Eighth Army (United Kingdom)

Eighth Army
Emblem of the Eighth Army
Active	1941–45
Country	United Kingdom
Branch	British Army
Type	Field army
Engagements	Western Desert Campaign Tunisia Campaign Sicilian Campaign Italian Campaign
Battle honours	Second Battle of El Alamein
Commanders
Notable commanders	Alan Cunningham Neil Ritchie Claude Auchinleck Bernard Montgomery Oliver Leese Richard L. McCreery

The Eighth Army was a field army and one of the best-known formations of the British Army during the Second World War, fighting in the North African and Italian campaigns of World War II.

It was a British Army formation, always commanded by British Army officers, however its personnel came from throughout the British Empire and Commonwealth; complemented by units composed of exiles from German-occupied Europe. Subordinate units came from Australia, British India, Canada, Free French Forces, Greece, New Zealand, Poland, Rhodesia, South Africa and the United Kingdom.

Significant formations which passed through the Army included: British V Corps, British X Corps, British XIII Corps, British XXX Corps, I Canadian Corps, II Polish Corps.

The Eighth Army was formed from the Western Desert Force in September 1941 and put under the command of Lieutenant-General Sir Alan Cunningham. It gained its number from the fact that the French Army had fielded seven field armies previously in the same war, whereas the British had fielded the British Expeditionary Force.