A flag-raising ceremony at the Andover site last month marked the reorganisation, which bosses say will help the service adjust to new global threats.

Field Army is gone in name, with command of 1st (UK) Division and 3rd (UK) Division – the Army’s two main deployable formations – and corps troops to be moved to HQ Allied Rapid Reaction Corps, which will be led by Lt Gen Mike Elviss.

Commander Field Army will now be retitled Commander Land Forces, with Lt Gen Zac Stenning appointed to that three-star role with responsibility for directing ops, training and warfare development. 

“Together, we will deliver the most capable land forces wherever our nation needs its army,” the officer commented.

Lt Gen Simon Hamilton has also been appointed deputy chief of the general staff as part of the reshuffle.

The plan essentially restructures the army around Nato, with operational forces arranged into three tactical groups – the Strategic Reserve Corps, Forward Land Forces and the Land Special Operations Force.

Bosses say it will result in an Army HQ ready to wage war, a fully enabled corps braced to fight, and a Standing Joint Command prepared to defend the homeland and mobilise armies.

It is part of wider changes across UK defence aimed at making the MoD war ready with clearer roles, simpler processes and more joined up working. 

Defence Secretary John Healey said the overhaul represented “the deepest reforms in 50 years”, adding that “we are in a new era of threat and defence must transform to meet the challenges of the future”.