First Army (United Arab Republic)

The First Field Army was a branch of the Egyptian armed forces as the United Arab Republic and was based in Syria and called the name of President Gamal Abdel Nasser. During the period of the United Arab Republic, the army based in Syria was designated the First, and the other armies in Egypt the Second and Third. By 1973 any use of the 'First' designation in Syria had ended, but this did not stop erroneous Western press reporting that forces of the central military district around Cairo were designated the First Army.