The 19th Army Corps ( 19e Corps d'Armée) was a corps of the French army. In December 1870, the Tours delegation created the 19th Army Corps which was formed in

Alençon Alençon (, , ; nrf, Alençoun) is a commune in Normandy, France, capital of the Orne department. It is situated west of Paris. Alençon belongs to the intercommunality of Alençon (with 52,000 people). History The name of Alençon is fi ...

. It was recreated by decree of the JO of August 13, 1874, it brought together the various military units of Algeria. It constituted the nucleus of the Army of Africa. The corps appears to have been disbanded and superseded by the 10th Military Region by a decree of 18 February 1946.

19th Military Region

The Army Corps was located in the 19th Military Region of the Metropolitan Army which included the three départements of

Algiers Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques d ...

Oran Oran ( ar, وَهران, Wahrān) is a major coastal city located in the north-west of Algeria. It is considered the second most important city of Algeria after the capital Algiers, due to its population and commercial, industrial, and cultural ...

and Constantine, situated in modern day Algeria. The garrisons were principally based in

Mascara Mascara is a cosmetic commonly used to enhance the upper and lower eyelashes. It is used to darken, thicken, lengthen, and/or define the eyelashes. Normally in one of three forms—liquid, powder, or cream—the modern mascara product has vari ...

Tlemcen Tlemcen (; ar, تلمسان, translit=Tilimsān) is the second-largest city in northwestern Algeria after Oran, and capital of the Tlemcen Province. The city has developed leather, carpet, and textile industries, which it exports through the p ...

, and Ain. Elements were also in Tunisia, forming the 'Tunisian occupation division', located mainly in

Tunis ''Tounsi'' french: Tunisois , population_note = , population_urban = , population_metro = 2658816 , population_density_km2 = , timezone1 = CET , utc_offset1 ...

Bizerte Bizerte or Bizerta ( ar, بنزرت, translit=Binzart , it, Biserta, french: link=no, Bizérte) the classical Hippo, is a city of Bizerte Governorate in Tunisia. It is the northernmost city in Africa, located 65 km (40mil) north of the cap ...

and

Sousse Sousse or Soussa ( ar, سوسة, ; Berber:''Susa'') is a city in Tunisia, capital of the Sousse Governorate. Located south of the capital Tunis, the city has 271,428 inhabitants (2014). Sousse is in the central-east of the country, on the Gulf ...

. The other twenty military regions of the Metropolitan army covered mainland France, hence the distinction this was the 'Army of Africa'.

Franco-Prussian War

The Twenty-one army corps were established in December 1870, each with its own military region. The 19th Army Corps was stood down on 13 March 1871.

From 1870 to 1914

The corps' Oran and Algiers divisions fought the -'Aït Khabbash', a fraction of the Aït Ounbgui ''khams'' of the

Aït Atta The Ait Atta (Berber language: Ayt Ɛeṭṭa, ⴰⵢⵜ ⵄⵟⵟⴰ) are a large Berber tribal confederation of South eastern Morocco, estimated to number about 330,000 as of 1960. They are divided into "five fifths" (''khams khmas''), all said t ...

confederation in the late 1890s. The conflict ended by the annexation of the Touat-Gourara-Tidikelt complex by France in 1901.

First World War

The Moroccan Division was one of the most decorated units of the

French Army History Early history The first permanent army, paid with regular wages, instead of feudal levies, was established under Charles VII of France, Charles VII in the 1420 to 1430s. The Kings of France needed reliable troops during and after the ...

and all its regiments were distinguished by unit citations mentioned in despatches of the armed forces at the end of the conflict. The Moroccan Division was the only division to receive the battle honour of being decorated with the

légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

throughout the course of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

. The following troops were detached from the 19th Army Corps to serve in the

Corps expéditionnaire d'Orient The Corps Expeditionnaire d'Orient (Oriental Expeditionary Force) (CEO) was a French Expeditionary Force raised for service during the Gallipoli Campaign in World War I. The corps initially consisted of a single infantry division, but later gr ...

. Two provisional regiments compromising of a total of five Zouave battalions and one Foreign Legion battalion, saw action in the Gallipoli campaign, and thereafter on the

Salonika front The Macedonian front, also known as the Salonica front (after Thessaloniki), was a military theatre of World War I formed as a result of an attempt by the Allied Powers to aid Serbia, in the autumn of 1915, against the combined attack of German ...

, fighting alongside British troops in both theatres of war.

Second World War

The 85th African Infantry Division (85e DIA) was a Formation-A-Class reserve mountain division mobilized 2 September 1939 in Algiers. The 85th DIA occupied covering positions along the Libyan border until the end of May 1940 and was then shipped to Marseille by 3 June 1940. On 10 May 1940, the corps comprised the 85e DIA; the 181st African Infantry Division; the

182nd African Infantry Division Eighteen or 18 may refer to: * 18 (number), the natural number following 17 and preceding 19 * one of the years 18 BC, AD 18, 1918, 2018 Film, television and entertainment * ''18'' (film), a 1993 Taiwanese experimental film based on the short ...

; the 183rd African Infantry Division; the East Saharan Front of division size; an armoured battalion, an infantry battalion (21e ''Bataillon d'Infanterie Légère d'Afrique,'' of the

Battalions of Light Infantry of Africa The Battalions of Light Infantry of Africa ( French: ''Bataillons d'Infanterie Légère d'Afrique'' or BILA), better known under the acronym ''Bat' d'Af, were French infantry and construction units, serving in Northern Africa, made up of men with ...

), and a cavalry regiment. The Oran, Constantine, and Algiers Divisions existed on 8 November 1942 as

Operation Torch Operation Torch (8 November 1942 – 16 November 1942) was an Allied invasion of French North Africa during the Second World War. Torch was a compromise operation that met the British objective of securing victory in North Africa while al ...

began; the corps was commanded by Lieutenant General :fr:Louis Koeltz while the

Algiers Division Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques d ...

was under

Charles Mast Emmanuel Charles Mast (7 January 1889 – 30 September 1977) was a major general who participated in the liberation of North Africa in 1942 and was Resident General of France in Tunisia between 1943 and 1947. Prewar He was the son of Miche ...

. The corps joined the Allies in late 1942 when

Vichy French Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of its ter ...

forces in north-west Africa went over to the Allies after 'Torch' and Hitler ordered '

Case Anton Case Anton (german: link=no, Fall Anton) was the military occupation of France carried out by Germany and Italy in November 1942. It marked the end of the Vichy regime as a nominally-independent state and the disbanding of its army (the severe ...

,' the German and Italian occupation of Vichy France. The Corps order of battle in 1942 (as far as known) during this time was: *''Division de marche d'Alger'' **1er régiment de

Tirailleurs A tirailleur (), in the Napoleonic era, was a type of light infantry trained to skirmish ahead of the main columns. Later, the term "''tirailleur''" was used by the French Army as a designation for indigenous infantry recruited in the French ...

algériens (Algerian native infantry regiment) **9e régiment de tirailleurs algériens (Algerian native infantry regiment) **3e régiment de

Zouave The Zouaves were a class of light infantry regiments of the French Army serving between 1830 and 1962 and linked to French North Africa; as well as some units of other countries modelled upon them. The zouaves were among the most decorated unit ...

s (north African European infantry regiment) **2e régiment de

Chasseurs d'Afrique The ''Chasseurs d'Afrique'' were a light cavalry corps of chasseurs in the French Armée d'Afrique (Army of Africa). First raised in 1831 from regular French cavalry posted to Algeria, they numbered five regiments by World War II. For most of ...

(north African European cavalry regiment)> **1er régiment de spahis algériens (Algerian native cavalry regiment) **65e régiment d'artillerie d'Afrique (north African artillery regiment) **410e régiment d'artillerie de défense contre aéronef (anti-aircraft artillery regiment) *''Division de Marche d'Oran'' **2e régiment de tirailleurs algériens (Algerian native infantry regiment) **6e régiment de tirailleurs algériens (Algerian native infantry regiment) **15e régiment de tirailleurs sénégalais (African native infantry regiment) ** 1st Foreign Infantry Regiment (French Foreign Legion) **1st et 3rd Batteries, 62e Regiment d'Artillerie Africaine (RAA), 2e 66e RAA, 1er 68e RAA. **Batteries A/C 47mm (2 ? 3? Š) **411e régiment d'artillerie de défense contre aéronef (anti-aircraft artillery regiment) *''Division de Marche du Maroc'' : As of 27 December 1942 :
**7e régiment de tirailleurs marocains (Moroccan native infantry regiment) **3e régiment de tirailleurs marocains (Moroccan native infantry regiment) **4e régiment de tirailleurs tunisiens (Tunisian native infantry regiment) **3e régiment étranger d'infanterie (foreign legion infantry regiment) **1er Groupe de tabors marocains (Moroccan native infantry regiment) **

1st Foreign Cavalry Regiment The 1st Foreign Cavalry Regiment () is the only cavalry regiment of the Foreign Legion in the French Army. It is one of two armoured cavalry regiments of the 6th Light Armoured Brigade. The regiment recently moved camp after being stationed a ...

(''1er régiment étranger de cavalerie'') (2 escadrons ? 1 groupe ?) (Foreign Legion) **2 groupes de 75 **1 battery of 47mm **1 escadron d'automitrailleuses (GB) **1 company of light tanks (US) NB sont mentionnés : mountain artillery reinforcements (2 ou 3 ou 4 batteries ?) The 19th Army Corps fought as an Allied formation within the

British 1st Army The First Army was a formation of the British Army that existed during the First and Second World Wars. The First Army included Indian and Portuguese forces during the First World War and American and French units during the Second World War. F ...

until the surrender of Axis forces in Tunisia.

Postwar changeover to 10th Military Region

General :fr:Henry Martin (général) appears to have been the last commander of the 19th Army Corps (1944–46) and the first commander of the successor 10th Military Region, formed in accordance with the decree of 18 February 1946.

Corps commanders 1920 – 1946

* 5 March 1920 – 30 September 1920:

Général is the French word for general. There are two main categories of generals: the general officers (), which are the highest-ranking commanding officers in the armed forces, and the specialist officers with flag rank (), which are high-level office ...

Henri Albert Niessel * 9 November 1920 – 26 September 1923: Genéral Marie Jean Auguste Paulinier * 4 October 1923: General Edmond Just Victor Boichut * 24 December 1925: General

Stanislas Naulin Stanislas Naulin (27 April 1870 – 3 November 1932) was a French general. He commanded the 19th Army Corps (France) after the First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and ...

* 23 November 1930 : General Georges * 20 March 1933: General Charles Noguès * 16 September 1936 : General Catroux * 29 January 1939 – 20 August 1940 : General Poupinel * August 1940 – September 1941 : General Paul Beynet * 15 September 1941 – 10 May 1944 : General Koeltz * 30 August 1944 – 27 June 1945 : General

Martin Martin may refer to: Places * Martin City (disambiguation) * Martin County (disambiguation) * Martin Township (disambiguation) Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Austr ...

Notes

References

* {{cite book , first=Anthony, last=Clayton, title=France, Soldiers, and Africa, publisher=Brassey's Defence Publishers, date=1988 *Service Historique de l'Armée de Terre. ''Guerre 1939–1945 Les Grandes Unités Françaises''. Paris: Imprimerie Nationale, 1967. Vol. 3 019 019 019 Military units and formations established in 1873 Military units and formations disestablished in 1946