The Eleventh Army was a field army of the United States Army commanded by Major General Abner Dowling. Despite its name, it was smaller than a corps of a full-sized field army, with an approximate combat strength of one and a half divisions. The Eleventh Army had one infantry division, and several supporting combat units, as well as barrel units, artillery units, combat engineering units, and, because of the nature of the war in the West, horse cavalry units.
In 1942-43, the Eleventh Army engaged a Confederate army under the command of Brigadier General Whitlow Ling. Along with regular Confederate army forces, the Eleventh Army also had the distinction of being the first to face the Freedom Party Guards in Texas. Despite the ferocity and fanaticism of the Freedom Party Guards, the Eleventh Army continued their advance into Texas. In 1943, the Eleventh Army took the city of Lubbock, retook the entire state of Houston, and captured Camp Determination despite a lack of support by the Army. Most of the available reinforcements were sent to bolster General Irving Morrell's troops in Kentucky and Tennessee, instead of being sent to Texas and the Eleventh Army. However, the reinforcements that were assigned to the Eleventh Army were more than enough to allow the Eleventh Army to maintain its momentum.
One vital factor in the Eleventh Army's swift advance across Texas was the staunch support provided by the US Army Air Force. After the assignment of a full-strength wing of fighters and bombers under the command of Colonel Terry DeFrancis, the US had near-complete air superiority over the Texas battlefields. This hampered Confederate counterattacks, which were blunted by heavy and accurate aerial attack. One weapon that proved especially lethal to the Confederates were dive bombers equipped with 37mm cannon, which were able to destroy barrels quite quickly and efficiently.
At the end of 1943, the Eleventh Army held Camp Determination, along with the town of Snyder. Based on this success, Dowling was transferred to Virginia, and DeFrancis was promoted to general commanding the Eleventh Army.
