IX Corps (United Kingdom)
IX Corps | |
---|---|
Active | 1915–1919 1940–1943 |
Country | ![]() |
Branch | ![]() |
Type | Corps |
Engagements | |
Commanders | |
Notable commanders |
Frederick Stopford Julian Byng Alexander Hamilton-Gordon Walter Braithwaite John T. Crocker Brian Horrocks |
IX Corps was a corps-sized formation of the British Army that existed during World War I and World War II.
Contents
World War I[edit]
The IX Corps was originally formed in England in 1915 in readiness to make a new landing at Suvla during the Battle of Gallipoli. Headquarters was formed at the Tower of London[1][2] Command of the corps was given to Lieutenant-General Sir Frederick Stopford.[1] His handling of the corps during the August Offensive warranted his replacement after only 9 days with Lieutenant-General Julian Byng.
During the Gallipoli campaign the corps comprised the following divisions:[3]
- 10th (Irish) Division
- 11th (Northern) Division
- 13th (Western) Division
- 53rd (Welsh) Division
- 54th (East Anglian) Division
- 2nd Mounted Division
- IX Corps Signals was provided by London District Signals, Royal Engineers[2][4]
Following the British evacuation of Gallipoli, the corps was moved to France in 1916,[1] where it was commanded by Alexander Hamilton-Gordon until he was relieved in 1918.
In September 1918 the following divisions joined the Corps:
After severe losses during the Battle of the Lys in April 1918 the corps was moved south to a quiet sector to reform. This sector was the unlucky target of the next German offensive, the Third Battle of the Aisne in May–June 1918, causing further losses to IX Corps. General Duchene, commander of the French Sixth Army, had deployed IX corps (five divisions) too far forward, on the Chemin des Dames ridge which had been gained at such cost in the Second Battle of the Aisne the previous year. (The French Commander-in-Chief Petain and the Army Group Commander Franchet d’Esperey would have preferred the ridge to be lightly held and the main defence to be a battle zone between it and the Rive Aisne).[6]
At the time of the Armistice the IX Corps was part of the Fourth Army.
World War II[edit]
The corps was reactivated during World War II in 1940, serving mainly on home defence duties against a possible German invasion. IX Corps, under the command of Lieutenant-General John T. Crocker, was sent overseas to North Africa in late February 1943 and saw active service in Algeria and Tunisia as part of the British First Army. In April Crocker was wounded in a training accident and temporarily replaced by Lieutenant-General Brian G. Horrocks. The corps was disbanded after the end of the campaign, which ended in May 1943 with the surrender of almost 250,000 German and Italian prisoners of war.[7]
General Officers Commanding[edit]
First World War commanders included:[2][8]
- Lieutenant General Frederick Stopford[9] (17 June–16 August 1915)
- Major-General H. de B. De Lisle (acting) (16–24 August 1915)
- Lieutenant General Julian Byng[10] (24 August 1915–8 February 1916)
- Lieutenant General Alexander Hamilton-Gordon[11] (20 June 1916–10 September 1918)
- Lieutenant General Walter Braithwaite[12] (from 13 September 1918)
Second World War commanders included:
- Lieutenant General Ridley Pakenham-Walsh (7 June 1941–17 November 1941)
- Lieutenant General Edwin L. Morris (18 November 1941–31 January 1942)
- Lieutenant General Francis Nosworthy (1 February 1942–11 September 1942)
- Lieutenant General John T. Crocker (12 September 1942–29 May 1943)
- Lieutenant General Brian G. Horrocks (29 May 1943–3 June 1943)
Notes[edit]
- ^ a b c The British Corps of 1914-1918 at Long, Long Trail
- ^ a b c Becke, pp. 185–91.
- ^ 6 August 1915 Suvla Bay landings at Royal Munster Fusiliers website
- ^ Lord & Watson, p. 184.
- ^ [6th Infantry Division (United Kingdom)]
- ^ Harris 2008, p477
- ^ IX Corps at British Military History
- ^ Army Commands at Colin Mackie's website
- ^ Frederick Stopford at First World War Biography
- ^ Julian Byng at First World War Biography
- ^ Hamilton-Gordon at Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives
- ^ Walter Braithwaite at First World War Biography
References[edit]
- Maj A.F. Becke,History of the Great War: Order of Battle of Divisions, Part 4: The Army Council, GHQs, Armies, and Corps 1914–1918, London: HM Stationery Office, 1944/Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, 2007, ISBN 1-847347-43-6.
- Cliff Lord & Graham Watson, Royal Corps of Signals: Unit Histories of the Corps (1920–2001) and its Antecedents, Solihull: Helion, 2003, ISBN 1-874622-92-2.
- Harris, J.P. Douglas Haig and the First World War. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2008. ISBN 978-0-521-89802-7