113-944: XXX Corps (30 Corps) was a corps of the British Army during the Second World War . The corps was formed in the Western Desert in September 1941. It provided extensive service in the North African Campaign and many of its units were in action at the Second Battle of El Alamein in late 1942. It then took part in the Tunisia Campaign and formed the left flank during the Allied invasion of Sicily in 1943. It returned briefly to
226-582: A corps d'armée in 1815 for commanding his mixed allied force of four divisions against Napoleon I. When the British Army was expanded from an expeditionary force in the First World War, corps were created to manage the large numbers of divisions. The British corps in World War I included 23 infantry corps and a few mounted corps. The word was adopted for other special formations such as
339-569: A Canadian corps headquarters. This corps was renamed I Canadian Corps as a second corps headquarters was established in the UK, with the eventual formation of five Canadian divisions in England. I Canadian Corps eventually fought in Italy, II Canadian Corps in northwest Europe, and the two were reunited in early 1945. After the formations were disbanded after VE Day, Canada has never subsequently organized
452-457: A MEF headquarters group, a Marine division, a Marine aircraft wing, and a force service support group (re-designated as Marine logistics group in 2005). The pre– World War II Red Army of the former USSR had rifle corps much like in the Western sense with approximately three divisions to a corps. However, after the war started, the recently purged Soviet senior command ( Stavka ) structure
565-518: A communications regiment (or a separate battalion). In 1945, air defence corps could include 1 anti-aircraft artillery brigade or division. Air defence fighters operating within the limits of responsibility of the KPVO was transferred to the corps. By the end of the war, there were 14 KPVO in the Active Army, of which 5 corps continued to carry out the tasks assigned to them even after the war, and
678-477: A corps headquarters. Royal Canadian Army Cadets : A corps size in the RCAC is different everywhere, depending on the size. The commanding officer can be a captain (Previously, Commanding Officers of a large corps could have been a Major, but that capability has been removed with the creation of CJCR Group Order 5511-1) The National Revolutionary Army (NRA) corps ( 軍團 ) was a type of military organization used by
791-484: A corps is a battlefield formation composed of two or more divisions , and typically commanded by a lieutenant general . During World War I and World War II , due to the large scale of combat, multiple corps were combined into armies which then formed into army groups . In Western armies with numbered corps, the number is often indicated in Roman numerals (e.g., VII Corps ). The Australian and New Zealand Army Corps
904-407: A corps is also a grouping of personnel by common function, also known as an arm , service , mustering or branch . In the British Army, an administrative corps performs much the same role – for personnel that otherwise lack them – as a ceremonial regiment . An administrative corps therefore has its own cap badge , stable belt , and other insignia and traditions. In some cases, the term corps
1017-500: A dedicated Cavalry Corps of three divisions and horse artillery assigned to the corps headquarters. In the early years of the war, field artillery was either part of an artillery reserve under direct army control or assigned to individual divisions. However, after the Battle of Chancellorsville the divisional artillery was placed under corps control, with each corps assigned a brigade of between four and six batteries commanded by
1130-578: A flanking position established by the New Zealanders during Pugilist and broke the German flank defences on the night of 26/27 March, forcing the outflanked German forces to withdraw northwards to Wadi Akarit. In mid-April, XXX Corps attempted to attack the position head on but made little progress against determined German and Italian resistance. By that time the First Army had broken through
1243-640: A gap in their front lines near the Town of Caumont-l'Éventé . The 7th Armoured Division was sent to exploit the gap and head towards Villers-Bocage to outflank the German Panzer-Lehr-Division and force them to withdraw, resulting in the Battle of Villers-Bocage . This attack was thwarted by elements of the Panzer Lehr Division and the 101st SS Heavy Panzer Battalion. Bucknall was heavily criticised for his decisions during
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#17327717948511356-547: A number of aides-de-camp and a general staff of other officers. This staff consisted of a chief of cavalry, a chief of artillery, and representatives of the War Department 's various bureaus: an assistant adjutant general , a quartermaster , an assistant inspector general , a commissary of subsistence, an ordnance officer (all with the rank of lieutenant colonel ), and a medical director. However, there were no dedicated combat service support formations as part of
1469-413: A numerically superior foe. This allowed Napoleon I to mass the bulk of his forces to effect a penetration into a weak section of enemy lines without risking his own communications or flank. This innovation stimulated other European powers to adopt similar military structures. The corps has remained an echelon of French Army organization to the modern day. As fixed military formation already in peace-time it
1582-399: A soldier as part of a specific corps (or sometimes individual battalion). This lanyard is a woven piece of cord which is worn on ceremonial uniforms and dates back to the issue of clasp knives in the early 20th century which were secured to the uniform by a length of cord. If a soldier is posted to a unit outside of their parent corps, except in some circumstances the soldier continues to wear
1695-483: A unit in Sicily, its units being detached to support other formations. the brigade historian commented that "Sicily was the hardest, the bloodiest, and above all, the most disillusioning campaign in which the brigade had served during the war". The two regiments of the brigade had a short rest before the next operation. Only the 40th RTR participated in the initial landings at Salerno during Operation Avalanche , part of
1808-505: Is also used informally, for looser groupings of independent regiments and other units – and without many or any unifying regalia , military traditions or other accoutrements – such as the Royal Armoured Corps or the "Corps of Infantry". In Australia, soldiers belong foremost to a corps which defines a common function or employment across the army. The Australian Army has a system of coloured lanyards, which each identify
1921-480: Is an operational-tactical formation (in the past - the highest tactical formation) of the former Soviet Air Defence Forces and now Russian Air Defence Forces /Aerospace Forces. The purpose of the such a corps is to protect important administrative, industrial and economic centers and regions of the country, groupings of troops (forces) and military facilities within the established limits of responsibility against air strikes. In organizational terms, an air defence corps
2034-500: Is composed of three or four divisions. There are three types of corps in the Indian Army: strike, holding and mixed. The corps HQ is the highest field formation in the army. The Pakistan Army has nine manoeuvre corps, each commanded by a lieutenant general . Each corps is composed of at least two divisions. The corps HQ is the highest field formation in the army. The Polish Armed Forces used independent operational groups in
2147-571: Is part of the district (or a separate army) of the Air Defence Forces. Also some air defence corps were separate. On the basis of individual corps, air defence zones or air defence corps areas could be created. The first KPVO were created in February 1938 for the air defence of Moscow , Leningrad and Baku (respectively 1st, 2nd and 3rd) based on anti-aircraft artillery divisions and air defence brigade ( 3rd KPVO ). The staff of
2260-489: Is the highest level of the forces that is concerned with actual combat and operational deployment. Higher levels of command are concerned with administration rather than operations, at least under current doctrine. The corps provides operational direction for the forces under its command. As of 2014, the active field corps in the US Army are I Corps , III Corps , and XVIII Airborne Corps ; their lineages derive from three of
2373-701: The 15th Army , splitting it from the 1st Parachute Army on the way around the northern flank of the Siegfried Line. The MARKET part of the operation was to seize the bridges up to Arnhem. Montgomery requested from General Dwight D. Eisenhower , the Supreme Allied Commander on the Western Front , to deploy the First Allied Airborne Army . The 101st Airborne Division ( Major General Maxwell D. Taylor )
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#17327717948512486-418: The 23rd Army Tank Brigade , was an armoured brigade of the British Army that saw service during the Second World War . The brigade was a 2nd Line Territorial Army (TA) formation. It was reorganised and renamed the 23rd Armoured Brigade, when it was assigned to the 8th Armoured Division , although it never operated under command of the division. The brigade was formed as the 23rd Army Tank Brigade on
2599-694: The 69th and 151st Brigades of the 50th Division, which further slowed down the XXX Corps advance. By 21 September the Guards Armoured Division was exhausted and Horrocks also took ill, with XXX Corps periodically being commanded by its Brigadier General Staff (BGS) Brigadier Harold Pyman , for which he would be made Chief of Staff of the Second Army after the operation. They had fought continuously for five days, much of it against fierce German resistance and were unable to continue
2712-460: The 9th Australian Division and the 50th RTR was attached to 51st (Highland) Division . The brigade suffered heavily during the battle and it remained in Egypt to refit and reorganise. The 8th RTR was transferred to Palestine in early November, after having turned over its surviving tanks while the 46th RTR was removed from the brigade, as was 107th Field Regiment. In December 1942, elements of
2825-702: The ARVN corps areas. As of July 2016, the Army deactivated all corps headquarters save three CONUS based corps ( I Corps - Washington, III Corps - Texas, and XVIII Airborne Corps - North Carolina). In the 1960s, the Marine Corps activated the I Marine Expeditionary Force (I MEF) on Okinawa (based in California since 1971) and II Marine Expeditionary Force (II MEF) in North Carolina, and re-activated
2938-673: The Allied Rapid Reaction Corps in 1994. It is no longer a purely British formation, although the UK is the "framework nation" and provides most of the staff for the headquarters. A purely national Corps headquarters could be quickly reconstituted if necessary. It took command of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan on 4 May 2006. Previously, it was deployed as the headquarters commanding land forces during
3051-597: The Allied invasion of Italy , which began the Italian Campaign . It was assigned to the British 46th Infantry Division . The brigade, now under Brigadier Robert Arkwright , took command of various units from the British X Corps and the US VI Corps during the big German counterattacks of 12 to 14 September, to defend the boundary between the two armies. It commanded American and British units up through
3164-665: The Australian Corps , on the Western Front , under Lieutenant General Sir John Monash . During World War II, the Australian I Corps was formed to co-ordinate three Second Australian Imperial Force (2nd AIF) units: the 6th , 7th and 9th Divisions , as well as other Allied units on some occasions, in the North African campaign and Greek campaign . Following the commencement of the Pacific War , there
3277-439: The Battle of Monte Cassino since January. In late May 1944, the brigade was withdrawn from Italy and returned to Egypt. In August 1944, the brigade was renamed Force 140 , later Arkforce after its commander, Brigadier Arkwight and was dismounted from its tanks. The 40th and 50th RTR were retrained as infantry while 46th RTR was reorganised with one squadron of armoured cars and one squadron of infantry, this being attached to
3390-555: The Chinese Republic , and usually exercised command over two to three NRA divisions and often a number of independent brigades or regiments and supporting units. The Chinese Republic had 133 corps during the Second Sino-Japanese War . After losses in the early part of the war, under the 1938 reforms, the remaining scarce artillery and the other support formations were withdrawn from the division and
3503-934: The Dental Branch (Canadian Forces) and the Canadian Forces Medical Service of the Canadian Forces Health Services Group (CF H Svcs Gp). The Royal Canadian Army Service Corps transport and supply elements were combined with the Royal Canadian Ordnance Corps to form the Logistics Branch The Royal Canadian Army Service Corps clerical trades were merged with the Royal Canadian Army Pay Corps and
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3616-714: The Eighth Army Commander Neil Ritchie was to have XIII Corps hold the line, while XXX Corps would stop any attempt to outflank the position south of Bir Hachiem , held by the 1st Free French Brigade . They managed to slow the Afrika Korps tanks into "The Cauldron", the gap left in the British Lines by the destruction of the 150th Infantry Brigade , part of the 50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division in late May 1942. British counterattacks attempted to crush it but failed. Eventually,
3729-586: The Italian 206th Coastal Division and the 54th "Napoli" Division . By 18 July, it was halfway to Messina . Progress slowed considerably after that because Sicily's mountainous terrain favoured well-equipped defenders (like the German forces in Group Schmalz ) and they managed to move very little. The Axis began withdrawing troops from Sicily and the Germans put up a brave fighting withdrawal. By 17 August,
3842-438: The KPVO included: 4-6 anti-aircraft artillery regiments, 1 anti-aircraft machine-gun regiment, 1 searchlight regiment (or battalion), 1-2 regiments (or divisions) barrage balloons , 1- 2 regiments (or battalions) of visual observation, warning and communications ( VNOS ), and a separate communications battalion. From September 1938 to November 1940, the KPVO also included 1-2 regiments (battalions) of local air defence. During
3955-686: The Kosovo War in 1999 and also saw service in Bosnia and Herzegovina , commanding the initial stages of the IFOR deployment prior to that in 1996. Otherwise, the only time a British corps headquarters has been operationally deployed since 1945 was II Corps during the Suez Crisis . The structure of a field corps in the United States Army is not permanent. On the battlefield, the corps
4068-647: The Officers Training Corps . Military training of teenage boys is undertaken at secondary schools through the Combined Cadet Force , in which participation was compulsory at some schools in the 1950s. Schoolboy jargon called the CCF simply "Corps". The British Army still has a corps headquarters for operational control of forces. I Corps of the British Army of the Rhine was redesignated
4181-683: The Royal Canadian Postal Corps to form the Administration Branch (later merged with the Logistics Branch ) Other "corps", included: Canadian Engineer Corps , Signalling Corps , Corps of Guides , Canadian Women's Army Corps , Royal Canadian Army Veterinary Corps , Canadian Forestry Corps , Canadian Provost Corps and Canadian Intelligence Corps . 23rd Armoured Brigade (United Kingdom) The 23rd Armoured Brigade , originally formed as
4294-556: The 1st Airborne Division was killed, surrendered or withdrew to the 1st Polish Parachute Brigade positions, which ended the offensive. During the Battle of the Bulge , units of XXX Corps moved to secure the bridges over the Meuse . On 27 December the Corps pushed the 2nd Panzer Division out of Celles . On 31 December they captured Rochefort at the western end of the salient . XXX Corps
4407-480: The 23rd Armoured Brigade Group. After only 14 days of acclimatisation and without any infantry support training, the brigade was chosen to reinforce an attack by XXX Corps during the Second Battle of Ruweisat Ridge , part of the First Battle of El Alamein . The regiments failed to locate lanes cleared by the leading units through Axis minefields and were virtually annihilated by German anti-tank fire while in
4520-633: The 2nd Battalion, Irish Guards who captured the bridge. After the success in France and Belgium, General Montgomery commanding the 21st Army Group turned his attention to outflanking the Siegfried Line and invading the Ruhr in a pincer movement. The northern part of the pincer would be near Arnhem at the Dutch–German border. Allied troops would concentrate at this point to form the northern part of
4633-405: The 50th Division which landed on Gold Beach . It quickly overwhelmed the German defenders of the 716th Infantry Division and had linked up with the I Corps by the end of D-Day . Following D-Day the corps launched Operation Perch . It made slow gains facing stiff resistance but by 10 June had linked up with US forces advancing from Omaha Beach . On 12 June, an opportunity arose. The Germans had
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4746-659: The 50th RTR but kept one squadron of Shermans. Arkforce arrived at Piraeus on 12 October 1944 as part of the British occupying force in Greece when the Germans withdrew. It participated in the repression of the Greek People's Liberation Army (ELAS) during the Greek Civil War (the Dekemvriana ). Arkforce was disbanded on 8 January 1945 and the 23rd Armoured Brigade regained its name and had its tanks restored by
4859-409: The 7th Battalion, Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort's Own) was transferred to the 7th Motor Brigade , then part of the 7th Armoured Division but later became part of the 1st Armoured Division . During the Battle of Alam el Halfa in September, the brigade was initially in XXX Corps reserve but was transferred to the 10th Armoured Division , XIII Corps . Before the Second Battle of El Alamein ,
4972-655: The Armistice, the peacetime Canadian militia was nominally organized into corps and divisions but no full-time formations larger than a battalion were ever trained or exercised. Early in the Second World War, Canada's contribution to the British-French forces fighting the Germans was limited to a single division. After the fall of France in June 1940, a second division moved to England, coming under command of
5085-939: The Armour Branch continued to use the title Royal Canadian Armoured Corps , the Infantry Branch continued to use the Royal Canadian Infantry Corps designation, and the Artillery Branch uses the term Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery . When the Army, Royal Canadian Navy , and Royal Canadian Air Force were merged in 1968 to form the Canadian Forces, the Royal Canadian Dental Corps and Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps were deactivated and merged with their Naval and Air Force counterparts to form
5198-447: The Army and Marines diverged in their approach to the concept of the field corps. The Army continued to group its divisions into traditional corps organizations in the Continental United States (CONUS), West Germany ( V Corps and VII Corps ), and South Korea (I Corps). However, during the Vietnam War , the Army designated its corps-level headquarters in South Vietnam as I Field Force and II Field Force to avoid confusion with
5311-430: The Australian, New Zealand, South African and Highland divisions continued to attack, creating several gaps in the minefields, before German resistance stopped further advances. To bring XXX Corps up to strength, the 50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division (XIII Corps) was added. Early on the morning of 2 November, X Corps and XXX Corps launched the fourth phase of Lightfoot, codenamed Operation Supercharge . By 4 November
5424-460: The British 1st Infantry Division for the Battle of Anzio landings (Operation Shingle) and rejoined the brigade in July. In March 1944 the brigade was transferred to the British V Corps which had a holding role on the eastern side of the Gustav Line by the Adriatic Sea while the Eighth and Fifth Armies combined to launch Operation Diadem in the Cassino sector. The Allies finally broke the German defences there after three unsuccessful attempts in
5537-410: The Civil War lacked standing organization at the corps and division levels, it moved swiftly to adopt these during the mobilization for the Spanish–American War in the spring of 1898. On 7 May, General Order 36 called for the establishment of seven "army corps" (repeating the nomenclature of the Civil War); an eighth was authorized later that month. Two of these saw action as a unit: the Fifth in Cuba and
5650-399: The Confederate corps at the Battle of Gettysburg , for instance, exceeded 20,000 men. However, for both armies, unit sizes varied dramatically with attrition throughout the war. In Civil War usages, by both sides, it was common to write out the number, thus "Twenty-first Army Corps", a practice that is usually ignored in modern histories of the war. Although the US Army in the years following
5763-433: The Eighth in the Philippines; elements of the First , Fourth , and Seventh made up the invasion force for Puerto Rico (the Second, Third , and Seventh provided replacements and occupation troops in Cuba, while the Sixth was never organized). The corps headquarters were disbanded during the months following the signing of the peace treaty (with the exception of the Eighth Army Corps, which remained active until 1900 due to
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#17327717948515876-454: The Falaise Gap . After the German collapse, XXX Corps quickly advanced north-east and liberated Brussels and Antwerp in Belgium . There the advance was halted because of a shortage of fuel. Elements of the Guards Armoured Division and the 2nd Household Cavalry Regiment managed to secure a bridge across the Maas-Schelde canal into the Netherlands. This bridge was nicknamed Joe's Bridge in honour of Lieutenant Colonel Joe Vandeleur of
5989-404: The Free French at Bir Hachiem were forced to withdraw and Rommel was able to break out of the Cauldron. XXX Corps was forced to retreat to Mersa Matruh , held by the new X Corps . The Germans quickly broke through, surrounded X Corps (which fortunately for the British, managed to break out) and pushed XXX Corps back to El Alamein in June 1942. The depleted XXX Corps pulled back to El Alamein ,
6102-483: The German line on their left in central Tunisia and the Axis forces were forced to surrender. On 10 July 1943, XXX Corps was part of the Allied invasion of Sicily . The corps (under Lieutenant General Oliver Leese) was to compose the left flank of the Eighth Army. It was reinforced with the 1st Canadian Infantry Division , the 1st Canadian Armoured Brigade , and the 231st Infantry Brigade of units from Malta . XXX Corps landed near Pachino and made early gains against
6215-452: The Great Patriotic War from November 1941 to April 1944 the air defence corps were renamed into air defence corps areas (such as the Stalingrad Corps Region ). The corps districts included up to 9 anti-aircraft artillery regiments and 14 separate anti-aircraft artillery battalions, up to 3 anti-aircraft machine-gun regiments, 1 searchlight regiment, 1 regiment (or division) of barrage balloons, up to 4 regiments (or separate battalions) VNOS, and
6328-447: The Guards Armoured Division advanced without facing much resistance reaching the Nijmegen Bridge on schedule the same day, where they found that the U.S. 82nd Airborne Division had failed to capture the road bridge at Nijmegen, with troops only at the southern end of the bridge. XXX Corps brought up boats used by bridge engineers, allowing two companies of the 3rd Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment ( Major Julian Cook ) to cross
6441-481: The III Amphibious Corps (which had been deactivated in 1946) as III Marine Expeditionary Force (III MEF) in South Vietnam (re-deployed to Okinawa in 1971). In 1965, all three MEFs were subsequently re-designated as Marine amphibious forces or MAFs, and in 1988 all three Marine Corps corps-level commands were again re-designated as Marine expeditionary forces (MEF). The MEF had evolved into a self-contained, corps-level, Marine air-ground task force (MAGTF) consisting of
6554-419: The Mareth Line as part of Operation Pugilist , with the 50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division and the 51st (Highland) Infantry Division in the lead. They managed to create a gap but it was quickly contained by the 15th Panzer Division . During Operation Supercharge II a force commanded by Lieutenant-General Brian Horrocks composed of the New Zealand Corps and the 1st Armoured Division from X Corps exploited
6667-443: The Soviet air defence corps were also created. In June–July 1960, all KPVO were enlarged and consisted of: anti-aircraft missile regiments and brigades, air defense fighter regiments, radio engineering regiments and brigades, separate electronic warfare battalions, regiments and battalions of communications and logistics institutions. In many English-speaking countries and other countries influenced by British military traditions,
6780-429: The United Kingdom; it then served in the Allied Invasion of Normandy in June 1944. In September 1944, it formed the Garden (cross land) contingent of Operation Market Garden ; due to the failure of the Market (airborne) contingent to seize the bridge at Nijmegen , XXX Corps arrived too late at the subsequent (25 km (16 mi)) – and ultimate – Arnhem bridge, effectively resulting in
6893-414: The army. Major General George B. McClellan , for example, planned to organize the Army of the Potomac into corps of two or more divisions and about 25,000 soldiers. However, he delayed doing so, partly for lack of experienced officers, and partly for political reasons, until March 1862 when President Lincoln ordered their creation. The exact composition of a corps in the Union Army varied during
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#17327717948517006-421: The artillery preparation by 350 guns at 14:35. It was to be the most ambitious ground offensive operation by the British Army in the war so far. It was beset by problems. The ground was assessed to be too soft to accommodate the Sherman tanks of the leading Irish Guards Battle Group, forcing the entire Guards Armoured Division to stay on the single highway. As XXX Corps advanced north-east, it became obvious that
7119-414: The attack and to exploit the momentum. VIII Corps , on the right flank made considerable progress but XXX Corps was sluggish. Montgomery sacked Bucknall and replaced him with Lieutenant-General Brian Horrocks , a distinguished veteran of North Africa. After the sacking of Bucknall, the performance of XXX Corps improved considerably and it managed to keep up with the other British corps during the Battle for
7232-412: The brigade had approximately 18 Matildas and 120 Valentines. The division remained in Britain until May 1942 when it was sent to the Middle East to join the Eighth Army , becoming active there in early July. In mid-July the brigade, now commanded by Brigadier L. E. Misa , was detached from the 8th Armoured Division and with the addition of the 5th Regiment, Royal Horse Artillery became known as
7345-463: The brigade pattern were created in the Belorussian Military District (Western TVD/Strategic Direction) and the 48th Separate Guards Army Corps in the Transbaikal Military District , but abandoned after a few years. The Soviet Air Forces used ground terminology for its formations down to squadron level. As intermediates between the aviation division and the air army were corps—these also had three air divisions each. An Air Defence Corps ('KPVO')
7458-410: The brigade was reinforced by the addition of the 8th Royal Tank Regiment to a strength of about 186 Valentines; the 5th RHA was exchanged for the 107th Field Regiment, Royal Artillery , with sixteen Bishop self-propelled guns. During that battle, most of the regiments supported the infantry divisions of XXX Corps. The 8th RTR was attached to the 1st South African Division , 40th RTR was attached to
7571-446: The brigade, now with the 11th (Queen's Westminsters) Battalion , King's Royal Rifle Corps (KRRC) under command, began to move forward but it saw no combat until it entered Tunisia on 17 February 1943. In the Tunisian Campaign the brigade served as an independent armoured formation under XXX Corps, Eighth Army and fought in most of the battles of the campaign. On 3 May, the 50th RTR was withdrawn to convert to M4 Sherman tanks. After
7684-489: The campaign, the 46th RTR was reassigned to the brigade, although it was still converting to Shermans and the 40th RTR began to convert to the new tank. The 23rd Armoured Brigade took part in the Allied invasion of Sicily (Operation Husky) in July 1943, although only the 50th RTR and B Squadron of the 46th RTR participated in the initial landings. The remainder of the 46th RTR was still converting to Shermans and did not land in Sicily until 23 July. The brigade did not fight as
7797-435: The corps formed during World War I (I and III Corps) and World War II (XVIII Airborne Corps). On 12 February 2020, it was announced that the Army was reactivating V Corps to bolster the presence of US forces in Europe. The first field corps in the United States Army were legalized during the American Civil War by an act of Congress on 17 July 1862, although the term had been used previously to refer to any large portion of
7910-432: The corps. This meant that either civilian workers had to be hired or line soldiers detailed from their units to carry out the necessary tasks. Initially, corps were numbered in relation to their field army, such as I Army Corps, Army of the Potomac. After a while these numerical designations became unique to each corps regardless of the army to which they were assigned. Although designated with numbers that are sometimes
8023-414: The end of January. It remained in Greece beyond VE Day until the end of the Second World War. The 23rd Armoured Brigade was constituted as follows during the war: The following officers commanded the 23rd Armoured Brigade during the war: The brigade was disestablished in May 1946 but when the TA was revived on 1 January 1947 it reformed as an independent Armoured Brigade in Western Command with
8136-719: The eruption of the Philippine–American War ), and like the corps of the Civil War, their lineage ends at that point. During World War I, the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) adopted the common European usage of designating field corps by Roman numerals . Several " corps areas " were designated under the authority of the National Defense Act of 1920 , but played little role until the Army's buildup for World War II. While some of
8249-417: The first day. On the second day of GARDEN, the Guards Armoured Division continued northwards to Eindhoven, where they met elements of the 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division. They soon discovered that 101st had failed to secure the bridge at Son intact, creating more delays before XXX Corps engineers arrived to build a Bailey bridge . On the morning of 19 September
8362-542: The first formal combined-arms groupings of divisions with reasonably stable manning and equipment establishments. Napoleon I first used the corps d'armée in 1805. The use of the corps d'armée was a military innovation that provided Napoleon I with a significant battlefield advantage in the early phases of the Napoleonic Wars . The corps was designed to be an independent military group containing cavalry, artillery and infantry, and capable of defending against
8475-555: The formation was first named as such in 1805. The size of a corps varies greatly, but two to five divisions and anywhere from 40,000 to 80,000 are the numbers stated by the US Department of Defense. Within military terminology a corps may be: These usages often overlap. Corps may also be a generic term for a non-military organization , such as the US Peace Corps and European Solidarity Corps . In many armies,
8588-856: The hat badge and lanyard of their corps (e.g. a clerk posted to an infantry battalion would wear the hat badge of the Royal Australian Ordnance Corps but would wear the lanyard of the battalion they are posted to). In Canada , with the integration of the Canadian Army into the Canadian Forces , the British corps model was replaced with personnel branches , defined in Canadian Forces Administrative Orders (CFAOs) as "...cohesive professional groups...based on similarity of military roles, customs and traditions." CFAO 2-10) However,
8701-401: The highway was prone to traffic jams and was extremely vulnerable to enemy counter-attacks. The lead elements of XXX Corps, the Guards Armoured Division (Major-General Allan Adair ) were ambushed by German anti-tank defences, causing delays to the advance. As a result, they were far short of the 82nd Airborne Division objectives, having not even reached the 101st Airborne Division by the end of
8814-480: The highway. The 231st Infantry Brigade (from the 50th Division) and the 4th Armoured Brigade spent most of the time during Operation Market Garden reacting to these probes by German Panther tanks and panzergrenadiers . This created traffic jams and delayed reinforcements reaching the Guards Armoured Division–particularly the 43rd (Wessex) Infantry Division (Major-General Ivor Thomas ) and
8927-530: The last British attempt to relieve the siege of Tobruk . XXX Corps suffered many casualties, mainly because of obsolete British tank tactics (especially charging anti-tank guns), but finally forced the Panzerarmee Afrika to withdraw to El Agheila in Central Libya. In spring 1942, Rommel had counter-attacked and driven the British back to Gazala , a few miles west of Tobruk. The plan of
9040-593: The last German troops had crossed the straits of Messina and the Allies were in control of Sicily. XXX Corps was then pulled out of the line and sent to the United Kingdom to re-fit and re-train for Operation Overlord . The order of battle was as follows: General Officer Commanding Lt-Gen Gerard Bucknall (to 3 August 1944) Lt-Gen Brian Horrocks (from 4 August 1944) In Normandy XXX Corps, now commanded by Lieutenant-General Gerard Bucknall , again included
9153-607: The last defensible position west of the River Nile . It was the only place in the Western Desert campaign in which there would not be an open flank (a normal rule of desert warfare), due to the soft ground of the Qattara Depression , immediately south of the opposing forces and the Mediterranean Sea . The northern, coastal sector was assigned to XXX Corps. Due to casualties and equipment losses, XXX Corps
9266-851: The loss of the British 1st Airborne Division in the prolonged Battle of Arnhem . XXX Corps continued to serve in the Netherlands , and finally in Operation Veritable in Germany until May 1945. XXX Corps was formed in the Western Desert under Lieutenant-General Vyvyan Pope in September 1941. It played a major role in the Western Desert Campaign , where it was initially formed for the British armoured units in North Africa in preparation for Operation Crusader ,
9379-474: The lower numbered corps were used for various exercises, the inter-war years corps served mostly as a pool of units. During that war, the Marine Corps organized corps headquarters for the first time, the I Marine (later III Amphibious Corps ) and V Amphibious Corps . The Army ultimately designated 25 field corps (I–XVI, XVIII–XXIV, XXXVI, and I Armored Corps ) during World War II. After the Korean War ,
9492-403: The minefield. The brigade had mustered 122 Valentines and 18 Matildas for the attack but at day's end, had lost 116 tanks; the tank crews suffered 44 per cent killed or wounded. The brigade was rebuilt by cannibalising men and tanks from the newly arrived 24th Armoured Brigade and it was retrained as an infantry support unit, although it was not renamed an Army Tank Brigade. On 11 August 1942,
9605-602: The north bank of the Rhine when the division withdrew. The failure of the 82nd Airborne Division to seize the Nijmegen bridge caused a long delay for the XXX Corps to arrive at the Arnhem bridge as planned. This caused the 1st Airborne Division, which was surrounded in the Battle of Arnhem and suffered many casualties, to retreat from the Arnhem bridge after the delay enabled the Germans to reinforce with armoured divisions. Most of
9718-604: The occupation of Naples on 1 October 1943. By October, the brigade had consolidated once more and had joined X Corps, containing the 7th Armoured Division, the 46th and 56th Infantry Division , on the left wing of the US Fifth Army , taking part in the fighting from the Volturno Line to the Winter Line (Gustav Line). In early January 1944, the 46th RTR was detached from the brigade to come under command of
9831-592: The offensive. The 43rd Division was brought up to continue and managed to defeat elements of the 10th SS Panzer Division that penetrated to Nijmegen area and advanced to the Neder Rijn and the area called "the Island". There the 4th Battalion, Dorset Regiment crossed the Rhine as a diversion, so that the remnants of the 1st Airborne Division could withdraw more safely but many men of the 4th Dorsets were left behind on
9944-589: The operation and battle. XXX Corps was then involved in a battle of attrition with only minor gains being made. Up to 24 July, the front line remained relatively unchanged. The next day the Americans launched Operation Cobra , an attack on German positions on the western end of the Contentin Peninsula. They made considerable progress and the Second Army launched Operation Bluecoat to support
10057-420: The outbreak of the Second World War as a 2nd Line Territorial Army (TA) formation, under the command of Brigadier W. F. Murrogh . The brigade had only a few light armoured vehicles during its existence as an Army Tank Brigade. It was reorganised and renamed the 23rd Armoured Brigade on 1 November 1940, when it was assigned to the new 8th Armoured Division ( Major General Richard McCreery ). As part of
10170-468: The pincer. XXX Corps, consisting of approximately 50,000 men, would advance along the main axis of the Second Army and reach Arnhem within 48 hours, and continue on to the Dutch–German border. XXX Corps was to be the GARDEN part of the operation to advance past Arnhem. This required crossing water obstacles, the last of them a road bridge at Arnhem. When the pincer closed, this would allow the British to trap
10283-503: The place of the corps before and during World War II . An example would be Independent Operational Group Polesie . The groups, as the name indicates, were more flexible and showed greater capacity to absorb and integrate elements of broken units over a period of just a couple days and keep cohesion during the September Campaign than more traditional army units such as divisions, regiments, or even brigades. Wellington formed
10396-521: The reorganisation it was reinforced with the 1st Battalion, London Rifle Brigade , this motorised infantry battalion was renamed the 7th Battalion, Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort's Own) on 19 January 1941. It began to receive significant numbers of tanks as a consequence of its assignment to the 8th Armoured Division, deliveries of the close-support version of the Matilda II and Valentine tanks beginning about that same time. By November 1941,
10509-466: The rest of the corps were disbanded. In July 1947, all KPVO were renamed anti-aircraft artillery corps. In January 1949, part of these corps was reorganized into air defence areas. From December 1948 to January 1949, all anti-aircraft artillery corps were disbanded. In June 1954, for the defense of the main industrial and economic centers and regions of the USSR, 10 air defence corps were re-created. At
10622-409: The river to assault the bridge from the northern end. XXX Corps captured the Nijmegen bridge by running their tanks over. The Guards Armoured Division advanced and quickly established positions on the north bank to secure the bridge. Further south, in the 101st Airborne Division sector, many units from XXX Corps had to be detached to fight off repeated attempts by the German 106th Panzerbrigade to cut
10735-905: The same as those found in the modern US Army, there is no direct lineage between the 43 Union field corps of the Civil War and those with similar names in the modern era, due to congressional legislation caused by the outcry from veterans of the Grand Army of the Republic during the Spanish–American War . In the Confederate States Army , field corps were authorized in November 1862. They were commanded by lieutenant generals, and were usually larger than their Union Army counterparts because their divisions contained more brigades, each of which could contain more regiments. All of
10848-458: The same time, in addition to anti-aircraft artillery formations, fighter aviation regiments and divisions were included in the corps. Since the late 1950s, anti-aircraft artillery units have been replaced by anti-aircraft missile formations and formations of radio engineering troops. Searchlight and barrage balloon units were also abolished. In the Warsaw Pact countries, groupings similar to
10961-467: The senior-most artillery officer. In general, the other field armies tended to model their organization after the Army of the Potomac, including the gradual development of corps. Corps were commanded by major generals because Congress refused to promote officers past that grade (with the exception of Ulysses S. Grant to lieutenant general in 1864). To assist with their command, generals were allowed
11074-591: The tanks of X Corps had broken through and the British had won the Second Battle of El Alamein . The 9th Australian Division was transferred to the South West Pacific theatre . The 1st South African Division was left in Egypt. After El Alamein, XXX Corps pushed forward steadily. It stopped its advance at the Mareth Line in Tunisia in late February 1943. On 19 March, XXX Corps launched an attack on
11187-482: The war, the tank and mechanized corps were re-rated as divisions. During the reforms of 1956–58, most of the corps were again disbanded to create the new combined arms and tank armies. A few corps were nevertheless retained. The Vyborg and Archangel Corps of the Leningrad Military District were smaller armies with three low-readiness motorized rifle divisions each. In the 1980s "Unified Corps" on
11300-413: The war, though it usually consisted of between two and six division (on average three) for approximately 36,000 soldiers. After Ambrose Burnside was given command of the Army of the Potomac in November 1862, he reorganized it into three "grand divisions" of two corps and a cavalry division each, but this structure was abolished when Joseph Hooker took over February 1863. This also led to the creation of
11413-591: The western side until meeting at Geldern with elements of the 9th US Army on 3 March. on 23rd March XXX Corps began Operation Turnscrew within the framework of Operation Plunder the Rhine Crossing at Rees. Commanders included: Corps Corps ( / k ɔːr / ; plural corps / k ɔːr z / ; from French corps , from the Latin corpus "body") is a term used for several different kinds of organization. A military innovation by Napoleon I ,
11526-623: Was a phased withdrawal of I Corps to Australia, and the transfer of its headquarters to the Brisbane area, to control Allied army units in Queensland and northern New South Wales (NSW). II Corps was also formed, with Militia units, to defend south-eastern Australia, and III Corps controlled land forces in Western Australia . Sub-corps formations controlled Allied land forces in the remainder of Australia. I Corps headquarters
11639-574: Was apparently unable to handle the formations, and the armies and corps were integrated. Rifle corps were re-established during the war after Red Army commanders had gained experience handling larger formations. Before and during World War II, however, Soviet armoured units were organized into corps. The pre-war mechanized corps were made up of divisions. In the reorganizations, these "corps" were reorganized into tank brigades and support units, with no division structure. Owing to this, they are sometimes, informally, referred to as "brigade buckets". After
11752-652: Was dropped at Eindhoven , to secure the Son and Wilhelmina Canal bridges, the 82nd Airborne Division ( Brigadier General James M. Gavin ), dropped at Nijmegen , to secure the Grave and Nijmegen bridges, while the British 1st Airborne Division (Major-General Roy Urquhart ), dropped at Arnhem, to secure the bridgehead over the Neder Rijn. Attached to the 1st Airborne Division was the 1st Polish Parachute Brigade ( Major-General Stanisław Sosabowski ). Operation Market Garden commenced at 14:00H on Sunday 17 September 1944, with
11865-748: Was held at corps, or army level or higher. The corps became the basic tactical unit of the NRA having strength nearly equivalent to an allied division . The modern People's Liberation Army Ground Force group army ( 集团军 ) is the closest equivalent of a corps. After the military reforms of the early 2010s, a typical PLA group army consists of six combined arms brigades, plus additional artillery, air defence, engineering, sustainment, special operations and army aviation assets. Each formation contains approximately 30,000 combat troops and several thousands more supporting personnel. The French Army under Napoleon I used corps-sized formations ( French : corps d'armée ) as
11978-492: Was involved in the fighting that preceded Operation Plunder the Rhine crossings. Under command of the 1st Canadian Army and with additional divisions, it was responsible for the difficult advance through the Reichswald Forest that was the first phase of Operation Veritable in February 1945. The subsequent phases were renamed Operation Blockbuster . The terrain now allowed a two corps front, with XXX Corps taking
12091-428: Was killed soon afterwards, when the aircraft carrying him was shot down; he was replaced by Bernard Montgomery . At the end of August, Rommel again decided to attempt a breakthrough, this time at the southern end of the line in the Battle of Alam Halfa . While this was directed mainly at XIII Corps, XXX Corps was the subject of several diversionary raids. In September, Ramsden was replaced by Oliver Leese . XXX Corps
12204-634: Was later assigned control of the New Guinea campaign . In early 1945, when I Corps was assigned the task of re-taking Borneo , II Corps took over in New Guinea. Canada first fielded a corps-sized formation in the First World War; the Canadian Corps was unique in that its composition did not change from inception to the war's end, in contrast to British corps in France and Flanders. The Canadian Corps consisted of four Canadian divisions. After
12317-527: Was raised in 1914, consisting of Australian and New Zealand troops, who went on to fight at Gallipoli in 1915. In early 1916, the original corps was reorganized and two corps were raised: I ANZAC Corps and II ANZAC Corps . In the later stages of World War I, the five infantry divisions of the First Australian Imperial Force (AIF)—consisting entirely of personnel who had volunteered for service overseas—were united as
12430-415: Was reinforced at Alamein by the attachment of units from other Commonwealth armies (that had been attached to XIII Corps ), the 1st South African Infantry Division and the 9th Australian Infantry Division . The corps's other main unit was the British 23rd Armoured Brigade Group . In July 1942, XXX Corps again suffered many casualties, at the First Battle of El Alamein , although a major Axis offensive
12543-487: Was repelled. Willoughby Norrie was replaced as corps commander by William Ramsden . In August, the Prime Minister , Winston Churchill , dismissed Claude Auchinleck as commander-in-chief of Middle East Command and General Officer Commanding (GOC), Eighth Army. Auchinleck was replaced as Allied commander by Harold Alexander and as GOC, Eighth Army by William Gott (previously commander of XIII Corps). Gott
12656-449: Was to be the focus of Montgomery's first offensive, codenamed Operation Lightfoot . The 2nd New Zealand Division (previously XIII Corps), the 51st (Highland) Infantry Division and the 4th Indian Infantry Division , along with the 9th Armoured Brigade were added to the corps. On the night of 24/25 October, Lightfoot commenced with a prolonged and intense artillery bombardment, XXX Corps attacked and quickly suffered many casualties but
12769-413: Was used almost in all European armies after Battle of Ulm in 1805. In Prussia it was introduced by Order of His Majesty ( German : Allerhöchste Kabinetts-Order ) from 5 November 1816, in order to strengthen the readiness to war. The Indian Army has 14 corps , each commanded by a general officer commanding (GOC), known as the corps commander, who holds the rank of lieutenant general . Each corps
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