I Corps of the Belgian Army

Belgian Army

The Land Component is organised using the concept of capacities, whereby units are gathered together according to their function and material. Within this framework, there are five capacities: the command capacity, the combat capacity, the support capacity, the services capacity and the training...

 was a army

Army

An army An army An army (from Latin arma "arms, weapons" via Old French armée, "armed" (feminine), in the broadest sense, is the land-based military of a nation or state. It may also include other branches of the military such as the air force via means of aviation corps...

 corps

Corps

A corps is either a large formation, or an administrative grouping of troops within an armed force with a common function such as Artillery or Signals representing an arm of service...

 active during World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

 (probably), World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, and the Cold War

Cold War

The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...

.

During the Belgian Campaign

Battle of Belgium

The Battle of Belgium or Belgian Campaign formed part of the greater Battle of France, an offensive campaign by Germany during the Second World War...

 of 1940, it initially held defences at Liège

Liège

Liège is a major city and municipality of Belgium located in the province of Liège, of which it is the economic capital, in Wallonia, the French-speaking region of Belgium....

 but was forced to retreat by the German XVI Panzer Corps. (The Battle of Fort Eben-Emael

Battle of Fort Eben-Emael

The Battle of Fort Eben-Emael was a battle between Belgian and German forces that took place between 10 May and 11 May 1940, and was part of the Battle of the Netherlands, Battle of Belgium and Fall Gelb, the German invasion of the Low Countries and France...

 occurred along the Corps' defensive line.) During the Cold War, it served initially as an Army of Occupation in Germany and then as part of NATO's Northern Army Group

Northern Army Group

The Northern Army Group was a NATO military formation comprising four Western European Army Corps, during the Cold War as part of NATO's forward defence in the Federal Republic of Germany.- History :...

. The corps headquarters was initially established at Yser Caserne, Lüdenscheid

Lüdenscheid

Lüdenscheid is a town in the Märkischer Kreis district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the Sauerland region. Lüdenscheid is seat of the administration of the Märkischer Kreis district...

, on 15 October 1946. Lieutenant General Jean-Baptiste Piron

Jean-Baptiste Piron

Lieutenant General Jean-Baptiste Piron DSO was the commander of the 1st Belgian Infantry Brigade, also known as the Piron Brigade, which took part in the liberation of Western Europe during the Second World War.After joining the army in 1914, he served in the 2nd Line Regiment until being...

 took command in November 1946. Corps headquarters moved to Haelen Caserne, Junkersdorf, Lindenthal (Cologne), in 1948.

During Exercise Battle Royal in September 1954, the Corps consisted of 1 (BE) Infantry Division and 16 (BE) Armoured Division with 1 Canadian Brigade

1 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group

1 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group is a Canadian Forces brigade group that is part of Land Forces Western Area of the Canadian army...

 and 46 Parachute Brigade (16th Airborne Division (United Kingdom)

16th Airborne Division (United Kingdom)

The 16th Airborne Division was an airborne division of the British Territorial Army.It was raised in 1947, to compensate for the loss of the 1st Airborne Division, which had been disbanded in 1945 and the 6th Airborne Division which was going to be disbanded in 1948...

) under command.

In 1960 the 1st and 16th Divisions were transformed into mechanised divisions of the 'Landcent' type. That year, 1st Division at Bensberg

Bergisch Gladbach

' is a city in the Cologne/Bonn Region of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and capital of the Rheinisch-Bergischer Kreis .-Geography:Bergisch Gladbach is located east of the river Rhine, approx...

 consisted of 1st Infantry Brigade

1st Brigade (Belgium)

The Medium Brigade, formerly the 1st Mechanised Brigade, is a Brigade of the Land Component of the Belgian Armed Forces. Its headquarters is located in Leopoldsburg.-Organisation:The Medium Brigade consists of the following units:...

 (Siegen), 7th Brigade

7th Brigade (Belgium)

The Light Brigade, formerly the 7th Mechanised Brigade, is a Brigade of the Land Component of the Belgian Armed Forces. Its headquarters is located in Marche-en-Famenne.-Organisation:The 7th Brigade comprises the following units:...

(Spich), and 18th Armoured Brigade (Euskirchen), and 16th Armoured Division consisted of 17th Armoured Brigade (Duren), 16th Infantry Brigade (Ludenscheid) and 4th Infantry Brigade (Soest).

On 1 January 1995 the Corps HQ appears to have become the Intervention Forces HQ, which was relocated from Germany back into Belgium in 1996.

Further reading

• David G. Haglund and Olaf Mager (eds), Homeward bound? : allied forces in the new Germany, Westview Press, 1992.

xi, 299 p. : ill. ; 22 cm. ISBN 0813384109.