across the four armies comprised 12 corps , containing a total of 48 divisions . Formed eight days after

70-584: A national, rather than NATO, responsibility. The two formations were the Northern Army Group (NORTHAG) and the Central Army Group (CENTAG). By World War II and previous standards, these two formations were only armies, as they contained four corps each. NORTHAG consisted, from north to south, of I (Netherlands) Corps (I (NE) Corps), I German Corps (I (GE) Corps), I (BR) Corps , and I Belgian Corps (I (BE) Corps). Its commander

105-430: Is also translated to English as army group , describes more temporary groupings of army-sized units, where the command of one of its composite units formed the grouping's command structure. These groupings were usually named after the commander of the unit in question, for example Armeegruppe Weichs, part of Army Group B during Operation Blau in 1942. During World War II there were six general armies: In April 1945,

140-624: The Boei So-Shireibu (translated as "general defense command" or "home defense general headquarters" and similar names) was split into three general armies: By August 1945, these comprised two million personnel in 55 divisions and numerous smaller independent units. After the surrender of Japan , the Imperial Japanese Army was dissolved, except for the Dai-Ichi So-Gun , which existed until 30 November 1945 as

175-839: 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 , Lyon , Toulon and all of Southern France. The Seventh Army then assaulted the German forces in the Vosges Mountains and broke into the Alsatian Plain . During the Battle of the Bulge in late December, it extended its flanks to take over much of

210-802: The 21st Army Group comprised the British Second Army , the Canadian First Army and the US Ninth Army . In both Commonwealth and U.S. usage, the number of an army group is expressed in Arabic numerals (e.g., "12th Army Group"), while the number of a field army is spelled out (e.g., "Third Army"). The French Army formed a number of groupes d'armées during the First World War. The German Army formed its first two Heeresgruppen in 1915, to control forces on

245-1024: The Colmar Pocket . After capturing the city of Strasbourg , the Seventh went into the Saar , assaulted the Siegfried Line , and reached the River Rhine during the first week of March, 1945. In a lead role in Operation Undertone , the Seventh Army fought its way across the Rhine into Germany, captured Nuremberg and then Munich . Finally it crossed the Brenner Pass and made contact with Lieutenant General Lucian Truscott 's U.S. Fifth Army at Vipiteno – once again on Italian soil. In less than nine months of continuous fighting,

280-848: The First , the Third , the Ninth and the Fifteenth . By V-E Day , the Twelfth Army Group was a force that numbered over 1.3 million men. Twelfth Army Group was inactivated on 12 July 1945 upon Bradley's departure to become Director of the Veterans Administration . Its subordinate elements then became directly subordinate to United States Army Europe . Source: Bradley, Omar, A Soldier's Story , New York: Henry Holt and Company (1950), pp. 557–561 Army group In

315-855: The Normandy landings , it initially controlled the First and the Third US Armies. Through various configurations in 1944 and 1945, the Twelfth US Army Group controlled the majority of American forces on the Western Front . It was commanded by General Omar Bradley with its headquarters established in London on 14 July 1944. During the first week of the Normandy landings and the Battle of Normandy , Bradley's First US Army formed

350-690: The Polish Armed Forces and former Soviet Red Army an army group was known as a Front . The equivalent of an army group in the Imperial Japanese Army was a "general army" ( Sō-gun ( 総軍 ) ). Army groups may be multi-national formations. For example, during World War II , the Southern Group of Armies (also known as the U.S. 6th Army Group) comprised the U.S. Seventh Army and the French First Army ;

385-511: 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 . The invasion was originally given the code name of "Operation Anvil", but was changed to " Operation Dragoon " before the landing. In March 1944, Major General Alexander Patch , a highly experienced and competent commander, was assigned to command the Seventh Army, which moved to Naples , Italy ,

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420-774: The United States Army Europe (USAREUR) during the 1950s and 1960s. It served in North Africa and Italy in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations and France and Germany in the European Theater 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 as the Western Task Force , the first all-U.S. force to enter

455-683: The 1.3 million soldiers figure) was attached to support the field armies of the Twelfth Army Group. Until 1 September 1944, when General Dwight D. Eisenhower assumed overall command of the Allied land forces in Northwest Europe , the US forces in Normandy were included with the British Second Army and the First Canadian Army in the British headquarters formation 21st Army Group , commanded by General Bernard Montgomery . After

490-534: The 1st Demobilization Headquarters. The Soviet Army was organized into fronts ( фронт , pl. фронты ) which were often as large as an army group. (See List of Soviet fronts in World War II .) Some of the fronts contained Allied formations raised in exile. For example, the Polish First Army was part of the 1st Belorussian Front . The Western Allies established six separate army groups during

525-647: The 5th Army and Army Group German Crown Prince from August 1915 to November 1916. All eight German army groups were named after their commanders. The Ottoman Army had three army groups: A Chinese "army group" was usually equivalent in numbers only to a field army in the terminology of other countries, as the regimental level was sometimes omitted. The German Army was organized into army groups ( Heeresgruppen ). Some of these army groups included armies from several Axis countries. For example, Army Group Africa contained both German and Italian corps. A separate and distinct German military unit ( de:Armeegruppe ), which

560-854: The Allies set up a seventh, fictitious First United States Army Group . During the Cold War, NATO land forces in what was designated the Central Region (most of the Federal Republic of Germany ) would have been commanded in wartime by two army groups. Under Allied Forces Central Europe and alongside air force elements, the two army groups would have been responsible for the defence of Germany against any Soviet/ Warsaw Pact invasion. These two principal subordinate commanders had only limited peacetime authorities, and issues such as training, doctrine, logistics, and rules of engagement were largely

595-633: The European war. Following successful defeat of the Wehrmacht under Field Marshal Erwin Rommel 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 as the spearhead of Operation Husky . After the conquests of Palermo and Messina the Seventh Army prepared for the invasion of France by its Mediterranean coast as

630-575: The German Afrika Korps , commanded by Generalfeldmarschall Erwin Rommel , at the Battle of Kasserine Pass , Patton replaced Major General Lloyd Fredendall as Commanding General of the II Corps and was promoted to lieutenant general. The Seventh Army arm patch was approved on 23 June 1943: On a blue isosceles triangular background, a seven-stepped letter "A," steps in yellow with the center in scarlet. On 8 November 1942, General Patton

665-564: The Second World War, although no more than five existed simultaneously. The army groups were subordinate to the Allied theatre supreme commanders. Led by British and American officers, they included troops from numerous allied nations; the British–American 15th Army Group also included Canadian and Polish corps , divisions from Brazil, India, New Zealand and South Africa and a Greek brigade . As part of Operation Quicksilver ,

700-734: 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 . The Seventh Army was inactivated in March 1946, in Germany, reactivated for a short time at Atlanta, Georgia , then inactivated again. It was reactivated by the United States European Command (EUCOM) with headquarters at Patch Barracks , Stuttgart -Vaihingen, Germany, on 24 November 1950 and assigned to command

735-679: The Sicilian capital of Palermo on 22 July and, along with the British Eighth Army, captured Messina 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 until January 1944, when Lieutenant General Mark W. Clark , then commanding

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770-603: 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

805-821: The breakout from the beach-head at Normandy, the Twelfth Army Group formed the center of the Allied forces on the Western Front. To the north was the British 21st Army Group (the First Canadian and British Second) and, to the south, advancing from their landing on the Mediterranean coast, was the Sixth United States Army Group ( Seventh United States Army and French First Army ). As the Twelfth advanced through Germany in 1945, it grew to control four United States field armies:

840-495: The eastern front. A total of eight army groups would ultimately be raised – four for service on each front, with one of the eastern front army groups being a multinational German and Austro-Hungarian formation. Originally the Imperial German army groups were not separate formations, but instead additional responsibilities granted to certain army commanders. Crown Prince Wilhelm for instance, was simultaneously commander of

875-503: The following July. On 15 August 1944, elements of the Seventh Army assaulted the beaches of southern France 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 , five French divisions and

910-508: 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. Note - Starting in 1966,

945-517: The force and integrated command structure. Structural changes began in June 1993, when HQ Central Army Group (CENTAG) at Heidelberg and Northern Army Group (NORTHAG) at Mönchengladbach were deactivated and replaced by Headquarters Allied Land Forces Central Europe (LANDCENT), which was activated at Heidelberg on 1 July 1993. Seventh United States Army The Seventh Army was a United States army created during World War II that evolved into

980-470: 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

1015-698: The ground and service forces of United States Army Europe (USAREUR). 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). On 30 November 1966, the Seventh Army was relocated from Patch Barracks to Heidelberg . Following French disagreements with certain NATO policies, United States European Command relocated from Paris

1050-596: The lead element of Operation Dragoon in August 1944. It then drove a retreating German army north and then east toward the Alsace , being absorbed into the newly created Sixth United States Army Group in mid-September. In January 1945 it repelled a fierce but brief enemy counter-offensive in the Colmar Pocket south of Strasbourg during the German Operation Nordwind , then completed its reduction of

1085-613: The rank of Lieutenant General , 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 in July 1943, was conducted in conjunction with the British Eighth Army , commanded by General 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

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1120-505: The region by mid-March. In a lead role in Operation Undertone launched 15 March, the Seventh Army fought its way across the Rhine into Germany, capturing Nuremberg and then Munich . Elements reached Austria and crossed the Brenner Pass into Italy by 4 May, followed shortly by war's end on VE-Day , 8 May 1945. The predecessor of Seventh Army was the I Armored Corps , which was activated on 15 July 1940 at Fort Knox , Kentucky . With

1155-667: The right wing of the Allied lines. They were joined during July by the Third US Army, under the command of General George S. Patton , to form the Twelfth Army Group. Twelfth Army Group became operational in France on 1 August 1944. With General Omar Bradley assuming command of the Twelfth Army Group, Lieutenant General Courtney Hodges assumed command of the First Army. In addition, the USAAF 's Ninth Air Force (not included in

1190-595: 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 Operation Torch , code name for the Allied invasion of French North Africa . 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. After succeeding in North Africa, Patton, now promoted to

1225-731: Was the British commander of the British Army of the Rhine (BAOR). CENTAG consisted, from north to south, of III (GE) Corps , V US Corps , VII (US) Corps , and II (GE) Corps in the extreme south of the Federal Republic of Germany . The commander of the U.S. Seventh Army commanded CENTAG. In November 1991, the NATO heads of state and government adopted the "New Strategic Concept" at the NATO Summit in Rome. This new conceptual orientation led, among other things, to fundamental changes both in

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