I Corps ("First Corps") was an

army 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 ...

in existence as an active formation in the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

for most of the 80 years from its creation in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

until the end of the Cold War, longer than any other corps. It had a short-lived precursor during the

Waterloo Campaign The Waterloo campaign (15 June – 8 July 1815) was fought between the French Army of the North (France), Army of the North and two Seventh Coalition armies, an Anglo-allied army and a Prussian army. Initially the French army was commanded by ...

Napoleonic precursor

Assembling an army in Belgium to fight Napoleon's resurgent forces in the spring of 1815, the

Duke of Wellington Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, (1 May 1769 – 14 September 1852) was an Anglo-Irish soldier and Tory statesman who was one of the leading military and political figures of 19th-century Britain, serving twice as prime minister of ...

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'. He placed I Corps under the command of the

Prince of Orange Prince of Orange (or Princess of Orange if the holder is female) is a title originally associated with the sovereign Principality of Orange, in what is now southern France and subsequently held by sovereigns in the Netherlands. The title ...

and it was this corps that was first contacted by the advancing French at

Quatre Bras Quatre Bras (, French for crossroads; literally "four arms") is a hamlet in the municipality of Genappe, Wallonia, Belgium. It lies on the crossroad of the Charleroi-Brussels road (currently named N5) and the Nivelles-Namur road south of Genappe ...

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.

Composition of I Corps in 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

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 Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian. Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colches ...

. 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 The Royal Norfolk Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army until 1959. Its predecessor regiment was raised in 1685 as Henry Cornwall's Regiment of Foot. In 1751, it was numbered like most other British Army regiments and named ...

(Kinsale), 28th Foot (Fermoy) ** Divisional Troops *** 2nd Bn. 12th Foot (Portsmouth), Buckinghamshire Yeomanry (Buckingham), 1st Company

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...

(Shorncliffe) ** Artillery *** F/1st Brigade

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

(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 The Hertfordshire Yeomanry was a Yeomanry Cavalry regiment of the British Army that could trace its formation to the late 18th century. First seeing mounted service in the Second Boer War and World War I, it subsequently converted to artillery. Th ...

(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 The 77th (East Middlesex) Regiment of Foot (The Duke of Cambridge's Own) was a line regiment of the British Army, raised in 1787. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 57th (West Middlesex) Regiment of Foot to form the Duke of Cam ...

(Dublin), 104th Foot (Belfast), 105th Foot (Newry) ** 2nd Brigade (Chatham) *** 2nd Bn.

5th Foot The Royal Northumberland Fusiliers was an infantry regiment of the British Army. Raised in 1674 as one of three 'English' units in the Scots_Brigade, Dutch Anglo-Scots Brigade, it accompanied William III of England, William III to England in the ...

(Chatham), 31st Foot (Chatham), 86th Foot (Chatham) ** Divisional Troops *** 87th Foot (Limerick),

West Kent Yeomanry The Queen's Own West Kent Yeomanry was a British Army regiment formed in 1794. It served in the Second Boer War and the First World War. It amalgamated with the Royal East Kent (The Duke of Connaught's Own) Yeomanry (Mounted Rifles) to form the ...

(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 The 4th Queen's Own Hussars was a cavalry regiment in the British Army, first raised in 1685. It saw service for three centuries, including the First World War and the Second World War. It amalgamated with the 8th King's Royal Irish Hussars, to f ...

(Shorncliffe), Suffolk Yeomanry (Bury St Edmunds), F Battery C Brigade

Royal Horse Artillery The Royal Horse Artillery (RHA) was formed in 1793 as a distinct arm of the Royal Regiment of Artillery (commonly termed Royal Artillery) to provide horse artillery support to the cavalry units of the British Army. (Although the cavalry link ...

(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. The Stanhope Memorandum of 1891 (drawn up by

Edward Stanhope Edward Stanhope PC (24 September 1840 – 21 December 1893) was a British Conservative Party politician who was Secretary of State for War from 1887 to 1892. Background and education Born in London, Stanhope was the second son of Philip Sta ...

when

Secretary of State for War The Secretary of State for War, commonly called War Secretary, was a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, which existed from 1794 to 1801 and from 1854 to 1964. The Secretary of State for War headed the War Office and ...

) 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. 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', and was placed under the command of Gen Sir

Redvers Buller General Sir Redvers Henry Buller, (7 December 1839 – 2 June 1908) was a British Army officer and a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forc ...

, 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 Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * Second#Sexagesimal divisions of calendar time and day, 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute'' Places * 3rd Street (d ...

) were widely dispersed. The 1901 Army Estimates introduced by

St John Brodrick William St John Fremantle Brodrick, 1st Earl of Midleton, KP, PC, DL (14 December 185613 February 1942), styled as St John Brodrick until 1907 and as Viscount Midleton between 1907 and 1920, was a British Conservative and Irish Unionist Alli ...

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. 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: * 1st Division ** 1st Brigade (Guards) (Marlborough Lines) ** 2nd Infantry Brigade (HQ Blackdown) ** One squadron of cavalry, two brigade divisions

Royal Field Artillery The Royal Field Artillery (RFA) of the British Army provided close artillery support for the infantry. It came into being when created as a distinct arm of the Royal Regiment of Artillery on 1 July 1899, serving alongside the other two arms of t ...

, an ammunition column, a field company

, 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

, an ammunition column, a field company

, 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

, an ammunition column, a field company

, 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. Finally, the

Haldane Reforms The Haldane Reforms were a series of far-ranging reforms of the British Army made from 1906 to 1912, and named after the Secretary of State for War, Richard Burdon Haldane. They were the first major reforms since the " Childers Reforms" of the ...

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.

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. 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. Sir

Douglas Haig Field marshal (United Kingdom), Field Marshal Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig, (; 19 June 1861 – 29 January 1928) was a senior Officer (armed forces), officer of the British Army. During the First World War, he commanded the British Expeditionar ...

, 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 A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

, then saw hard fighting at the Battle of the Aisne and

First Battle of Ypres The First Battle of Ypres (french: Première Bataille des Flandres; german: Erste Flandernschlacht – was a battle of the First World War, fought on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front around Ypres, in West Flanders, Belgium. Th ...

in 1914, at the

Battle of Aubers Ridge The Battle of Aubers (Battle of Aubers Ridge) was a British offensive on the Western Front on 9 May 1915 during the First World War. The battle was part of the British contribution to the Second Battle of Artois, a Franco-British offensive in ...

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 General Officer Commanding:

Lieut-Gen Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and main ...

Sir

Brigadier-General Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

, General Staff (BGGS): J.E. Gough VC * Brigadier-General,

: H.S. Horne *

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

: Brig-Gen

Spring R. Rice Major General Sir Spring Robert Rice (11 July 1858 – 11 August 1929) was a British Army general who was on the staff of the British Expeditionary Force during the First World War. Biography He entered the Royal Engineers in 1877, and was pr ...

* 1st Division * 2nd Division * Army Troops attached (20 August 1914) ** 1st Army HQ Signal Company,

*** D (Air Line) Section *** G, K & L (Cable) Sections ** No 2 Section, 1st Printing Company, Royal Engineers ** No 1 Bridging Train, Royal Engineers ** B Squadron,

North Irish Horse The North Irish Horse was a yeomanry unit of the British Territorial Army raised in the northern counties of Ireland in the aftermath of the Second Boer War. Raised and patronised by the nobility from its inception to the present day, it was o ...

** Company, 1st Bn Cameron Highlanders ** B & C Sections, No 19 Field Ambulance,

RAMC The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) is a specialist corps in the British Army which provides medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. The RAMC, the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, the Royal Army Dental Corps a ...

By the time of the battles of

Aubers Ridge The Battle of Aubers (Battle of Aubers Ridge) was a British offensive on the Western Front on 9 May 1915 during the First World War. The battle was part of the British contribution to the Second Battle of Artois, a Franco-British offensive int ...

and

Festubert Festubert is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France. The village was on the Western Front during the First World War and was largely destroyed in the May 1915 Battle of Festubert. Geography A farming v ...

(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 The 1st Canadian Division (French: ''1re Division du Canada'' ) is a joint operational command and control formation based at CFB Kingston, and falls under Canadian Joint Operations Command. It is a high-readiness unit, able to move on very short ...

. 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. From May 1916 to August 1917,

I Corps Cavalry Regiment The South Irish Horse was a Special Reserve cavalry regiment of the British Army. Formed as an Imperial Yeomanry regiment in 1902 as the South of Ireland Imperial Yeomanry, it perpetuated a unit formed during the Second Boer War. It transferred t ...

was provided by the 1st South Irish Horse. On 25 September 1918, for the final battles, I Corps was transferred from First Army to Sir William Birdwood's Fifth Army. Order of Battle during the final advance in Artois 2 October-11 November 1918 General Officer Commanding:

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 * 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). *

** 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 *** 5 and 85 (Motor) Airline Sections *** K and AN Cable Sections

Second World War

Battle of France

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 ...

, 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 , native_name_lang = de , region1 = , pop1 = 72,650,269 , region2 = , pop2 = 534,000 , region3 = , pop3 = 157,000 3,322,405 , region4 = , pop4 = ...

broke through Allied lines in the

Battle of France The Battle of France (french: bataille de France) (10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign ('), the French Campaign (german: Frankreichfeldzug, ) and the Fall of France, was the Nazi Germany, German invasion of French Third Rep ...

in May 1940, the BEF was forced to retreat to

Dunkirk Dunkirk (french: Dunkerque ; vls, label=French Flemish, Duunkerke; nl, Duinkerke(n) ; , ;) is a commune in the department of Nord in northern France.evacuation to England. The Commander-in-Chief (C-in-C) of the BEF, General

Lord Gort Field Marshal John Standish Surtees Prendergast Vereker, 6th Viscount Gort, (10 July 1886 – 31 March 1946) was a senior British Army officer. As a young officer during the First World War, he was decorated with the Victoria Cross for his acti ...

, 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 Harold Rupert Leofric George Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis, (10 December 1891 – 16 June 1969) was a senior British Army officer who served with distinction in both the First and the Second World War and, afterwards, as Governor G ...

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'.

Composition of I Corps in the Battle of France

The order of battle was as follows:
General Officer Commanding: Lieutenant General M.G.H. Barker * 1st Infantry Division * 2nd Infantry Division * 48th (South Midland) Infantry Division *

** 27th Army Field Regiment (21/24 & 37/47 Batteries) ** 140th (5th London) Army Field Regiment (366 (10th London) & 367 (11th London) Batteries) ** 3rd Medium Regiment (2/11 & 6/10 Batteries) ** 5th Medium Regiment (15/17 & 20/21 Batteries) ** 52nd (East Lancashire) Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment (154, 155 & 156 Batteries) ** 2nd Light Anti-Aircraft Battery ** 1st Survey Regiment * 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 The Cheshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Prince of Wales' Division. The 22nd Regiment of Foot was raised by the Duke of Norfolk in 1689 and was able to boast an independent existence of over 300 years. T ...

** 4th Battalion, Cheshire Regiment ** 2nd Battalion,

Manchester Regiment The Manchester Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1958. The regiment was created during the 1881 Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 63rd (West Suffolk) Regiment of Foot and the 96th ...

North-West Europe

After returning to England I Corps then remained in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, based at

Hickleton Hall Hickleton Hall is a Grade II* listed Georgian stately home in Hickleton, South Yorkshire, England, about west of Doncaster. For more than 50 years (until 2012) it was a Sue Ryder Care home. It was being converted to luxury apartments, and is no ...

South Yorkshire South Yorkshire is a ceremonial and metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. The county has four council areas which are the cities of Doncaster and Sheffield as well as the boroughs of Barnsley and Rotherham. In N ...

within Northern Command on anti-invasion duties, preparing defences to repel a German invasion of the United Kingdom. Lieutenant General J T Crocker, Cb, Cbe, Dso, Mc, Commander of 1st Corps, France, August 1944 TR2167

Lieutenant General J T Crocker, Cb, Cbe, Dso, Mc, Commander of 1st Corps, France, August 1944 TR2167

I Corps, now commanded by Lieutenant General

John Crocker General Sir John Tredinnick Crocker, (4 January 1896 – 9 March 1963) was a senior British Army officer who fought in both world wars. He served as both a private soldier and a junior officer in the First World War, and as a distinguished br ...

, then took part in the

Normandy landings The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...

on 6 June 1944 where, along with XXX Corps, under Lieutenant General

Gerard Bucknall Lieutenant General Gerard Corfield Bucknall, (14 September 1894 – 7 December 1980) was a senior British Army officer who served in both the First and Second World Wars. He is most notable for being the commander of XXX Corps during the Norman ...

(who had commanded I Corps between April and August 1943), it was a spearhead corps of Lieutenant General

Miles Dempsey General Sir Miles Christopher Dempsey, (15 December 1896 – 5 June 1969) was a senior British Army officer who served in both world wars. During the Second World War he commanded the Second Army in north west Europe. A highly professional an ...

British Second Army The British Second Army was a field army active during the First and Second World Wars. During the First World War the army was active on the Western Front throughout most of the war and later active in Italy. During the Second World War the army ...

, itself part of the

21st Army Group The 21st Army Group was a British headquarters formation formed during the Second World War. It controlled two field armies and other supporting units, consisting primarily of the British Second Army and the First Canadian Army. Established in ...

. The corps was then involved in the

Battle of Normandy Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 (D-Day) with the Norm ...

in fierce attritional fighting for control of the Normandy beachhead. After fighting for two months in the

Battle for Caen The Battle for Caen (June to August 1944) is the name given to fighting between the British Second Army and the German in the Second World War for control of the city of Caen and its vicinity during the larger Battle of Normandy. The battle ...

, I Corps was subordinated on 1 August 1944 to the

Canadian First Army The First Canadian Army (french: 1reArmée canadienne) was a field army and a formation of the Canadian Army in World War II in which most Canadian elements serving in North-West Europe were assigned. It served on the Western Front from July 1944 ...

, commanded by

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

Harry Crerar General Henry Duncan Graham Crerar (28 April 1888 – 1 April 1965) was a senior officer of the Canadian Army who became the country's senior field commander in the Second World War as commander of the First Canadian Army in the campaign in N ...

, for the remainder of the Normandy campaign and the subsequent operations in the

Low Countries The term Low Countries, also known as the Low Lands ( nl, de Lage Landen, french: les Pays-Bas, lb, déi Niddereg Lännereien) and historically called the Netherlands ( nl, de Nederlanden), Flanders, or Belgica, is a coastal lowland region in N ...

. During

Operation Pheasant Operation Pheasant, also known as the Liberation of North Brabant, was a major operation to clear German troops from the province of North Brabant in the Netherlands during the fighting on the Western Front in the Second World War. This offensiv ...

, I Corps was unique in that it fielded multi national divisionsm -

Polish 1st Armoured Division The Polish 1st Armoured Division (Polish ''1 Dywizja Pancerna'') was an armoured division of the Polish Armed Forces in the West during World War II. Created in February 1942 at Duns in Scotland, it was commanded by Major General Stanisław Macze ...

, the

Canadian 4th Armoured Division The 4th Canadian Division is a formation of the Canadian Army. The division was first created as a formation of the Canadian Corps during the First World War. During the Second World War the division was reactivated as the 4th Canadian Infant ...

the British 49th ''Polar Bears'' Division and the US 104th ''Timberwolf'' Division. After the

Battle of the Scheldt The Battle of the Scheldt in World War II was a series of military operations led by the First Canadian Army, with Polish and British units attached, to open up the shipping route to Antwerp so that its port could be used to supply the Alli ...

I Corps Headquarters then took over administration of the 21st Army Group's logistics area around the port of

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

until the end of the war.

Composition of I Corps in NW Europe Campaign

General Officer Commanding:

Lieutenant-General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

* Corps troops: **

Inns of Court Regiment The Inns of Court Regiment (ICR) was a British Army regiment that existed under that name between May 1932 and May 1961. However, the unit traces its lineage back much further, to at least 1584, and its name lives on today within 68 (Inns of Cour ...

Royal Armoured Corps The Royal Armoured Corps is the component of the British Army, that together with the Household Cavalry provides its armour capability, with vehicles such as the Challenger 2 Tank and the Scimitar Reconnaissance Vehicle. It includes most of the A ...

(armoured cars) **

62nd (6th London) Anti-Tank Regiment, Royal Artillery The 6th County of London Brigade, Royal Field Artillery was a new unit formed when Britain's Territorial Force was created in 1908. Its origin lay in Artillery Volunteer Corps formed in the Surrey suburbs of South London in the 1860s, which had l ...

** 102nd Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery ** 9th Survey Regiment, RA ** I Corps Troops, Royal Engineers ** I Corps Signals,

Royal Corps of Signals The Royal Corps of Signals (often simply known as the Royal Signals – abbreviated to R SIGNALS or R SIGS) is one of the combat support arms of the British Army. Signals units are among the first into action, providing the battlefield communi ...

Attached: * 4th Army Group, Royal Artillery ** 150th (South Nottinghamshire Hussars) Regiment, Royal Horse Artillery (suspended animation January 1945) ** 53rd (London) Medium Regiment, RA (209 & 210 (London) Batteries) ** 65th (Highland) Medium Regiment, RA (222 (Fraserburgh) & 223 (Banffshire) Batteries) ** 68th Medium Regiment, RA (233 & 234 Batteries) ** 79th (Scottish Horse Yeomanry) Medium Regiment, RA ** 51st (Lowland) Heavy Regiment, RA Assignments of corps to armies, and divisions to corps, changed frequently during the campaign: As of 6 June 1944 * British 3rd Infantry Division * 3rd Canadian Infantry Division *

6th Airborne Division The 6th Airborne Division was an airborne infantry division of the British Army during the Second World War. Despite its name, the 6th was actually the second of two airborne divisions raised by the British Army during the war, the other being t ...

As of 7 July 1944 * British 3rd Infantry Division * 3rd Canadian Infantry Division * 51st (Highland) Infantry Division * 59th (Staffordshire) Infantry Division *

As of 1 August 1944 (now part of First Canadian Army) * 51st (Highland) Infantry Division *

(returned to United Kingdom 3 September 1944) * 49th (West Riding) Infantry Division * 7th Armoured Division

British Army of the Rhine

After the defeat of Germany, the 21st Army Group became the

British Army of the Rhine There have been two formations named British Army of the Rhine (BAOR). Both were originally occupation forces in Germany, one after the First World War and the other after the Second World War. Both formations had areas of responsibility located a ...

(BAOR), and 1 Corps, under the command of

Ivor Thomas, was transformed into a corps district, with an administrative, rather than combat, role. It was disbanded in 1947.The British Army in Germany: An Organizational History 1947-2004 By Graham Watson, Richard A. Rinaldi, Page 11
Tiger Lily, 2005, However, in October 1951 the corps was reactivated to become the principal combat element of the BAOR, with its HQ based in

Bielefeld Bielefeld () is a city in the Ostwestfalen-Lippe Region in the north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population of 341,755, it is also the most populous city in the administrative region (''Regierungsbezirk'') of Detmold and the ...

. 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 Division Included as part of this was

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

'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. 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. During the 1970s, 4th Division consisted of two "square" brigades. With the end of

National Service National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939. The ...

, 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 Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. It ...

Herford Herford (; nds, Hiarwede) is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, located in the lowlands between the hill chains of the Wiehen Hills and the Teutoburg Forest. It is the capital of the district of Herford (district), Herford. Geography ...

. * 5th Field Force 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. * 1st Armoured Division **

7th Armoured Brigade 7 (seven) is the natural number following 6 and preceding 8. It is the only prime number preceding a cube. As an early prime number in the series of positive integers, the number seven has greatly symbolic associations in religion, mythology, s ...

** 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) : I British Corps - 1989

With the end of the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

, 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 The Allied Rapid Reaction Corps (ARRC) is a North Atlantic Treaty Organization High Readiness Force (Land) Headquarters ready for deployment worldwide. History The ARRC was created on 1 October 1992 in Bielefeld based on the former I (Britis ...

(HQ ARRC), a newly instated multi-national NATO Rapid Reaction Corps HQ. The Corps Commander reported to the Supreme Allied Commander Europe

SACEUR The Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) is the commander of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO) Allied Command Operations (ACO) and head of ACO's headquarters, Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE). The commander is ...

, 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 Rheindahlen (called ''Dalen'' from the Early Middle Ages to the Early Modern Period around 1700, and ''Dahlen'' until 1878) is a town in the western and largest borough of the city of Mönchengladbach in the German state of North Rhine-Westphali ...

in 1994.

General Officers Commanding

Commanders have included: * 1815 General The Prince of Orange ''From 1901 to 1905 the commander of the troops at Aldershot was also commander 1st Army Corps'' * 1 October 1901: General

Sir Redvers Buller General (United Kingdom), General Sir Redvers Henry Buller, (7 December 1839 – 2 June 1908) was a British Army officer and a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to Bri ...

* 25 October 1901: Lieutenant-General Sir Henry Hildyard, temporary * 15 September 1902: Lieutenant-General

Sir John French Field Marshal John Denton Pinkstone French, 1st Earl of Ypres, (28 September 1852 – 22 May 1925), known as Sir John French from 1901 to 1916, and as The Viscount French between 1916 and 1922, was a senior British Army officer. Born in Kent t ...

* 1914 Lieutenant-General

Sir Douglas Haig Field Marshal Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig, (; 19 June 1861 – 29 January 1928) was a senior officer of the British Army. During the First World War, he commanded the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) on the Western Front from late 1915 until ...

* 1914–1915 Lieutenant-General

Sir Charles Monro General Sir Charles Carmichael Monro, 1st Baronet, (15 June 1860 – 7 December 1929) was a British Army General in the First World War. He held the post of Commander-in-Chief, India in 1916–1920. From 1923 to 1929 he was the Governor of Gibr ...

* 1915–1916 Lieutenant-General Sir Hubert Gough * 1916 Lieutenant General

Charles Kavanagh Lieutenant General Sir Charles Toler MacMorrough Kavanagh, (25 March 1864 – 11 October 1950) was a British Army officer who commanded the Cavalry Corps at the Battle of Amiens. Military career Born the son of Arthur MacMorrough Kavanagh, ...

* 1916 Major-General

Havelock Hudson General Sir Havelock Hudson, (22 June 1862 – 25 December 1944) was a British Indian Army officer who was General Officer Commanding 8th Division during World War I. Military career Hudson was commissioned into the Northamptonshire Re ...

* 1916 Lieutenant-General Sir Charles Anderson * 1917 Major-General

John Capper Major-General Sir John Edward Capper (7 December 1861 − 24 May 1955) was a senior officer of the British Army during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century who served on the North-West Frontier of British India, in South Africa and ...

* 1917–1918 Lieutenant-General Arthur Holland * 1918 Major-General Sir Hugh Jeudwine * 1918 Lieutenant-General Sir Arthur Holland ''Note: 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

* 1940–1941 Lieutenant-General Laurence Carr * 1941–1942 Lieutenant-General Henry Willcox * 1942–1943 Lieutenant-General Frederick Morgan * Apr-Aug 1943 Lieutenant-General

* 1943–1945 Lieutenant-General

* 1945 Lieutenant-General

Sidney Kirkman General Sir Sidney Chevalier Kirkman, (29 July 1895 – 29 October 1982) was a British Army officer, who served in both the First World War and Second World War. During the latter he commanded the artillery of the Eighth Army during the Second B ...

* 1945–1947 Lieutenant-General Ivor Thomas ''Note: I Corps was disbanded in June 1947 and reformed in late 1951'' * 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 Mackenzie

Notes

References

* * 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) (). * Hofschroer, Peter, ''1815: The Waterloo Campaign: The German Victory'', London: Greenhill Books (1999) (). * 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. * * 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). * * 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) (). * 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) (). * 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, . * Williams, Mary H., (compiler), "U. S. Army in World War II, Chronology 1941-1945", Washington D.C.:

Government Printing Office The United States Government Publishing Office (USGPO or GPO; formerly the United States Government Printing Office) is an agency of the legislative branch of the United States Federal government. The office produces and distributes information ...

(1958).

External sources

''The Long Long Trail''

''Official History 1939-40''

British Army Locations from 1945

{{DEFAULTSORT:01 Corps British field corps Corps of the British Army in World War I Corps of the British Army in World War II Military units and formations disestablished in 1992