1st Army Group (France)

1e Groupe d'Armées (GA 1)
ActiveMobilized 1939 – Dissolved June 1940
CountryFrance
BranchFrench Army
TypeArmy Group
RoleOperational maneuver in Belgium and Northern France
Size4 Armies and the BEF
Part ofDirectly subordinate to the Commander-in-Chief North-East Theatre
EngagementsBattle of France (1940), Battle of Belgium
Commanders
Notable
commanders		Général d'Armée Gaston Billotte

Army Group 1 (Groupe d'Armées n° 1, GA 1) was the primary French Army maneuver formation during the Battle of France. Headquartered in Bondy, it was historically significant as the command responsible for the execution of the Dyle Plan (Plan D) and controlled the most modern motorized and mechanized wings of the Allied forces. Under the command of Général d'Armée Gaston Billotte, it defended the critical sector between the English Channel and the northern terminus of the Maginot Line.[1][2]

During the campaign of May 1940, GA 1 exercised operational command over the specialized Cavalry Corps and the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) under General Lord Gort. Following the German breakthrough at Sedan, GA 1 was central to the Allied attempt to contain the encirclement of the northern forces.[1][2]

Order of battle (10 May 1940)

The following formations were subordinate to the French 1st Army Group at the start of the German invasion, based on official TOSE and GUF records:[1]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Service historique de l'armée de terre (1967). Les Grandes Unités Françaises: historiques succincts (GUF) (in French). Vol. 1. Paris: Imprimerie nationale.
  2. ^ a b c d Sumner, Ian (1998). The French Army 1939-45 (1): The Army of 1939-40 & Vichy France. Men-at-Arms 315. Osprey Publishing. p. 7. ISBN 1-85532-666-3.

Bibliography

  • Les Grandes Unités Françaises: historiques succincts (GUF), Volume 1, Service historique de l'armée de terre (SHAT), Paris: Imprimerie nationale, 1967.
  • Sumner, Ian. The French Army 1939-45 (1), Osprey Publishing, 1998. ISBN 1855326663.
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