II Corps was an
Australian Army
The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army (Austral ...
corps
Corps (; plural ''corps'' ; from French , from the Latin "body") is a term used for several different kinds of organization. A military innovation by Napoleon I, the formation was first named as such in 1805. The size of a corps varies great ...
, one of three that were raised by the Army during the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. Formed in mid-1942 as part of defensive measures to protect the eastern coast of Australia from invasion, the corps was initially composed mainly of home defence troops drawn from the
Militia
A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...
. For a brief period in 1942, a US infantry division was also assigned to the corps prior to its dispatch to fight the Japanese in
New Guinea
New Guinea (; Hiri Motu
Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea).
It is a simplified version of ...
.
After the threat of invasion passed, the corps took more of an operational role and from late 1943 until the end of the war it commanded a mix of
Second Australian Imperial Force
The Second Australian Imperial Force (2nd AIF, or Second AIF) was the name given to the volunteer expeditionary force of the Australian Army in the Second World War. It was formed following the declaration of war on Nazi Germany, with an initia ...
and Militia units in action against the Japanese in New Guinea and on
Bougainville. Following the conclusion of hostilities, the corps headquarters was disbanded in September 1945, and its constituent units transferred to the
3rd Infantry Division.
History
II Corps headquarters was established at
Parramatta, New South Wales
Parramatta () is a suburb and major Central business district, commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney, located in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district on the ban ...
, in mid-April 1942 from the previously existing Eastern Command (formerly the
2nd Military District) to command Australian Army units deployed to protect the strategically and economically important
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
–
Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to:
*Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England
*Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England
*Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...
–
Port Kembla
A port is a maritime law, maritime facility comprising one or more Wharf, wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge Affreightment, cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can a ...
region against a potential invasion. Upon establishment, the corps was assigned to the
First Army and was commanded by Lieutenant General
John Northcott
Lieutenant General Sir John Northcott (24 March 1890 – 4 August 1966) was an Australian Army general who served as Chief of the General Staff during the Second World War, and commanded the British Commonwealth Occupation Force in the Occupa ...
. It was one of three corps raised by the Army during the war. At the outset, the corps consisted of several
Militia
A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...
formations, including the
1st Infantry Division,
Newcastle Covering Force
The Newcastle Covering Force was an Australian militia force responsible for protecting the strategically important Newcastle region in New South Wales and its approaches during World War II. Established on 8 April 1941, the formation's composit ...
, the
1st Cavalry Division and the
2nd Infantry Division.
![Australian military districts Oct 1939](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Australian_military_districts_Oct_1939.jpg)
However, throughout the corps' existence, its composition changed many times. The first change came a couple months after its formation when, in July, the 2nd Infantry Division was transferred to Western Australia, to join
III Corps, and II Corps headquarters moved north to Queensland. Initially, it had been planned to move to
Gayndah
Gayndah is a town and locality in the North Burnett Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , Gayndah had a population of 1,981 people. It is the administrative centre for the North Burnett Region.
Geography
Gayndah is on the Burnett River and ...
, but the dispatch of the Australian
I Corps I Corps, 1st Corps, or First Corps may refer to:
France
* 1st Army Corps (France)
* I Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars
* I Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French A ...
and the
7th Infantry Division to
New Guinea
New Guinea (; Hiri Motu
Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea).
It is a simplified version of ...
resulted in II Corps headquarters being sent to
Esk instead. At this time, the corps gained control of the Australian
3rd Infantry Division and the US
32nd Infantry Division, which were positioned astride the state capital of
Brisbane
Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...
.
There was a change in command in August–September 1942, when Lieutenant General
Edmund Herring
Lieutenant general (Australia), Lieutenant General Sir Edmund Francis Herring, (2 September 1892 – 5 January 1982) was a senior Australian Army officer during the Second World War, Lieutenant Governor of Victoria (Australi ...
took over from Northcott as part of a restructuring of the Army. Further changes occurred over the next few months. As the fighting in New Guinea escalated, the 32nd Infantry Division was deployed to the combat zone and II Corps was reduced to only the Australian 3rd Infantry Division and a large number of support troops, including those that had been left behind by I Corps.
The headquarters moved to
Mount Mee, Queensland
Mount Mee is a rural town and locality in the Moreton Bay Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , Mount Mee had a population of 484 people.
Geography
Mount Mee (also known as Bonnie Knob) is a mountain, located north of the town of Dayboro, in ...
, in December 1942, but this was only short-lived as another move took place the following month, which saw II Corps move to
Barrine, Queensland, on the
Atherton Tablelands
The Atherton Tableland is a fertile plateau which is part of the Great Dividing Range in Queensland, Australia.
The principal river flowing across the plateau is the Barron River. It was dammed to form an irrigation reservoir named Lake Tinar ...
. The area had been selected as the location of a large concentration area for Australian troops to rest and prepare for jungle warfare prior to further offensives, and II Corps was given responsibility for the base area and training programs. Throughout the first half of 1943, all three of the remaining
Second Australian Imperial Force
The Second Australian Imperial Force (2nd AIF, or Second AIF) was the name given to the volunteer expeditionary force of the Australian Army in the Second World War. It was formed following the declaration of war on Nazi Germany, with an initia ...
infantry divisions moved through the area, with the 7th Infantry Division concentrating around
Ravenshoe in February, followed by the
6th and
9th Infantry Division a month later at
Wondecla and
Kairi respectively.
In the second half of 1943, the Army was reorganised just before the operations to
secure Lae. The 7th Infantry Division was sent to
Port Moresby
(; Tok Pisin: ''Pot Mosbi''), also referred to as Pom City or simply Moresby, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea. It is one of the largest cities in the southwestern Pacific (along with Jayapura) outside of Australia and New Z ...
in July and the 9th Infantry Division went to
Milne Bay. By August 1943, II Corps was under the command of Lieutenant General
Leslie Morshead
Lieutenant General Sir Leslie James Morshead, (18 September 1889 – 26 September 1959) was an Australian soldier, teacher, businessman, and farmer, whose military career spanned both world wars. During the Second World War, he led the Aust ...
, with its headquarters at Barinne, with the 6th Division (consisting of the
16th
16 (sixteen) is the natural number following 15 and preceding 17. 16 is a composite number, and a square number, being 42 = 4 × 4. It is the smallest number with exactly five divisors, its proper divisors being , , and .
In English speech, ...
and
19th Infantry Brigades), and the
2/7th Cavalry Commando Regiment under its control. Two months later, the corps was committed to an operational role in New Guinea. At this time, the corps headquarters was deployed to
Dobodura
''Dobodura'' is a genus of beetles in the family Carabidae
Ground beetles are a large, cosmopolitan family of beetles, the Carabidae, with more than 40,000 species worldwide, around 2,000 of which are found in North America and 2,700 in Europe. ...
where it took over from I Corps, and given control of a wide area and a number of divisions, including several in combat: the 7th Infantry Division, which was
advancing through the Markham and Ramu Valleys, the 9th Infantry Division on the
securing the Huon Peninsula, as well as the Militia
5th and
11th Infantry Divisions, which were undertaking garrison duties in Lae and
Buna.
![27 Battalion mortar team training December 1944](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3b/27_Battalion_mortar_team_training_December_1944.jpg)
In November 1943, Lieutenant General
Frank Berryman took over command from Morshead. The politics of this promotion – and the non promotion of the 7th Division's commander, Major General
George Vasey, meant that the 7th Division was removed from II Corps and became a direct reporting until under
New Guinea Force
New Guinea Force was a military command unit for Australian, United States and native troops from the Territories of Papua and New Guinea serving in the New Guinea campaign during World War II. Formed in April 1942, when the Australian First Arm ...
. Meanwhile, advanced elements of II Corps headquarters moved from Finschhafen, leaving a rear detachment behind at Dobodura. After the
Sio was secured, the 9th Infantry Division was withdrawn to Australia for rest in February 1944, while the 5th Infantry Division replaced them around Finschhafen. In April,
Madang was captured, effectively bringing large scale combat operations to a close temporarily for Australian forces in New Guinea, and allowing a reorganisation. At this time, the 11th Infantry Division moved from Buna via Lae to relieve the 7th Infantry Division in the Markham and Ramu Valleys.
The same month, the headquarters staff of II Corps were relieved by those from I Corps, with Lieutenant General
Stanley Savige
Lieutenant General Sir Stanley George Savige, (26 June 1890 – 15 May 1954) was an Australian Army soldier and officer who served in the First World War and Second World War.
In March 1915, after the outbreak of the First World War, Savi ...
arriving from the Atherton Tablelands to assume command. It was a swap of personnel only, with the deployed corps keeping the designation of II Corps. Nevertheless, in May, II Corps headquarters was redesignated as Headquarters New Guinea force when the previous New Guinea Force was disbanded; based in Lae, the formation' main elements were in Madang (5th Infantry Division), and Lae (11th Infantry Division), and the 3rd Infantry Division in the process of arriving.
![AWM 092041 Matilda tanks advance on Hongorai River 1945](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/19/AWM_092041_Matilda_tanks_advance_on_Hongorai_River_1945.jpg)
The final months of 1944 saw the Australians assume responsibility for several rear areas in New Guinea and elsewhere, to relieve US troops and free them up for further offensives in the Philippines. A reorganisation followed as preparations were made for deployments to
Bougainville,
New Britain
New Britain ( tpi, Niu Briten) is the largest island in the Bismarck Archipelago, part of the Islands Region of Papua New Guinea. It is separated from New Guinea by a northwest corner of the Solomon Sea (or with an island hop of Umboi the Dam ...
and western New Guinea. The headquarters of the First Australian Army was established at Lae with a view to assuming control of all Australian forces in New Guinea. Consequently, the 5th Division became a direct command unit of the First Army for its deployment to New Britain, and Headquarters New Guinea force was redesignated as II Corps in September. II Corps subsequently moved to
Torokina, on Bougainville, in November to take over from the US
XIV Corps 14 Corps, 14th Corps, Fourteenth Corps, or XIV Corps may refer to:
* XIV Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars
* XIV Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial German Army prior to and during World ...
, and to direct the operations of the 3rd Division (consisting of the
7th
7 (seven) is the natural number following 6 and preceding 8. It is the only prime number preceding a cube (algebra), cube.
As an early prime number in the series of positive integers, the number seven has greatly symbolic associations in religion ...
,
15th and
29th Infantry Brigades), as well as two other brigades – 11th and 23rd, with the later initially detailed to defend the Outer Islands (
Green
Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 Nanometre, nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by ...
,
Emirau
Emirau Island, also called Emira, is an island in the Bismarck Archipelago located at . It is currently part of the New Ireland Province of Papua New Guinea. The local language is a dialect of the Mussau-Emira language. Emira is part of what on ...
, and the
Treasury Islands
Treasury Islands () are a small group of islands a few kilometres to the south of Bougainville and from the Shortland Islands. They form part of the Western Province of the country of Solomon Islands. The two largest islands in the Treasuries ...
, and
Munda, on
New Georgia
New Georgia, with an area of , is the largest of the islands in Western Province, Solomon Islands, and the 200th-largest island in the world.
Geography
New Georgia island is located in the New Georgia Group, an archipelago including most ...
). While the US troops had largely remained in the perimeter that had been established around Torokina, the Australians began offensive operations, to advance south towards the main Japanese base in Buin, to secure Numa Numa in the centre of the island, and push north towards Buka. When the fighting came to an end in mid-August 1945, the Australians were just short of their objective in the south and had made gains in the other two sectors.
Following the cessation of hostilities, II Corps staff took the surrender of Lieutenant General
Masatane Kanda
, was a lieutenant general in the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II.
Biography
A native of Aichi Prefecture, Kanda graduated from the 23rd class of the Imperial Japanese Army Academy in 1911 and was assigned to the Kwantung Army and bas ...
's
Seventeenth Army on Bougainville, and implemented the terms of surrender throughout August and September. As preparations were made for the post-war draw down of Australia's military, the 23rd Brigade was chosen to remain on Bougainville as a garrison force. On 23 September, the corps commander, Savige, relinquished command to assume the role of Director of Demobilisation and Repatriation in Melbourne. In his stead, Major General
William Bridgeford
Lieutenant General Sir William Bridgeford, (28 July 1894 – 21 September 1971) was a senior officer in the Australian Army. He began his military career in 1913 and fought on the Western Front during the First World War, before rising to ...
assumed administrative command. The following day, 24 September, II Corps headquarters closed. The formation's constituent units were then transferred to the direct command of the 3rd Infantry Division.
In the post war period, no corps-level formations have been raised by the Australian Army.
Order of battle
Upon establishment, the following formations assigned to II Corps:
*
1st Infantry Division
*
Newcastle Covering Force
The Newcastle Covering Force was an Australian militia force responsible for protecting the strategically important Newcastle region in New South Wales and its approaches during World War II. Established on 8 April 1941, the formation's composit ...
*
1st Cavalry Division
*
2nd Infantry Division
In the final stages of the war, the following formations were assigned to II Corps:
*
3rd Infantry Division
**
7th Infantry Brigade
**
15th Infantry Brigade
**
29th Infantry Brigade
*
11th Infantry Brigade
*
23rd Infantry Brigade
* 317th Light Aid Detachment (Australia)
Commanders
The following officers commanded II Corps during the war:
* Lieutenant General
John Northcott
Lieutenant General Sir John Northcott (24 March 1890 – 4 August 1966) was an Australian Army general who served as Chief of the General Staff during the Second World War, and commanded the British Commonwealth Occupation Force in the Occupa ...
* Lieutenant General
Edmund Herring
Lieutenant general (Australia), Lieutenant General Sir Edmund Francis Herring, (2 September 1892 – 5 January 1982) was a senior Australian Army officer during the Second World War, Lieutenant Governor of Victoria (Australi ...
* Lieutenant General
Leslie Morshead
Lieutenant General Sir Leslie James Morshead, (18 September 1889 – 26 September 1959) was an Australian soldier, teacher, businessman, and farmer, whose military career spanned both world wars. During the Second World War, he led the Aust ...
* Lieutenant General
Frank Berryman
* Lieutenant General
Stanley Savige
Lieutenant General Sir Stanley George Savige, (26 June 1890 – 15 May 1954) was an Australian Army soldier and officer who served in the First World War and Second World War.
In March 1915, after the outbreak of the First World War, Savi ...
Citations
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:II Corps (Australia)
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Military units and formations established in 1942
Military units and formations disestablished in 1945