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

First World War 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 ...

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 formally introduced March 1, 1800, when Napoleon ordered Gener ...

. Formed in early 1916 in Egypt in the wake of the failed Gallipoli campaign, it initially consisted of two Australian divisions, and was sent to the Western Front in mid-1916. It then took part in the fighting in France and Belgium throughout 1916 and 1917, during which time it consisted of New Zealand, Australian and British divisions. In November 1917, the corps was subsumed in to the Australian Corps, which concentrated all five Australian infantry divisions. After this, the corps was reformed as the British XXII Corps.

History

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

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in December 1915, under the command of

William Birdwood Field marshal (United Kingdom), Field Marshal William Riddell Birdwood, 1st Baron Birdwood (13 September 1865 – 17 May 1951), was a British Army officer. He saw active service in the Second Boer War on the staff of Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl ...

. This corps, along with the

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

, replaced the original

Australian and New Zealand Army Corps The Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) was 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 ...

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

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

, commander of the

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

, assumed command of the corps after the I Anzac Corps embarked for France in late March 1916. The corps initially comprised the two "new" Australian divisions—the Australian 4th and 5th Divisions—that had been spawned from the "veteran"

1st First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

and 2nd Divisions. Support troops included the II ANZAC (XXII Corps) Mounted Regiment. In July 1916, following the arrival of II Anzac in France, the Australian 4th Division was swapped for the New Zealand Division from I Anzac, and II Anzac took over a sector of front-line near

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

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

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

Third Battle of Ypres The Third Battle of Ypres (; ; ), also known as the Battle of Passchendaele ( ), was a campaign of the First World War, fought by the Allies against the German Empire. The battle took place on the Western Front, from July to November 1917, f ...

. During the action, II Anzac was the southernmost of three British corps to attack the Messines Ridge. At this time II Anzac contained the New Zealand Division, the Australian 3rd Division and the British 25th Division. The Australian 4th Division was also attached to the corps as reinforcements and was to mount a follow-up attack after the assault by the other three divisions. Upon the formation of the Australian Corps in December 1917, which contained all five Australian divisions, II Anzac was reformed as the British XXII Corps. The only Australian troops that remained with the corps were the mounted troops.

Structure

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

Notes

References

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History

Structure

See also

Notes

References

Further reading