Corps (; plural ''corps'' ; from French , from the
Latin
Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
"body") is a term used for several different kinds of organization. A military innovation by
Napoleon I
Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
, the formation was formally introduced March 1, 1800, when Napoleon ordered General
Jean Victor Marie Moreau to divide his command into four corps. The size of a corps varies greatly, but two to five divisions and anywhere from 40,000 to 80,000 are the numbers stated by the US Department of Defense.
Within
military terminology a corps may be:
*an
operational formation, sometimes known as a field corps, which consists of two or more
divisions
Division may refer to:
Mathematics
*Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication
* Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division Military
*Division (military), a formation typically consisting of 10,000 t ...
, such as the
, later known as ("First Corps") of Napoleon I's );
*an administrative corps (or
mustering) – that is a
specialized branch of a military service (such as an
artillery corps
Artillery consists of ranged weapons that launch Ammunition, munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and l ...
, an
armoured corps
An armoured corps (also mechanized corps or tank corps) is a specialized military organization whose role is to conduct armoured warfare. The units belonging to an armoured corps include military staff, and are equipped with tanks and other arm ...
, a
signal corps
A signal corps is a military branch, responsible for military communications (''signals''). Many countries maintain a signal corps, which is typically subordinate to a country's army.
Military communication usually consists of radio, telephone, ...
, a
medical corps
A medical corps is generally a military branch or staff corps, officer corps responsible for medical care for serving military personnel. Such officers are typically military physicians.
List of medical corps
The following organizations are exam ...
, a
marine corps, or a corps of
military police
Military police (MP) are law enforcement agencies connected with, or part of, the military of a state. Not to be confused with civilian police, who are legally part of the civilian populace. In wartime operations, the military police may supp ...
) or;
*in some cases, a distinct service within a national military (such as the
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...
).
These usages often overlap.
Corps may also be a generic term for a
non-military organization, such as the US
Peace Corps
The Peace Corps is an Independent agency of the U.S. government, independent agency and program of the United States government that trains and deploys volunteers to communities in partner countries around the world. It was established in Marc ...
and
European Solidarity Corps
The European Solidarity Corps (ESC), known until 2016 as European Voluntary Service (EVS), is an international volunteering program by the European Commission for young people to go individually or in teams to another country, usually from one Eur ...
.
Military usage
Operational formation
In many armies, a corps is a battlefield formation composed of two or more
divisions, and typically commanded by a
lieutenant general
Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank 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 battlefield, who was norma ...
. During
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
and
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, due to the large scale of combat, multiple corps were combined into
armies
An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...
which then formed into
army group
An army group is a military organization consisting of several field army, field armies, which is self-sufficient for indefinite periods. It is usually responsible for a particular geographic area. An army group is the largest field organizatio ...
s. In Western armies with numbered corps, the number is often indicated in
Roman numerals
Roman numerals are a numeral system that originated in ancient Rome and remained the usual way of writing numbers throughout Europe well into the Late Middle Ages. Numbers are written with combinations of letters from the Latin alphabet, eac ...
(e.g.,
VII Corps).
Australia and New Zealand
The
Australian and New Zealand Army Corps
The Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) was originally a First World War army corps of the British Empire under the command of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force. It was formed in Egypt in December 1914, and operated during the ...
was raised in 1914, consisting of Australian and New Zealand troops, who went on to fight at
Gallipoli
The Gallipoli Peninsula (; ; ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles strait to the east.
Gallipoli is the Italian form of the Greek name (), meaning ' ...
in 1915. In early 1916, the original corps was reorganized and two corps were raised:
I ANZAC Corps and
II ANZAC Corps. In the later stages of World War I, the five infantry divisions of the
First Australian Imperial Force
The First Australian Imperial Force (1st AIF) was the main Expeditionary warfare, expeditionary force of the Australian Army during the First World War. It was formed as the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) following United Kingdom of Great Bri ...
(AIF)—consisting entirely of personnel who had volunteered for service overseas—were united as the
Australian Corps, on the
Western Front, under Lieutenant General Sir
John Monash
General (Australia), General Sir John Monash (; 27 June 1865 – 8 October 1931) was an Australian civil engineer and military commander of the World War I, First World War. He commanded the 13th Brigade (Australia), 13th Infantry Brigade befor ...
.
During World War II, the
Australian I Corps was formed to co-ordinate three
Second Australian Imperial Force (2nd AIF) units: the
6th,
7th and
9th Divisions, as well as other Allied units on some occasions, in the
North African campaign
The North African campaign of World War II took place in North Africa from 10 June 1940 to 13 May 1943, fought between the Allies and the Axis Powers. It included campaigns in the Libyan and Egyptian deserts (Western Desert campaign, Desert Wa ...
and
Greek campaign. Following the commencement of the
Pacific War
The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War or the Pacific Theatre, was the Theater (warfare), theatre of World War II fought between the Empire of Japan and the Allies of World War II, Allies in East Asia, East and Southeast As ...
, there was a phased withdrawal of I Corps to Australia, and the transfer of its headquarters to the
Brisbane
Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...
area, to control Allied army units in
Queensland
Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...
and northern
New South Wales
New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
(NSW).
II Corps was also formed, with
Militia
A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...
units, to defend south-eastern Australia, and
III Corps controlled land forces in
Western Australia
Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...
. Sub-corps formations controlled Allied land forces in the remainder of Australia. I Corps headquarters was later assigned control of the
New Guinea campaign
The New Guinea campaign of the Pacific War lasted from January 1942 until the end of the war in August 1945. During the initial phase in early 1942, the Empire of Japan invaded the Territory of New Guinea on 23 January and Territory of Papua on ...
. In early 1945, when I Corps was assigned the task of
re-taking Borneo, II Corps took over in New Guinea.
Canada
Canada first fielded a corps-sized formation in the First World War; the
Canadian Corps
The Canadian Corps was a World War I corps formed from the Canadian Expeditionary Force in September 1915 after the arrival of the 2nd Canadian Division in France. The corps was expanded by the addition of the 3rd Canadian Division in December 19 ...
was unique in that its composition did not change from inception to the war's end, in contrast to British corps in France and Flanders. The Canadian Corps consisted of four Canadian divisions. After the Armistice, the peacetime
Canadian militia
The Canadian Militia is a historical title for military units raised for the defence of Canada. The term has been used to describe sedentary militia units raised from local communities in Canada; as well as the regular army for the Province of Ca ...
was nominally organized into corps and divisions but no full-time formations larger than a battalion were ever trained or exercised. Early in the Second World War, Canada's contribution to the British-French forces fighting the Germans was limited to a single division. After the fall of France in June 1940, a second division moved to England, coming under command of a Canadian corps headquarters. This corps was renamed
I Canadian Corps as a second corps headquarters was established in the UK, with the eventual formation of five Canadian divisions in England. I Canadian Corps eventually fought in Italy,
II Canadian Corps in northwest Europe, and the two were reunited in early 1945. After the formations were disbanded after VE Day, Canada has never subsequently organized a corps headquarters.
Royal Canadian Army Cadets: A corps size in the RCAC is different everywhere, depending on the size. The commanding officer can be a
captain
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...
(Previously, Commanding Officers of a large corps could have been a Major, but that capability has been removed with the creation of CJCR Group Order 5511-1)
China
The
National Revolutionary Army
The National Revolutionary Army (NRA; zh, labels=no, t=國民革命軍) served as the military arm of the Kuomintang, Chinese Nationalist Party (Kuomintang, or KMT) from 1924 until 1947.
From 1928, it functioned as the regular army, de facto ...
(NRA) corps () was a type of military organization used by the
Chinese Republic, and usually exercised command over two to three
NRA divisions and often a number of independent
brigade
A brigade is a major tactical military unit, military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute ...
s or
regiment
A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, military service, service, or administrative corps, specialisation.
In Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of l ...
s and supporting units. The Chinese Republic had 133 corps during the
Second Sino-Japanese War
The Second Sino-Japanese War was fought between the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China and the Empire of Japan between 1937 and 1945, following a period of war localized to Manchuria that started in 1931. It is considered part ...
. After losses in the early part of the war, under the 1938 reforms, the remaining scarce artillery and the other support formations were withdrawn from the division and was held at corps, or army level or higher. The corps became the basic tactical unit of the NRA having strength nearly equivalent to an allied
division.
The modern
People's Liberation Army Ground Force
The People's Liberation Army Ground Force (PLAGF), also referred to as the PLA Army, is the army, land-based service branch of the People's Liberation Army (PLA), and also its largest and oldest branch. The PLAGF can trace its lineage from 192 ...
group army () is the closest equivalent of a corps. After the military reforms of the early 2010s, a typical PLA group army consists of six combined arms brigades, plus additional artillery, air defence, engineering, sustainment, special operations and army aviation assets. Each formation contains approximately 30,000 combat troops and several thousands more supporting personnel.
France
The
French Army
The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (, , ), is the principal Army, land warfare force of France, and the largest component of the French Armed Forces; it is responsible to the Government of France, alongside the French Navy, Fren ...
under
Napoleon I
Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
used corps-sized formations () as the first formal combined-arms groupings of
divisions with reasonably stable manning and equipment establishments. Napoleon I first used the in 1805. The use of the was a military innovation that provided Napoleon I with a significant battlefield advantage in the early phases of the
Napoleonic Wars
{{Infobox military conflict
, conflict = Napoleonic Wars
, partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars
, image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg
, caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...
. The corps was designed to be an independent military group containing cavalry, artillery and infantry, and capable of defending against a numerically superior foe. This allowed Napoleon I to mass the bulk of his forces to effect a penetration into a weak section of enemy lines without risking his own communications or flank. This innovation stimulated other European powers to adopt similar military structures. The corps has remained an echelon of French Army organization to the modern day.
Germany
As fixed military formation already in peace-time it was used almost in all European armies after
Battle of Ulm
The Battle of Ulm on 16–19 October 1805 was a series of skirmishes, at the end of the Ulm Campaign, which allowed Napoleon I to trap an entire Austrian army under the command of Karl Freiherr Mack von Leiberich with minimal losses and to f ...
in 1805. In Prussia it was introduced by ''Order of His Majesty'' () from 5 November 1816, in order to strengthen the readiness to war.
India
The
Indian Army
The Indian Army (IA) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Land warfare, land-based branch and largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head ...
has
14 corps, each commanded by a
general officer commanding
General officer commanding (GOC) is the usual title given in the armies of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth (and some other nations, such as Ireland) to a general officer who holds a command appointment.
Thus, a general might be the GOC ...
(GOC), known as the corps commander, who holds the rank of
lieutenant general
Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank 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 battlefield, who was norma ...
. Each corps is composed of three or four divisions. There are three types of corps in the Indian Army: strike, holding and mixed. The corps HQ is the highest field formation in the army.
Pakistan
The
Pakistan Army
The Pakistan Army (, ), commonly known as the Pak Army (), is the Land warfare, land service branch and the largest component of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The president of Pakistan is the Commander-in-chief, supreme commander of the army. The ...
has nine manoeuvre corps, each commanded by a
lieutenant general
Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank 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 battlefield, who was norma ...
. Each corps is composed of at least two divisions. The corps HQ is the highest field formation in the army.
Poland (1938–1939)
The
Polish Armed Forces
The Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland (, ; abbreviated SZ RP), also called the Polish Armed Forces and popularly called in Poland (, roughly "the Polish Military"—abbreviated ''WP''), are the national Military, armed forces of the Poland, ...
used
independent operational group
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States
* Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...
s in the place of the corps before and during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. An example would be
Independent Operational Group Polesie. The groups, as the name indicates, were more flexible and showed greater capacity to absorb and integrate elements of broken units over a period of just a couple days and keep cohesion during the
September Campaign than more traditional army units such as divisions, regiments, or even brigades.
United Kingdom
Wellington formed a in 1815 for commanding his mixed allied force of four divisions against Napoleon I.
When the British Army was expanded from an expeditionary force in the First World War, corps were created to manage the large numbers of divisions. The
British corps in World War I included 23 infantry corps and a few mounted corps. The word was adopted for other special formations such as the
Officers Training Corps
The University Officers' Training Corps (UOTC), also known as the Officers' Training Corps (OTC), are British Army reserve units, under the command of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, which recruit exclusively from universities and focus on ...
. Military training of teenage boys is undertaken at secondary schools through the
Combined Cadet Force, in which participation was compulsory at some schools in the 1950s. Schoolboy jargon called the CCF simply "Corps".
The
British Army
The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...
still has a corps headquarters for operational control of forces.
I Corps of the
British Army of the Rhine
British Army of the Rhine (BAOR) was the name given to British Army occupation forces in the Rhineland, West Germany, after the First and Second World Wars, and during the Cold War, becoming part of NATO's Northern Army Group (NORTHAG) tasked ...
was redesignated the
Allied Rapid Reaction Corps in 1994. It is no longer a purely British formation, although the UK is the "framework nation" and provides most of the staff for the headquarters. A purely national Corps headquarters could be quickly reconstituted if necessary.
It took command of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan on 4 May 2006. Previously, it was deployed as the headquarters commanding land forces during the
Kosovo War
The Kosovo War (; sr-Cyrl-Latn, Косовски рат, Kosovski rat) was an armed conflict in Kosovo that lasted from 28 February 1998 until 11 June 1999. It ...
in 1999 and also saw service in
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...
, commanding the initial stages of the
IFOR deployment prior to that in 1996. Otherwise, the only time a British corps headquarters has been operationally deployed since 1945 was
II Corps during the
Suez Crisis
The Suez Crisis, also known as the Second Arab–Israeli War, the Tripartite Aggression in the Arab world and the Sinai War in Israel, was a British–French–Israeli invasion of Egypt in 1956. Israel invaded on 29 October, having done so w ...
.
United States
The structure of a field corps in the
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...
is not permanent. On the battlefield, the corps is the highest level of the forces that is concerned with actual combat and operational deployment. Higher levels of command are concerned with administration rather than operations, at least under current doctrine. The corps provides operational direction for the forces under its command.
As of 2014, the active field corps in the US Army are
I Corps,
III Corps, and
XVIII Airborne Corps; their lineages derive from three of the corps formed during World War I (I and III Corps) and World War II (XVIII Airborne Corps). On 12 February 2020, it was announced that the Army was reactivating
V Corps to bolster the presence of US forces in Europe.
= American Civil War
=
The first field corps in the
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...
were legalized during the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
by an act of Congress on 17 July 1862, although the term had been used previously to refer to any large portion of the army.
[Eicher, J., Eicher, D. (2002). Civil War High Commands. United States: Stanford University Press. pages 65-66] Major General
George B. McClellan
George Brinton McClellan (December 3, 1826 – October 29, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 24th governor of New Jersey and as Commanding General of the United States Army from November 1861 to March 186 ...
, for example, planned to organize the
Army of the Potomac into corps of two or more
divisions
Division may refer to:
Mathematics
*Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication
* Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division Military
*Division (military), a formation typically consisting of 10,000 t ...
and about 25,000 soldiers. However, he delayed doing so, partly for lack of experienced officers, and partly for political reasons, until March 1862 when
President Lincoln ordered their creation.
[Wilson, J. B. (1998). Maneuver and Firepower: The Evolution of Divisions and Separate Brigades. United States: Center of Military History, U.S. Army. pages 12-15]
The exact composition of a corps in the
Union Army varied during the war, though it usually consisted of two to six divisions (three on average) for approximately 36,000 soldiers.
After
Ambrose Burnside
Ambrose Everts Burnside (May 23, 1824 – September 13, 1881) was an American army officer and politician who became a senior Union general in the American Civil War and a three-time Governor of Rhode Island, as well as being a successfu ...
was given command of the Army of the Potomac in November 1862, he reorganized it into three "grand divisions" of two corps and a cavalry division each, but this structure was abolished when
Joseph Hooker took over February 1863. This also led to the creation of a dedicated
Cavalry Corps of three divisions and
horse artillery assigned to the corps headquarters. In the early years of the war,
field artillery
Field artillery is a category of mobile artillery used to support army, armies in the field. These weapons are specialized for mobility, tactical proficiency, short range, long range, and extremely long range target engagement.
Until the ear ...
was either part of an artillery reserve under direct army control or assigned to individual divisions. However, after the
Battle of Chancellorsville
The Battle of Chancellorsville, April 30 – May 6, 1863, was a major battle of the American Civil War (1861–1865), and the principal engagement of the Chancellorsville campaign.
Confederate General Robert E. Lee's risky decision to divide h ...
the divisional artillery was placed under corps control, with each corps assigned a
brigade
A brigade is a major tactical military unit, military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute ...
of four to six
batteries commanded by the senior-most artillery officer. In general, the other field armies tended to model their organization after the Army of the Potomac, including the gradual development of corps.
[McGrath, John J. The Brigade: A History, Its Organization and Employment in the US Army. (2004). Fort Leavenworth, Kansas : Combat Studies Institute, US Army Command and General Staff College. pages 17-19]
Corps were commanded by major generals because Congress refused to promote officers past that grade (with the exception of
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was the 18th president of the United States, serving from 1869 to 1877. In 1865, as Commanding General of the United States Army, commanding general, Grant led the Uni ...
to
lieutenant general
Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank 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 battlefield, who was norma ...
in 1864).
To assist with their command, generals were allowed a number of
aides-de-camp and a
general staff
A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, Enlisted rank, enlisted, and civilian staff who serve the commanding officer, commander of a ...
of other officers. This staff consisted of a chief of cavalry, a chief of artillery, and representatives of the
War Department's various bureaus: an assistant
adjutant general, a
quartermaster
Quartermaster is a military term, the meaning of which depends on the country and service. In land army, armies, a quartermaster is an officer who supervises military logistics, logistics and requisitions, manages stores or barracks, and distri ...
, an assistant
inspector general, a commissary of subsistence, an ordnance officer (all with the rank of
lieutenant colonel), and a medical director. However, there were no dedicated
combat service support
The term combat service support (or CSS) is utilized by numerous military organizations throughout the world to describe entities that provide direct and indirect sustainment services to the groups that engage (or are potentially to be engaged) ...
formations as part of the corps. This meant that either civilian workers had to be hired or line soldiers detailed from their units to carry out the necessary tasks.
Initially, corps were numbered in relation to their field army, such as I Army Corps, Army of the Potomac. After a while these numerical designations became unique to each corps regardless of the army to which they were assigned.
Although designated with numbers that are sometimes the same as those found in the modern US Army, there is no direct lineage between the 43 Union field corps of the Civil War and those with similar names in the modern era, due to congressional legislation caused by the outcry from veterans of the
Grand Army of the Republic
The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) was a fraternal organization composed of veterans of the Union Army (United States Army), Union Navy (United States Navy, U.S. Navy), and the United States Marine Corps, Marines who served in the American Ci ...
during the
Spanish–American War
The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...
.
In the
Confederate States Army
The Confederate States Army (CSA), also called the Confederate army or the Southern army, was the Military forces of the Confederate States, military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) duri ...
, field corps were authorized in November 1862. They were commanded by lieutenant generals, and were usually larger than their
Union Army counterparts because their divisions contained more brigades, each of which could contain more regiments. All of the Confederate corps at the
Battle of Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg () was a three-day battle in the American Civil War, which was fought between the Union and Confederate armies between July 1 and July 3, 1863, in and around Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle, won by the Union, ...
, for instance, exceeded 20,000 men. However, for both armies, unit sizes varied dramatically with attrition throughout the war. In Civil War usages, by both sides, it was common to write out the number, thus "Twenty-first Army Corps", a practice that is usually ignored in modern histories of the war.
= Spanish–American War
=
Although the US Army in the years following the Civil War lacked standing organization at the corps and division levels, it moved swiftly to adopt these during the mobilization for the Spanish–American War in the spring of 1898. On 7 May, General Order 36 called for the establishment of seven "army corps" (repeating the nomenclature of the Civil War); an eighth was authorized later that month.
Two of these saw action as a unit: the Fifth in Cuba and the Eighth in the Philippines; elements of the
First,
Fourth, and
Seventh made up the invasion force for Puerto Rico (the Second,
Third, and Seventh provided replacements and occupation troops in Cuba, while the
Sixth was never organized). The corps headquarters were disbanded during the months following the signing of the peace treaty (with the exception of the Eighth Army Corps, which remained active until 1900 due to the eruption of the
Philippine–American War
The Philippine–American War, known alternatively as the Philippine Insurrection, Filipino–American War, or Tagalog Insurgency, emerged following the conclusion of the Spanish–American War in December 1898 when the United States annexed th ...
), and like the corps of the Civil War, their lineage ends at that point.
= World Wars I and II
=
During World War I, the
American Expeditionary Forces
The American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) was a formation of the United States Armed Forces on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front during World War I, composed mostly of units from the United States Army, U.S. Army. The AEF was establis ...
(AEF) adopted the common European usage of designating field corps by
Roman numerals
Roman numerals are a numeral system that originated in ancient Rome and remained the usual way of writing numbers throughout Europe well into the Late Middle Ages. Numbers are written with combinations of letters from the Latin alphabet, eac ...
. Several "
corps areas" were designated under the authority of the
National Defense Act of 1920, but played little role until the Army's buildup for World War II. While some of the lower numbered corps were used for various exercises, the inter-war years corps served mostly as a pool of units. During that war, the Marine Corps organized corps headquarters for the first time, the
I Marine (later
III Amphibious Corps) and
V Amphibious Corps. The Army ultimately designated 25 field corps (I–XVI, XVIII–XXIV, XXXVI, and
I Armored Corps) during World War II.
=Cold War and 21st century
=
After the
Korean War
The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...
, the Army and Marines diverged in their approach to the concept of the field corps. The Army continued to group its divisions into traditional corps organizations in the Continental United States (CONUS), West Germany (
V Corps and
VII Corps), and South Korea (I Corps). However, during the
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...
, the Army designated its corps-level headquarters in South Vietnam as
I Field Force and
II Field Force to avoid confusion with the
ARVN corps areas.
As of July 2016, the Army deactivated all corps headquarters save three CONUS based corps (
I Corps - Washington,
III Corps - Texas, and
XVIII Airborne Corps - North Carolina).
In the 1960s, the Marine Corps activated the
I Marine Expeditionary Force (I MEF) on Okinawa (based in California since 1971) and
II Marine Expeditionary Force (II MEF) in North Carolina, and re-activated the III Amphibious Corps (which had been deactivated in 1946) as
III Marine Expeditionary Force
III Marine Expeditionary Force (III MEF) is a formation of the Marine Air-Ground Task Force of the United States Marine Corps. It is forward-deployed and able to rapidly conduct operations across the spectrum from humanitarian assistance and ...
(III MEF) in South Vietnam (re-deployed to Okinawa in 1971). In 1965, all three MEFs were subsequently re-designated as Marine amphibious forces or MAFs, and in 1988 all three Marine Corps corps-level commands were again re-designated as
Marine expeditionary forces (MEF). The MEF had evolved into a self-contained, corps-level,
Marine air-ground task force
Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean.
Marine or marines may refer to:
Ocean
* Maritime (disambiguation)
* Marine art
* Marine biology
* Marine current power
* Marine debris
* Marine energy
* Marine habitats
* ...
(MAGTF) consisting of a MEF headquarters group, a Marine division, a Marine aircraft wing, and a force service support group (re-designated as Marine logistics group in 2005).
Soviet Union
The pre–
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...
of the former
USSR
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
had
rifle corps much like in the Western sense with approximately three divisions to a corps. However, after the war started, the recently purged Soviet senior command (
Stavka) structure was apparently unable to handle the formations, and the armies and corps were integrated. Rifle corps were re-established during the war after
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...
commanders had gained experience handling larger formations. Before and during World War II, however, Soviet armoured units were organized into corps. The pre-war
mechanized corps were made up of divisions. In the reorganizations, these "corps" were reorganized into tank
brigade
A brigade is a major tactical military unit, military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute ...
s and support units, with no division structure. Owing to this, they are sometimes, informally, referred to as "brigade buckets".
After the war, the tank and mechanized corps were re-rated as divisions. During the reforms of 1956–58, most of the corps were again disbanded to create the new combined arms and tank armies. A few corps were nevertheless retained. The Vyborg and Archangel Corps of the
Leningrad Military District were smaller armies with three low-readiness motorized rifle divisions each. In the 1980s "Unified Corps" on the brigade pattern were created in the
Belorussian Military District (Western TVD/Strategic Direction) and the
48th Separate Guards Army Corps in the
Transbaikal Military District, but abandoned after a few years.
The
Soviet Air Forces
The Soviet Air Forces (, VVS SSSR; literally "Military Air Forces of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics"; initialism VVS, sometimes referred to as the "Red Air Force") were one of the air forces of the Soviet Union. The other was the Sovie ...
used ground terminology for its formations down to squadron level. As intermediates between the
aviation division and the air army were corps—these also had three air divisions each.
=Air Defence Corps
=
An Air Defence Corps ('KPVO') is an operational-tactical formation (in the past - the highest tactical formation) of the former
Soviet Air Defence Forces
The Soviet Air Defence Forces (; ) was the air defence branch of the Soviet Armed Forces.
Formed in 1941, it continued being a service branch of the Russian Armed Forces after 1991 until it was merged into the Air Force in 1998. Unlike Western ...
and now
Russian Air Defence Forces/Aerospace Forces. The purpose of the such a corps is to protect important administrative, industrial and economic centers and regions of the country, groupings of troops (forces) and military facilities within the established limits of responsibility against air strikes. In organizational terms, an air defence corps is part of the district (or a separate army) of the Air Defence Forces. Also some air defence corps were separate.
On the basis of individual corps, ''air defence zones'' or ''air defence corps areas'' could be created. The first ''KPVO'' were created in February 1938 for the air defence of
Moscow
Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
,
Leningrad
Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...
and
Baku
Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Azerbaijan, largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is below sea level, which makes it the List of capital ci ...
(respectively 1st, 2nd and 3rd) based on anti-aircraft artillery divisions and air defence brigade (''3rd KPVO''). The staff of the ''KPVO'' included: 4-6 anti-aircraft artillery regiments, 1 anti-aircraft machine-gun regiment, 1 searchlight regiment (or battalion), 1-2 regiments (or divisions)
barrage balloon
A barrage balloon is a type of airborne barrage, a large uncrewed tethered balloon used to defend ground targets against aircraft attack, by raising aloft steel cables which pose a severe risk of collision with hostile aircraft, making the atta ...
s, 1- 2 regiments (or battalions) of visual observation, warning and communications (
VNOS), and a separate communications battalion. From September 1938 to November 1940, the ''KPVO'' also included 1-2 regiments (battalions) of local air defence.
During the Great Patriotic War from November 1941 to April 1944 the air defence corps were renamed into air defence corps areas (such as the
Stalingrad Corps Region). The corps districts included up to 9 anti-aircraft artillery regiments and 14 separate anti-aircraft artillery battalions, up to 3 anti-aircraft machine-gun regiments, 1 searchlight regiment, 1 regiment (or division) of barrage balloons, up to 4 regiments (or separate battalions) VNOS, and a communications regiment (or a separate battalion). In 1945, air defence corps could include 1 anti-aircraft artillery brigade or division.
Air defence fighters operating within the limits of responsibility of the ''KPVO'' was transferred to the corps. By the end of the war, there were 14 ''KPVO'' in the Active Army, of which 5 corps continued to carry out the tasks assigned to them even after the war, and the rest of the corps were disbanded.
In July 1947, all ''KPVO'' were renamed anti-aircraft artillery corps. In January 1949, part of these corps was reorganized into ''air defence areas.'' From December 1948 to January 1949, all anti-aircraft artillery corps were disbanded.
In June 1954, for the defense of the main industrial and economic centers and regions of the USSR, 10 air defence corps were re-created. At the same time, in addition to anti-aircraft artillery formations, fighter aviation regiments and divisions were included in the corps. Since the late 1950s, anti-aircraft artillery units have been replaced by anti-aircraft missile formations and formations of radio engineering troops. Searchlight and barrage balloon units were also abolished.
In the
Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Pact (WP), formally the Treaty of Friendship, Co-operation and Mutual Assistance (TFCMA), was a Collective security#Collective defense, collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Polish People's Republic, Poland, between the Sovi ...
countries, groupings similar to the Soviet air defence corps were also created. In June–July 1960, all ''KPVO'' were enlarged and consisted of: anti-aircraft missile regiments and brigades, air defense fighter regiments, radio engineering regiments and brigades, separate
electronic warfare battalions, regiments and battalions of communications and logistics institutions.
Administrative corps
In many English-speaking countries and other countries influenced by British military traditions, a corps is also a grouping of personnel by common function, also known as an arm, service, mustering or branch.
Britain
In the British Army, an administrative corps performs much the same role – for personnel that otherwise lack them – as a
ceremonial regiment. An administrative corps therefore has its own
cap badge
A cap badge, also known as head badge or hat badge, is a badge worn on uniform headgear and distinguishes the wearer's nationality and/or organisation. The wearing of cap badges is a convention commonly found among military and police forces, as ...
,
stable belt, and other insignia and traditions.
*
Intelligence Corps
*
RAF Regiment
*
Royal Logistic Corps
The Royal Logistic Corps provides logistic support functions to the British Army. It is the largest Corps in the Army.
History
The Royal Logistic Corps (RLC) was formed on 5 April 1993, by the union of five British Army corps:
* Royal Engine ...
*
Corps of Royal Marines
*
Royal Corps of Signals
The Royal Corps of Signals (often simply known as the Royal Signals – abbreviated to R SIGNALS) is one of the combat support arms of the British Army. Signals units are among the first into action, providing the battlefield communications an ...
In some cases, the term corps is also used informally, for looser groupings of independent regiments and other units – and without many or any unifying
regalia
Regalia ( ) is the set of emblems, symbols, or paraphernalia indicative of royal status, as well as rights, prerogatives and privileges enjoyed by a sovereign, regardless of title. The word originally referred to the elaborate formal dress and ...
,
military tradition
Military tradition is the practices associated with the military or soldiers such as the styles of military uniform, drill, or the music of a military unit.
In Europe
In Europe, tradition was a principle of military culture that had evolved out ...
s or other accoutrements – such as the
Royal Armoured Corps
The Royal Armoured Corps is the armoured arm of the British Army, that together with the Household Cavalry provides its armour capability, with vehicles such as the Challenger 2 and the Warrior tracked armoured vehicle. It includes most of the Ar ...
or the "Corps of Infantry".
Australia
In Australia, soldiers belong foremost to a corps which defines a common function or employment across the army. The
Australian Army
The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia. It is a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF), along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army ...
has a system of coloured lanyards, which each identify a soldier as part of a specific corps (or sometimes individual battalion). This lanyard is a woven piece of cord which is worn on ceremonial uniforms and dates back to the issue of clasp knives in the early 20th century which were secured to the uniform by a length of cord.
If a soldier is posted to a unit outside of their parent corps, except in some circumstances the soldier continues to wear the hat badge and lanyard of their corps (e.g. a clerk posted to an infantry battalion would wear the hat badge of the Royal Australian Army Ordnance Corps but would wear the lanyard of the battalion they are posted to).
Canada
In
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
, with the integration of the Canadian Army into the
Canadian Forces
The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; , FAC) are the unified Military, military forces of Canada, including sea, land, and air commands referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army and the Royal Canadian Air Force. Under the ''National Defenc ...
, the British corps model was replaced with
personnel branch
Employment is a relationship between two parties regulating the provision of paid labour services. Usually based on a contract, one party, the employer, which might be a corporation, a not-for-profit organization, a co-operative, or any oth ...
es, defined in
Canadian Forces Administrative Orders (CFAOs) as "...cohesive professional groups...based on similarity of military roles, customs and traditions." ''CFAO 2-10)'' However, the Armour Branch continued to use the title
Royal Canadian Armoured Corps, the Infantry Branch continued to use the
Royal Canadian Infantry Corps designation, and the Artillery Branch uses the term
Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery.
When the Army,
Royal Canadian Navy
The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; , ''MRC'') is the Navy, naval force of Canada. The navy is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of February 2024, the RCN operates 12 s, 12 s, 4 s, 4 s, 8 s, and several auxiliary ...
, and
Royal Canadian Air Force
The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; ) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environmental commands within the unified Can ...
were merged in 1968 to form the Canadian Forces, the
Royal Canadian Dental Corps
The Royal Canadian Dental Corps (RCDC, ) is a personnel branch of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF). Most members of RCDC, along with the members of the Royal Canadian Medical Service, are employed in the Canadian Forces Health Services Group (CF ...
and
Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps
The Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps (RCAMC) was an administrative corps of the Canadian Army.
History
The Militia Medical Service was established in 1898. It consisted of an Army Medical Service (officers) and an Army Medical Corps (oth ...
were deactivated and merged with their Naval and Air Force counterparts to form the
Dental Branch (Canadian Forces)
The Royal Canadian Dental Corps (RCDC, ) is a personnel branch of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF). Most members of RCDC, along with the members of the Royal Canadian Medical Service, are employed in the Canadian Forces Health Services Group (CF H ...
and the
Canadian Forces Medical Service of the Canadian Forces Health Services Group (CF H Svcs Gp). The
Royal Canadian Army Service Corps transport and supply elements were combined with the
Royal Canadian Ordnance Corps to form the
Logistics Branch The
Royal Canadian Army Service Corps clerical trades were merged with the
Royal Canadian Army Pay Corps and the
Royal Canadian Postal Corps to form the Administration Branch (later merged with the
Logistics Branch)
Other "corps", included:
Canadian Engineer Corps,
Signalling Corps,
Corps of Guides,
Canadian Women's Army Corps,
Royal Canadian Army Veterinary Corps,
Canadian Forestry Corps
The Canadian Forestry Corps () was an Corps#Administrative, administrative corps of the Canadian Army with its own cap badge and other insignia and traditions.
The Canadian Forestry Corps was created 14 November 1916. The badge of the Canadian ...
,
Canadian Provost Corps and
Canadian Intelligence Corps.
India
Administrative corps in the
Indian Army
The Indian Army (IA) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Land warfare, land-based branch and largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head ...
include:
*
Army Armoured Corps
*
Army Aviation Corps
*Army Dental Corps
*
Army Education Corps
*
Army Medical Corps
*
Army Ordnance Corps
*
Army Postal Service Corps
*
Army Service Corps
*
Corps of Army Air Defence
*
Corps of Electronics and Mechanical Engineers
*
Corps of Engineers
*
Corps of Military Police
*
Corps of Signals
*
Defence Security Corps
The Defence Security Corps (DSC), is a corps of the Indian Army responsible for providing security cover to the defence installations of the three services (Indian Army, Army, Indian Navy, Navy, Indian Air Force, Air Force) and other sensitive ...
*
Intelligence Corps
*
Pioneer Corps
*
Remount and Veterinary Corps
New Zealand
In New Zealand, soldiers belong foremost to a corps which defines a common function or employment across the army.
A corps in the
New Zealand Army
The New Zealand Army (, ) is the principal Army, land warfare force of New Zealand, a component of the New Zealand Defence Force alongside the Royal New Zealand Navy and the Royal New Zealand Air Force.
Formed in 1845, as the New Zealand Mil ...
is an administrative group that comprises members of similar work functions.
If a soldier is posted to a unit outside of their parent corps, except in some circumstances the soldier continues to wear the hat badge of their corps (e.g. a
supply technician posted to an infantry battalion would wear the hat badge of the
Royal New Zealand Army Logistic Regiment.
United States
The
Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and supervising the six U.S. armed services: the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Space Force, ...
; the
Department of Transportation; and the
United States Department of Health and Human Services
The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is a cabinet-level executive branch department of the US federal government created to protect the health of the US people and providing essential human services. Its motto is ...
use ''corps'' administratively in several ways.
1) In the title of the
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...
, ''Corps'' is used as a service-branch designator, in much the same way as ''Force'' and ''Guard'' are used for the
US Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...
and
US Coast Guard.
2) The
US Army
The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...
(all
components
Component may refer to:
In engineering, science, and technology Generic systems
*System components, an entity with discrete structure, such as an assembly or software module, within a system considered at a particular level of analysis
* Lumped e ...
;
Regular Army
A regular army is the official army of a state or country (the official armed forces), contrasting with irregular forces, such as volunteer irregular militias, private armies, mercenaries, etc. A regular army usually has the following:
* a ...
,
Army Reserve, and
Army National Guard
The Army National Guard (ARNG) is an organized Militia (United States), militia force and a Reserve components of the United States Armed Forces, federal military reserve force of the United States Army. It is simultaneously part of two differen ...
) uses administrative ''corps'', also known as
''army branches'', to group personnel with a common function. These include the
Acquisition Corps,
Adjutant General's Corps
The Adjutant General's Corps is a corps in the British Army responsible for many of its general administrative services, named for the Adjutant-General to the Forces (now the Commander Home Command). As of 2002, the AGC had a staff of 7,000 peop ...
,
Chaplain Corps,
Chemical Corps,
Civil Affairs Corps,
Cyber Corps,
Dental Corps*,
Corps of Engineers,
Finance Corps
The United States Army Finance Corps is a combat service support (CSS) branch of the United States Army. The Finance Corps traces its foundation to 16 June 1775, when the Second Continental Congress established the office of Paymaster-General of ...
,
Judge Advocate General's Corps
The Judge Advocate General's Corps (JAG or JAG Corps) is the military justice branch or specialty of the United States Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marine Corps, and Navy. Officers serving in the JAG Corps are typically called judge advocates ...
,
Logistics Corps,
Medical Corps
A medical corps is generally a military branch or staff corps, officer corps responsible for medical care for serving military personnel. Such officers are typically military physicians.
List of medical corps
The following organizations are exam ...
*,
Medical Service Corps*,
Medical Specialist Corps*,
Military Intelligence Corps,
Military Police Corps,
Nurse Corps*,
Ordnance Corps,
Psychological Operations Corps,
Quartermaster Corps
Following is a list of quartermaster corps, military units, active and defunct, with logistics duties:
* Egyptian Army Quartermaster Corps - see Structure of the Egyptian Army
* Hellenic Army Quartermaster Corps (''Σώμα Φροντιστών ...
,
Signal Corps
A signal corps is a military branch, responsible for military communications (''signals''). Many countries maintain a signal corps, which is typically subordinate to a country's army.
Military communication usually consists of radio, telephone, ...
,
Transportation Corps, and
Veterinary Corps.* Each of these corps is also considered a
''regiment'' for purposes of: "... affiliation, ... loyalty and commitment, ... sense of belonging, ... unit esprit, and ... war fighting ethos." However, these regiments have no tactical function. The six corps (annotated by an asterisk above after each applicable corps' name) of the
Army Medical Department (AMEDD) are included in the AMEDD Regiment
.
3)
US Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
officers who are not ''
line officer
A line officer or officer of the line is, opposed to staff officers or reserve officers, a military officer who is eligible for command of operational, tactical or combat units. The name most likely stems from the Early modern warfare tactics ...
s'' (i.e., those who exercise general command authority and are eligible for operational command positions, as opposed to officers who normally exercise authority only within their own specialty) are commissioned into various
''Staff Corps''. These officers are specialists in career fields that are professions unto themselves, such as ministers, civil engineers, architects, dentists, lawyers, physicians, healthcare administrators, healthcare scientists, clinical care providers, nurses, financial managers, and logistics and supply specialists. These ''corps'' include the
Chaplain Corps,
Civil Engineer Corps,
Dental Corps*,
Judge Advocate General's Corps
The Judge Advocate General's Corps (JAG or JAG Corps) is the military justice branch or specialty of the United States Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marine Corps, and Navy. Officers serving in the JAG Corps are typically called judge advocates ...
,
Medical Corps
A medical corps is generally a military branch or staff corps, officer corps responsible for medical care for serving military personnel. Such officers are typically military physicians.
List of medical corps
The following organizations are exam ...
*,
Medical Service Corps*,
Nurse Corps*, and the
Supply Corps. The Navy also has a
Hospital Corps consisting of enlisted medical technicians. The Hospital Corps, along with the four Navy health services corps listed above (indicated by asterisk), is one of the five corps of the Navy
Bureau of Medicine and Surgery.
4) The US Air Force uses the title ''corps'' to designate several non-tactical organizations. These corps include five distinct health services corps of the
United States Air Force Medical Service (AFMS). The AFMS corps are the
Biomedical Sciences Corps,
Dental Corps,
Medical Corps
A medical corps is generally a military branch or staff corps, officer corps responsible for medical care for serving military personnel. Such officers are typically military physicians.
List of medical corps
The following organizations are exam ...
,
Medical Service Corps, and
Nurse Corps. The Air Force also has its own
Chaplain Corps and
Judge Advocate General's Corps
The Judge Advocate General's Corps (JAG or JAG Corps) is the military justice branch or specialty of the United States Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marine Corps, and Navy. Officers serving in the JAG Corps are typically called judge advocates ...
.
5) In the US Armed Forces, the term ''corps'' is also used in a general sense to mean the collective membership of a specified military body. Those uses include: the
''Officer Corps'' and
''Noncommissioned Officer Corps'' (NCO Corps) of the armed forces, either collectively or individually by branch of service; the ''United States Corps of Cadets'' at the
United States Military Academy
The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...
and the ''United States Coast Guard Corps of Cadets'' of the
United States Coast Guard Academy
The United States Coast Guard Academy (USCGA), located in New London, Connecticut, is the United States service academies, U.S. service academy specifically for the United States Coast Guard. Founded in 1876, the academy provides education t ...
; the overall program title and aggregate collection of cadets and midshipmen enrolled in the
Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) of the several services (i.e.,
Army ROTC
The Army Reserve Officer Training Corps (AROTC) is the United States Army component of the Reserve Officers' Training Corps. It is the largest Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program which is a group of college and university-based officer tr ...
,
Navy ROTC, and
Air Force ROTC), as well as the cadet organizations of the six federally recognized
United States Senior Military Colleges (
The Citadel,
Norwich University
Norwich University is a private university in Northfield, Vermont, United States. The university was founded in 1819 as the "American Literary, Scientific and Military Academy". It is the oldest of six senior military college, senior militar ...
,
Texas A&M University
Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of ...
, the
University of North Georgia, the
Virginia Military Institute
The Virginia Military Institute (VMI) is a public senior military college in Lexington, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1839 as America's first state military college and is the oldest public senior military college in the U.S. In k ...
, and
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
The Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, commonly referred to as Virginia Tech (VT), is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States ...
); and the members of the
Naval Sea Cadet Corps.
Non-military use
The ambassadors, consuls and other foreign embassy staff in a country are collectively referred to as the
diplomatic corps
The diplomatic corps () is the collective body of foreign diplomats accredited to a particular country or body.
The diplomatic corps may, in certain contexts, refer to the collection of accredited heads of mission ( ambassadors, high commis ...
(). In
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
, embassy vehicles have
licence plates beginning with the letters DC (or DX).
The Salvation Army
The Salvation Army (TSA) is a Protestantism, Protestant Christian church and an international charitable organisation headquartered in London, England. It is aligned with the Wesleyan-Holiness movement. The organisation reports a worldwide m ...
calls its local units/church "corps" (e.g. The Rockford Temple Corps, The St. Petersburg Citadel Corps), echoing the pseudomilitary name and structure of the organization.
In the United Kingdom, the
Royal Observer Corps was a
civil defence
Civil defense or civil protection is an effort to protect the citizens of a state (generally non-combatants) from human-made and natural disasters. It uses the principles of emergency management: prevention, mitigation, preparation, response, ...
unit from 1925 until disbanded in 1995.
In the US, there are non-military, administrative, training and certification corps for commissioned officers of the government's
uniformed services
Uniformed services is an abstract term that are generally bodies of people in employment of a state who wear a distinct uniform that differentiates them from the public and private sector. Their purpose is to foster the equality, security, saf ...
, such as the
United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps
The United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps (USPHSCC; also referred to as the Commissioned Corps of the United States Public Health Service) is the uniformed service branch of the United States Public Health Service and one of t ...
and the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Corps.
Many volunteer municipal or university ambulance, rescue, and first-aid squads are known as VACs (volunteer
ambulance corps). Prominent examples are the
Order of Malta
The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta, and commonly known as the Order of Malta or the Knights of Malta, is a Catholic Church, Cathol ...
(the largest in Ireland),
Hatzolah (largest VAC network worldwide),
Hackensack VAC. The usage of the term ''ambulance corps'' dates to
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
Major General
George B. McClellan
George Brinton McClellan (December 3, 1826 – October 29, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 24th governor of New Jersey and as Commanding General of the United States Army from November 1861 to March 186 ...
's General Order No 147 to create an "ambulance corps" within the
Union Army.
[ GO 147 used ''corps'' in one of its standard military senses. However, subsequent formations of non-military ambulance squads continued to use the term, even where they adhere less to paramilitary organizational structure.
The ]Peace Corps
The Peace Corps is an Independent agency of the U.S. government, independent agency and program of the United States government that trains and deploys volunteers to communities in partner countries around the world. It was established in Marc ...
was organized by the United States as an "army" of volunteers.
Some non-governmental organizations
A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...
(NGOs) are known as corps. Examples include Global Health Corps and Mercy Corps.
A patent examiner
A patent examiner (or, historically, a patent clerk) is an employee, usually a civil service, civil servant with a scientific or engineering background, working at a patent office.
Duties
Due to a long-standing and incessantly growing backlog of u ...
in the US is a member of the Examiner Corps.
See also
* List of corps of the United States
* List of military corps
References
Further reading
*Phisterer, Frederick, ''Statistical Record of the Armies of the United States'', Castle Books, 1883, .
* Tsouras, P.G. ''Changing Orders: The evolution of the World's Armies, 1945 to the Present'' Facts On File, Inc, 1994.
Warsaw Pact June 1989 OOB
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