fbpx
Wikipedia

I Corps (United Kingdom)

January 20, 2023

I Corps ("First Corps") was an army corps in existence as an active formation in the British Army for most of the 80 years from its creation in the First World War until the end of the Cold War, longer than any other corps. It had a short-lived precursor during the Waterloo Campaign.

I Corps
I Corps formation badge during the Second World War.[1]
ActiveWaterloo Campaign
First World War
Second World War
Cold War 1951–1994
Country United Kingdom
Branch British Army
TypeField corps
EngagementsWaterloo Campaign

First World War[2]

Second World War

Commanders
Notable
commanders		The Prince of Orange
Sir Douglas Haig
Sir Charles Monro
Sir Hubert Gough
Sir Arthur Holland
Sir John Dill
Sir Harold Alexander
John Crocker
Insignia
Corps formation sign during the First World War.[3]

Napoleonic precursor

Assembling an army in Belgium to fight Napoleon's resurgent forces in the spring of 1815, the Duke of Wellington formed it into army corps, deliberately mixing units from the Anglo-Hanoverian, Dutch-Belgian and German contingents so that the weaker elements would be stiffened by more experienced or reliable troops. As he put it: 'It was necessary to organize these troops in brigades, divisions, and corps d’armee with those better disciplined and more accustomed to war'.[4] He placed I Corps under the command of the Prince of Orange and it was this corps that was first contacted by the advancing French at Quatre Bras on 16 June 1815. However, Wellington did not employ the corps as tactical entities, and continued his accustomed practice of issuing orders directly to divisional and lower commanders. When he drew up his army on the ridge at Waterloo, elements of the various corps were mixed up, and although he gave the Prince of Orange nominal command of the centre, that officer had different forces under him. Subsequent to the battle, the corps structure was re-established for the advance into France, I Corps being commanded by Maj-Gen Sir John Byng, the Prince of Orange having been wounded at Waterloo.[5]

Composition of I Corps in the Waterloo Campaign

Main article: Order of Battle of the Waterloo Campaign

General Officer Commanding (GOC): General The Prince of Orange

Prior to the First World War

After Waterloo the army corps structure largely disappeared from the British Army, except for ad hoc formations assembled during annual manoeuvres (e.g. Army Manoeuvres of 1913). In 1876 a Mobilisation Scheme for eight army corps was published, with 'First Corps' based on Colchester. In 1880 First Corps' organization was:

  • 1st Division (Colchester)
  • 2nd Division (Chelmsford)
    • 1st Brigade (Chelmsford)
    • 2nd Brigade (Warley)
    • Divisional Troops
    • Artillery
      • I/4th Brigade RA (Newcastle), N/4th Brigade RA (Woolwich), M/4th Brigade RA (Newcastle)
  • 3rd Division (Gravesend)
  • Cavalry Brigade (Maldon)
  • Corps Artillery (Colchester)
    • E Battery C Brigade RHA (Woolwich), H Battery A Brigade RHA (Woolwich)
    • G/1st Brigade RA (Woolwich), B/5th Brigade RA (Sheffield)
  • Corps Engineers (Colchester)
    • A (Pontoons) Troop Royal Engineer Train (Aldershot)
    • C (Telegraph) Troop Royal Engineer Train (Aldershot)
    • 23rd Company Royal Engineers and Field Park (Chatham)

This scheme had been dropped by 1881.[6] The Stanhope Memorandum of 1891 (drawn up by Edward Stanhope when Secretary of State for War) laid down the policy that after providing for garrisons and India, the army should be able to mobilise three army corps for home defence, two of regular troops and one partly of militia, each of three divisions. Only after those commitments, it was hoped, might two army corps be organised for the unlikely eventuality of deployment abroad.[7]

When the Second Anglo-Boer War was imminent in September 1899, a field army, referred to as the Army Corps (sometimes I Army Corps) was mobilised and sent to Cape Town. It was, in fact, 'about the equivalent of the First Army Corps of the existing mobilization scheme',[8] and was placed under the command of Gen Sir Redvers Buller, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Aldershot Command. However, once in South Africa the corps never operated as such, and the three divisions (1st, 2nd and 3rd) were widely dispersed.

The 1901 Army Estimates introduced by St John Brodrick allowed for six army corps based on the six regional commands (Aldershot, Southern, Irish, Eastern, Northern and Scottish) of which only I Corps (Aldershot Command) and II Corps (Southern Command on Salisbury Plain) would be entirely formed of regular troops.[9] However, these arrangements remained theoretical, the title 'I Corps' being added to Aldershot Command. In early October 1902 a memorandum was issued showing the organization and allocation of the 1st Army Corps, to which Sir John French had recently been appointed in command:[10]

In 1907 the title changed to 'Aldershot Corps' but reverted to simply 'Aldershot Command' the following year.[11] Finally, the Haldane Reforms of 1907 established a six-division British Expeditionary Force for deployment overseas, but only Aldershot Command possessed two infantry divisions and a full complement of 'army troops' to form an army corps in the field.[12]

First World War

Pre-war planning for the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) did not envisage any intermediate headquarters between GHQ and the six infantry divisions, but it was assumed that if corps HQs became necessary, then the GOC Aldershot Command would automatically become GOC I Corps in the field.[13] On mobilisation in August 1914 the decision was made to conform to the two-division army corps organisation employed by the French armies alongside which the BEF was to operate.[14] Sir Douglas Haig, then commanding at Aldershot, therefore took I Corps HQ to France with 1st Division and 2nd Division under command, and it remained on the Western Front throughout the war. It had a peripheral part at the Battle of Mons, then saw hard fighting at the Battle of the Aisne and First Battle of Ypres in 1914, at the Battle of Aubers Ridge in the Spring of 1915 and alongside the Canadian Corps at the Battle of Hill 70, as well in many other large battles of the First World War.

Composition of I Corps in First World War

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

Order of Battle at Mons 23 August 1914[15]

General Officer Commanding: Lieut-Gen Sir Douglas Haig

By the time of the battles of Aubers Ridge and Festubert (May 1915), I Corps still had 1st and 2nd Divisions under command, but had been reinforced by 47th (1/2nd London) Division of the Territorial Force, and 1st Canadian Division.[17] 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.[18]

From May 1916 to August 1917, I Corps Cavalry Regiment was provided by the 1st South Irish Horse.[19]

On 25 September 1918, for the final battles, I Corps was transferred from First Army to Sir William Birdwood's Fifth Army.[20]

Order of Battle during the final advance in Artois 2 October-11 November 1918[2][21]

General Officer Commanding: Lieut-Gen Sir Arthur Holland
BGGS: Brig-Gen G.V. Hordern
Deputy Adjutant & Quartermaster-General: Brig-Gen N.G. Anderson
Commander, Royal Artillery: Brig-Gen H.C. Sheppard
Commander, Heavy Artillery: Brig-Gen F.G. Maunsell
Commander, Engineers: Brig-Gen H.W. Gordon

Second World War

Battle of France

 
General Sir John Dill, General Officer Commanding I Corps, inspecting soldiers digging trenches at Flines, France. Stood three away from is his Brigadier General Staff (BGS), Brigadier Arthur Percival.

During the Second World War, I Corps' first assignment was again to the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) where it was commanded by General Sir John Dill, and then Lieutenant General Michael Barker from April 1940. After the Germans broke through Allied lines in the Battle of France in May 1940, the BEF was forced to retreat to Dunkirk for evacuation to England. The Commander-in-Chief (C-in-C) of the BEF, General Lord Gort, ordered Barker to form the rearguard with I Corps to cover the evacuation, and surrender to the Germans as a last resort. However, the acting commander of II Corps, Major General Bernard Montgomery, advised Gort that Barker was in an unfit state to be left in final command, and recommended that Major General Harold Alexander of the 1st Division should be put in charge. Gort did as Montgomery advised, and in the event the bulk of I Corps was successfully evacuated. As Montgomery recalled: '"Alex" got everyone away in his own calm and confident manner'.[24]

Composition of I Corps in the Battle of France

The order of battle was as follows:[25]
General Officer Commanding: Lieutenant General M.G.H. Barker

North-West Europe

After returning to England I Corps then remained in the United Kingdom, based at Hickleton Hall in South Yorkshire within Northern Command on anti-invasion duties, preparing defences to repel a German invasion of the United Kingdom.[33]

 
Lieutenant General John Crocker, pictured here in August 1944.

I Corps, now commanded by Lieutenant General John Crocker, then took part in the Normandy landings on 6 June 1944 where, along with XXX Corps, under Lieutenant General Gerard Bucknall (who had commanded I Corps between April and August 1943), it was a spearhead corps of Lieutenant General Miles Dempsey's British Second Army, itself part of the 21st Army Group. The corps was then involved in the Battle of Normandy in fierce attritional fighting for control of the Normandy beachhead. After fighting for two months in the Battle for Caen, I Corps was subordinated on 1 August 1944 to the Canadian First Army, commanded by Lieutenant General Harry Crerar, for the remainder of the Normandy campaign [34] and the subsequent operations in the Low Countries.[35] During Operation Pheasant, I Corps was unique in that it fielded multi national divisionsm - Polish 1st Armoured Division, the Canadian 4th Armoured Division the British 49th Polar Bears Division and the US 104th Timberwolf Division. After the Battle of the Scheldt I Corps Headquarters then took over administration of the 21st Army Group's logistics area around the port of Antwerp, Belgium until the end of the war.

Composition of I Corps in NW Europe Campaign

General Officer Commanding: Lieutenant-General John Crocker

Attached:

Assignments of corps to armies, and divisions to corps, changed frequently during the campaign:

As of 6 June 1944[46]

As of 7 July 1944

As of 1 August 1944 (now part of First Canadian Army)

British Army of the Rhine

After the defeat of Germany, the 21st Army Group became the British Army of the Rhine (BAOR), and 1 Corps, under the command of Lieutenant-General Ivor Thomas, was transformed into a corps district, with an administrative, rather than combat, role. It was disbanded in 1947.[47]

However, in October 1951 the corps was reactivated to become the principal combat element of the BAOR, with its HQ based in Bielefeld. In March 1952, following the reactivation of 6th Armoured Division, its component formations were:

Included as part of this was Canada's contribution to the NATO land forces in Germany. A Canadian mechanised brigade remained part of BAOR until 1970. The size of this force, 6,700, was such that it was referred to within British circles as a "light division".

4th Division was reformed from 11th Armoured Division on 1 April 1956.[48]

In a following 1958-60 reorganisation the Corps was formed into three mixed armour/infantry divisions including five brigade groups, which were in 1965 brought together into three centralised divisions (1st, 2nd, and 4th). In 1958, the "infantry" designation was dropped from the 2nd Infantry Division's title as part of this reorganisation.[49] During the 1970s, 4th Division consisted of two "square" brigades.[50]

With the end of National Service, manpower across the whole of BAOR dropped from around 77,000 to 55,000.

In the late 1970s the Corps was reorganised as four small five-battle-group armoured divisions plus a roughly brigade sized infantry 'Field Force'. It then comprised:

Following the 1981-3 reorganisation, the Corps consisted of 1st and 4th Armoured Divisions, which would have manned the front line against the anticipated attack by the Soviet 3rd Shock Army, plus in an in-depth, reserve role the 3rd Armoured Division and finally the 2nd Infantry Division which was tasked with rear-area security.[52]

See also: NORTHAG War Time Structure § I British Corps
 

With the end of the Cold War, in 1992 1 (BR) Corps was disbanded, and its HQ closed. Some of the staff serving in HQ 1(BR) Corps were reassigned to the new HQ UK Support Command (Germany) which was formed from the rump of HQ BAOR. The remainder of the staff formed the British component (50% of the total staff in the HQ) in the Headquarters Allied Command Europe Rapid Reaction Corps (HQ ARRC), a newly instated multi-national NATO Rapid Reaction Corps HQ. The Corps Commander reported to the Supreme Allied Commander Europe SACEUR, but had no troops under command except when assigned to ARRC by NATO member nations, for operations or for exercises. HQ ARRC moved to Rheindahlen in 1994.

General Officers Commanding

Commanders have included:[53]

From 1901 to 1905 the commander of the troops at Aldershot was also commander 1st Army Corps

Note: I Corps was disbanded at the end of the First World War and reformed at the start of the Second World War

Note: I Corps was disbanded in June 1947 and reformed in late 1951[47]

Notes

  1. ^ Cole p. 126
  2. ^ a b The long, long trail
  3. ^ JPS card no. 92
  4. ^ Hofschroer, Ligny and Quatre Bras, p.109.
  5. ^ Hofschroer, The German Victory, p.201.
  6. ^ Army List 1876–1881.
  7. ^ Dunlop ch 2.
  8. ^ Dunlop p 72.
  9. ^ Dunlop pp 130-40.
  10. ^ "Naval & Military intelligence - The 1st Army Corps". The Times. No. 36892. London. 7 October 1902. p. 8.
  11. ^ Army List
  12. ^ Dunlop p 262.
  13. ^ Neillands, p. 169.
  14. ^ Official History 1914, Volume I, p. 7.
  15. ^ Official History 1914, Volume I, Appendix 1.
  16. ^ Sir John French, Operation Order No 5, Official History 1914, Volume 1, Appendix 10.
  17. ^ Official History 1915, Volume I, Appendix 2.
  18. ^ 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).
  19. ^ James, p. 15.
  20. ^ Official History 1918 Volume 5, p 125.
  21. ^ Official History 1918 Volume 5, p 125 and Appendix I
  22. ^ Watson & Rinaldi, p. 22.
  23. ^ Lord & Watson, p. 234.
  24. ^ Montgomery p. 64
  25. ^ Ellis, Major L.F. "The War in France and Flanders 1939-40, Appendix I". UK Military Series.
  26. ^ "1 Corps".
  27. ^ "27 Field Regiment RA".
  28. ^ "140 (5th London) Field Regiment RA (TA)". Retrieved 20 August 2010.
  29. ^ "3 Medium Regiment RA".
  30. ^ "5 Medium Regiment RA".
  31. ^ "52 (East Lancashire) Light AA Regiment RA (TA)".
  32. ^ "1 Survey Regiment RA".
  33. ^ Newbold, p. 202
  34. ^ Hart, p.19
  35. ^ Williams, p. 466. participating in Operation Astonia, the capture of Le Havre, and the operations to clear the Channel Coast, later helping to garrison "The Island" area between Arnhem and Nijmegen in the aftermath of the failed airborne invasion of the Netherlands, Operation Market Garden.
  36. ^ Forty, p 346.
  37. ^ . Archived from the original on 2 March 2012. Retrieved 11 January 2010.
  38. ^ "9 Survey Regiment RA".
  39. ^ "4th Army Group RA".
  40. ^ . Archived from the original on 31 January 2013. Retrieved 11 January 2010.
  41. ^ "53 (London) Medium Regiment RA (TA)".
  42. ^ . Archived from the original on 10 June 2010. Retrieved 11 January 2010.
  43. ^ "68 Medium Regiment RA (TA)".
  44. ^ "79 (Scottish Horse) Medium Regiment RA (TA)".
  45. ^ "51 (Lowland) Heavy Regiment RA (TA)".
  46. ^ Ellis, p.181
  47. ^ a b The British Army in Germany: An Organizational History 1947-2004 By Graham Watson, Richard A. Rinaldi, Page 11 Tiger Lily, 2005, ISBN 978-0-9720296-9-8
  48. ^ . Regiments.org. Archived from the original on 29 December 2006. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  49. ^ Lord & Watson 2003, p. 28.
  50. ^ Watson, Graham (2005). The British Army in Germany: An Organisational History 1947–2004. Tiger Lily. p. 95. ISBN 9780972029698.
  51. ^ "History of BAOR". BAOR Locations. Retrieved 27 October 2015.
  52. ^ Isby & Kamps, pp.256-258
  53. ^ Army Commands 5 July 2015 at the Wayback Machine
  54. ^ "No. 27360". The London Gazette. 1 October 1901. p. 6400.
  55. ^ "No. 27370". The London Gazette. 1 November 1901. p. 7048.
  56. ^ "No. 27477". The London Gazette. 26 September 1902. p. 6151.

References

  • Cole, Howard (1973). Formation Badges of World War 2. Britain, Commonwealth and Empire. London: Arms and Armour Press.
  • Dunlop, Colonel John K., The Development of the British Army 1899–1914, London, Methuen (1938).
  • Ellis, John, The World War II Databook. BCA Publishing, 2003. CN 1185599.
  • Forty, George, British Army Handbook 1939-1945, Sutton Publishing (1998).
  • Hart, Stephen, Road To Falaise, Sutton Publishing (2004).
  • Hofschroer, Peter, 1815: The Waterloo Campaign: Wellington, his German Allies and the Battles of Ligny and Quatre Bras, London: Greenhill Books (1998) (ISBN 1-85367-304-8).
  • Hofschroer, Peter, 1815: The Waterloo Campaign: The German Victory, London: Greenhill Books (1999) (ISBN 1-85367-368-4).
  • Isby, David, & Kamps, Charles Jr, Armies of NATO's Central Front, Jane's Publishing Company (1985).
  • Brig E.A. James, British Regiments 1914–18, London: Samson Books, 1978, ISBN 0-906304-03-2/Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, 2001, ISBN 978-1-84342-197-9.
  • JPS Cigarette card series, Army, Corps and Divisional Signs 1914–1918, John Player and sons, 1920s.
  • Lord, Cliff; Watson, Graham (2003). The Royal Corps of Signals : unit histories of the Corps (1920-2001) and its antecedents. Solihull, West Midlands, England: Helion & Company. ISBN 1-874622-92-2. OCLC 184820114. ProQuest 5774170.
  • Montgomery, Viscount, The Memoirs of Field-Marshal Montgomery, London: Collins (1958).
  • Neillands,Robin The Great War Generals on the Western Front 1914-18, London: Robinson Publishing (1999).
  • Newbold, David John. "British planning and preparations to resist invasion on land, September 1939 - September 1940". King's College, University of London.
  • Official History 1914: Edmonds, Brigadier-General Sir James E., Military Operations France and Belgium, 1914, Volume I: Mons, the Retreat to the Seine, the Marne and the Aisne, August–October 1914 3rd revised edn 1933 (reprint Imperial War Museum, 1992) (ISBN 1870423569).
  • Official History 1915: Edmonds, Brigadier-General Sir James E., and Wynne, Capt G.C., Military Operations France and Belgium, 1915 Volume II: Battle of Aubers Ridge, Festubert, and Loos, London: Macmillan, 1928.
  • Official History 1918: Edmonds, Brigadier-General Sir James E., Military Operations France and Belgium, 1918 Volume V: 26 September–11 November: The Advance to Victory 1947 (reprint Imperial War Museum, 1992) (ISBN 1-870423-06-2).
  • Official History 1939-40: Ellis, Major L.F., History of the Second World War, United Kingdom Military Series: The War in France and Flanders 1939-1940, London: HMSO, 1954.
  • The National Archives, WO 171/258-260, I Corps HQ War Diaries, January - December 1944.
  • Graham E. Watson & Richard A. Rinaldi, The Corps of Royal Engineers: Organization and Units 1889–2018, Tiger Lily Books, 2018, ISBN 978-171790180-4.
  • Williams, Mary H., (compiler), "U. S. Army in World War II, Chronology 1941-1945", Washington D.C.: Government Printing Office (1958).

External sources

  • The Long Long Trail
  • Official History 1939-40
  • Late 70s-82 order of battle
  • 1989 order of battle

January 20, 2023
corps, united, kingdom, corps, first, corps, army, corps, existence, active, formation, british, army, most, years, from, creation, first, world, until, cold, longer, than, other, corps, short, lived, precursor, during, waterloo, campaign, corpsi, corps, forma. I Corps First Corps was an army corps in existence as an active formation in the British Army for most of the 80 years from its creation in the First World War until the end of the Cold War longer than any other corps It had a short lived precursor during the Waterloo Campaign I CorpsI Corps formation badge during the Second World War 1 ActiveWaterloo CampaignFirst World WarSecond World WarCold War 1951 1994Country United KingdomBranchBritish ArmyTypeField corpsEngagementsWaterloo Campaign Battle of Quatre Bras Battle of WaterlooFirst World War 2 Battle of Mons Battle of the Marne Battle of the Aisne First Battle of Ypres Battle of Aubers Ridge Battle of Festubert Battle of Loos The Bluff and St Eloi Battle of the Somme 1916 Battle of the Ancre German Retreat to the Hindenburg Line 1917 Battle of Arras Battle of the Lys The Final Advance in ArtoisSecond World War Retreat to Dunkirk 1940 Invasion of Normandy Battle for Caen Battle of the ScheldtCommandersNotablecommandersThe Prince of OrangeSir Douglas HaigSir Charles MonroSir Hubert GoughSir Arthur HollandSir John DillSir Harold AlexanderJohn CrockerInsigniaCorps formation sign during the First World War 3 Contents 1 Napoleonic precursor 1 1 Composition of I Corps in the Waterloo Campaign 2 Prior to the First World War 3 First World War 3 1 Composition of I Corps in First World War 4 Second World War 4 1 Battle of France 4 2 Composition of I Corps in the Battle of France 4 3 North West Europe 4 4 Composition of I Corps in NW Europe Campaign 5 British Army of the Rhine 6 General Officers Commanding 7 Notes 8 References 9 External sourcesNapoleonic precursor EditAssembling an army in Belgium to fight Napoleon s resurgent forces in the spring of 1815 the Duke of Wellington formed it into army corps deliberately mixing units from the Anglo Hanoverian Dutch Belgian and German contingents so that the weaker elements would be stiffened by more experienced or reliable troops As he put it It was necessary to organize these troops in brigades divisions and corps d armee with those better disciplined and more accustomed to war 4 He placed I Corps under the command of the Prince of Orange and it was this corps that was first contacted by the advancing French at Quatre Bras on 16 June 1815 However Wellington did not employ the corps as tactical entities and continued his accustomed practice of issuing orders directly to divisional and lower commanders When he drew up his army on the ridge at Waterloo elements of the various corps were mixed up and although he gave the Prince of Orange nominal command of the centre that officer had different forces under him Subsequent to the battle the corps structure was re established for the advance into France I Corps being commanded by Maj Gen Sir John Byng the Prince of Orange having been wounded at Waterloo 5 Composition of I Corps in the Waterloo Campaign Edit Main article Order of Battle of the Waterloo Campaign General Officer Commanding GOC General The Prince of Orange 1st British Division British Guards 3rd British Division Anglo Hanoverian 2nd Netherlands Division Dutch Belgian 3rd Netherlands Division Dutch Belgian Prior to the First World War EditAfter Waterloo the army corps structure largely disappeared from the British Army except for ad hoc formations assembled during annual manoeuvres e g Army Manoeuvres of 1913 In 1876 a Mobilisation Scheme for eight army corps was published with First Corps based on Colchester In 1880 First Corps organization was 1st Division Colchester 1st Brigade Colchester 1st Bn 2nd Foot Colchester 1st Bn 10th Foot Colchester 2nd Brigade Colchester 1st Bn 9th Foot Kinsale 28th Foot Fermoy Divisional Troops 2nd Bn 12th Foot Portsmouth Buckinghamshire Yeomanry Buckingham 1st Company Royal Engineers Shorncliffe Artillery F 1st Brigade Royal Artillery Ipswich D 1st Brigade RA Woolwich 2nd Division Chelmsford 1st Brigade Chelmsford 1st Bn 15th Foot Tipperary 47th Foot The Curragh 2nd Brigade Warley 1st Bn 3rd Foot Shorncliffe 49th Foot Dover 55th Foot Shorncliffe Divisional Troops 1st Bn 23rd Foot Woolwich Hertfordshire Yeomanry St Albans 20th Company Royal Engineers Chatham Artillery I 4th Brigade RA Newcastle N 4th Brigade RA Woolwich M 4th Brigade RA Newcastle 3rd Division Gravesend 1st Brigade Gravesend 77th Foot Dublin 104th Foot Belfast 105th Foot Newry 2nd Brigade Chatham 2nd Bn 5th Foot Chatham 31st Foot Chatham 86th Foot Chatham Divisional Troops 87th Foot Limerick West Kent Yeomanry Maidstone 22nd Company Royal Engineers Woolwich Artillery O 4th Brigade RA Weedon A 5th Brigade RA Weedon Cavalry Brigade Maldon 3rd Hussars Colchester 4th Hussars Shorncliffe Suffolk Yeomanry Bury St Edmunds F Battery C Brigade Royal Horse Artillery Canterbury Corps Artillery Colchester E Battery C Brigade RHA Woolwich H Battery A Brigade RHA Woolwich G 1st Brigade RA Woolwich B 5th Brigade RA Sheffield Corps Engineers Colchester A Pontoons Troop Royal Engineer Train Aldershot C Telegraph Troop Royal Engineer Train Aldershot 23rd Company Royal Engineers and Field Park Chatham This scheme had been dropped by 1881 6 The Stanhope Memorandum of 1891 drawn up by Edward Stanhope when Secretary of State for War laid down the policy that after providing for garrisons and India the army should be able to mobilise three army corps for home defence two of regular troops and one partly of militia each of three divisions Only after those commitments it was hoped might two army corps be organised for the unlikely eventuality of deployment abroad 7 When the Second Anglo Boer War was imminent in September 1899 a field army referred to as the Army Corps sometimes I Army Corps was mobilised and sent to Cape Town It was in fact about the equivalent of the First Army Corps of the existing mobilization scheme 8 and was placed under the command of Gen Sir Redvers Buller General Officer Commanding in Chief of Aldershot Command However once in South Africa the corps never operated as such and the three divisions 1st 2nd and 3rd were widely dispersed The 1901 Army Estimates introduced by St John Brodrick allowed for six army corps based on the six regional commands Aldershot Southern Irish Eastern Northern and Scottish of which only I Corps Aldershot Command and II Corps Southern Command on Salisbury Plain would be entirely formed of regular troops 9 However these arrangements remained theoretical the title I Corps being added to Aldershot Command In early October 1902 a memorandum was issued showing the organization and allocation of the 1st Army Corps to which Sir John French had recently been appointed in command 10 1st Division 1st Brigade Guards Marlborough Lines 2nd Infantry Brigade HQ Blackdown One squadron of cavalry two brigade divisions Royal Field Artillery an ammunition column a field company Royal Engineers one company Army Service Corps a field hospital 2nd Division 3rd Infantry Brigade HQ Stanhope Lines 4th Infantry Brigade HQ Wellington One squadron of cavalry two brigade divisions Royal Field Artillery an ammunition column a field company Royal Engineers one company Army Service Corps a field hospital 3rd Division 5th Infantry Brigade HQ Bordon 6th Infantry Brigade HQ Bordon One squadron of cavalry two brigade divisions Royal Field Artillery an ammunition column a field company Royal Engineers one company Army Service Corps a field hospital 1st Cavalry Brigade South Cavalry Barracks In 1907 the title changed to Aldershot Corps but reverted to simply Aldershot Command the following year 11 Finally the Haldane Reforms of 1907 established a six division British Expeditionary Force for deployment overseas but only Aldershot Command possessed two infantry divisions and a full complement of army troops to form an army corps in the field 12 First World War EditPre war planning for the British Expeditionary Force BEF did not envisage any intermediate headquarters between GHQ and the six infantry divisions but it was assumed that if corps HQs became necessary then the GOC Aldershot Command would automatically become GOC I Corps in the field 13 On mobilisation in August 1914 the decision was made to conform to the two division army corps organisation employed by the French armies alongside which the BEF was to operate 14 Sir Douglas Haig then commanding at Aldershot therefore took I Corps HQ to France with 1st Division and 2nd Division under command and it remained on the Western Front throughout the war It had a peripheral part at the Battle of Mons then saw hard fighting at the Battle of the Aisne and First Battle of Ypres in 1914 at the Battle of Aubers Ridge in the Spring of 1915 and alongside the Canadian Corps at the Battle of Hill 70 as well in many other large battles of the First World War Composition of I Corps in First World War Edit The composition of army corps changed frequently Some representative orders of battle for I Corps are given here Order of Battle at Mons 23 August 1914 15 General Officer Commanding Lieut Gen Sir Douglas Haig Brigadier General General Staff BGGS J E Gough VC Brigadier General Royal Artillery H S Horne Colonel Royal Engineers Brig Gen Spring R Rice 1st Division 2nd Division Army Troops attached 20 August 1914 16 1st Army HQ Signal Company Royal Engineers D Air Line Section G K amp L Cable Sections No 2 Section 1st Printing Company Royal Engineers No 1 Bridging Train Royal Engineers B Squadron North Irish Horse Company 1st Bn Cameron Highlanders B amp C Sections No 19 Field Ambulance RAMCBy the time of the battles of Aubers Ridge and Festubert May 1915 I Corps still had 1st and 2nd Divisions under command but had been reinforced by 47th 1 2nd London Division of the Territorial Force and 1st Canadian Division 17 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 18 From May 1916 to August 1917 I Corps Cavalry Regiment was provided by the 1st South Irish Horse 19 On 25 September 1918 for the final battles I Corps was transferred from First Army to Sir William Birdwood s Fifth Army 20 Order of Battle during the final advance in Artois 2 October 11 November 1918 2 21 General Officer Commanding Lieut Gen Sir Arthur Holland BGGS Brig Gen G V Hordern Deputy Adjutant amp Quartermaster General Brig Gen N G Anderson Commander Royal Artillery Brig Gen H C Sheppard Commander Heavy Artillery Brig Gen F G Maunsell Commander Engineers Brig Gen H W Gordon 15th Scottish Division 16th Irish Division 55th West Lancashire Division transferred to III Corps on 8 October 58th 2 1st London Division transferred from VIII Corps First Army on 14 October Royal Engineers 22 133rd Army Troops Company 135th Army Troops Company 290th Staffordshire Army Troops Company 556th Glamorgan Army Troops Company 170th Tunnelling Company 3rd Australian Tunnelling Company A Corps Signal Company 23 5 and 85 Motor Airline Sections K and AN Cable SectionsSecond World War EditBattle of France Edit General Sir John Dill General Officer Commanding I Corps inspecting soldiers digging trenches at Flines France Stood three away from is his Brigadier General Staff BGS Brigadier Arthur Percival During the Second World War I Corps first assignment was again to the British Expeditionary Force BEF where it was commanded by General Sir John Dill and then Lieutenant General Michael Barker from April 1940 After the Germans broke through Allied lines in the Battle of France in May 1940 the BEF was forced to retreat to Dunkirk for evacuation to England The Commander in Chief C in C of the BEF General Lord Gort ordered Barker to form the rearguard with I Corps to cover the evacuation and surrender to the Germans as a last resort However the acting commander of II Corps Major General Bernard Montgomery advised Gort that Barker was in an unfit state to be left in final command and recommended that Major General Harold Alexander of the 1st Division should be put in charge Gort did as Montgomery advised and in the event the bulk of I Corps was successfully evacuated As Montgomery recalled Alex got everyone away in his own calm and confident manner 24 Composition of I Corps in the Battle of France Edit The order of battle was as follows 25 General Officer Commanding Lieutenant General M G H Barker 1st Infantry Division 2nd Infantry Division 48th South Midland Infantry Division Royal Artillery 26 27th Army Field Regiment 21 24 amp 37 47 Batteries 27 140th 5th London Army Field Regiment 366 10th London amp 367 11th London Batteries 28 3rd Medium Regiment 2 11 amp 6 10 Batteries 29 5th Medium Regiment 15 17 amp 20 21 Batteries 30 52nd East Lancashire Light Anti Aircraft Regiment 154 155 amp 156 Batteries 31 2nd Light Anti Aircraft Battery 1st Survey Regiment 32 I Corps Troops Royal Engineers 102nd 107th 221st Army Field Companies 105th Corps Field Park Company 13th Corps Field Survey Company Infantry Machine Gun 2nd Battalion Cheshire Regiment 4th Battalion Cheshire Regiment 2nd Battalion Manchester RegimentNorth West Europe Edit After returning to England I Corps then remained in the United Kingdom based at Hickleton Hall in South Yorkshire within Northern Command on anti invasion duties preparing defences to repel a German invasion of the United Kingdom 33 Lieutenant General John Crocker pictured here in August 1944 I Corps now commanded by Lieutenant General John Crocker then took part in the Normandy landings on 6 June 1944 where along with XXX Corps under Lieutenant General Gerard Bucknall who had commanded I Corps between April and August 1943 it was a spearhead corps of Lieutenant General Miles Dempsey s British Second Army itself part of the 21st Army Group The corps was then involved in the Battle of Normandy in fierce attritional fighting for control of the Normandy beachhead After fighting for two months in the Battle for Caen I Corps was subordinated on 1 August 1944 to the Canadian First Army commanded by Lieutenant General Harry Crerar for the remainder of the Normandy campaign 34 and the subsequent operations in the Low Countries 35 During Operation Pheasant I Corps was unique in that it fielded multi national divisionsm Polish 1st Armoured Division the Canadian 4th Armoured Division the British 49th Polar Bears Division and the US 104th Timberwolf Division After the Battle of the Scheldt I Corps Headquarters then took over administration of the 21st Army Group s logistics area around the port of Antwerp Belgium until the end of the war Composition of I Corps in NW Europe Campaign Edit General Officer Commanding Lieutenant General John Crocker Corps troops 36 Inns of Court Regiment Royal Armoured Corps armoured cars 62nd 6th London Anti Tank Regiment Royal Artillery 102nd Light Anti Aircraft Regiment Royal Artillery 37 9th Survey Regiment RA 38 I Corps Troops Royal Engineers I Corps Signals Royal Corps of SignalsAttached 4th Army Group Royal Artillery 39 150th South Nottinghamshire Hussars Regiment Royal Horse Artillery suspended animation January 1945 40 53rd London Medium Regiment RA 209 amp 210 London Batteries 41 65th Highland Medium Regiment RA 222 Fraserburgh amp 223 Banffshire Batteries 42 68th Medium Regiment RA 233 amp 234 Batteries 43 79th Scottish Horse Yeomanry Medium Regiment RA 44 51st Lowland Heavy Regiment RA 45 Assignments of corps to armies and divisions to corps changed frequently during the campaign As of 6 June 1944 46 British 3rd Infantry Division 3rd Canadian Infantry Division 6th Airborne DivisionAs of 7 July 1944 British 3rd Infantry Division 3rd Canadian Infantry Division 51st Highland Infantry Division 59th Staffordshire Infantry Division 6th Airborne DivisionAs of 1 August 1944 now part of First Canadian Army 51st Highland Infantry Division 6th Airborne Division returned to United Kingdom 3 September 1944 49th West Riding Infantry Division 7th Armoured DivisionBritish Army of the Rhine EditAfter the defeat of Germany the 21st Army Group became the British Army of the Rhine BAOR and 1 Corps under the command of Lieutenant General Ivor Thomas was transformed into a corps district with an administrative rather than combat role It was disbanded in 1947 47 However in October 1951 the corps was reactivated to become the principal combat element of the BAOR with its HQ based in Bielefeld In March 1952 following the reactivation of 6th Armoured Division its component formations were 2nd Infantry Division 6th Armoured Division 7th Armoured Division 11th Armoured DivisionIncluded as part of this was Canada s contribution to the NATO land forces in Germany A Canadian mechanised brigade remained part of BAOR until 1970 The size of this force 6 700 was such that it was referred to within British circles as a light division 4th Division was reformed from 11th Armoured Division on 1 April 1956 48 In a following 1958 60 reorganisation the Corps was formed into three mixed armour infantry divisions including five brigade groups which were in 1965 brought together into three centralised divisions 1st 2nd and 4th In 1958 the infantry designation was dropped from the 2nd Infantry Division s title as part of this reorganisation 49 During the 1970s 4th Division consisted of two square brigades 50 With the end of National Service manpower across the whole of BAOR dropped from around 77 000 to 55 000 In the late 1970s the Corps was reorganised as four small five battle group armoured divisions plus a roughly brigade sized infantry Field Force It then comprised 1st Armoured Division 2nd Armoured Division 3rd Armoured Division 4th Armoured Division formed 1978 and served with I BR Corps with its headquarters at Hammersmith Barracks in Herford 51 5th Field ForceFollowing the 1981 3 reorganisation the Corps consisted of 1st and 4th Armoured Divisions which would have manned the front line against the anticipated attack by the Soviet 3rd Shock Army plus in an in depth reserve role the 3rd Armoured Division and finally the 2nd Infantry Division which was tasked with rear area security 52 1st Armoured Division 7th Armoured Brigade 12th Armoured Brigade 22nd Armoured Brigade 3rd Armoured Division 4th Armoured Brigade 6th Armoured Brigade 33rd Armoured Brigade 4th Armoured Division 11th Armoured Brigade 20th Armoured Brigade 19th Infantry Brigade in UK 2nd Infantry Division in UK 15th Infantry Brigade TA 24th Airmobile Brigade 49th Infantry Brigade TA The Artillery Division HQ Ripon Barracks Bielefeld See also NORTHAG War Time Structure I British Corps With the end of the Cold War in 1992 1 BR Corps was disbanded and its HQ closed Some of the staff serving in HQ 1 BR Corps were reassigned to the new HQ UK Support Command Germany which was formed from the rump of HQ BAOR The remainder of the staff formed the British component 50 of the total staff in the HQ in the Headquarters Allied Command Europe Rapid Reaction Corps HQ ARRC a newly instated multi national NATO Rapid Reaction Corps HQ The Corps Commander reported to the Supreme Allied Commander Europe SACEUR but had no troops under command except when assigned to ARRC by NATO member nations for operations or for exercises HQ ARRC moved to Rheindahlen in 1994 General Officers Commanding EditCommanders have included 53 1815 General The Prince of OrangeFrom 1901 to 1905 the commander of the troops at Aldershot was also commander 1st Army Corps 1 October 1901 General Sir Redvers Buller 54 25 October 1901 Lieutenant General Sir Henry Hildyard temporary 55 15 September 1902 Lieutenant General Sir John French 56 1914 Lieutenant General Sir Douglas Haig 1914 1915 Lieutenant General Sir Charles Monro 1915 1916 Lieutenant General Sir Hubert Gough 1916 Lieutenant General Charles Kavanagh 1916 Major General Havelock Hudson 1916 Lieutenant General Sir Charles Anderson 1917 Major General John Capper 1917 1918 Lieutenant General Arthur Holland 1918 Major General Sir Hugh Jeudwine 1918 Lieutenant General Sir Arthur HollandNote I Corps was disbanded at the end of the First World War and reformed at the start of the Second World War 1939 1940 General Sir John Dill 1940 Lieutenant General Michael Barker 1940 Lieutenant General Harold Alexander 1940 1941 Lieutenant General Laurence Carr 1941 1942 Lieutenant General Henry Willcox 1942 1943 Lieutenant General Frederick Morgan Apr Aug 1943 Lieutenant General Gerard Bucknall 1943 1945 Lieutenant General John Crocker 1945 Lieutenant General Sidney Kirkman 1945 1947 Lieutenant General Ivor ThomasNote I Corps was disbanded in June 1947 and reformed in late 1951 47 1951 1953 Lieutenant General Sir Dudley Ward 1953 1954 Lieutenant General Sir James Cassels 1954 1956 Lieutenant General Sir Hugh Stockwell 1956 1958 Lieutenant General Sir Harold Pyman 1958 1960 Lieutenant General Sir Michael West 1960 1962 Lieutenant General Sir Charles Jones 1962 1963 Lieutenant General Sir Kenneth Darling 1963 1966 Lieutenant General Sir Richard Goodwin 1966 1968 Lieutenant General Sir John Mogg 1968 1970 Lieutenant General Sir Mervyn Butler 1970 1972 Lieutenant General Sir John Sharp 1972 1974 Lieutenant General Sir Roland Gibbs 1974 1976 Lieutenant General Sir Jack Harman 1976 1978 Lieutenant General Sir Richard Worsley 1978 1980 Lieutenant General Sir Peter Leng 1980 1983 Lieutenant General Sir Nigel Bagnall 1983 1985 Lieutenant General Sir Martin Farndale 1985 1987 Lieutenant General Sir Brian Kenny 1987 1989 Lieutenant General Sir Peter Inge 1989 1991 Lieutenant General Sir Charles Guthrie 1991 1992 Lieutenant General Sir Jeremy MackenzieNotes Edit Cole p 126 a b The long long trail JPS card no 92 Hofschroer Ligny and Quatre Bras p 109 Hofschroer The German Victory p 201 Army List 1876 1881 Dunlop ch 2 Dunlop p 72 Dunlop pp 130 40 Naval amp Military intelligence The 1st Army Corps The Times No 36892 London 7 October 1902 p 8 Army List Dunlop p 262 Neillands p 169 Official History 1914 Volume I p 7 Official History 1914 Volume I Appendix 1 Sir John French Operation Order No 5 Official History 1914 Volume 1 Appendix 10 Official History 1915 Volume I 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 James p 15 Official History 1918 Volume 5 p 125 Official History 1918 Volume 5 p 125 and Appendix I Watson amp Rinaldi p 22 Lord amp Watson p 234 Montgomery p 64 Ellis Major L F The War in France and Flanders 1939 40 Appendix I UK Military Series 1 Corps 27 Field Regiment RA 140 5th London Field Regiment RA TA Retrieved 20 August 2010 3 Medium Regiment RA 5 Medium Regiment RA 52 East Lancashire Light AA Regiment RA TA 1 Survey Regiment RA Newbold p 202 Hart p 19 Williams p 466 participating in Operation Astonia the capture of Le Havre and the operations to clear the Channel Coast later helping to garrison The Island area between Arnhem and Nijmegen in the aftermath of the failed airborne invasion of the Netherlands Operation Market Garden Forty p 346 102 Light AA Regiment RA TA Archived from the original on 2 March 2012 Retrieved 11 January 2010 9 Survey Regiment RA 4th Army Group RA 150 S Notts Hussars Yeo Field Regiment RA TA Archived from the original on 31 January 2013 Retrieved 11 January 2010 53 London Medium Regiment RA TA 65 Medium Regiment RA TA Archived from the original on 10 June 2010 Retrieved 11 January 2010 68 Medium Regiment RA TA 79 Scottish Horse Medium Regiment RA TA 51 Lowland Heavy Regiment RA TA Ellis p 181 a b The British Army in Germany An Organizational History 1947 2004 By Graham Watson Richard A Rinaldi Page 11 Tiger Lily 2005 ISBN 978 0 9720296 9 8 4th Division Regiments org Archived from the original on 29 December 2006 Retrieved 20 May 2020 Lord amp Watson 2003 p 28 Watson Graham 2005 The British Army in Germany An Organisational History 1947 2004 Tiger Lily p 95 ISBN 9780972029698 History of BAOR BAOR Locations Retrieved 27 October 2015 Isby amp Kamps pp 256 258 Army Commands Archived 5 July 2015 at the Wayback Machine No 27360 The London Gazette 1 October 1901 p 6400 No 27370 The London Gazette 1 November 1901 p 7048 No 27477 The London Gazette 26 September 1902 p 6151 References EditCole Howard 1973 Formation Badges of World War 2 Britain Commonwealth and Empire London Arms and Armour Press Dunlop Colonel John K The Development of the British Army 1899 1914 London Methuen 1938 Ellis John The World War II Databook BCA Publishing 2003 CN 1185599 Forty George British Army Handbook 1939 1945 Sutton Publishing 1998 Hart Stephen Road To Falaise Sutton Publishing 2004 Hofschroer Peter 1815 The Waterloo Campaign Wellington his German Allies and the Battles of Ligny and Quatre Bras London Greenhill Books 1998 ISBN 1 85367 304 8 Hofschroer Peter 1815 The Waterloo Campaign The German Victory London Greenhill Books 1999 ISBN 1 85367 368 4 Isby David amp Kamps Charles Jr Armies of NATO s Central Front Jane s Publishing Company 1985 Brig E A James British Regiments 1914 18 London Samson Books 1978 ISBN 0 906304 03 2 Uckfield Naval amp Military Press 2001 ISBN 978 1 84342 197 9 JPS Cigarette card series Army Corps and Divisional Signs 1914 1918 John Player and sons 1920s Lord Cliff Watson Graham 2003 The Royal Corps of Signals unit histories of the Corps 1920 2001 and its antecedents Solihull West Midlands England Helion amp Company ISBN 1 874622 92 2 OCLC 184820114 ProQuest 5774170 Montgomery Viscount The Memoirs of Field Marshal Montgomery London Collins 1958 Neillands Robin The Great War Generals on the Western Front 1914 18 London Robinson Publishing 1999 Newbold David John British planning and preparations to resist invasion on land September 1939 September 1940 King s College University of London Official History 1914 Edmonds Brigadier General Sir James E Military Operations France and Belgium 1914 Volume I Mons the Retreat to the Seine the Marne and the Aisne August October 1914 3rd revised edn 1933 reprint Imperial War Museum 1992 ISBN 1870423569 Official History 1915 Edmonds Brigadier General Sir James E and Wynne Capt G C Military Operations France and Belgium 1915 Volume II Battle of Aubers Ridge Festubert and Loos London Macmillan 1928 Official History 1918 Edmonds Brigadier General Sir James E Military Operations France and Belgium 1918 Volume V 26 September 11 November The Advance to Victory 1947 reprint Imperial War Museum 1992 ISBN 1 870423 06 2 Official History 1939 40 Ellis Major L F History of the Second World War United Kingdom Military Series The War in France and Flanders 1939 1940 London HMSO 1954 The National Archives WO 171 258 260 I Corps HQ War Diaries January December 1944 Graham E Watson amp Richard A Rinaldi The Corps of Royal Engineers Organization and Units 1889 2018 Tiger Lily Books 2018 ISBN 978 171790180 4 Williams Mary H compiler U S Army in World War II Chronology 1941 1945 Washington D C Government Printing Office 1958 External sources EditThe Long Long Trail Official History 1939 40 Royal Artillery 1939 45 British Army Locations from 1945 Regiments org Late 70s 82 order of battle 1989 order of battle Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title I Corps United Kingdom amp oldid 1133908621, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

article

, read, download, free, free download, mp3, video, mp4, 3gp, jpg, jpeg, gif, png, picture, music, song, movie, book, game, games.