4th Army (France)


The Fourth Army, nicknamed the "Army of Fontainebleau", was a unit of the French Army, which fought during World War I and World War II.
It was one of five armies created and mobilized by the Grand Quartier Général when Plan XVII was launched in the opening days of World War I.

Commanders

World War I

Commanders

Commanders

Composition at mobilization

Further information: 1914 French mobilization
On mobilization in August 1914, the 4th Army of the French Army was commanded by General de Langle de Cary. It comprised the 12th and 17th Corps, the Colonial Army Corps and a cavalry division.
The 1st echelon of staff from Paris arrived at Saint-Dizier on 5 August at 8:15 a.m.; the 2nd echelon on 6 August at 9 p.m. from Fontainebleau.

12th Army Corps (Limoges)

  • Infantry regiments :
  • *
  • *
  • Cavalry :
  • *
  • Artillery :
  • *
  • *
  • Engineers :
  • * 6th Engineer Regiment
  • Others :
  • * 12th Squadron of the Military Crew Train
  • * 12th section of staff and recruitment secretaries
  • * 12th section of military nurses
  • * 12th section of military administrative clerks and workers

    17th Army Corps ([Toulouse])

  • 33rd Infantry Division
  • Infantry regiments :
  • *
  • *
  • Cavalry :
  • *
  • Artillery :
  • *
  • Engineers :
  • *
  • Others :
  • * 17th Squadron of the Military Crew Train
  • * 17th Section of Staff Secretaries and Recruitment
  • * 17th Military Nurses Section
  • * 17th section of military administrative clerks and workers

    Colonial Army Corps

The Colonial Army Corps was commanded by General Jules Lefèvre.

9th Cavalry Division

The was formed from the 9th, 10th and 11th regions, and was commanded by general Jean de l'Espée.
  • 1st Brigade of Cuirassiers, Colonel de Mitry
  • 9th Dragoon Brigade, General de Sailly
  • 16th Dragoon Brigade, General Gombaud de Séréville.

    Army elements

Artillery
Engineering
  • Pontoon Company 24/1 of the
  • Telegraph Sapper Company No.4
  • Radio Detachment F
Aeronautical squadrons
  • Voisin: V 14, V 21

    Changes during the war

With the arrival of the Americans in the conflict, troops served under French command and for the Fourth Army:

World War One

The Fourth Army was one of five armies mobilized as part of Plan XVII in August 1914 after the declaration of war. Its strength on mobilization was 4,689 officers, 154,899 NCOs and men, and 58,491 horses organized into three corps of four infantry divisions, two colonial infantry divisions, and one cavalry division. In August 1914, it was concentrated, in reserve between Saint-Dizier and Bar-le-Duc in the Argonne Region.

The Outbreak of World War I

Battle of Ardennes
  • On August 21, the Fourth Army participated in an offensive in the general direction of Neufchâteau in coordination with the Third Army. Participating in the Battle of Ardennes, the French Fourth Army advanced to the Robelmont line, where the Third Army was located, Tintigny,, Chiny, Bertrix, Houdremont, and Revin where the 5th Army was located. After heavy fighting, they withdrew to the right bank of the Chiers. On the 24th and 26 August, they withdrew to the Meuse. From Sassey-sur-Meuse, the 3rd Army withdrew to Mézières.
    Battle of Meuse
  • On the 27th and 28 of August, the Fourth Army participated in the Battle of the Meuse as part of a counter-attack on the Beaumont front in the town of Signy-l'Abbaye to prevent German troops from crossing the Meuse.
  • 29 August - 6 September: successive withdrawals: on the Buzancy line Attigny on August 31; on the on September 1; on the Marne and as far as the front: Sermaize-les-Bains, Pargny-sur-Saulx, Écriennes, Courdemanges, Le Meix-Tiercelin.
    Battle of Marne
  • From the 6th to the 10th of September, the Fourth Army engaged in the Battle of Marne. They resisted the German thrust, fiercely fighting on the Marne front's left wing which was located south of Sompuis. They fought in conjunction with the 9th Army.

    1914

  • 10–15 September: pursuit of retreating German troops, up to the Varennes-en-Argonne line, Ville-sur-Tourbe, Sabot Wood.
  • 15–22 September: attempts to break the German front, then stabilization and organization of the positions reached.
  • 22–23 September: loss of Varennes-en-Argonne.
  • 26–29 September: violent German attacks in the Argonne. On September 29, right limit in liaison with the 3rd Army at Le Four de Paris.
  • 7 October: extension of the front to the left as far as Ferme des Marquises following the suppression of the 9th army.
  • October–November: numerous German attacks in Argonne on Grurie wood, Bagatelle, Saint-Hubert and Four de Paris.
  • 20 November: right limit brought to the Aire river.

    First Battle of Champagne

  • December 1914March 1915: First Battle of Champagne, French offensives followed by German counter-attacks in the region, Beauséjour Farm, Souain; capture of Perthes-lès-Hurlus and Fort Beauséjour.

    1915

  • 8 January: sector reduced to the right as far as Aisne .
  • 31 May: front reduced to the right as far as Massiges.
  • 10 August: front reduced to the right as far as Sabot Wood.
  • 25 September: engaged in the Second Battle of Champagne, capture of Navarin Farm; then organization and defense of conquered positions.

    1916

  • 5 January: as a result of the 2nd Army's withdrawal from the front, right limit extended to the Aisne.
  • 9 January: German attacks on Mont Têtu.
  • 12 February: German attack in the Navarin farm area.
  • 25 February: French attack in the Navarin farm area.
  • 27 February: German counter-attack in the same area.
  • 15 March: French attack in the same area.
  • 16 May: German coup de main at Mount Têtu.
  • 26 June: following the withdrawal of the 3rd Army, right limit brought to Le Four de Paris.

    1917

  • 22 March: right limit reduced to Ville-sur-Tourbe.
  • 17 April16 July: Battle of the Champagne Mountains, offensive on the Aubérive front. Prosnes; capture of Aubérive, Mount Sans Nom, Mount Blond, Téton, Casque, Mount Haut and Mount Cornillet. Organization and defense of conquered positions.
  • 10 May: right limit brought to Le Four de Paris.
  • Late July and August: German attacks in the Monts region.

    1918

  • 6 February: right boundary brought back to Beaurain Wood.
  • 29 March: left limit brought up to the Courcy cavalrymen.
  • 26–27 May: following the withdrawal of the 6th Army, some elements of the left of the 4th Army fall back slightly to the south in the area northwest of Reims.
  • 29 May: left limit brought back to the Prunay area and on May 31 brought to Fort de la Pompelle.
  • On 16 June 1918, on the orders of General Pershing, the United States' 42nd Division were attached to the Fourth Army and assigned under Henri Gouraud's command until the end of the war.
  • 4 July: left boundary, moved to Prunay; right boundary 2nd Army, moved to the Houyette ravine.

    Second Battle of Marne

Fourth Battle of Champagne

  • On the 15th of July, the German First and Third Army attacked the French Fourth Army east of Reims. At 11:00, the attack on the French Fourth Army was halted, while the simultaneous attack on the French Sixth Army, by the German Seventh and Ninth Armies, west of Reims, was successful.
15–18 July: Battle of Champagne, German offensive towards the at Prunay, halted in front of the French resistance position, after voluntary abandonment of the front lines.
  • * 16 July: right limit brought back to Beaurain Wood.

    The Continuation of Second Battle of Marne

  • 18 Julyend of July: during the Second Battle of the Marne, French counter-attacks and advances north of Souain, Prosnes and Beaumont-sur-Vesle. From the end of July, the reconquered positions are organized.
  • 21 August: right limit shifted to the northeast of Vienne-le-Château.
  • On 22 September, the American Army replaced the French 2nd Army being on the right of the 4th Army.

    Meuse-Argonne offensive

First phase (September 26 – October 4, 1918)

  • From September 26 to October 16, the Fourth Army engaged in the Meuse–Argonne offensive, initially fighting in the Battle of Somme-Py, which lasted from September 26 to October 4. Exploiting the confusion of the Germans, the French Fourth Army advanced to the Aisne.

    Second phase (October 4–28, 1918)

On the 8th and 9 October, working in coordination with I Corps, the French Fourth Army conducted a pincer attack that resulted in the Germans withdrawing. After the battle, the Fourth Army reorganized itself on the Termes front with the 1st American Army and in the Vouziers, Rethel region with the 5th Army. On October 14, attacking at the same time as the attack on the Hindenburg line, the French Fourth Army attack on the left of the First American Army. From 16 to 20 October, there was a French offensive with heavy fighting in the Olizy, Vouziers region. On October 18, there was a crossing of the Aisne towards Vouziers, and a creation of a bridgehead north of the Aisne. On 21 October, there was a strong German attack towards Terron-sur-Aisne.