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Third Army (United Kingdom)

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Third Army
3rd Army formation badge.
Active1915–1919
Country United Kingdom
Branch British Army
TypeField army
EngagementsBattle of the Somme
Battle of Arras
Battle of Cambrai
Battle of Passchendaele
Battle of Amiens
Hundred Days Offensive
Commanders
Notable
commanders
Edmund Allenby
Sir Julian Byng

The Third Army was a field army of the British Army during World War I that saw active service on the Western Front throughout the war.

First World War

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The Third Army was part of the British Army during World War I. It was formed in France on 13 July 1915, under the command of Lieutenant-General Charles Monro.[1] During August 1915 the Third Army took over a trench line south of the French Tenth Army, which had to keep in position for the forthcoming autumn offensive. This made the Third Army geographically separate from the other British armies for the time being.[2] This remained the case until March 1916, when the Tenth Army was moved to take part in the Battle of Verdun because of French losses and the Fourth Army was formed in preparation for the Battle of the Somme.[3]

The battles it took part in on the Western Front included:

Order of battle

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Third Army Order of Battle, August 1918.[5]

Commanders

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Second World War

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The army was not reraised during the Second World War. However, due to various Allied deception efforts, German intelligence over-estimated the number of Allied forces based within the UK by the start of 1944. While there was no specific deception effort to create the Third Army, German intelligence believed that one had been formed from Northern Command.[6]

References

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  1. ^ "The British Armies of 1914-1918 - The Long, Long Trail". Retrieved 10 September 2016.
  2. ^ Holmes 2004, p. 294.
  3. ^ Robson 2007, p. 62.
  4. ^ Burton, Pierre, Marching as to war, 2001, Toronto
  5. ^ Harper 2007, p. 525.
  6. ^ Hesketh 2000, pp. 169–170.

Sources

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