The number of French Army 1918

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Kelvin
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The number of French Army 1918

#1

Post by Kelvin » 15 Aug 2016, 22:02

I am looking for the total number of French Army in the western front in 1918 during battle of Ameins or 100 days campaign. I found some sources at that moment, French only had 850,000 infantry and Artillerists comprised 40 % of her whole army, Anyone had exact figures on French Army in this moment ? Thank

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Sheldrake
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Re: The number of French Army 1918

#2

Post by Sheldrake » 16 Aug 2016, 02:01

What are you trying to do?

Exact numbers are difficult and slippery things. The Hundred Days and Amiens weren't the same moment in time and casualties and reinforcements make a difference. Is your interest in artillery and infantry to do with estimating combat troops. Why not include tank crews, engineers and cavalry or airmen?

The numbers you want are all available online in French.
http://www.memoiredeshommes.sga.defense ... ?laref=418

This has the French official history and the Regimental war diaries. The annexes to the war diaries will have all sorts of reports including strength returns.


Kelvin
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Re: The number of French Army 1918

#3

Post by Kelvin » 16 Aug 2016, 06:58

Hi, Sheldrake, I want to find French number, because I rarely see it in the past. BEF had their number : 1.89 million men in August 1918, AEF also 2 milllion, but the main star, France in this front, never find their army strength in this time, curious ?

BTW, I still find German same thing in Aug 1918, she had 197 divisions, exactly how many of them in Aug 1918 :?

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Sheldrake
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Re: The number of French Army 1918

#4

Post by Sheldrake » 16 Aug 2016, 09:22

Kelvin wrote:Hi, Sheldrake, I want to find French number, because I rarely see it in the past. BEF had their number : 1.89 million men in August 1918, AEF also 2 milllion, but the main star, France in this front, never find their army strength in this time, curious ?

BTW, I still find German same thing in Aug 1918, she had 197 divisions, exactly how many of them in Aug 1918 :?
Is this because you a) can't find it in English on the internet or b) because you have read volume one of Tome VII. La campagne offensive de 1918 et la marche au Rhin (18 juillet 1918 - 28 juin 1919) but have not found it there or in the associated annexes?

The 103 volumes of the Fench official history is not easy to read. Th reader is continually referred to copies of reports orders etc in the annexes to each volume.

The French Army in WW1 has been overlooked by many Engish speakers. Swathes of the British press tried to covered the battle of the Somme as if the French weren't there. Few of the visitors to the Somme or Flanders battlefields visit the site of any French actions.

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Loïc
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Re: The number of French Army 1918

#5

Post by Loïc » 22 Aug 2016, 14:14

hello

following figures give for june-july 1918
http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k6 ... 4.image.r=
2 744 962 French (including 9714 Poles and Russians) in both fronts in France and Italy
1 968 000 Italians mainly in Italy of course but the 2nd Army Corps in France
1 849 505 British and Commonwealth
. 854 896 United States
. 167 232 Belgians
. . 56 104 Portuguese

there was also the Armée d'Orient reaching around 220 000 men in 1918 but the whole total of French Army in 1918, combatant front, rear, etc...
reached 4 980 000 men

the "Tanks crews" were for the French Army of that time part of the Artillery forming the Assault/Special Artillery branch

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Re: The number of French Army 1918

#6

Post by Kelvin » 22 Aug 2016, 18:58

Loïc wrote:hello

following figures give for june-july 1918
http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k6 ... 4.image.r=
2 744 962 French (including 9714 Poles and Russians) in both fronts in France and Italy
1 968 000 Italians mainly in Italy of course but the 2nd Army Corps in France
1 849 505 British and Commonwealth
. 854 896 United States
. 167 232 Belgians
. . 56 104 Portuguese

there was also the Armée d'Orient reaching around 220 000 men in 1918 but the whole total of French Army in 1918, combatant front, rear, etc...
reached 4 980 000 men

the "Tanks crews" were for the French Army of that time part of the Artillery forming the Assault/Special Artillery branch

Hi, Loic, thank a lot, you also are WWI expert. Very impressive. Do u have figures on British Mesopotamia Expeditionary Force and Egyptian Expeditionary Force in the same time frame ? Thank

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Sheldrake
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Re: The number of French Army 1918

#7

Post by Sheldrake » 22 Aug 2016, 22:13

Loïc wrote:hello

following figures give for june-july 1918
http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k6 ... 4.image.r=
2 744 962 French (including 9714 Poles and Russians) in both fronts in France and Italy
1 968 000 Italians mainly in Italy of course but the 2nd Army Corps in France
1 849 505 British and Commonwealth
. 854 896 United States
. 167 232 Belgians
. . 56 104 Portuguese

there was also the Armée d'Orient reaching around 220 000 men in 1918 but the whole total of French Army in 1918, combatant front, rear, etc...
reached 4 980 000 men

the "Tanks crews" were for the French Army of that time part of the Artillery forming the Assault/Special Artillery branch
aha - the man who does know his way around the French history!

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Loïc
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Re: The number of French Army 1918

#8

Post by Loïc » 22 Aug 2016, 23:09

uumm, the French Army of the Great War is not really my favourite cup of tea,

after this one Tableau A - page 48 there is a serie of similar tables with allied and Central Empires strenght, giving for the British Army

the Tableau J - page 57 for Palestine-Syria 191 182 men (125 477 combatants) among which there were French and Italians contingents
http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k6 ... 3.image.r=
the Tableau K - page 58 for Mesopotamia 160 892 men
http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k6 ... 4.image.r=

Egypt no figures like that even if this theater was presented in some volume

Regards
Loïc

Kelvin
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Re: The number of French Army 1918

#9

Post by Kelvin » 23 Aug 2016, 07:57

Loïc wrote:uumm, the French Army of the Great War is not really my favourite cup of tea,

after this one Tableau A - page 48 there is a serie of similar tables with allied and Central Empires strenght, giving for the British Army

the Tableau J - page 57 for Palestine-Syria 191 182 men (125 477 combatants) among which there were French and Italians contingents
http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k6 ... 3.image.r=
the Tableau K - page 58 for Mesopotamia 160 892 men
http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k6 ... 4.image.r=

Egypt no figures like that even if this theater was presented in some volume

Regards
Loïc
Hello, Loic, thank so much again for informtion. Oh, I don't know French took part in Palestine-Syria campaign. I see OOB of EEF in 1918 during Megiddo battle. All present were British, Australian, New Zealander and Indian divisional units.The number of BEF were very impressive in 1918 in comparsion with BEF in late 1944. Montgomery 's Army Group had over 850,000 men, including Canadian First Army (5 divisions) and Polish 1st Armoured division and some Belgian, Dutch and Norwegian units while BEF in 1918 numbered about 1.9 million men, including five Australian, four Canadian and a New Zealander Division plus some Indian cavalry units. It is curious that British could mobilize more men in WWI than in WWII.

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Re: The number of French Army 1918

#10

Post by Sheldrake » 23 Aug 2016, 09:08

Kelvin wrote:It is curious that British could mobilize more men in WWI than in WWII.
No Far East Theatre.
No RAF Bomber Command. I have seen a figure that one million people (servicemen and women and civilians) were involved in building or flying Lancaster bombers.

The BEF of 1918 was slightly smaller than in 1917 after losses during 1917-1918. 5.5 million men served.

The BEF also played a disproportionate role in the last six months of the war, taking almost as many prisoners as all armies on the Western front put together.

Kelvin
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Re: The number of French Army 1918

#11

Post by Kelvin » 19 Mar 2017, 14:12

Hi, I found some sources that by Nov 1918, AEF was expanded to 1,924,000 men, and BEF numbered about still 1,760,000 men and French Army had 2.56 million men. plus 50,000 men Portugese Expeditionary Force and ten thousand Belgian troop, German needed to face over 6 million armed forces in the Western Front.

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