View source for 18th Army Group

{{Refimprove|date=September 2014}}
{{Infobox military unit
|unit_name=18th Army Group
| image=Tunisia Front - 8th Army at Enfidaville NA2225.jpg
| image_size = 300
|caption=Tunisia Front - Eighth Army at Enfidaville (Part of 18th Army Group)
|dates=February 20, 1943 to May 15, 1943
|country=
|allegiance={{flag|United Kingdom}}
|branch={{army|United Kingdom}}
|type=[[Army group]]
|role=Army Group [[Headquarters#Military|Headquarters]]
|size=200,000
|command_structure=[[Allied Force Headquarters]]
|current_commander=
|garrison=
|ceremonial_chief=
|colonel_of_the_regiment=
|nickname=
|patron=
|motto=
|colors=
|march=
|mascot=
|battles=
|notable_commanders= [[Harold Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis|Harold Alexander]]
|anniversaries=
}}
The '''18th Army Group''' was an [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] [[Military organization|formation]] in the [[World War II|Second World War]]. It was formed on 20 February 1943 when [[Eighth Army (United Kingdom)|British Eighth Army]] advancing from the east and [[First Army (United Kingdom)|British First Army]] advancing into Tunisia from the west came close enough to require coordinated command during the [[Tunisia Campaign]].

==History==
The 18th Army Group was commanded by [[General (United Kingdom)|General]] [[Harold Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis|Sir Harold Alexander]] and came under [[General (United States)|General]] [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]], Commander-in-Chief [[Allied Force Headquarters|Allied Forces Headquarters]] (AFHQ).

Its principal formations were the [[Eighth Army (United Kingdom)|British Eighth Army]], under [[Lieutenant-general (United Kingdom)|Lieutenant-General]] [[Bernard Montgomery]] and the [[First Army (United Kingdom)|British First Army]] under Lieutenant-General [[Kenneth Anderson (British Army officer)|Kenneth Anderson]]. Eighth Army had three [[British Army]] [[corps]] under its command which contained a variety of forces from the [[British Empire]]. They were [[X Corps (United Kingdom)|British X Corps]], [[XIII Corps (United Kingdom)|British XIII Corps]] and [[XXX Corps (United Kingdom)|British XXX Corps]]. They had fought across virtually the whole North African shore to the east of Tunisia after winning a victory at the [[Second Battle of El Alamein]] in November 1942. First Army had four corps under its command, but the corps themselves were far more varied in national origin. Two were of British origin; [[V Corps (United Kingdom)|V Corps]] and [[IX Corps (United Kingdom)|IX Corps]]. The other corps were [[II Corps (United States)|U.S. II Corps]] and [[19th Army Corps (France)|French XIX Corps]]. First Army controlled the forces that had landed in [[Morocco]] and [[Algeria]] in November 1942 in the first of the great Allied amphibious assaults of the war, [[Operation Torch]].<ref>{{cite web|title=British/American 18th Army Group|url=http://www.fact-index.com/b/br/british_american_18th_army_group.html|publisher=Fact Index|accessdate=27 January 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130629074815/http://www.fact-index.com/b/br/british_american_18th_army_group.html|archive-date=29 June 2013|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

18th Army Group was faced by two [[Nazi Germany|German]] and one [[Fascist Italy|Italian]] armies, [[German Panzer Army Afrika|Panzer Army Afrika]] under ''[[Generalfeldmarschall]]'' [[Erwin Rommel]] and [[5th Panzer Army]] under ''[[Generaloberst]]'' [[Hans-Jürgen von Arnim]], while the [[Italian 1st Army]] under Marshal [[Giovanni Messe]].{{efn|Rommel gave the command of the former German-Italian Panzer Army Africa to Messe since February 1943 after the fighting withdrawal from the Western Desert campaign.}} The two German commanders disliked each other, and so often strategy was not coordinated.

Both the First Army and Eighth Army had enjoyed very quick initial success in their campaigns after November 1942. Once they [[Tunisia Campaign|reached Tunisia]] two things halted them. One was overextension of lines of communication and the other was the greater concentration of [[Wehrmacht|German troops]] that the smaller defended area produced. First Army in particular received stinging blows from Rommel at the [[Battle of Kasserine Pass]]. Rommel's veteran formations slammed into II Corps and the green American troops did not perform well. It was only after reinforcements of more experienced troops and quantities of artillery had been rushed in that the situation was stabilised.

Following the Kasserine Pass engagement and an [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] consolidation, a fresh attack was launched. First Army led the main attack, with Eighth Army providing support along the eastern coast of Tunisia. That attack lead eventually in May 1943 to the surrender of [[Axis powers|Axis forces]] in Africa. 250,000 men were taken [[Prisoner of war|prisoner]], a number equal to that at [[Battle of Stalingrad|Stalingrad]] on the [[Eastern Front (World War II)|Eastern Front]] earlier in the year.

General Alexander sent the message, "We are masters of the North African shore." 18th Army Group was disbanded in Tunisia on 15 May 1943.

==Notes==
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==References==
{{reflist}}
{{British armies, commands, and corps during the Second World War}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2017}}

[[Category:Military units and formations established in 1943]]
[[Category:Army groups of the British Army in World War II]]
[[Category:Military units and formations disestablished in 1943]]