XI Corps was a

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 ...

-sized formation of the British Expeditionary Force, active during the

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, ...

that served on 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 ...

and in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. It was recreated as part of Home Forces defending the United Kingdom 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 opposi ...

First World War

Western Front

XI Corps was formed in France on 29 August 1915 under Lt-Gen

Richard Haking General Sir Richard Cyril Byrne Haking, (24 January 1862 – 9 June 1945), was a British general who commanded XI Corps in the First World War. Arguments over the late release of Haking's Corps on the first day of the Battle of Loos were ins ...

. Its first serious engagement (as part of Sir Charles Monro's First Army) was 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 t ...

(19 July 1916), a diversion to the

Somme offensive The Battle of the Somme ( French: Bataille de la Somme), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place be ...

in which two untried divisions were launched into an ill-planned subsidiary attack in Flanders. It achieved nothing but cost thousands of casualties, and caused great resentment in Australia. ;Order of Battle at Fromelles General Officer Commanding Lt-Gen R. Haking *

61st (2nd South Midland) Division The 61st (2nd South Midland) Division was an infantry division of the British Army raised in 1915 during the Great War as a second-line reserve for the first-line battalions of the 48th (South Midland) Division. The division was sent to the We ...

* 5th Australian Division

Italian Front

XI Corps was one of two corps HQs moved to the Italian Front in November 1917. ;Order of Battle in Italy 1 December 1917 GOC Lt-Gen Sir Richard Haking Corps Troops: * 1/1st

King Edward's Horse King Edward's Horse (The King's Overseas Dominions Regiment) was a cavalry regiment of the British Army, formed in 1901, which saw service in the First World War. Early history The regiment was originally formed as part of the Imperial Yeomanry ...

* HQ Corps Heavy Artillery

Royal Garrison Artillery The Royal Garrison Artillery (RGA) was formed in 1899 as a distinct arm of the British Army's Royal Regiment of Artillery serving alongside the other two arms of the Regiment, the Royal Field Artillery (RFA) and the Royal Horse Artillery (R ...

(RGA) * 11th Cyclist Battalion

Army Cyclist Corps The Army Cyclist Corps was a corps of the British Army active during the First World War, and controlling the Army's bicycle infantry. History Formation Volunteer cyclist units had been formed as early as the 1880s, with the first complete bicy ...

* Corps Topographical Section

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 head ...

(RE) * Signal Troops RE (L Corps Signal Company; 27 (Motor) Airline Section; R and LC Cable Sections, *Corps Heavy Artillery Signal Section RGA) * Corps Siege Park Army Service Corps (ASC) * Corps Ammunition Park (345 (MT) Company (25 Ammunition Sub-Park) ASC) * 491 (MT) Company ASC, attached Corps Heavy Artillery * 5th (Light) Mobile Workshop Army Ordnance Corps (AOC) * Area Employment Company * Corps School

Return to the Western Front

XI Corps returned to the Western Front in March 1918 in time to take part in the defence against the German spring offensive (the Battle of the Lys) and the final battles of the war as part of

Sir 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 ...

's Fifth Army.

Order of Battle 27 September 1918

= Corps Headquarters Command Staff

= * GOC Lt-Gen Sir

* Brigadier-General, General Staff: Brig-Gen J.E.S. Brind * Deputy Adjutant & Quartermaster-General: Brig.-Gen A.F.U. Green * Assistant Director Ordnance Services, Lt Col A.J. Herbert, NZAOC * Commander, Royal Artillery: Brig-Gen S.F. Metcalfe * Commander, Heavy Artillery: Brig-Gen F.A. Twiss * Commander, Engineers: Brig-Gen H.J.M. Marshall

= Divisions attached to XI Corps

= *

19th (Western) Division The 19th (Western) Division was an infantry division of the British Army, part of Kitchener's Army, formed in the Great War. Formation history The 19th (Western) Division was created under Western Command in September 1914, shortly after th ...

(to Third Army 4 October) *

47th (1/2nd London) Division The 47th (1/2nd London) Division was an infantry division of the British Army, raised in 1908 as part of the Territorial Force. Formation The Territorial Force (TF) was formed on 1 April 1908 following the enactment of the Territorial and Re ...

(to III Corps 13 October) *

57th (2nd West Lancashire) Division The 57th (2nd West Lancashire) Division was an infantry formation of the Territorial Force created in 1914 as part of the massive expansion of the British Army during the First World War. It served on the Western Front during 1917 and 1918. The d ...

(from Third Army 11 October) *

59th (2nd North Midland) Division The 59th (2nd North Midland) Division was an infantry division of the British Army during World War I. It was formed in late 1914/early 1915 as a 2nd Line Territorial Force formation raised as a duplicate of the 46th (North Midland) Division. A ...

(to Third Army 5 October) *

74th (Yeomanry) Division The 74th (Yeomanry) Division was a Territorial Force infantry division formed in Palestine in early 1917 from three dismounted yeomanry brigades. It served in the Sinai and Palestine Campaign of the First World War, mostly as part of XX Co ...

(from Fourth Army 2 October; to

III Corps 3rd Corps, Third Corps, III Corps, or 3rd Army Corps may refer to: France * 3rd Army Corps (France) * III Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * III Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of t ...

8 October)

Second World War

XI Corps was reformed in the United Kingdom early in the

. It was based at

Bishop's Stortford Bishop's Stortford is a historic market town in Hertfordshire, England, just west of the M11 motorway on the county boundary with Essex, north-east of central London, and by rail from Liverpool Street station. Stortford had an estimated popu ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For gov ...

with a major operational base at

Felsted School (Keep your Faith) , established = , closed = , type = Public school Independent day and boarding , religion = Church of England , president = , head_label = Headmaster , head = Chris Townsend , r_head ...

. ;Order of Battle Autumn 1940 *

15th (Scottish) Infantry Division The 15th (Scottish) Infantry Division was an infantry division of the British Army that served during the Second World War. It was raised on 2 September 1939, the day before war was declared, as part of the Territorial Army (TA) and served i ...

55th (West Lancashire) Infantry Division The 55th (West Lancashire) Infantry Division was an infantry division of the British Army's Territorial Army (TA) that was formed in 1920 and existed through the Second World War, although it did not see combat. The division had originally be ...

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 ...

** 147th (Essex Yeomanry) Regiment, Royal Horse Artillery ** 72nd Medium Regiment

General Officers Commanding

Commanders included: * 29 August – 4 September 1915 Major-General the

Earl of Cavan Earl of Cavan is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1647 for Charles Lambart, 2nd Baron Lambart. He was made Viscount Kilcoursie, in the King's County, at the same time, also in the Peerage of Ireland. Lord Cavan was the son ...

(temporary) * 4 September 1915 – 13 August 1916 Lieutenant-General

* 13 August – 30 September 1916 Lieutenant-General Sir Charles Anderson * 30 September 1916 – 1919 Lieutenant-General Sir Richard Haking * July 1940 – November 1941 Lieutenant-General Hugh Massy * November 1941 – March 1942 Lieutenant-General

Noel Irwin Lieutenant General Noel Mackintosh Stuart Irwin & Two Bars, MC (24 December 1892 – 21 December 1972) was a senior British Army officer, who played a prominent role in the British Army after the Dunkirk evacuation, and in the Burma campaign ...

* March 1942 – September 1942 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 ...

* September 1942 – April 1943 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 Nor ...

* April 1943 – July 1943 Lieutenant-General

Gerald Templer Field Marshal Sir Gerald Walter Robert Templer, (11 September 1898 – 25 October 1979) was a senior British Army officer. He fought in both the world wars and took part in the crushing of the Arab Revolt in Palestine. As Chief of the Imperi ...

Notes

References

* * Official History 1918: Brigadier-General Sir James E. Edmonds, ''Military Operations France and Belgium, 1918 Volume V: 26 September–11 November: The Advance to Victory'' 1947 (reprint Imperial War Museum, 1992)

External sources

''The Long Long Trail''
{{DEFAULTSORT:11 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 of the British Empire in World War II