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This article is about the British Army Corps. For other units of the same name, see
XI Corps .
Military unit
XI Corps was a
corps -sized formation of the
British Expeditionary Force , active during the
First World War that served on the
Western Front and in
Italy . It was recreated as part of Home Forces defending the United Kingdom during the
Second World War .
First World War
Western Front
XI Corps was formed in France on 29 August 1915 under Lt-Gen
Richard Haking .
[1] Its first serious engagement (as part of
Sir Charles Monro 's
First Army ) was the
Battle of Fromelles (19 July 1916), a diversion to the
Somme offensive in which two untried divisions were launched into an ill-planned subsidiary attack in Flanders. It achieved nothing but cost thousands of casualties, and caused great resentment in Australia.
[2]
Order of Battle at Fromelles
[3]
General Officer Commanding Lt-Gen R. Haking
Italian Front
XI Corps was one of two corps HQs moved to the
Italian Front in November 1917.
[1]
Order of Battle in Italy 1 December 1917
[4]
GOC Lt-Gen Sir Richard Haking
Corps Troops:
1/1st
King Edward's Horse
HQ Corps Heavy Artillery
Royal Garrison Artillery (RGA)
11th Cyclist Battalion
Army Cyclist Corps
Corps Topographical Section
Royal Engineers (RE)
Signal Troops RE (L Corps Signal Company; 27 (Motor) Airline Section; R and LC Cable Sections, *Corps Heavy Artillery Signal Section RGA)
Corps Siege Park
Army Service Corps (ASC)
Corps Ammunition Park (345 (MT) Company (25 Ammunition Sub-Park) ASC)
491 (MT) Company ASC, attached Corps Heavy Artillery
5th (Light) Mobile Workshop
Army Ordnance Corps (AOC)
Area Employment Company
Corps School
Return to the Western Front
XI Corps returned to the Western Front in March 1918 in time to take part in the defence against the
German spring offensive (the
Battle of the Lys ) and the final battles of the war as part of
Sir William Birdwood 's
Fifth Army .
Order of Battle 27 September 1918
[5]
Corps Headquarters Command Staff
GOC Lt-Gen Sir
Richard Haking
Brigadier-General, General Staff: Brig-Gen
J.E.S. Brind
Deputy Adjutant & Quartermaster-General: Brig.-Gen A.F.U. Green
Assistant Director Ordnance Services, Lt Col A.J. Herbert, NZAOC
[6]
Commander, Royal Artillery: Brig-Gen S.F. Metcalfe
Commander, Heavy Artillery: Brig-Gen F.A. Twiss
Commander, Engineers: Brig-Gen H.J.M. Marshall
Divisions attached to XI Corps
Second World War
XI Corps was reformed in the United Kingdom early in the
Second World War . It was based at
Bishop's Stortford in
Hertfordshire
[7] with a major operational base at
Felsted School .
[8]
Order of Battle Autumn 1940
[9]
General Officers Commanding
Commanders included:
[12]
29 August – 4 September 1915 Major-General the
Earl of Cavan (temporary)
4 September 1915 – 13 August 1916 Lieutenant-General
Richard Haking
13 August – 30 September 1916 Lieutenant-General
Sir Charles Anderson
30 September 1916 – 1919 Lieutenant-General Sir Richard Haking
July 1940 – November 1941 Lieutenant-General
Hugh Massy
November 1941 – March 1942 Lieutenant-General
Noel Irwin
March 1942 – September 1942 Lieutenant-General
John Crocker
September 1942 – April 1943 Lieutenant-General
Gerard Bucknall
April 1943 – July 1943 Lieutenant-General
Gerald Templer
Notes
^
a
b
c Baker, Chris (2010).
"The British Corps of 1914-1918" . The Long, Long Trail . Retrieved 11 June 2014 .
^ Baker, Chris (2007).
"Fromelles: was the Australian Official History more truthful than the British?" . The Long, Long Trail . Retrieved 11 June 2014 .
^ Baker, Chris (2010).
"The Battles of the Somme, 1916" . The Long, Long Trail . Retrieved 11 June 2014 .
^ Baker, Chris (2010).
"The British campaign in Italy 1917-1918" . The Long, Long Trail . Retrieved 11 June 2014 .
^ Official History 1918 Volume V, p 125 and Appendix I.
^
"Military personnel file" . Archway, Archives New Zealand . Retrieved 20 August 2018 .
^ Newbold, p. 202
^
"Wartime Memories" . Felsted School. Retrieved 20 February 2016 .
^
"11 Corps" . The Royal Artillery 1939-45 . 2014. Retrieved 11 June 2014 .
^
"147 (Essex Yeomanry) Field Regiment RA (TA)" . The Royal Artillery 1939-45 . 2014. Retrieved 11 June 2014 .
^
"72 Medium Regiment RA (TA)" . The Royal Artillery 1939-45 . 2014. Archived from
the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 11 June 2014 .
^ Mackie, Colin (2011).
"Army Commands 1900-2011" (PDF) . gulabin.com . p. 137. Archived from
the original (PDF) on 5 July 2015. Retrieved 11 June 2014 .
References
Further reading
Liddiard, Robert; Sims, David (2014).
Guide 4: Stop Lines (PDF) . A Guide to Second World War Archaeology in Suffolk. Aylsham, Norfolk: Barnwell Print.
External sources
British army groups, armies, commands, and corps during the Second World War
Army Groups (
list ) Armies (
list ) Corps (
list ) Commands (
list ) Other