{{Original research|date=November 2019}} {{AI-generated|date=January 2026|certain=yes|reason=See {{section link|WP:AINB|Lehrling18 creating AI-generated pages}}}} {{Infobox military unit | unit_name = Fifth Army | image = Cinquième armée.jpg | image_size = 200px | caption = Memorial to the 5th Army | dates = 1914–1918<br/>1939–1940 | country = {{flagicon|France|1794}} [[French Third Republic|France]] | branch = [[French Army]] | type = [[Field army]] | role = | size = [[Army]] | command_structure = [[2nd Army Group (France)|French Second Army Group]] (until May 1940)<br />[[3rd Army Group (France)|Army Group 3]] (from May 1940) | garrison = | battles = {{tree list}} * [[First World War]] ** [[Battle of St. Quentin (1914)|1st Guise]] ** [[First Battle of the Marne|1st Marne]] ** [[First Battle of the Aisne|1st Aisne]] ** [[Second Battle of the Aisne|2nd Aisne]] ** [[Third Battle of the Aisne|3rd Aisne]] ** [[Second Battle of the Marne|2nd Marne]] ** [[Meuse–Argonne offensive]] * [[Second World War]] ** [[Phony War]] ** [[Battle of France]] {{tree list/end}} | commander1 = [[Victor Bourret]] | commander1_label = | notable_commanders = [[Charles Lanrezac]]<br>[[Louis Franchet d'Espèrey]]<br>[[Victor Bourret]] }}
The '''Fifth Army''' ({{langx|fr|Ve Armée}}) was a field army of the [[French Army]] that fought during [[World War I]] and [[World War II]].
== World War I == On 29 August 1914 the 5th Army under Lanrezac won a partial victory at the battle of Guise, delaying the German attack.<ref name="y014">{{cite book | last=Gregory | first=Adrian | title=A War of Peoples 1914-1919 | publisher=Oxford University Press | date=2014 | isbn=978-0-19-954257-4 | page=34}}</ref> However, Lanrezac was replaced by [[Louis Franchet d'Espèrey]] on 3 September 1914. Under its new commander, it participated in the victory at the [[First Battle of the Marne]].<ref name="p472">{{cite book | last=Mansoor | first=Peter R. | last2=Murray | first2=Williamson | title=Grand Strategy and Military Alliances | publisher=Cambridge University Press | date=2016 | isbn=978-1-107-13602-1 | page=113}}</ref>
== World War II == During the [[Battle of France]] in 1940, the Fifth Army was part of the [[2nd Army Group (France)|Second Army Group]]. It was responsible for the defense of the [[Maginot Line]] sector in [[Lower Alsace]], from the Rhine to the Vosges mountains.
=== Order of Battle (10 May 1940) === At the start of the German offensive, the Fifth Army was commanded by ''Général d'armée'' [[Victor Bourret]].<ref name="SHAT">''Les Grandes Unités Françaises de la Guerre 1939-1945'', Vol. 1, Service Historique de l'Armée de Terre (SHAT), Vincennes, 1967.</ref> Its headquarters was located at Wangenbourg.
====Army Assets (Organiques d'Armée)==== {| class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="width:100%" ! colspan="2" | Army Assets & Reserve (Click "show" to expand) |- | * '''Pioneer Regiments:''' 405th, 415th, 425th, and 441st Pioneer Regiments (''Régiment de Pionniers'' - RP) <ref name="SHAT" /> * '''Tank Units:''' 10th and 11th Light Tank Battalions (''Bataillon de Chars de Combat'' - BCC) [Renault R35]; 43rd Reserve Tank Battalion (''Bataillon de Chars de Combat de Réserve'' - BCCR) <ref name="SHAT" /> * '''Army Heavy Artillery:''' 115th Heavy Artillery Regiment (''Régiment d'Artillerie Lourde Hippomobile'' - RALH); 155th Position Artillery Regiment (''Régiment d'Artillerie de Position'' - RAP) <ref name="SHAT" /> |}
====VIII Army Corps (8e Corps d'Armée)==== {| class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="width:100%" ! colspan="2" | VIII Army Corps (Click "show" to expand) |- | * '''Commander:''' General Concornier <ref name="SHAT" /> * '''Corps Assets:''' 8th Reconnaissance Group of the Army Corps (''8e Groupe de Reconnaissance de Corps d'Armée'' - GRCA) <ref name="SHAT" /> * '''[[24th Infantry Division (France)|24th Infantry Division]]''' (''24e Division d'Infanterie - 24e DI'') (Aymes) – Active:<ref name="SHAT" /> ** 50th, 63rd, and 78th Infantry Regiments (''Régiment d'Infanterie'' - RI) ** 31st Divisional Reconnaissance Group (''Groupe de Reconnaissance de Division d'Infanterie'' - GRDI) ** 21st Divisional Artillery Regiment (''Régiment d'Artillerie Divisionnaire'' - RAD) * '''[[31st Infantry Division (France)|31st Infantry Division]]''' (''31e Division d'Infanterie - 31e DI'') (Vauthier) – Active:<ref name="SHAT" /> ** 15th, 81st, and 96th Infantry Regiments (RI) ** 30th Divisional Reconnaissance Group (GRDI) ** 56th Divisional Artillery Regiment (RAD) |}
====XII Army Corps (12e Corps d'Armée)==== {| class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="width:100%" ! colspan="2" | XII Army Corps (Click "show" to expand) |- | * '''Commander:''' General Dentz <ref name="SHAT" /> * '''[[16th Infantry Division (France)|16th Infantry Division]]''' (''16e Division d'Infanterie - 16e DI'') (Vauthier) – Active:<ref name="SHAT" /> ** 89th, 98th, and 105th Infantry Regiments (RI) ** 23rd Divisional Reconnaissance Group (GRDI) ** 49th Divisional Artillery Regiment (RAD) * '''[[70th Infantry Division (France)|70th Infantry Division]]''' (''70e Division d'Infanterie - 70e DI'') (Fay) – Reserve B:<ref name="SHAT" /> ** 209th, 222nd, and 234th Infantry Regiments (RI) ** 55th Divisional Reconnaissance Group (GRDI) ** 51st Divisional Mixed Artillery Regiment (''Régiment d'Artillerie Mixte Divisionnaire'' - RAMD) |}
====XVII Army Corps (17e Corps d'Armée)==== {| class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="width:100%" ! colspan="2" | XVII Army Corps (Click "show" to expand) |- | * '''Commander:''' General Noël <ref name="SHAT" /> * '''[[62nd Infantry Division (France)|62nd Infantry Division]]''' (''62e Division d'Infanterie - 62e DI'') (Laure) – Reserve B:<ref name="SHAT" /> ** 216th, 250th, and 307th Infantry Regiments (RI) ** 51st Divisional Reconnaissance Group (GRDI) ** 53rd Divisional Mixed Artillery Regiment (RAMD) * '''[[103rd Fortress Infantry Division]]''' (''103e Division d'Infanterie de Forteresse - 103e DIF'') (Valleur) – Active:<ref name="SHAT" /> ** 34th and 172nd Fortress Infantry Regiments (''Régiment d'Infanterie de Forteresse'' - RIF) ** 155th Position Artillery Regiment (RAP) [Elements] |}
====43rd Fortress Army Corps (43e Corps d'Armée de Forteresse)==== {| class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="width:100%" ! colspan="2" | 43rd Fortress Army Corps (Click "show" to expand) |- | * '''Commander:''' General Lescanne <ref name="SHAT" /> * '''Fortified Sector of the Lower Rhine''' (''Secteur Fortifié du Bas-Rhin'') * '''Fortified Sector of Haguenau''' (''Secteur Fortifié de Haguenau'') * '''[[30th Infantry Division (France)|30th Infantry Division]]''' (''30e Division d'Infanterie - 30e DI'') (Duron) – Active:<ref name="SHAT" /> ** 49th, 55th, and 91st Infantry Regiments (RI) ** 21st Divisional Reconnaissance Group (GRDI) ** 12th Divisional Artillery Regiment (RAD) |}
== See also == * [[List of French armies in WWI]] * [[Battle of France order of battle]]
== References == {{reflist}}
{| class="navbox mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="width:100%; border:1px solid #aaa; background:#f9f9f9; font-size:88%; text-align:center; margin-bottom: 5px; clear:both;" |- ! colspan="2" style="background:#b0c4de; padding:0.2em; font-size:110%;" | [[Grand Quartier Général (1939–1940)|High Command of the French Army (May 1940)]] |- | colspan="2" style="padding:0.3em;" | '''Commander-in-Chief:''' [[Maurice Gamelin]] (until 19 May) • [[Maxime Weygand]] |- | style="background:#e6e6e6; padding:0.2em; font-weight:bold; width:20%;" | Army Groups | style="padding:0.3em;" | [[1st Army Group (France)|Army Group 1]] (Billotte) • [[2nd Army Group (France)|Army Group 2]] (Prételat) • [[3rd Army Group (France)|Army Group 3]] (Besson) • [[Army of the Alps]] (Olry) |- | style="background:#e6e6e6; padding:0.2em; font-weight:bold;" | Field Armies | style="padding:0.3em;" | [[1st Army (France)|1st]] • [[2nd Army (France)|2nd]] • [[3rd Army (France)|3rd]] • [[4th Army (France)|4th]] • [[5th Army (France)|5th]] • [[6th Army (France)|6th]] • [[7th Army (France)|7th]] • [[8th Army (France)|8th]] • [[9th Army (France)|9th]] • [[10th Army (France)|10th]] |}
{| class="navbox mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="width:100%; border:1px solid #aaa; background:#f9f9f9; font-size:88%; text-align:center;" |- ! colspan="2" style="background:#cedff2; padding:0.2em; font-size:110%;" | [[3rd Army Group (France)|3rd Army Group (France)]] – Structure by Corps (May 1940) |- | style="background:#e6e6e6; padding:0.5em; font-weight:bold; width:20%;" | [[3rd Army (France)|Third Army]] | style="padding:0.5em; text-align:left;" | [[VI Army Corps (France)|VI Corps]] • [[XXIV Army Corps (France)|XXIV Corps]] • [[42nd Fortress Corps (France)|42nd Fortress Corps]] |- | style="background:#f0f0f0; padding:0.5em; font-weight:bold;" | [[4th Army (France)|Fourth Army]] | style="padding:0.5em; text-align:left; background:#fff;" | [[IX Army Corps (France)|IX Corps]] • [[XX Army Corps (France)|XX Corps]] |- | style="background:#e6e6e6; padding:0.5em; font-weight:bold;" | [[5th Army (France)|Fifth Army]] | style="padding:0.5em; text-align:left;" | [[VIII Army Corps (France)|VIII Corps]] • [[XII Army Corps (France)|XII Corps]] • [[XVII Army Corps (France)|XVII Corps]] • [[43rd Fortress Corps (France)|43rd Fortress Corps]] |- | style="background:#f0f0f0; padding:0.5em; font-weight:bold;" | [[8th Army (France)|Eighth Army]] | style="padding:0.5em; text-align:left; background:#fff;" | [[7th Army Corps (France)|VII Corps]] • [[13th Army Corps (France)|13th Corps]] • [[44th Fortress Corps (France)|44th Fortress Corps]] |- | colspan="2" style="background:#f0f0f0; font-size:90%; padding:0.2em;" | ''Source: Les Grandes Unités Françaises (SHAT), 1967'' |}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Field armies of France in World War I]] [[Category:Field armies of France in World War II]] [[Category:Military units and formations established in 1914]] [[Category:1940 disestablishments in France]]