The British XXII Corps was a British

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...

corps during

World War I 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 ...

History

British XXII Corps was formed in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

in December 1917, from what was left of II ANZAC, once the Australian divisions had left to form the

Australian Corps The Australian Corps was a World War I army corps that contained all five Australian infantry divisions serving on the Western Front. It was the largest corps fielded by the British Empire in France. At its peak the Australian Corps numbered 1 ...

. In July 1918, significantly reconstituted as an inter-Allied reserve corps, by the addition of four first-line British Army divisions, the 15th (Scottish) Division, the 34th Division, the

51st (Highland) Division The 51st (Highland) Division was an infantry division of the British Army that fought on the Western Front in France during the First World War from 1915 to 1918. The division was raised in 1908, upon the creation of the Territorial Force, as ...

and the 62nd (West Riding) Division. It was placed under French command in July 1918 prior to the German ''"Friedensturm"'' (Peace Offensive). The Corps played an important role in the "pinching-off" of the Soissons–Rheims salient (which had been established by the German ''"Bluecher"'' Offensive in late May 1918) in the

Second Battle of the Marne The Second Battle of the Marne (french: Seconde Bataille de la Marne) (15 July – 18 July 1918) was the last major German offensive on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front during the World War I, First World War. The attack failed wh ...

. Two divisions (15th, 34th) went into action with the French Tenth Army (Mangin) against the Soissons "hinge", two (51st, 62nd) in the Ardre valley with the French Fifth Army ( Berthelot) against the Rheims "hinge". XXII Corps was returned to Haig’s command in early August 1918 to help him bring forward the start date for the

Amiens Amiens (English: or ; ; pcd, Anmien, or ) is a city and commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme department in the region of Hauts-de-France. In 2021, the population of ...

offensive.

General Officers Commanding

Commanders included: * 8 March 1916– 27 August 1918 Lieutenant-General Sir Alexander GodleyLiddell Hart Centre for Military Archives
/ref> * 27 August – 12 September 1918 Lieutenant-General Sir Walter Braithwaite (temporary) * 12 September 1918 – March 1919 Lieutenant-General Sir Alexander Godley

Books

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:22 Corps British field corps Corps of the British Army in World War I