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IV Corps (United Kingdom)

June 20, 2023

This article is about the United Kingdom Army unit. For other units of the same name, see IV Corps.

IV Corps was a corps-sized formation of the British Army, formed in both the First World War and the Second World War. During the First World War the corps served on the Western Front throughout its existence. During the Second World War it served in Norway and Britain until it was transferred to India, which was threatened with attack after Japan entered the war.

Prior to the First World War

In 1876 a Mobilisation Scheme for eight army corps was published, with '4th Corps' headquartered at Dublin and comprising the regular units of Irish Command, supported with militia. In 1880, it was organised as follows:

This scheme had been dropped by 1881.[3] The 1901 Army Estimates (introduced by St John Brodrick when Secretary of State for War) allowed for six army corps based on the six regional commands: IV Corps was to be formed by Eastern Command with headquarters in London. It was to comprise 27 artillery batteries (18 Regular, 6 Militia and 3 Volunteer) and 25 infantry battalions (8 Regular, 8 Militia and 9 Volunteers).[4] Under Army Order No 38 of 1907 the corps titles disappeared, but Eastern Command continued to be a major administrative organisation, controlling two cavalry brigades and one infantry division (4th Division).[4]

First World War

The Corps had its origin in a force operating independently against the German invasion of Belgium under the command of Lieut-Gen Sir Henry Rawlinson. It was transferred from War Office control to the British Expeditionary Force on 9 October 1914, and the BEF"s commander, Sir John French, constituted it as IV Corps.[5] It bore part of the brunt of the defence in the early stages of the First Battle of Ypres.[6] Initially it comprised the 7th Infantry Division and 3rd Cavalry Division, but these were transferred in late October. IV Corps was reconstituted on 6 November.[7] It then fought at the Battle of Neuve Chapelle and subsidiary actions, the Battle of Aubers Ridge, and The Battle of Festubert, the Battle of Loos and associated actions. Rawlinson's failure to bring reserves to the IV Corps front lines allowed the Imperial German Army to regroup and caused the BEF counteroffensive to fail to break through.[8]

In 1916 the corps was commanded by Sir Henry Wilson. The corps was initially holding a stretch of five miles from Loos to just south of Givenchy, between Hubert Gough's I Corps in the north and French 9th Army Corps (part of Victor d'Urbal's Tenth Army) in the south. Wilson, noting the difference in quality between his divisions, took a keen interest in training and did much lecturing.[9]

In March the British took over line from French Tenth Army. IV Corps was moved south of Givenchy, opposite Vimy Ridge, which gave the Germans the advantage of height. 47th Division conducted effective mining operations on 3 May and 15 May. A surprise German attack on the evening of Sunday 21 May moved forward 800 yards, capturing 1,000 yards of the British front line. The subsequent counterattack failed and Wilson was almost "degummed" (relieved of command).[10]

Wilson resisted pressure from Haig to conduct a limited attack until after 1 September. With another "Big Push" due on the Somme in September, Wilson's attack was postponed until October, and GHQ now wanted the whole of Vimy Ridge taken, which would mean a joint attack with XVII Corps. Edmonds later wrote that Wilson's preparations had laid the foundations for the successful capture of Vimy Ridge in April 1917.[11] The attack at Vimy never took place as IV Corps was incorporated into Gough's Reserve Army, where it remained in reserve during the Battle of the Ancre.

The corps also took part in the German Retreat to the Hindenburg Line, the Battle of Cambrai and associated actions, the First Battles of the Somme and associated actions, the Second Battle of the Somme, the Battle of St. Quentin Canal and associated actions, and the final advance in Picardy.

Composition in the First World War

The composition of army corps changed frequently. Some representative orders of battle for IV Corps are given here.

Order of Battle at Ypres 10 November 1914:[12]

General Officer Commanding (GOC): Lieutenant-General Sir Henry Rawlinson

By the time of the battles of Aubers Ridge and Festubert (May 1915), IV Corps still had 7th and 8th Divisions under command, but had been reinforced by 49th (West Riding) Division of the Territorial Force.[13]

Order of Battle in 1916

Once the era of trench warfare had set in on the Western Front (1915–17), the BEF left its army corps in position for long periods, so that they became familiar with their sector, while rotating divisions as they required rest, training, or transfer to other sectors.[14] Thirteen different divisions passed through IV Corps during Wilson's eleven-month tenure, and only one, the 47th, stayed for longer than six months.[9]

In December 1915 IV Corps consisted of 1st (formerly a regular division), 47th (London Territorials) and 15th (Scottish) Division and 16th (Irish) Division (both New Army). Henry Wilson was impressed by the standard of training in the 15th but not the 16th. In the spring it lost 1st, 15th and 16th Divisions and gained 2nd (formerly a regular division) from I Corps. IV Corps also gained 23rd (New Army).[15] At this time, with the army having recently grown tenfold in size, there was little in the way of formal ongoing assessment of officers' performance, so Gough, the Reserve Army commander, passed on his informal (and low) opinion of the 2nd Division GOC William G. Walker, who was later relieved. (Wilson Diary 24 February 1916).[16]

In early April the 23rd Division was taken away, and a number of guns with it. By August IV Corps contained two elite divisions, 63rd (Royal Naval) Division and 9th (New Army), under Bill Furse with Hugh Tudor as artillery commander. Some of IV Corps artillery was moved down to the Somme. Then the 63rd and 9th Divisions were taken away, then in October the whole Corps was transferred to Gough's Reserve Army on the Somme, although it was used as a holding formation rather than being deployed into the front line. At one point, by 18 October, IV Corps had no divisions at all.[15]

During 1916, able staff officers were still in short supply and such men were poached from IV Corps and its component divisions by Rawlinson for Fourth Army HQ.[17]

Order of Battle at the start of the final advance in Picardy (27 September 1918)[18]

GOC: Lieutenant-General Sir George Harper

Second World War

Norway

The Corps was reformed in Alresford in Hampshire in February 1940[19] in anticipation of operations in Norway, or perhaps Finland (part of a projected intervention in the Russo-Finnish Winter War). From March to May 1940 parts of the corps fought at Narvik and Trondheim in the Norwegian campaign. Its commander was Lieutenant General Claude Auchinleck.[20]

Home Forces

After the Norwegian campaign ended, the Corps first commanded most of the armoured reserves preparing to face the proposed German invasion of Britain (Operation Sea Lion), while the other corps headquarters which had been evacuated from Dunkirk in Operation Dynamo were reorganised. IV Corps was envisaged as a counter-attack force under Lieutenant-General Sir Francis Nosworthy.[21] Once the danger of invasion was over, the corps was heavily involved in training and developing tactical doctrine. The corps was based at Guilsborough House near Northampton until August 1940 when it moved to Latimer House near Chesham.[22]

Order of Battle Autumn 1940[23][24]

Iraq

In January 1942 the Corps headquarters was dispatched to Iraq,[19] as part of Middle East Command. Its commander was Lieutenant General Thomas Corbett. In 1942, Corbett was appointed Chief of Staff of Middle East Command and Lieutenant General Noel Irwin took over IV Corps.

India / Burma

Following the Japanese conquest of Burma, several British divisions from Britain and the Middle East, and IV Corps headquarters, were deployed to India, then filled out with Indian Army Corps of Signals and line-of-communications units. It took over from the ad hoc Burma Corps headquarters, which was disbanded, at Imphal in Manipur in Northeast India. It reported to the Eastern Army. The Corps adopted a badge of a charging elephant, in black on a red background.

In July 1942, Irwin was promoted to command Eastern Army. His successor in command of IV Corps was Lieutenant-General Geoffry Scoones. It was engaged in patrol activity as far as the Chindwin River and construction of airfields and roads. From late 1943, the Corps formed part of the newly created Fourteenth Army.

In 1944 the Japanese sought to disrupt Allied attacks into Burma by launching an attack, codenamed U-Go, against Imphal, which led to the epic Battle of Imphal. At the start of the battle the Corps consisted of the Indian 17th, 20th and 23rd Divisions, with the Indian 50th Parachute Brigade and 254th Indian Tank Brigade. During the early stages of the battle, the 5th Indian Division was flown into Imphal to join the corps.

The Corps was surrounded by the Imperial Japanese Army but eventually defeated their attackers. Supplies and reinforcements were flown in to support the besieged troops, and casualties and non-combatants were flown out. The siege ended on 22 June, when troops from IV Corps met the relieving forces from XXXIII Corps north of Imphal. From then until the monsoon ended later in the year, formations from IV Corps (the 5th Indian Division and the newly arrived 11th East African Division) cleared the Japanese from east of the Chindwin, and established several bridgeheads across the river.

In November 1944, as the rains ended, Fourteenth Army prepared to make a decisive attack into Central Burma. Lieutenant General Scoones was appointed to Central Command, an army-level headquarters in India, and replaced in charge of IV Corps by Lieutenant-General Frank Messervy. In preparation for the offensive, several divisions were organised as motorised and air-portable formations.

The offensive began with IV Corps on the left of Fourteenth Army, led by the newly arrived 19th Indian Division. It became apparent that the Japanese had fallen back behind the Irrawaddy River. The 19th Division was transferred to XXXIII Corps and IV Corps was switched to the right flank of the Army, advancing down the Gangaw valley west of the Chindwin, led by the East African 28th Infantry Brigade and an ad-hoc infantry formation, the Lushai Brigade. In late February, the 7th Indian Infantry Division won bridgeheads over the Irrawaddy. The motorised 17th Indian Division, with the M4 Sherman tanks of the 255th Indian Tank Brigade, followed up through these bridgeheads and struck deep into Japanese occupied territory to capture the vital transport and supply centre of Meiktila. Reinforced by troops landed at the airfields near the town, it defended against Japanese counter-attacks during March.

Following the Japanese defeat in Central Burma, Fourteenth Army was reorganised. IV Corps now commanded the motorised 5th and 17th Indian Divisions, the 19th Indian Division (which remained on a mixed animal and motor transport establishment) and the 255th Tank Brigade. During April, the 5th and 17th Divisions alternated in the lead of the final drive on Rangoon down the Sittang River valley, while the 19th Division secured the corps' line of communications. By the start of May when the monsoon began, the Corps had been held up 40 miles (64 km) from Rangoon. Rangoon was captured by an amphibious landing, Operation Dracula, having been abandoned by its garrison.

Shortly after the fall of Rangoon, IV Corps was withdrawn from the control of Fourteenth Army and placed under the newly activated Twelfth Army. Temporarily commanded by Lieutenant-General Francis Tuker, it was responsible for mopping up the remaining Japanese forces in Burma until the end of the war including the defeat of a large break-out in the Pegu Yoma. The Corps was deactivated shortly after the end of hostilities.

General Officers Commanding

Commanders have included:[31]

Notes

  1. ^ Cole p. 28.
  2. ^ JPS card no. 53.
  3. ^ Army List 1876–1881.
  4. ^ a b Dunlop.
  5. ^ Official History: 1914 Volume II, p. 65.
  6. ^ The Battles of Ypres ("First Ypres")
  7. ^ Official History: 1914 Volume II, Appendix I.
  8. ^ Robson, Stuart (2007). The First World War (1 ed.). Harrow, England: Pearson Longman. p. 25. ISBN 978-1-4058-2471-2 – via Archive Foundation.
  9. ^ a b Jeffery 2006, pp. 156–158.
  10. ^ Jeffery 2006, pp. 161–167.
  11. ^ Jeffery 2006, pp. 168–171.
  12. ^ Official History: 1914, Volume II, Appendix I.
  13. ^ Official History 1915, Volume II, Appendix 2.
  14. ^ Sanders Marble, 'Offensive versus Subsidiary Attacks, 1916–1918: The British Expeditionary Force Balancing its Options', Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research, Volume 87, No 351 (Autumn 2009).
  15. ^ a b Jeffery 2006, pp. 156–158, 161–171.
  16. ^ Robbins 2005, p. 62.
  17. ^ Simpson 2006, p. 196.
  18. ^ Official History: 1918, Volume V, Appendix 1.
  19. ^ a b "IV Corps" (PDF). British Military History. Retrieved 14 February 2016.[permanent dead link]
  20. ^ Official History: Norway p 169
  21. ^ Bryant: Alanbrooke diary 18 September 1940.
  22. ^ Newbold, p. 367.
  23. ^ Farndale, Annex D.
  24. ^
  25. ^ Joslen, p. 16.
  26. ^ Joslen, p. 68.
  27. ^ Joslen, p. 70.
  28. ^ Joslen, p. 279.
  29. ^ 154 (Leicestershire Yeomanry) Field Regiment RA (TA) 12 January 2015 at the Wayback Machine
  30. ^ . Archived from the original on 10 June 2010. Retrieved 7 January 2010.
  31. ^ Army Commands 5 July 2015 at the Wayback Machine
  32. ^ "No. 27545". The London Gazette. 21 April 1903. p. 2527.
  33. ^ "No. 27684". The London Gazette. 10 June 1904. p. 3711.
  34. ^ Henry Rawlinson at Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
  35. ^ Jeffery 2006, Chapter 9.
  36. ^ The Cambrai operations
  37. ^ Biography of General Sir George Harper
  38. ^ "Harper, Sir George Montague (1865–1922), army officer". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/33719. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  39. ^ Orders of Battle

References

  • Bryant, Sir Arthur, The Turn of the Tide: Based on the War Diaries of Field Marshal Viscount Alanbrooke, London: Collins, 1957.
  • Cole, Howard (1973). Formation Badges of World War 2. Britain, Commonwealth and Empire. London: Arms and Armour Press.
  • Derry, T. K. (1952). The Campaign in Norway. History of the Second World War: United Kingdom military series. London: HMSO. OCLC 186190766. Retrieved 14 December 2014.
  • Dunlop, Col John K., The Development of the British Army 1899–1914, London: Methuen, 1938.
  • Edmonds, J. E. (1925). Military Operations France and Belgium, 1914: Antwerp, La Bassée, Armentières, Messines and Ypres October–November 1914. History of the Great War Based on Official Documents by Direction of the Historical Section of the Committee of Imperial Defence. Vol. II. London: Macmillan. OCLC 220044986.
  • Edmonds, J. E. (1928). Military Operations France and Belgium, 1915: Battles of Aubers Ridge, Festubert, and Loos. History of the Great War Based on Official Documents by Direction of the Historical Section of the Committee of Imperial Defence. Vol. II. London: Macmillan. OCLC 58962526.
  • Davies, C. B.; Edmonds, J. E.; Maxwell-Hyslop, R. G. B. (1937). Military Operations France and Belgium, 1918: March–April: Continuation of the German Offensives. History of the Great War Based on Official Documents by Direction of the Historical Section of the Committee of Imperial Defence. Vol. II (IWM & Battery Press 1995 ed.). London: Macmillan. ISBN 0-89839-223-3.
  • Gen Sir Martin Farndale, History of the Royal Regiment of Artillery: The Years of Defeat: Europe and North Africa, 1939–1941, Woolwich: Royal Artillery Institution, 1988/London: Brasseys, 1996, ISBN 1-85753-080-2.
  • Jeffery, Keith (2006). Field Marshal Sir Henry Wilson: A Political Soldier. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-820358-2.
  • JPS Cigarette card series, Army, Corps and Divisional Signs 1914–1918, John Player and sons, 1920s.
  • Latimer, Jon Burma: The Forgotten War, London: John Murray, 2004 (ISBN 0-7195-6576-6)
  • Newbold, David John. "British planning and preparations to resist invasion on land, September 1939 - September 1940". King's College, University of London. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
  • Robbins, Simon (2005). British Generalship on the Western Front. Abingdon: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-40778-8.
  • Simpson, Andy (2006). Directing Operations: British Corps Command on the Western Front 1914–18. Stroud: Spellmount. ISBN 978-1-86227-292-7.

External links

  • The Long Long Trail
  • way/index.htm Official history: Norway
  • globalsecurity.org
  • "IV Corps". Orders of Battle.com.

June 20, 2023
corps, united, kingdom, this, article, about, united, kingdom, army, unit, other, units, same, name, corps, corps, corps, sized, formation, british, army, formed, both, first, world, second, world, during, first, world, corps, served, western, front, throughou. This article is about the United Kingdom Army unit For other units of the same name see IV Corps IV Corps was a corps sized formation of the British Army formed in both the First World War and the Second World War During the First World War the corps served on the Western Front throughout its existence During the Second World War it served in Norway and Britain until it was transferred to India which was threatened with attack after Japan entered the war IV CorpsFormation sign of IV Corps during the Second World War 1 Active1903 1919 1940 1945Country United KingdomBranchBritish ArmyEngagementsFirst Battle of YpresBattle of Neuve ChapelleSecond Battle of YpresBattle of Aubers RidgeBattle of FestubertBattle of LoosOperations on the AncreGerman retreat to the Hindenburg LineCambrai 1917 1918Battle of the Somme 1918Battles of the Hindenburg LineFinal Advance in PicardyNorwegian CampaignBurma CampaignCommandersNotablecommandersSir Henry RawlinsonClaude AuchinleckNoel IrwinGeoffry ScoonesFrank MesservyFrancis GrenfellInsigniaCorps formation sign during the First World War 2 Contents 1 Prior to the First World War 2 First World War 2 1 Composition in the First World War 3 Second World War 3 1 Norway 3 2 Home Forces 3 3 Iraq 3 4 India Burma 4 General Officers Commanding 5 Notes 6 References 7 External linksPrior to the First World War EditIn 1876 a Mobilisation Scheme for eight army corps was published with 4th Corps headquartered at Dublin and comprising the regular units of Irish Command supported with militia In 1880 it was organised as follows 1st Division Dublin 1st Brigade Dublin 1st Bn 22nd Foot Dublin 82nd Foot Dublin 3rd Bn Rifle Brigade Dublin 2nd Brigade Belfast Queen s Edinburgh Light Infantry Militia Dalkeith 1st Lanark Militia Hamilton 2nd Lanark Militia Lanark Divisional Troops Highland Light Infantry Militia Inverness 3rd Dragoon Guards Dublin 19th Company Royal Engineers Southampton Artillery O 3rd Brigade RA The Curragh 2nd Division The Curragh 1st Brigade The Curragh 1st Bn 16th Foot Athlone 38th Foot The Curragh 95th Foot The Curragh 2nd Brigade The Curragh 1st West York Militia Pontefract 2nd West York Militia York 3rd West York Militia Doncaster Divisional Troops 4th West York Militia Leeds 2nd Dragoon Guards Dublin 6th Company Royal Engineers The Curragh Artillery P 3rd Brigade RA The Curragh K 2nd Brigade RA Kilkenny I 2nd Brigade RA Athlone 3rd Division Cork 1st Brigade Cork 1st Somerset Militia Taunton 2nd Somerset Militia Bath Hereford Militia Hereford 2nd Brigade Limerick 1st Warwick Militia Warwick 2nd Warwick Militia Leamington Spa Glamorgan Militia Cardiff Divisional Troops 1st Bn 7th Foot Cork 19th Hussars Ballincollig 18th Company Royal Engineers Cork Artillery N 3rd Brigade RA Clonmel M 3rd Brigade RA Limerick H 2nd Brigade RA Fermoy Cavalry Brigade The Curragh 2nd Dragoons Dundalk 7th Hussars Cahir 20th Hussars Newbridge I Battery B Brigade RHA Ballincollig Corps Artillery H Battery B Brigade RHA Newbridge B Battery A Brigade RHA Dublin G Battery B Brigade RHA Dublin This scheme had been dropped by 1881 3 The 1901 Army Estimates introduced by St John Brodrick when Secretary of State for War allowed for six army corps based on the six regional commands IV Corps was to be formed by Eastern Command with headquarters in London It was to comprise 27 artillery batteries 18 Regular 6 Militia and 3 Volunteer and 25 infantry battalions 8 Regular 8 Militia and 9 Volunteers 4 Under Army Order No 38 of 1907 the corps titles disappeared but Eastern Command continued to be a major administrative organisation controlling two cavalry brigades and one infantry division 4th Division 4 First World War EditThe Corps had its origin in a force operating independently against the German invasion of Belgium under the command of Lieut Gen Sir Henry Rawlinson It was transferred from War Office control to the British Expeditionary Force on 9 October 1914 and the BEF s commander Sir John French constituted it as IV Corps 5 It bore part of the brunt of the defence in the early stages of the First Battle of Ypres 6 Initially it comprised the 7th Infantry Division and 3rd Cavalry Division but these were transferred in late October IV Corps was reconstituted on 6 November 7 It then fought at the Battle of Neuve Chapelle and subsidiary actions the Battle of Aubers Ridge and The Battle of Festubert the Battle of Loos and associated actions Rawlinson s failure to bring reserves to the IV Corps front lines allowed the Imperial German Army to regroup and caused the BEF counteroffensive to fail to break through 8 In 1916 the corps was commanded by Sir Henry Wilson The corps was initially holding a stretch of five miles from Loos to just south of Givenchy between Hubert Gough s I Corps in the north and French 9th Army Corps part of Victor d Urbal s Tenth Army in the south Wilson noting the difference in quality between his divisions took a keen interest in training and did much lecturing 9 In March the British took over line from French Tenth Army IV Corps was moved south of Givenchy opposite Vimy Ridge which gave the Germans the advantage of height 47th Division conducted effective mining operations on 3 May and 15 May A surprise German attack on the evening of Sunday 21 May moved forward 800 yards capturing 1 000 yards of the British front line The subsequent counterattack failed and Wilson was almost degummed relieved of command 10 Wilson resisted pressure from Haig to conduct a limited attack until after 1 September With another Big Push due on the Somme in September Wilson s attack was postponed until October and GHQ now wanted the whole of Vimy Ridge taken which would mean a joint attack with XVII Corps Edmonds later wrote that Wilson s preparations had laid the foundations for the successful capture of Vimy Ridge in April 1917 11 The attack at Vimy never took place as IV Corps was incorporated into Gough s Reserve Army where it remained in reserve during the Battle of the Ancre The corps also took part in the German Retreat to the Hindenburg Line the Battle of Cambrai and associated actions the First Battles of the Somme and associated actions the Second Battle of the Somme the Battle of St Quentin Canal and associated actions and the final advance in Picardy Composition in the First World War Edit The composition of army corps changed frequently Some representative orders of battle for IV Corps are given here Order of Battle at Ypres 10 November 1914 12 General Officer Commanding GOC Lieutenant General Sir Henry Rawlinson Brigadier General General Staff R A K Montgomery Brigadier General Royal Artillery A H Hussey Colonel Royal Engineers R U H Buckland 7th Division 8th DivisionBy the time of the battles of Aubers Ridge and Festubert May 1915 IV Corps still had 7th and 8th Divisions under command but had been reinforced by 49th West Riding Division of the Territorial Force 13 Order of Battle in 1916Once the era of trench warfare had set in on the Western Front 1915 17 the BEF left its army corps in position for long periods so that they became familiar with their sector while rotating divisions as they required rest training or transfer to other sectors 14 Thirteen different divisions passed through IV Corps during Wilson s eleven month tenure and only one the 47th stayed for longer than six months 9 In December 1915 IV Corps consisted of 1st formerly a regular division 47th London Territorials and 15th Scottish Division and 16th Irish Division both New Army Henry Wilson was impressed by the standard of training in the 15th but not the 16th In the spring it lost 1st 15th and 16th Divisions and gained 2nd formerly a regular division from I Corps IV Corps also gained 23rd New Army 15 At this time with the army having recently grown tenfold in size there was little in the way of formal ongoing assessment of officers performance so Gough the Reserve Army commander passed on his informal and low opinion of the 2nd Division GOC William G Walker who was later relieved Wilson Diary 24 February 1916 16 In early April the 23rd Division was taken away and a number of guns with it By August IV Corps contained two elite divisions 63rd Royal Naval Division and 9th New Army under Bill Furse with Hugh Tudor as artillery commander Some of IV Corps artillery was moved down to the Somme Then the 63rd and 9th Divisions were taken away then in October the whole Corps was transferred to Gough s Reserve Army on the Somme although it was used as a holding formation rather than being deployed into the front line At one point by 18 October IV Corps had no divisions at all 15 During 1916 able staff officers were still in short supply and such men were poached from IV Corps and its component divisions by Rawlinson for Fourth Army HQ 17 Order of Battle at the start of the final advance in Picardy 27 September 1918 18 GOC Lieutenant General Sir George Harper 5th Division 37th Division 42nd Eastern Lancashire Division New Zealand DivisionSecond World War EditNorway Edit The Corps was reformed in Alresford in Hampshire in February 1940 19 in anticipation of operations in Norway or perhaps Finland part of a projected intervention in the Russo Finnish Winter War From March to May 1940 parts of the corps fought at Narvik and Trondheim in the Norwegian campaign Its commander was Lieutenant General Claude Auchinleck 20 Home Forces Edit After the Norwegian campaign ended the Corps first commanded most of the armoured reserves preparing to face the proposed German invasion of Britain Operation Sea Lion while the other corps headquarters which had been evacuated from Dunkirk in Operation Dynamo were reorganised IV Corps was envisaged as a counter attack force under Lieutenant General Sir Francis Nosworthy 21 Once the danger of invasion was over the corps was heavily involved in training and developing tactical doctrine The corps was based at Guilsborough House near Northampton until August 1940 when it moved to Latimer House near Chesham 22 Order of Battle Autumn 1940 23 24 2nd Armoured Division 16 June 4 August 1940 25 42nd East Lancashire Division 9 September 6 November 1940 26 43rd Wessex Division 19 June 5 November 1940 27 31st Independent Brigade Group 1 August 1940 15 February 1941 28 HQ Royal Artillery 154th Leicestershire Yeomanry Army Field Regiment 29 67th Medium Regiment 30 Iraq Edit In January 1942 the Corps headquarters was dispatched to Iraq 19 as part of Middle East Command Its commander was Lieutenant General Thomas Corbett In 1942 Corbett was appointed Chief of Staff of Middle East Command and Lieutenant General Noel Irwin took over IV Corps India Burma Edit Following the Japanese conquest of Burma several British divisions from Britain and the Middle East and IV Corps headquarters were deployed to India then filled out with Indian Army Corps of Signals and line of communications units It took over from the ad hoc Burma Corps headquarters which was disbanded at Imphal in Manipur in Northeast India It reported to the Eastern Army The Corps adopted a badge of a charging elephant in black on a red background In July 1942 Irwin was promoted to command Eastern Army His successor in command of IV Corps was Lieutenant General Geoffry Scoones It was engaged in patrol activity as far as the Chindwin River and construction of airfields and roads From late 1943 the Corps formed part of the newly created Fourteenth Army In 1944 the Japanese sought to disrupt Allied attacks into Burma by launching an attack codenamed U Go against Imphal which led to the epic Battle of Imphal At the start of the battle the Corps consisted of the Indian 17th 20th and 23rd Divisions with the Indian 50th Parachute Brigade and 254th Indian Tank Brigade During the early stages of the battle the 5th Indian Division was flown into Imphal to join the corps The Corps was surrounded by the Imperial Japanese Army but eventually defeated their attackers Supplies and reinforcements were flown in to support the besieged troops and casualties and non combatants were flown out The siege ended on 22 June when troops from IV Corps met the relieving forces from XXXIII Corps north of Imphal From then until the monsoon ended later in the year formations from IV Corps the 5th Indian Division and the newly arrived 11th East African Division cleared the Japanese from east of the Chindwin and established several bridgeheads across the river In November 1944 as the rains ended Fourteenth Army prepared to make a decisive attack into Central Burma Lieutenant General Scoones was appointed to Central Command an army level headquarters in India and replaced in charge of IV Corps by Lieutenant General Frank Messervy In preparation for the offensive several divisions were organised as motorised and air portable formations The offensive began with IV Corps on the left of Fourteenth Army led by the newly arrived 19th Indian Division It became apparent that the Japanese had fallen back behind the Irrawaddy River The 19th Division was transferred to XXXIII Corps and IV Corps was switched to the right flank of the Army advancing down the Gangaw valley west of the Chindwin led by the East African 28th Infantry Brigade and an ad hoc infantry formation the Lushai Brigade In late February the 7th Indian Infantry Division won bridgeheads over the Irrawaddy The motorised 17th Indian Division with the M4 Sherman tanks of the 255th Indian Tank Brigade followed up through these bridgeheads and struck deep into Japanese occupied territory to capture the vital transport and supply centre of Meiktila Reinforced by troops landed at the airfields near the town it defended against Japanese counter attacks during March Following the Japanese defeat in Central Burma Fourteenth Army was reorganised IV Corps now commanded the motorised 5th and 17th Indian Divisions the 19th Indian Division which remained on a mixed animal and motor transport establishment and the 255th Tank Brigade During April the 5th and 17th Divisions alternated in the lead of the final drive on Rangoon down the Sittang River valley while the 19th Division secured the corps line of communications By the start of May when the monsoon began the Corps had been held up 40 miles 64 km from Rangoon Rangoon was captured by an amphibious landing Operation Dracula having been abandoned by its garrison Shortly after the fall of Rangoon IV Corps was withdrawn from the control of Fourteenth Army and placed under the newly activated Twelfth Army Temporarily commanded by Lieutenant General Francis Tuker it was responsible for mopping up the remaining Japanese forces in Burma until the end of the war including the defeat of a large break out in the Pegu Yoma The Corps was deactivated shortly after the end of hostilities General Officers Commanding EditCommanders have included 31 1 April 1903 General the Lord Grenfell 32 6 June 1904 General the Lord Methuen 33 4th Army Corps was renamed Eastern Command 1 June 1905 Oct 1914 Dec 1915 Lieutenant General Henry Rawlinson 34 Dec 1915 end 1916 Lieutenant General Henry Wilson 35 1916 1918 Lieutenant General Charles Woollcombe 36 Mar 1918 Jun 1919 Lieutenant General George Harper 37 38 Feb 1940 May 1940 Lieutenant General Claude Auchinleck Jul 1940 Nov 1941 Lieutenant General Francis Nosworthy Jan 1942 Mar 1942 Lieutenant General Thomas Corbett Apr 1942 Jul 1942 Lieutenant General Noel Irwin Aug 1942 Dec 1944 Lieutenant General Sir Geoffry Scoones Dec 1944 Jul 1945 Lieutenant General Sir Frank Messervy Jul 1945 Aug 1945 Lieutenant General Sir Francis Tuker 39 Notes Edit Cole p 28 JPS card no 53 Army List 1876 1881 a b Dunlop Official History 1914 Volume II p 65 The Battles of Ypres First Ypres Official History 1914 Volume II Appendix I Robson Stuart 2007 The First World War 1 ed Harrow England Pearson Longman p 25 ISBN 978 1 4058 2471 2 via Archive Foundation a b Jeffery 2006 pp 156 158 Jeffery 2006 pp 161 167 Jeffery 2006 pp 168 171 Official History 1914 Volume II Appendix I Official History 1915 Volume II Appendix 2 Sanders Marble Offensive versus Subsidiary Attacks 1916 1918 The British Expeditionary Force Balancing its Options Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research Volume 87 No 351 Autumn 2009 a b Jeffery 2006 pp 156 158 161 171 Robbins 2005 p 62 Simpson 2006 p 196 Official History 1918 Volume V Appendix 1 a b IV Corps PDF British Military History Retrieved 14 February 2016 permanent dead link Official History Norway p 169 Bryant Alanbrooke diary 18 September 1940 Newbold p 367 Farndale Annex D 4 Corps at RA 1939 45 Joslen p 16 Joslen p 68 Joslen p 70 Joslen p 279 154 Leicestershire Yeomanry Field Regiment RA TA Archived 12 January 2015 at the Wayback Machine 67 Medium Regiment RA TA Archived from the original on 10 June 2010 Retrieved 7 January 2010 Army Commands Archived 5 July 2015 at the Wayback Machine No 27545 The London Gazette 21 April 1903 p 2527 No 27684 The London Gazette 10 June 1904 p 3711 Henry Rawlinson at Oxford Dictionary of National Biography Jeffery 2006 Chapter 9 The Cambrai operations Biography of General Sir George Harper Harper Sir George Montague 1865 1922 army officer Oxford Dictionary of National Biography online ed Oxford University Press doi 10 1093 ref odnb 33719 Subscription or UK public library membership required Orders of BattleReferences EditBryant Sir Arthur The Turn of the Tide Based on the War Diaries of Field Marshal Viscount Alanbrooke London Collins 1957 Cole Howard 1973 Formation Badges of World War 2 Britain Commonwealth and Empire London Arms and Armour Press Derry T K 1952 The Campaign in Norway History of the Second World War United Kingdom military series London HMSO OCLC 186190766 Retrieved 14 December 2014 Dunlop Col John K The Development of the British Army 1899 1914 London Methuen 1938 Edmonds J E 1925 Military Operations France and Belgium 1914 Antwerp La Bassee Armentieres Messines and Ypres October November 1914 History of the Great War Based on Official Documents by Direction of the Historical Section of the Committee of Imperial Defence Vol II London Macmillan OCLC 220044986 Edmonds J E 1928 Military Operations France and Belgium 1915 Battles of Aubers Ridge Festubert and Loos History of the Great War Based on Official Documents by Direction of the Historical Section of the Committee of Imperial Defence Vol II London Macmillan OCLC 58962526 Davies C B Edmonds J E Maxwell Hyslop R G B 1937 Military Operations France and Belgium 1918 March April Continuation of the German Offensives History of the Great War Based on Official Documents by Direction of the Historical Section of the Committee of Imperial Defence Vol II IWM amp Battery Press 1995 ed London Macmillan ISBN 0 89839 223 3 Gen Sir Martin Farndale History of the Royal Regiment of Artillery The Years of Defeat Europe and North Africa 1939 1941 Woolwich Royal Artillery Institution 1988 London Brasseys 1996 ISBN 1 85753 080 2 Jeffery Keith 2006 Field Marshal Sir Henry Wilson A Political Soldier Oxford University Press ISBN 978 0 19 820358 2 JPS Cigarette card series Army Corps and Divisional Signs 1914 1918 John Player and sons 1920s Latimer Jon Burma The Forgotten War London John Murray 2004 ISBN 0 7195 6576 6 Newbold David John British planning and preparations to resist invasion on land September 1939 September 1940 King s College University of London Retrieved 1 August 2015 Robbins Simon 2005 British Generalship on the Western Front Abingdon Routledge ISBN 0 415 40778 8 Simpson Andy 2006 Directing Operations British Corps Command on the Western Front 1914 18 Stroud Spellmount ISBN 978 1 86227 292 7 External links EditThe Long Long Trail way index htm Official history Norway Royal Artillery 1939 45 globalsecurity org IV Corps Orders of Battle com Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title IV Corps United Kingdom amp oldid 1155841362, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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