The Fifth Army was created on 30 October 1916, by renaming the
Reserve Army (General
Hubert Gough). It participated in the
Battle of the Ancre, which became the final British effort in the
Battle of the Somme. In 1917, the Fifth Army was involved in the
Battle of Arras and then the
Third Battle of Ypres. The following year, the Fifth Army took over a stretch of front-line previously occupied by the
French south of the
River Somme and on 21 March, bore the brunt of the opening phase of the German Spring Offensive, known as
Operation Michael. The failure of the Fifth Army to withstand the German advance led to Gough's dismissal and replacement by General
Henry Rawlinson on 28 March and on 2 April, the army was renamed the Fourth Army. Gough and his remaining staff officers were to be renamed the Reserve Army with a headquarters at
Crécy-en-Ponthieu, to survey a defensive line west of Amiens as a precaution and to oversee the building of all GHQ lines. After Gough was removed and sent home, General
William Peyton took over the HQ until 23 May, when the Reserve Army title was dropped and the Fifth Army HQ was re-formed, under the command of General
William Birdwood. Although the Fifth Army was blamed for failing to hold the German advance, it was later "triumphantly vindicated".
Commanders • October 1916 – March 1918 General
Sir Hubert Gough • April–May 1918 General
Sir William Peyton • May–November 1918 General
Sir William Birdwood ==Second World War==