v.1.0 August 12, 2001

On mobilisation in August 1914, the bulk of the French Army was organised into five armies which formed up along the common frontier with Germany. These five armies did not exist in peacetime. The highest permanent formation was the Army Corps, which was composed of two infantry divisions, with supporting cavalry, artillery and engineers. Each Army Corps, and its subordinate units, was located in a particular region of France. On mobilisation each corps moved to a designated part of the frontier with Germany and became part of one of the new-formed armies. Several corps were designated as ‘covering corps’: they were located closest to the frontier, mobilised first, and were intended to contain the German Army until all five armies were in place. Mobilisation would take about ten days to complete.

One peacetime corps-XIX Army Corps –was based in North Africa and was not included in the original mobilisation process.

The five armies –in line from west to east, from the Ardennes to Alsace -were designated 5^th, 4^th, 3^rd, 2^nd and 1^st Armies. This was the reverse of the order in which the German Armies were designated. There was a major gap in that no French army was formed to cover the frontier with Belgium. The left flank of the 5^th Army remained ‘in the air’ until the arrival of the British Expeditionary Force and the organisation of a ‘mobile reserve’ of four territorial divisions.

In general terms, the five armies covered the following parts of the frontier with Germany:

5^th Army- faced Ardennes from Hirson to Sedan with 240,000 men

4^th Army- faced Luxemburg from Sedan to Longwy with 160,000 men

3^rd Army- faced Thionville and Metz in Lorraine with 200,000 men

2^nd Army-faced eastern Lorraine, in front of Nancy with 180,000 men

1^st Army- faced northern Alsace between Luneville and Epinal with extra

responsibility for the Belfort ‘gap’ near the Swiss frontier, with

280,000 men.

In addition to the mobilised army corps, each army was provided with a number of cavalry divisions and territorial divisions. In the following lists, the peacetime locations of each corps, division, brigade and infantry regiment is indicated. Army corps are listed in order of place in the line from west to east.

GHQ [General Joffre]

GHQ RESERVE

1^st Cavalry Division (Paris)

2^nd Cavalry Division (Meaux)

3^rd Cavalry Division (Melun)

TERRITORIAL DIVISIONS IN NORTH-EAST

57^th Division

71^st Division

72^nd Division

73^rd Division

5^TH ARMY [General Lanrezac]

XVIII Army Corps (Bordeaux) [General de Mas]

35^th Division (Bordeaux)

36^th Division (Bayonne)

This corps was intended to join 2^nd Army but was diverted to 5^th Army

III Army Corps (Rouen) [General Sauret]

5^th Division (Rouen)

6^th Division (Paris)

X Army Corps (Rennes) [General Deffarges]

19^th Division (Rennes)

20^th Division (St Servan)

I Army Corps (Lille) [General D’Esperey] *covering corps

1^st Division (Lille)

2^nd Division (Arras)

XI Army Corps (Nantes) [General ??? ] in Army Reserve

21^st Division (Nantes)

22^nd Division (Vannes)

Under direct army command

4^th Cavalry Division

38^th Division

52^nd Division

60^th Division

4^th Reserve Group

51^st Division

53^rd Division

69^th Division

4^TH ARMY [General Langle de Cary]

II Army Corps (Amiens) [General Gerard] *covering corps

3^rd Division (Amiens)

4^th Division (Paris)

Colonial Corps (Paris) [General Lefevre]

1^st Colonial Division (Paris)

2^nd Colonial Division (Paris)

3^rd Colonial Division (Paris)

XII Army Corps (Limoges) [General Roques]

23^rd Division (Angouleme)

24^th Division (Perigueux)

XVII Army Corps (Toulouse) [General Polin]

33^rd Division (Toulouse)

34^th Division (Montauban)

under direct army command

9^th Cavalry Division (newly formed)

3^RD ARMY [General Ruffey]

VI Army Corps (Chalons-sur-Marne) [General Sarrail] *covering corps

12^th Division (Rheims)

40^th Division (Compiegne)

42^nd Division –newly formed

V Army Corps (Orleans) [General Brochin)

9^th Division (Orleans)

10^th Division (Paris)

IV Army Corps (Le Mans) [General Boelle]

7^th Division (Le Mans)

8^th Division (Paris)

under direct army command

7^th Cavalry Division (Rheims)

3^rd Reserve Group

54^th Division

55^th Division

56^th Division

2^ND ARMY [General Castelnau]

IX Army Corps (Tours) [General Dubois]

17^th Division (Angers)

18^th Division (Chateauroux)

XX Army Corps (Nancy) [General Foch] *covering corps

11^th Division (Nancy)

39^th Division (Toul)

40^th Division –newly formed

XV Army Corps (Marseilles) [General Espinasse]

29^th Division (Avignon)

30^th Division (Nice)

XVI Army Corps (Montpelier) [General Taverna]

31^st Division (Montpelier)

32^nd Division (Perpignan)

under direct army command

2^nd Cavalry Division (Luneville)

10^th Cavalry Division –newly formed

2^nd Reserve Group

59^th Division

68^th Division

70^th Division

1^st ARMY [General Dubail]

VIII Army Corps (Bourges) [General De Castelli]

15^th Division (Bourges)

16^th Division (Dijon)

XIII Army Corps (Clermont-Ferrand) [General Alix]

26^th Division (St Etienne)

35^th Division (Clermont-Ferrand)

XXI Army Corps (formed on mobilisation) [General Legrand] *covering corps

13^th Division (Chaumont)

43^rd Division (Remiremont)

XIV Army Corps (Lyons) [General Pouradier]

27^th Division (Chambery)

28^th Division (Grenoble)

VII Army Corps (Besancon) [General Bonneau]

** original covering corps for 1^st Army but detached 11^th August to form bulk of Alsace Army under General Pau

14^th Division (Belfort)

41^st Division –newly formed

44^th Division –newly formed

under direct army command

6^th Cavalry Division (Lyons)

8^th Cavalry Division (Dohl) –detached to Alsace Army

1^st Reserve Group

58^th Division

63^rd Division

66^th Division

Alpine Group

WAR MINISTRY RESERVE

61^st Division

62^nd Division

67^th Division

REGIONAL RESERVES

64^th Division

65^th Division

74^th Division

75^th Division

NORTH AFRICA

XIX Army Corps (Algiers) [General Moinier]

37^th Division (Algiers)

38^th Division (Constantine)