I Corps ("First Corps") was an

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 ...

in existence as an active formation in the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

for most of the 80 years from its creation in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

until the end of the Cold War, longer than any other corps. It had a short-lived precursor during the

Waterloo Campaign The Waterloo campaign (15 June – 8 July 1815) was fought between the French Army of the North and two Seventh Coalition armies, an Anglo-allied army and a Prussian army. Initially the French army was commanded by Napoleon Bonaparte, but he l ...

Napoleonic precursor

Assembling an army in Belgium to fight Napoleon's resurgent forces in the spring of 1815, the Duke of Wellington formed it into army corps, deliberately mixing units from the Anglo-Hanoverian, Dutch-Belgian and German contingents so that the weaker elements would be stiffened by more experienced or reliable troops. As he put it: 'It was necessary to organize these troops in brigades, divisions, and corps d’armee with those better disciplined and more accustomed to war'. He placed I Corps under the command of the

Prince of Orange Prince of Orange (or Princess of Orange if the holder is female) is a title originally associated with the sovereign Principality of Orange, in what is now southern France and subsequently held by sovereigns in the Netherlands. The title ...

and it was this corps that was first contacted by the advancing French at Quatre Bras on 16 June 1815. However, Wellington did not employ the corps as tactical entities, and continued his accustomed practice of issuing orders directly to divisional and lower commanders. When he drew up his army on the ridge at Waterloo, elements of the various corps were mixed up, and although he gave the Prince of Orange nominal command of the centre, that officer had different forces under him. Subsequent to the battle, the corps structure was re-established for the advance into France, I Corps being commanded by Maj-Gen Sir John Byng, the Prince of Orange having been wounded at Waterloo.

Composition of I Corps in the Waterloo Campaign

General Officer Commanding (GOC): General The Prince of Orange * 1st (British) Division (British Guards) * 3rd (British) Division (Anglo-Hanoverian) * 2nd (Netherlands) Division (Dutch-Belgian) * 3rd (Netherlands) Division (Dutch-Belgian)

Prior to the First World War

After Waterloo the army corps structure largely disappeared from the British Army, except for ad hoc formations assembled during annual manoeuvres (e.g. Army Manoeuvres of 1913). In 1876 a Mobilisation Scheme for eight army corps was published, with 'First Corps' based on

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian. Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colch ...

. In 1880 First Corps' organization was: * 1st Division (Colchester) ** 1st Brigade (Colchester) *** 1st Bn. 2nd Foot (Colchester), 1st Bn. 10th Foot (Colchester) ** 2nd Brigade (Colchester) *** 1st Bn.

9th Foot The Royal Norfolk Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army until 1959. Its predecessor regiment was raised in 1685 as Henry Cornwall's Regiment of Foot. In 1751, it was numbered like most other British Army regiments and named ...

(Kinsale),

28th Foot The 28th (North Gloucestershire) Regiment of Foot was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1694. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 61st (South Gloucestershire) Regiment of Foot to form the Gloucestershire Regi ...

(Fermoy) ** Divisional Troops *** 2nd Bn. 12th Foot (Portsmouth), Buckinghamshire Yeomanry (Buckingham), 1st Company Royal Engineers (Shorncliffe) ** Artillery *** F/1st Brigade

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 ...

(Ipswich), D/1st Brigade RA (Woolwich) * 2nd Division (Chelmsford) ** 1st Brigade (Chelmsford) *** 1st Bn.

15th Foot 15 (fifteen) is the natural number following 14 and preceding 16. Mathematics 15 is: * A composite number, and the sixth semiprime; its proper divisors being , and . * A deficient number, a smooth number, a lucky number, a pernicious nu ...

(Tipperary),

47th Foot The 47th (Lancashire) Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in Scotland in 1741. It served in North America during the Seven Years' War and American Revolutionary War and also fought during the Napoleonic Wars and ...

(The Curragh) ** 2nd Brigade (Warley) *** 1st Bn. 3rd Foot (Shorncliffe), 49th Foot (Dover), 55th Foot (Shorncliffe) ** Divisional Troops *** 1st Bn. 23rd Foot (Woolwich),

Hertfordshire Yeomanry The Hertfordshire Yeomanry was a Yeomanry Cavalry regiment of the British Army that could trace its formation to the late 18th century. First seeing mounted service in the Second Boer War and World War I, it subsequently converted to artillery. Th ...

(St Albans), 20th Company Royal Engineers (Chatham) ** Artillery *** I/4th Brigade RA (Newcastle), N/4th Brigade RA (Woolwich), M/4th Brigade RA (Newcastle) * 3rd Division (Gravesend) ** 1st Brigade (Gravesend) *** 77th Foot (Dublin),

104th Foot The 104th Regiment of Foot (Bengal Fusiliers) was a regiment of the British Army, raised by the Honourable East India Company in 1765. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 101st Regiment of Foot (Royal Bengal Fusiliers) to form the ...

(Belfast), 105th Foot (Newry) ** 2nd Brigade (Chatham) *** 2nd Bn. 5th Foot (Chatham),

31st Foot The 31st (Huntingdonshire) Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1702. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 70th (Surrey) Regiment of Foot to form the East Surrey Regiment in 1881. History Origins ...

(Chatham), 86th Foot (Chatham) ** Divisional Troops *** 87th Foot (Limerick),

West Kent Yeomanry The Queen's Own West Kent Yeomanry was a British Army regiment formed in 1794. It served in the Second Boer War and the First World War. It amalgamated with the Royal East Kent (The Duke of Connaught's Own) Yeomanry (Mounted Rifles) to form the ...

(Maidstone), 22nd Company Royal Engineers (Woolwich) ** Artillery *** O/4th Brigade RA (Weedon), A/5th Brigade RA (Weedon) * Cavalry Brigade (Maldon) ** 3rd Hussars (Colchester), 4th Hussars (Shorncliffe), Suffolk Yeomanry (Bury St Edmunds), F Battery C Brigade

Royal Horse Artillery The Royal Horse Artillery (RHA) was formed in 1793 as a distinct arm of the Royal Regiment of Artillery (commonly termed Royal Artillery) to provide horse artillery support to the cavalry units of the British Army. (Although the cavalry link r ...

(Canterbury) * Corps Artillery (Colchester) ** E Battery C Brigade RHA (Woolwich), H Battery A Brigade RHA (Woolwich) ** G/1st Brigade RA (Woolwich), B/5th Brigade RA (Sheffield) * Corps Engineers (Colchester) ** A (Pontoons) Troop Royal Engineer Train (Aldershot) ** C (Telegraph) Troop Royal Engineer Train (Aldershot) ** 23rd Company Royal Engineers and Field Park (Chatham) This scheme had been dropped by 1881. The Stanhope Memorandum of 1891 (drawn up by Edward Stanhope when Secretary of State for War) laid down the policy that after providing for garrisons and India, the army should be able to mobilise three army corps for home defence, two of regular troops and one partly of militia, each of three divisions. Only after those commitments, it was hoped, might two army corps be organised for the unlikely eventuality of deployment abroad. When the Second Anglo-Boer War was imminent in September 1899, a field army, referred to as the Army Corps (sometimes I Army Corps) was mobilised and sent to Cape Town. It was, in fact, 'about the equivalent of the First Army Corps of the existing mobilization scheme', and was placed under the command of Gen Sir

Redvers Buller General Sir Redvers Henry Buller, (7 December 1839 – 2 June 1908) was a British Army officer and a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forc ...

, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Aldershot Command. However, once in South Africa the corps never operated as such, and the three divisions ( 1st,

2nd A second is the base unit of time in the International System of Units (SI). Second, Seconds or 2nd may also refer to: Mathematics * 2 (number), as an ordinal (also written as ''2nd'' or ''2d'') * Second of arc, an angular measurement unit, ...

and 3rd) were widely dispersed. The 1901 Army Estimates introduced by

St John Brodrick William St John Fremantle Brodrick, 1st Earl of Midleton, KP, PC, DL (14 December 185613 February 1942), styled as St John Brodrick until 1907 and as Viscount Midleton between 1907 and 1920, was a British Conservative and Irish Unionist Alli ...

allowed for six army corps based on the six regional commands (Aldershot, Southern, Irish, Eastern, Northern and Scottish) of which only I Corps ( Aldershot Command) and II Corps ( Southern Command on Salisbury Plain) would be entirely formed of regular troops. However, these arrangements remained theoretical, the title 'I Corps' being added to Aldershot Command. In early October 1902 a memorandum was issued showing the organization and allocation of the 1st Army Corps, to which Sir John French had recently been appointed in command: * 1st Division ** 1st Brigade (Guards) (Marlborough Lines) ** 2nd Infantry Brigade (HQ Blackdown) ** One squadron of cavalry, two brigade divisions Royal Field Artillery, an ammunition column, a field company Royal Engineers, one company Army Service Corps, a field hospital * 2nd Division **

3rd Infantry Brigade The 3rd Infantry Brigade was a Regular Army infantry brigade of the British Army, part of the 1st Infantry Division. Originally formed in 1809, during the Peninsular War, the brigade had a long history, seeing action in the Second Anglo-Afg ...

(HQ Stanhope Lines) ** 4th Infantry Brigade (HQ Wellington) ** One squadron of cavalry, two brigade divisions Royal Field Artillery, an ammunition column, a field company Royal Engineers, one company Army Service Corps, a field hospital * 3rd Division ** 5th Infantry Brigade (HQ Bordon) ** 6th Infantry Brigade (HQ Bordon) ** One squadron of cavalry, two brigade divisions Royal Field Artillery, an ammunition column, a field company Royal Engineers, one company Army Service Corps, a field hospital * 1st Cavalry Brigade (South Cavalry Barracks) In 1907 the title changed to 'Aldershot Corps' but reverted to simply 'Aldershot Command' the following year. Finally, the Haldane Reforms of 1907 established a six-division British Expeditionary Force for deployment overseas, but only Aldershot Command possessed two infantry divisions and a full complement of 'army troops' to form an army corps in the field.

First World War

Pre-war planning for the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) did not envisage any intermediate headquarters between GHQ and the six infantry divisions, but it was assumed that if corps HQs became necessary, then the GOC Aldershot Command would automatically become GOC I Corps in the field. On mobilisation in August 1914 the decision was made to conform to the two-division army corps organisation employed by the French armies alongside which the BEF was to operate. Sir Douglas Haig, then commanding at Aldershot, therefore took I Corps HQ to France with 1st Division and 2nd Division under command, and it remained on the Western Front throughout the war. It had a peripheral part at the Battle of Mons, then saw hard fighting at the Battle of the Aisne and

First Battle of Ypres The First Battle of Ypres (french: Première Bataille des Flandres; german: Erste Flandernschlacht – was a battle of the First World War, fought on the Western Front around Ypres, in West Flanders, Belgium. The battle was part of the Firs ...

in 1914, at the

Battle of Aubers Ridge The Battle of Aubers (Battle of Aubers Ridge) was a British offensive on the Western Front on 9 May 1915 during the First World War. The battle was part of the British contribution to the Second Battle of Artois, a Franco-British offensive in ...

in the Spring of 1915 and alongside the Canadian Corps at the Battle of Hill 70, as well in many other large battles of the First World War.

Composition of I Corps in First World War

The composition of army corps changed frequently. Some representative orders of battle for I Corps are given here. Order of Battle at Mons 23 August 1914 General Officer Commanding: Lieut-Gen Sir Douglas Haig * Brigadier-General, General Staff (BGGS): J.E. Gough VC * Brigadier-General,

: H.S. Horne *

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...

, Royal Engineers: Brig-Gen Spring R. Rice * 1st Division * 2nd Division * Army Troops attached (20 August 1914) ** 1st Army HQ Signal Company, Royal Engineers *** D (Air Line) Section *** G, K & L (Cable) Sections ** No 2 Section, 1st Printing Company, Royal Engineers ** No 1 Bridging Train, Royal Engineers ** B Squadron,

North Irish Horse The North Irish Horse was a yeomanry unit of the British Territorial Army raised in the northern counties of Ireland in the aftermath of the Second Boer War. Raised and patronised by the nobility from its inception to the present day, it was o ...

** Company, 1st Bn Cameron Highlanders ** B & C Sections, No 19 Field Ambulance, RAMC By the time of the battles of

Aubers Ridge The Battle of Aubers (Battle of Aubers Ridge) was a British offensive on the Western Front on 9 May 1915 during the First World War. The battle was part of the British contribution to the Second Battle of Artois, a Franco-British offensive int ...

and

Festubert Festubert is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France. The village was on the Western Front during the First World War and was largely destroyed in the May 1915 Battle of Festubert. Geography A farming v ...

(May 1915), I Corps still had 1st and 2nd Divisions under command, but had been reinforced by

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 ...

of the Territorial Force, and 1st Canadian Division. Once the era of trench warfare had set in on the Western Front (1915–17), the BEF left its army corps in position for long periods, so that they became familiar with their sector, while rotating divisions as they required rest, training, or transfer to other sectors. From May 1916 to August 1917,

I Corps Cavalry Regiment The South Irish Horse was a Special Reserve cavalry regiment of the British Army. Formed as an Imperial Yeomanry regiment in 1902 as the South of Ireland Imperial Yeomanry, it perpetuated a unit formed during the Second Boer War. It transferred t ...

was provided by the 1st South Irish Horse. On 25 September 1918, for the final battles, I Corps was transferred from First Army to Sir William Birdwood's Fifth Army. Order of Battle during the final advance in Artois 2 October-11 November 1918 General Officer Commanding: Lieut-Gen Sir Arthur Holland
BGGS: Brig-Gen G.V. Hordern
Deputy Adjutant & Quartermaster-General: Brig-Gen N.G. Anderson
Commander, Royal Artillery: Brig-Gen H.C. Sheppard
Commander, Heavy Artillery: Brig-Gen F.G. Maunsell
Commander, Engineers: Brig-Gen H.W. Gordon *

15th (Scottish) Division The 15th (Scottish) Infantry Division was an infantry division of the British Army that served in the First World War. The 15th (Scottish) Division was formed from men volunteering for Kitchener's Army, and served from 1915 to 1918 on the West ...

16th (Irish) Division The 16th (Irish) Division was an infantry division of the British Army, raised for service during World War I. The division was a voluntary 'Service' formation of Lord Kitchener's New Armies, created in Ireland from the ' National Volunteers' ...

* 55th (West Lancashire) Division (transferred to III Corps on 8 October) * 58th (2/1st London) Division (transferred from VIII Corps/First Army on 14 October). * Royal Engineers ** 133rd Army Troops Company ** 135th Army Troops Company ** 290th (Staffordshire) Army Troops Company ** 556th (Glamorgan) Army Troops Company **

170th Tunnelling Company The 170th Tunnelling Company was one of the tunnelling companies of the Royal Engineers created by the British Army during World War I. The tunnelling units were occupied in offensive and defensive mining involving the placing and maintaining of ...

** 3rd Australian Tunnelling Company ** 'A' Corps Signal Company *** 5 and 85 (Motor) Airline Sections *** K and AN Cable Sections

Second World War

Battle of France

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 ...

, I Corps' first assignment was again to the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) where it was commanded by General Sir John Dill, and then Lieutenant General Michael Barker from April 1940. After the

Germans , native_name_lang = de , region1 = , pop1 = 72,650,269 , region2 = , pop2 = 534,000 , region3 = , pop3 = 157,000 3,322,405 , region4 = , pop4 = ...

broke through Allied lines in the Battle of France in May 1940, the BEF was forced to retreat to Dunkirk for evacuation to England. The Commander-in-Chief (C-in-C) of the BEF, General Lord Gort, ordered Barker to form the rearguard with I Corps to cover the evacuation, and surrender to the Germans as a last resort. However, the acting commander of II Corps, Major General Bernard Montgomery, advised Gort that Barker was in an unfit state to be left in final command, and recommended that Major General

Harold Alexander Harold Rupert Leofric George Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis, (10 December 1891 – 16 June 1969) was a senior British Army officer who served with distinction in both the First and the Second World War and, afterwards, as Governor G ...

of the 1st Division should be put in charge. Gort did as Montgomery advised, and in the event the bulk of I Corps was successfully evacuated. As Montgomery recalled: '"Alex" got everyone away in his own calm and confident manner'.

Composition of I Corps in the Battle of France

The order of battle was as follows:
General Officer Commanding: Lieutenant General M.G.H. Barker * 1st Infantry Division * 2nd Infantry Division *

48th (South Midland) Infantry Division The 48th (South Midland) Division was an infantry division of the British Army. Part of the Territorial Force (TF) and raised in 1908, the division was originally called the South Midland Division, and was redesignated as the 48th (South Midlan ...

** 27th Army Field Regiment (21/24 & 37/47 Batteries) ** 140th (5th London) Army Field Regiment (366 (10th London) & 367 (11th London) Batteries) ** 3rd Medium Regiment (2/11 & 6/10 Batteries) ** 5th Medium Regiment (15/17 & 20/21 Batteries) ** 52nd (East Lancashire) Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment (154, 155 & 156 Batteries) ** 2nd Light Anti-Aircraft Battery ** 1st Survey Regiment * I Corps Troops, Royal Engineers ** 102nd, 107th, 221st Army Field Companies ** 105th Corps Field Park Company ** 13th Corps Field Survey Company * Infantry—Machine Gun ** 2nd Battalion,

Cheshire Regiment The Cheshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Prince of Wales' Division. The 22nd Regiment of Foot was raised by the Duke of Norfolk in 1689 and was able to boast an independent existence of over 300 years. ...

** 4th Battalion, Cheshire Regiment ** 2nd Battalion, Manchester Regiment

North-West Europe

After returning to England I Corps then remained in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, based at Hickleton Hall in

South Yorkshire South Yorkshire is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and metropolitan county, metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. The county has four council areas which are the cities of City of Doncaster, Doncaster and City of Sh ...

within Northern Command on anti-invasion duties, preparing defences to repel a German invasion of the United Kingdom. Lieutenant General J T Crocker, Cb, Cbe, Dso, Mc, Commander of 1st Corps, France, August 1944 TR2167

Lieutenant General J T Crocker, Cb, Cbe, Dso, Mc, Commander of 1st Corps, France, August 1944 TR2167

I Corps, now commanded by 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 ...

, then took part in the

Normandy landings The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allies of World War II, Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and ...

on 6 June 1944 where, along with XXX Corps, under Lieutenant General Gerard Bucknall (who had commanded I Corps between April and August 1943), it was a spearhead corps of Lieutenant General

Miles Dempsey General Sir Miles Christopher Dempsey, (15 December 1896 – 5 June 1969) was a senior British Army officer who served in both world wars. During the Second World War he commanded the Second Army in north west Europe. A highly professional an ...

British Second Army The British Second Army was a field army active during the First and Second World Wars. During the First World War the army was active on the Western Front throughout most of the war and later active in Italy. During the Second World War the army ...

, itself part of the 21st Army Group. The corps was then involved in the

Battle of Normandy Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 (D-Day) with the Norm ...

in fierce attritional fighting for control of the Normandy beachhead. After fighting for two months in the Battle for Caen, I Corps was subordinated on 1 August 1944 to the

Canadian First Army The First Canadian Army (french: 1reArmée canadienne) was a field army and a formation of the Canadian Army in World War II in which most Canadian elements serving in North-West Europe were assigned. It served on the Western Front from July 1944 ...

, commanded by

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) 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 ...

Harry Crerar General Henry Duncan Graham Crerar (28 April 1888 – 1 April 1965) was a senior officer of the Canadian Army who became the country's senior field commander in the Second World War as commander of the First Canadian Army in the campaign in N ...

, for the remainder of the Normandy campaign and the subsequent operations in the

Low Countries The term Low Countries, also known as the Low Lands ( nl, de Lage Landen, french: les Pays-Bas, lb, déi Niddereg Lännereien) and historically called the Netherlands ( nl, de Nederlanden), Flanders, or Belgica, is a coastal lowland region in N ...

. During Operation Pheasant, I Corps was unique in that it fielded multi national divisionsm - Polish 1st Armoured Division, the Canadian 4th Armoured Division the British 49th ''Polar Bears'' Division and the US 104th ''Timberwolf'' Division. After the Battle of the Scheldt I Corps Headquarters then took over administration of the 21st Army Group's logistics area around the port of Antwerp,

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

until the end of the war.

Composition of I Corps in NW Europe Campaign

General Officer Commanding: Lieutenant-General

* Corps troops: **

Inns of Court Regiment The Inns of Court Regiment (ICR) was a British Army regiment that existed under that name between May 1932 and May 1961. However, the unit traces its lineage back much further, to at least 1584, and its name lives on today within 68 (Inns of Cour ...

, Royal Armoured Corps (armoured cars) **

62nd (6th London) Anti-Tank Regiment, Royal Artillery The 6th County of London Brigade, Royal Field Artillery was a new unit formed when Britain's Territorial Force was created in 1908. Its origin lay in Artillery Volunteer Corps formed in the Surrey suburbs of South London in the 1860s, which had l ...

** 102nd Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery ** 9th Survey Regiment, RA ** I Corps Troops, Royal Engineers ** I Corps Signals, Royal Corps of Signals Attached: * 4th Army Group, Royal Artillery ** 150th (South Nottinghamshire Hussars) Regiment, Royal Horse Artillery (suspended animation January 1945) ** 53rd (London) Medium Regiment, RA (209 & 210 (London) Batteries) ** 65th (Highland) Medium Regiment, RA (222 (Fraserburgh) & 223 (Banffshire) Batteries) ** 68th Medium Regiment, RA (233 & 234 Batteries) ** 79th (Scottish Horse Yeomanry) Medium Regiment, RA ** 51st (Lowland) Heavy Regiment, RA Assignments of corps to armies, and divisions to corps, changed frequently during the campaign: As of 6 June 1944 * British 3rd Infantry Division * 3rd Canadian Infantry Division * 6th Airborne Division As of 7 July 1944 * British 3rd Infantry Division * 3rd Canadian Infantry Division * 51st (Highland) Infantry Division *

59th (Staffordshire) Infantry Division The 59th (Staffordshire) Infantry Division was an infantry division of the British Army that was formed during the Second World War and fought in the Battle of Normandy. In March 1939, after Germany re-emerged as a significant military power ...

* 6th Airborne Division As of 1 August 1944 (now part of First Canadian Army) * 51st (Highland) Infantry Division * 6th Airborne Division (returned to United Kingdom 3 September 1944) *

49th (West Riding) Infantry Division The 49th (West Riding) Infantry Division was an infantry division of the British Army. The division fought in the First World War in the trenches of the Western Front, in the fields of France and Flanders. During the Second World War, the divis ...

* 7th Armoured Division

British Army of the Rhine

After the defeat of Germany, the 21st Army Group became the

British Army of the Rhine There have been two formations named British Army of the Rhine (BAOR). Both were originally occupation forces in Germany, one after the First World War and the other after the Second World War. Both formations had areas of responsibility located ...

(BAOR), and 1 Corps, under the command of Lieutenant-General Ivor Thomas, was transformed into a corps district, with an administrative, rather than combat, role. It was disbanded in 1947.The British Army in Germany: An Organizational History 1947-2004 By Graham Watson, Richard A. Rinaldi, Page 11
Tiger Lily, 2005, However, in October 1951 the corps was reactivated to become the principal combat element of the BAOR, with its HQ based in

Bielefeld Bielefeld () is a city in the Ostwestfalen-Lippe Region in the north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population of 341,755, it is also the most populous city in the administrative region (''Regierungsbezirk'') of Detmold and the ...

. In March 1952, following the reactivation of 6th Armoured Division, its component formations were: * 2nd Infantry Division * 6th Armoured Division * 7th Armoured Division * 11th Armoured Division Included as part of this was

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

's contribution to the NATO land forces in Germany. A Canadian mechanised brigade remained part of BAOR until 1970. The size of this force, 6,700, was such that it was referred to within British circles as a "light division". 4th Division was reformed from 11th Armoured Division on 1 April 1956. In a following 1958-60 reorganisation the Corps was formed into three mixed armour/infantry divisions including five brigade groups, which were in 1965 brought together into three centralised divisions (1st, 2nd, and 4th). In 1958, the "infantry" designation was dropped from the 2nd Infantry Division's title as part of this reorganisation. During the 1970s, 4th Division consisted of two "square" brigades. With the end of

National Service National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939. The ...

, manpower across the whole of BAOR dropped from around 77,000 to 55,000. In the late 1970s the Corps was reorganised as four small five-battle-group armoured divisions plus a roughly brigade sized infantry 'Field Force'. It then comprised: * 1st Armoured Division * 2nd Armoured Division * 3rd Armoured Division * 4th Armoured Division - formed 1978 and served with I (BR) Corps with its headquarters at

Hammersmith Barracks Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. It ...

Herford Herford (; nds, Hiarwede) is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, located in the lowlands between the hill chains of the Wiehen Hills and the Teutoburg Forest. It is the capital of the district of Herford. Geography Geographic locat ...

. * 5th Field Force Following the 1981-3 reorganisation, the Corps consisted of 1st and 4th Armoured Divisions, which would have manned the front line against the anticipated attack by the Soviet 3rd Shock Army, plus in an in-depth, reserve role the 3rd Armoured Division and finally the 2nd Infantry Division which was tasked with rear-area security. * 1st Armoured Division **

7th Armoured Brigade 7 (seven) is the natural number following 6 and preceding 8. It is the only prime number preceding a cube. As an early prime number in the series of positive integers, the number seven has greatly symbolic associations in religion, mythology, s ...

** 12th Armoured Brigade ** 22nd Armoured Brigade * 3rd Armoured Division ** 4th Armoured Brigade ** 6th Armoured Brigade ** 33rd Armoured Brigade * 4th Armoured Division ** 11th Armoured Brigade ** 20th Armoured Brigade ** 19th Infantry Brigade (in UK) * 2nd Infantry Division (in UK) ** 15th Infantry Brigade (TA) ** 24th Airmobile Brigade ** 49th Infantry Brigade (TA) * The Artillery Division (HQ Ripon Barracks, Bielefeld) : I British Corps - 1989

With the end of the Cold War, in 1992 1 (BR) Corps was disbanded, and its HQ closed. Some of the staff serving in HQ 1(BR) Corps were reassigned to the new HQ UK Support Command (Germany) which was formed from the rump of HQ BAOR. The remainder of the staff formed the British component (50% of the total staff in the HQ) in the

Headquarters Allied Command Europe Rapid Reaction Corps The Allied Rapid Reaction Corps (ARRC) is a North Atlantic Treaty Organization High Readiness Force (Land) Headquarters ready for deployment worldwide. History The ARRC was created on 1 October 1992 in Bielefeld based on the former I (Britis ...

(HQ ARRC), a newly instated multi-national NATO Rapid Reaction Corps HQ. The Corps Commander reported to the Supreme Allied Commander Europe

SACEUR The Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) is the commander of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO) Allied Command Operations (ACO) and head of ACO's headquarters, Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE). The commander is ...

, but had no troops under command except when assigned to ARRC by NATO member nations, for operations or for exercises. HQ ARRC moved to Rheindahlen in 1994.

General Officers Commanding

Commanders have included: * 1815 General The Prince of Orange ''From 1901 to 1905 the commander of the troops at Aldershot was also commander 1st Army Corps'' * 1 October 1901: General Sir Redvers Buller * 25 October 1901: Lieutenant-General Sir Henry Hildyard, temporary * 15 September 1902: Lieutenant-General Sir John French * 1914 Lieutenant-General Sir Douglas Haig * 1914–1915 Lieutenant-General Sir Charles Monro * 1915–1916 Lieutenant-General Sir Hubert Gough * 1916 Lieutenant General Charles Kavanagh * 1916 Major-General

Havelock Hudson General Sir Havelock Hudson, (22 June 1862 – 25 December 1944) was a British Indian Army officer who was General Officer Commanding 8th Division during World War I. Military career Hudson was commissioned into the Northamptonshire Re ...

* 1916 Lieutenant-General Sir Charles Anderson * 1917 Major-General John Capper * 1917–1918 Lieutenant-General Arthur Holland * 1918 Major-General Sir Hugh Jeudwine * 1918 Lieutenant-General Sir Arthur Holland ''Note: I Corps was disbanded at the end of the First World War and reformed at the start of the Second World War'' * 1939–1940 General Sir John Dill * 1940 Lieutenant-General Michael Barker * 1940 Lieutenant-General

* 1940–1941 Lieutenant-General Laurence Carr * 1941–1942 Lieutenant-General Henry Willcox * 1942–1943 Lieutenant-General Frederick Morgan * Apr-Aug 1943 Lieutenant-General Gerard Bucknall * 1943–1945 Lieutenant-General

* 1945 Lieutenant-General

Sidney Kirkman General Sir Sidney Chevalier Kirkman, (29 July 1895 – 29 October 1982) was a British Army officer, who served in both the First World War and Second World War. During the latter he commanded the artillery of the Eighth Army during the Second B ...

* 1945–1947 Lieutenant-General Ivor Thomas ''Note: I Corps was disbanded in June 1947 and reformed in late 1951'' * 1951–1953 Lieutenant-General Sir Dudley Ward * 1953–1954 Lieutenant-General Sir James Cassels * 1954–1956 Lieutenant-General Sir Hugh Stockwell * 1956–1958 Lieutenant-General Sir Harold Pyman * 1958–1960 Lieutenant-General Sir Michael West * 1960–1962 Lieutenant-General Sir Charles Jones * 1962–1963 Lieutenant-General Sir Kenneth Darling * 1963–1966 Lieutenant-General Sir Richard Goodwin * 1966–1968 Lieutenant-General Sir John Mogg * 1968–1970 Lieutenant-General Sir Mervyn Butler * 1970–1972 Lieutenant-General Sir John Sharp * 1972–1974 Lieutenant-General Sir Roland Gibbs * 1974–1976 Lieutenant-General Sir Jack Harman * 1976–1978 Lieutenant-General Sir Richard Worsley * 1978–1980 Lieutenant-General Sir Peter Leng * 1980–1983 Lieutenant-General Sir Nigel Bagnall * 1983–1985 Lieutenant-General Sir Martin Farndale * 1985–1987 Lieutenant-General Sir Brian Kenny * 1987–1989 Lieutenant-General Sir Peter Inge * 1989–1991 Lieutenant-General Sir Charles Guthrie * 1991–1992 Lieutenant-General Sir Jeremy Mackenzie

Notes

References

* * Dunlop, Colonel John K., ''The Development of the British Army 1899–1914'', London, Methuen (1938). * Ellis, John, ''The World War II Databook''. BCA Publishing, 2003. CN 1185599. * Forty, George, ''British Army Handbook 1939-1945'', Sutton Publishing (1998). * Hart, Stephen, ''Road To Falaise'', Sutton Publishing (2004). * Hofschroer, Peter, ''1815: The Waterloo Campaign: Wellington, his German Allies and the Battles of Ligny and Quatre Bras'', London: Greenhill Books (1998) (). * Hofschroer, Peter, ''1815: The Waterloo Campaign: The German Victory'', London: Greenhill Books (1999) (). * Isby, David, & Kamps, Charles Jr, ''Armies of NATO's Central Front'', Jane's Publishing Company (1985). * Brig E.A. James, ''British Regiments 1914–18'', London: Samson Books, 1978, ISBN 0-906304-03-2/Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, 2001, ISBN 978-1-84342-197-9. * JPS Cigarette card series, ''Army, Corps and Divisional Signs 1914–1918'', John Player and sons, 1920s. * * Montgomery, Viscount, ''The Memoirs of Field-Marshal Montgomery'', London: Collins (1958). * Neillands,Robin ''The Great War Generals on the Western Front 1914-18'', London: Robinson Publishing (1999). * * Official History 1914: Edmonds, Brigadier-General Sir James E., ''Military Operations France and Belgium, 1914, Volume I: Mons, the Retreat to the Seine, the Marne and the Aisne, August–October 1914'' 3rd revised edn 1933 (reprint Imperial War Museum, 1992) (). * Official History 1915: Edmonds, Brigadier-General Sir James E., and Wynne, Capt G.C., ''Military Operations France and Belgium, 1915'' Volume II: ''Battle of Aubers Ridge, Festubert, and Loos'', London: Macmillan, 1928. * Official History 1918: Edmonds, Brigadier-General Sir James E., ''Military Operations France and Belgium, 1918 Volume V: 26 September–11 November: The Advance to Victory'' 1947 (reprint Imperial War Museum, 1992) (). * Official History 1939-40: Ellis, Major L.F., ''History of the Second World War, United Kingdom Military Series: The War in France and Flanders 1939-1940'', London: HMSO, 1954. * The National Archives, WO 171/258-260, I Corps HQ War Diaries, January - December 1944. * Graham E. Watson & Richard A. Rinaldi, ''The Corps of Royal Engineers: Organization and Units 1889–2018'', Tiger Lily Books, 2018, . * Williams, Mary H., (compiler), "U. S. Army in World War II, Chronology 1941-1945", Washington D.C.:

Government Printing Office The United States Government Publishing Office (USGPO or GPO; formerly the United States Government Printing Office) is an agency of the legislative branch of the United States Federal government. The office produces and distributes information ...

(1958).

External sources

''The Long Long Trail''

''Official History 1939-40''

British Army Locations from 1945

{{DEFAULTSORT:01 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 disestablished in 1992