| Twelfth United States Army Group | |
|---|---|
 Twelfth Army Group Shoulder Sleeve Insignia | |
| Active | 1944–1945 |
| Country |
 United States |
| Branch |
 United States Army |
| Type | Army group |
| Role | Army Group Headquarters |
| Size |
4 Field Armies 1.3 million at its peak |
| Part of | Allied Expeditionary Force |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Omar N. Bradley |
The Twelfth United States Army Group was the largest and most powerful United States Army formation ever to take to the field.[1] It controlled the majority of American forces on the Western Front in 1944 and 1945. It was commanded by General Omar Bradley with its headquarters established in London on 14 July 1944.
Bradley's First United States Army, which later formed part of the Twelfth Army Group, formed the right wing of the Allied lines during the Normandy landings and the Battle of Normandy. They were joined during July by the Third United States Army, under the command of General George Patton. Until September, when General Eisenhower assumed overall command of the Allied land forces in Northwest Europe, the U.S. forces in Normandy were included with the British Second Army and the First Canadian Army in the British headquarters formation 21st Army Group, commanded by General Montgomery.
After the breakout from the beach-head at Normandy, the Twelfth Army Group formed the center of the Allied forces on the Western Front. To the north was the British 21st Army Group (the 2 aforementioned field armies) and, to the south, advancing from their landing on the Mediterranean coast, was the Sixth United States Army Group (Seventh United States Army and French First Army).
As the Twelfth advanced through Germany in 1945, it controlled four field armies: First United States Army, Third United States Army, Ninth United States Army and Fifteenth United States Army. By V-E Day, the Twelfth Army Group was a force that numbered over 1.3 million men.[2]
May 1945[]
12th Army Group - General Omar Bradley
- First Army - Gen Courtney H. Hodges
- VII Corps - Gen J. Lawton Collins
- VIII Corps - Gen Troy H. Middleton
- Third Army - Gen George S. Patton
- III Corps - Gen James Van Fleet
- V Corps - Gen Clarence R. Huebner
- XII Corps - Gen Manton S. Eddy
- XX Corps - Gen Walton Walker
- Ninth Army - Gen William H. Simpson
- XIII Corps - Gen Alvan Cullom Gillem, Jr.
- XVI Corps - Gen John B. Anderson
- XIX Corps - Gen Raymond S. McLain[3]
- Fifteenth Army - Gen Leonard T. Gerow
- XVIII Airborne Corps - Gen Matthew B. Ridgway
- XXII Corps - Gen Ernest N. Harmon
- XXIII Corps - Gen Jesmond Dene Balmer[4]
Referencesand notes[]
- ↑ Bradley, Omar N. (1983). A General's Life. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-0-671-41023-0.
- ↑ CSI REPORT No. 6, Larger units: Theater Army – Army Group – Field Army, Combat Studies Institute, U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, January 1985 [1]
- ↑ General Corlett Foundation
- ↑ "US Army Officers 1939–1945". World War II unit histories & officers. http://www.unithistories.com/officers/US_Army_officers_B01.html. Retrieved 20 November 2010.
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The original article can be found at Twelfth United States Army Group and the edit history here.