The II ANZAC Corps (Second Anzac Corps) was an Australian and New Zealand

First World War 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, ...

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 ...

. Formed in early 1916 in Egypt in the wake of the failed Gallipoli campaign, it initially consisted of two Australian divisions, and was sent to the

Western Front Western Front or West Front may refer to: Military frontiers * Western Front (World War I), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (World War II), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (Russian Empire), a maj ...

in mid-1916. It then took part in the fighting in France and Belgium throughout 1916 and 1917, during which time it consisted of New Zealand, Australian and British divisions. In November 1917, the corps was subsumed in to 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 10 ...

, which concentrated all five Australian infantry divisions. After this, the corps was reformed as the British XXII Corps.

History

The corps was formed in Egypt in February 1916 as part of the reorganization of the Australian Imperial Force following the evacuation of

Gallipoli The Gallipoli peninsula (; tr, Gelibolu Yarımadası; grc, Χερσόνησος της Καλλίπολης, ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles s ...

in December 1915, under the command of

William Birdwood Field Marshal William Riddell Birdwood, 1st Baron Birdwood, (13 September 1865 – 17 May 1951) was a British Army officer. He saw active service in the Second Boer War on the staff of Lord Kitchener. He saw action again in the First World War ...

. This corps, along with the

I ANZAC Corps The I ANZAC Corps (First Anzac Corps) was a combined Australian and New Zealand army corps that served during World War I. It was formed in Egypt in February 1916 as part of the reorganisation and expansion of the Australian Imperial Force and ...

, replaced the original

Australian and New Zealand Army Corps The Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) was a First World War army corps of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force. It was formed in Egypt in December 1914, and operated during the Gallipoli campaign. General William Birdwood com ...

(ANZAC), following the expansion of the Australian and New Zealand forces in preparation for their deployment to the

. General

Alexander Godley General Sir Alexander John Godley, (4 February 1867 – 6 March 1957) was a senior British Army officer. He is best known for his role as commander of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force and II Anzac Corps during the First World War. Born in ...

, commander of the

New Zealand Expeditionary Force The New Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF) was the title of the military forces sent from New Zealand to fight alongside other British Empire and Dominion troops during World War I (1914–1918) and World War II (1939–1945). Ultimately, the NZE ...

, assumed command of the corps after the I Anzac Corps embarked for France in late March 1916. The corps initially comprised the two "new" Australian divisions—the Australian 4th and

5th Division In military terms, 5th Division may refer to: Infantry divisions *5th Division (Australia) * 5th Division (People's Republic of China) * 5th Division (Colombia) * Finnish 5th Division (Continuation War) *5th Light Cavalry Division (France) * 5th M ...

s—that had been spawned from the "veteran"

1st First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...

and 2nd Divisions. Support troops included the

II ANZAC (XXII Corps) Mounted Regiment The II ANZAC Corps Mounted Regiment was a combined mounted unit made up of Australian and New Zealand troops during the First World War. The regiment served on the Western Front between 1916 and 1918. For the most part, the regiment undertook re ...

. In July 1916, following the arrival of II Anzac in France, the Australian 4th Division was swapped for the New Zealand Division from I Anzac, and II Anzac took over a sector of front-line near

Armentières Armentières (; vls, Armentiers) is a commune in the Nord department in the Hauts-de-France region in northern France. It is part of the Métropole Européenne de Lille. The motto of the town is ''Pauvre mais fière'' (Poor but proud). Geogra ...

. In mid-July, II Anzac lent the 5th Division to the British XI Corps for a diversionary operation that became known as the

Battle of Fromelles The Attack at Fromelles (, Battle of Fromelles, Battle of Fleurbaix or ) 19–20 July 1916, was a military operation on the Western Front during the First World War. The attack was carried out by British and Australian troops and was subsidiary ...

. In June 1917, the corps took part in the Battle of Messines, which was a prelude to the

Third Battle of Ypres The Third Battle of Ypres (german: link=no, Dritte Flandernschlacht; french: link=no, Troisième Bataille des Flandres; nl, Derde Slag om Ieper), also known as the Battle of Passchendaele (), was a campaign of the First World War, fought by ...

. During the action, II Anzac was the southernmost of three British divisions to attack the Messines Ridge. At this time II Anzac contained the New Zealand Division, the

Australian 3rd Division The 3rd Division was an infantry division of the Australian Army. Existing during various periods between 1916 and 1991, it is considered the "longest serving Australian Army division". It was first formed during World War I, as an infantry div ...

and the

British 25th Division The 25th Division was an infantry division of the British Army, raised as part of Lord Kitchener's Third New Army (K3) in September 1914, shortly after the outbreak of the Great War. It served on the Western Front for most of the war. Unit h ...

. The Australian 4th Division was also attached to the corps as reinforcements and was to mount a follow-up attack after the assault by the other three divisions. Upon the formation of the

in December 1917, which contained all five Australian divisions, II Anzac was reformed as the British XXII Corps. The only Australian troops that remained with the corps were the mounted troops.

Structure

Order of Battle, December 1915: * 4th Australian Division * 5th Australian Division Order of Battle, July 1916: * New Zealand Division * 5th Australian Division Order of Battle, June 1917: * New Zealand Division * 3rd Australian Division * 25th British Division

Notes

References

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History

Structure

See also

Notes

References

Further reading