Second Army (United Kingdom)
Second Army | |
---|---|
Field Army | |
Engagements | First World War Second World War |
Commanders | |
Notable commanders | Horace Smith-Dorrien Herbert Plumer Miles Dempsey |
The British Second Army was a
First World War
The Second Army was part of the
In 1919 it was reconstituted as the British Army of the Rhine.[2]
Commanders
- 1914–1915 General Sir Horace Smith-Dorrien
- 1915–1917 General Sir Herbert Plumer
- 1917–1918 General Sir Henry Rawlinson
- 1918 General Sir Herbert Plumer
Second World War
France, 1944
The formation was commanded by Lieutenant-General Miles Dempsey and served under the 21st Army Group. Two of its formations, I Corps (also containing Canadian units) and XXX Corps took part in Operation Neptune, the 6 June D-Day landings that commenced Operation Overlord, with its remaining units coming ashore during the remainder of Overlord's Normandy campaign. The third corps to land, VIII Corps, entered the line during late June to add its weight to the assault; in particular for the launching of Operation Epsom. The main British objective during the early stages of the campaign was to capture the French city of Caen, the so-called Battle for Caen. However, due to various factors the city was not captured until mid-July during Operation Atlantic, conducted by Canadian troops under the command of Second Army.
By the end of July, American forces had broken out of Normandy. As they swept east, the German Seventh Army was pinned by the Second Army and trapped in pockets around Falaise. The German formation was subsequently annihilated during the battle of the Falaise pocket. The Second Army then commenced a dash across France in parallel with the Americans on its right, and the Canadians on its left. During the interim, I Corps was transferred from Second Army's control, and assigned to the First Canadian Army. Due to the heavy casualties sustained by the army during the Normandy campaign, the 59th (Staffordshire) Infantry Division was disbanded in August 1944 to make up for the infantry deficit.
Belgium and the Netherlands
Second Army entered Belgium quickly, and cleared much of the country. Its captures included the capital Brussels and the port city of Antwerp.
Second Army's highest profile operation in 1944, apart from Operation Overlord, was providing the main force for
Second Army spent the rest of 1944 exploiting the
During February, 1945, Second Army entered a holding phase. Whilst it pinned down the German forces facing it, the Canadian First Army and
Germany, 1945
Second Army crossed the Rhine on 23 March in an attack codenamed
Second Army reached the Weser on 4 April, the Elbe on 19 April, the shore of the Baltic Sea at Lübeck on 2 May. On 3 May, Hamburg capitulated. By 7 May the Soviet Army had met up with the British forces. Shortly thereafter, the Second World War in Europe came to an end with the surrender of the government of Karl Dönitz, who had succeeded Adolf Hitler after his suicide.
Commanders
- July 1943 – January 1944 Lieutenant-General Kenneth Anderson[3]
- January 1944 – August 1945 Lieutenant-General Miles Dempsey[3]
Order of battle
Operation Overlord
Operation Market Garden
- VIII Corps
- XII Corps
- XXX Corps
See also
- Battle of Villers-Bocage
- Operation Charnwood
- Operation Goodwood
- Operation Perch
- Operation Windsor
- Second Battle of the Odon
Second Army landing zones during Operation Overlord
- Gold Beach
- Juno Beach (First Canadian Army's 3rd Canadian Division and 2nd Canadian Armoured Brigade)
- Sword Beach
Notes
- ^ a b The British Armies of 1914-1918
- ^ Edmonds (1987)
- ^ a b Orders of Battle
References
- Edmonds, James (1987). The Occupation of the Rhineland, 1918–1929. HMSO. ISBN 0-11-290454-8.