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The Eighth Army, which fought
longer and more continuously than any other British army in the war, was
constituted in September 1941 from the Western Desert Force together with
reinforcements. The first commander was Lt. Gen. Sir Alan Cunningham, but
he was removed in November by the Commander in Chief Middle East, Genera!
Auchinleck, because "he had begun to think defensively." Maj.
Gen. Neil M. Ritchie replaced Cunningham, and during the remainder of 1941
the army broke the siege of Tobruk and occupied Cyrenaica, but at a heavy
cost, especially in tanks. In January 1942 General Rommel, bounced back to
the Gazala-Bir Hacheim line. There was a lull, during which Eighth Army
underwent tactica! training, but battle was resumed in May and by July the
army had been thrown back to Egypt. During the worst of the battle
Auchinleck assumed personal control of Eighth Army, and in August, af ter
the Axis had been halted at the first battle of Aalamein, Lt.Gen. Sir
Bernard L. Montgomery became Eighth Army's new commander. Combining
generalship with persistence and showmanship, he led Eighth Army through
the second battle of Alamein and across Africa to Tunisia. During bis
pursuit Eighth Army was criticized for being slow and cautious; Rommel
always managed to get away, even though he lost heavily at Médenine and Mareth.
In February 1943 Eighth Army came under Gen. Dwight Eisenhower's overall
Allied commando Victory in Tunisia was followed by the July 1943 invasion
of Sicily, in which Eighth Army lost approximately 13,000 men, but by
September 3 it was again in action, invading the toe of Italy at Reggio di
Calabria. By the time Italy was invaded, the Allies were committed to a
major thrust across the Channel and Italy was relegated to the status of a
minor, although important, theater. During the remainder of the war the
Eighth Army, as weil as others in the 15th Army Group, often faced the
frustration of too few men and supplies to accomplish its task easily or
quickly. Nevertheless, the two armies, Eighth on the east and the U.S.
Fifth on the west, began an advance up the boot of Italy, which made them
the first soldiers ever to conquer Italy by that route. The first of many
bitter struggles came at Cassino. At the outset, in December 1943,
Montgomery was transferred to England and Eighth Army came under the
command of Lt. Gen. Sir Oliver Leese. The Cassino barrier was overcome by
June, and by August the two armies had reached the Gothic Line. By the end
of September it too had been overcome, but at high cost. In November 1944
command of Eighth Army passed to Lt. Gen. Sir Richard McCreery. Heavy rain
slowed operations through the coming months, and morale was a persistent
problem. On April 9, 1945, Eighth Army launched its last offensive.
Twenty-one days later the official communiqué stated that the German
armies in Italy "have been eliminated as a military force."
Churchill's tribute noted: "There have been few campaigns with a
finer culmination "-for the larger enemy they had been ordered to
contain had been destroyed. |