Ninth United States Army

Ninth United States Army
Ninth United States Army
US Ninth Army patch.svg
Ninth United States Army shoulder sleeve insignia
Active 15 April 1944–1945
Country United States
Branch Regular Army
Type Field Army
Engagements World War II
Commanders
Notable
commanders
William Hood Simpson

The Ninth United States Army was one of the main U.S. Army combat commands used during the campaign in Northwest Europe in 1944 and 1945. It was commanded from its inception by Lieutenant General William Simpson. It had been designated Eighth Army, but on arrival in the United Kingdom it was renamed to avoid confusion with the famous British formation of the same designation.

The first responsibility for Ninth Army, upon its arrival on 5 September was to take part in the final reduction of the German forces holding out in the French port of Brest. After the surrender of the town fifteen days later, Ninth Army was sent east to take its place in the line. It came into the line in between Third Army and First Army.

In November, Ninth Army was shifted to the very left flank of 12th Army Group. It undertook operations to close the front up to the Roer River. 16 December saw the opening of the last great German offensive of the war, the Battle of the Bulge. Ninth Army was isolated from the headquarters of 12th Army Group, and it was thus placed (on 20 December[1]) under the command of General Bernard Montgomery's 21st Army Group along with First Army, despite opposition from General Omar Bradley. Simpson reoriented his command quickly to help in the reduction of the salient that the Germans had created. Many of Ninth Army's units passed to the command of First Army, which was doing the main work of reducing the German salient from the north. In the meantime, the remainder of Ninth Army continued to hold the line along the Roer. When First Army and Third Army had finished reducing the salient, First Army returned to the command of 12th Army Group, but Ninth Army remained under the command of 21st Army Group for the remainder of the Rhineland Campaign.

Late February and Ninth Army launched Operation Grenade, which was the southern prong of a pincer attack coordinated with Canadian First Army's Operation Veritable, with the purpose of closing the front up to the Rhine. By 10 March, the Rhine had been reached in all sectors of Ninth Army's front. It was not until after 20 March that Ninth Army units first crossed the Rhine itself. However, after doing so, the Army quickly struck east around the north of the Ruhr. An enormous pocket soon formed containing the German Army Group B under Model. By 4 April, Ninth Army had reached the Weser and was switched back to 12th Army Group.

The end was now clearly in sight, and as part of Ninth Army, along with the newly arrived Fifteenth Army, reduced the enormous Ruhr Pocket, other elements reached the Elbe on 18 April. 2 May saw the whole of Ninth Army's front reached the agreed demarcation point with the Russians, and the advance ceased.

Notes

  1. ^ Ardennes-Alsace, Sullivan, Gordon R.

References

  • The Struggle for Europe; Chester Wilmot

External links


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • United States Army Cadet Corps — Seal The United States Army Cadet Corps (USAC) was founded under the name Colonel Cody s Boy Scouts by Captain James H. C. Smyth on April 10, 1909, at the First Presbyterian Church, Manhattan, New York. Between its founding and the present, it… …   Wikipedia

  • Fifteenth United States Army — Infobox Military Unit unit name=Fifteenth United States Army caption=Fifteenth Army Shoulder Insignia dates=1944 1946 country=United States allegiance=United States of America branch=Regular Army type=Field Army role= size= command structure=… …   Wikipedia

  • United States Army Air Forces — Infobox Military Unit unit name=United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) caption=USAAF Shoulder Sleeve Insignia ( Hap Arnold Emblem ) dates=1941 06 20 to 1947 09 17 country= United States of America allegiance= branch=United States Army type= role=… …   Wikipedia

  • United States Army Air Corps — Infobox Military Unit unit name=United States Army Air Corps caption= dates=1926 07 02 to 1941 06 22 country= United States of America allegiance= branch=United States Army type= role= size=14,650 men, 1,646 aircraft (1932) 16,863 men, 855… …   Wikipedia

  • Formations of the United States Army — This is a list of historical formations of the United States Army.Units still in existence are in bold.Other specific era lists include: * Formations of the United States Army during the Mexican Revolution * Formations of the United States Army… …   Wikipedia

  • Formations of the United States Army during World War II — This is a list of formations of the United States Army during the Second World War. Many of these formations still exist today, though many by different designations. Included are formations that were placed on rolls, but never organized, as well …   Wikipedia

  • Twelfth United States Army Group — Infobox Military Unit unit name= Twelfth United States Army Group caption= Insignia of the Twelfth U.S. Army Group dates= 1944 1945 country= United States of America allegiance= Allies branch= United States Army type= Army Group role= size=… …   Wikipedia

  • First United States Army — Infobox Military Unit unit name=First United States Army caption=First United States Army shoulder sleeve inisgnia dates=August 10, 1918–April 20, 1919; September 11, 1933–Present. country=United States of America allegiance= branch=Regular Army… …   Wikipedia

  • Division insignia of the United States Army — Shoulder sleeve insignia (SSI) are cloth emblems worn on the shoulders of US Army uniforms to identify the primary headquarters to which a soldier is assigned. The SSI of some army divisions have become known in popular culture.[1] Contents 1 US… …   Wikipedia

  • Charles Young (United States Army) — This article is about the United States Army officer. For other uses of the name, see Charles Young (disambiguation). Charles Young …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”