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I Corps (France)
Encyclopedia
The I Corps was first formed before World War I. During World War II it fought in the Campaign for France in 1940, on the Mediterranean islands of Corsica
and Elba
in 1943 - 1944, and in the campaigns to liberate France in 1944 and invade Germany in 1945.
). At the time of the Battle of Passchendaele, the Corps comprised the 1st Division, 2nd Division
, 51st Division and 162nd Division.
I Corps was constituted on August 27, 1939, in Lille
under the command of Major General
Sciard as part of the French mobilization
for war. Initially assigned as part of the French First Army
, the corps was transferred to the French Seventh Army and moved to coastal regions near Calais
and Dunkerque by mid-November, 1939. On May 10, 1940 the Corps commanded the 25th Motorised Infantry Division (25e DIM) in addition to its organic units.
With the German invasion violating the neutrality of Belgium and the Netherlands
on May 10, 1940, the I Corps moved into Belgium with the goal of gaining contact with the Dutch Army. This was achieved on May 12 near Breda
, but the general failure of the Allies to hold the German advance mandated early retreats so that the I Corps would not be cut off. Breda fell to the Germans on May 13 and the corps conducted a fighting withdrawal through Dorp and Wuustwezel
to the fortified zone of Antwerp, Belgium. During May 15–17, the corps defended the Scheldt Estuary with the 60th and 21st Infantry Divisions (60e DI and 21e DI), but was ordered to retreat back into France on May 18.
The period from May 19–26 saw the corps falling back to the line of the Somme River
, where the French Army intended to make a major stand. Because of German advances, the I Corps had to deploy its divisional reconnaissance
units to cover positions on the river that the slower-moving infantry divisions (4th Colonial Infantry Division - 4e DIC, 7th North African Infantry Division - 7e DINA, and the 19e DI) could then occupy. This required combat with the Germans, but the corps reached positions near Le Hamel, Aubigny, and along the road between Amiens
and Saint-Quentin
. During May 24–25, troops of the corps seized and lost Aubigny twice. The Germans, however, had held onto a large bridgehead at Peronne
. The Germans broke out of this bridgehead on June 5, 1940, and continued their advance into the heart of France. A counterattack by armored elements of the corps on June 6 was halted by the Germans.
From June 9, the corps was involved in a succession of withdrawals that were meant to form lines of defense along the Avre
, Oise
, Nonette
, Seine, and Loire rivers. The crossing of the Oise River was made under German air attack, some bridges were destroyed by the Luftwaffe
, and portions of the corps' infantry had to surrender north of the Oise.
After the Germans crossed the Loire River on June 18, the 19e DI of the corps was largely destroyed near La Ferté
. This was followed by capture of the bulk of the infantry of the 29th (29e DI) and 47th Infantry Divisions (47e DI) on June 19 near Lamotte-Beuvron. The final week of the campaign was a constant retreat for the remnants of the corps, with elements crossing the Dordogne River
near Bergerac
on June 24, 1940. The following day, an armistice was declared and the corps assembled in the region of Miallet and Thiviers
.
On July 1, Brigadier General
Trancart assumed command of the corps. The I Corps was demobilized on July 10, 1940.
The I Corps was reconstituted on August 16, 1943, in Ain-Taya, French Algeria
. Now commanded by Lieutenant General
Martin the primary combat units of the corps were provided American equipment and weapons as part of the rearmament of the French Army of Africa
.
While British and American troops invaded mainland Italy in September 1943, the I Corps, comprising Headquarters, 4th Moroccan Mountain Division (4e DMM), the 1st Regiment of Moroccan Tirailleur
s (1er RTM), the 4th Regiment of Moroccan Spahi
s (4e RSM) (light tank), the 2nd Group of Moroccan Tabors (2e GTM), the Commandos de Choc battalion and the 3rd Battalion, 69th Mountain Artillery Regiment (69e RAM), landed on the island of Corsica
in the same month. To the south, the German 90. Panzergrenadier-Division and the Reichsführer-SS assault infantry brigade were evacuating Sardinia
and landing on the southern coast of Corsica. Wishing to cut off the German troops, and informed on September 10, 1943, that the Italian troops on Corsica were willing to fight on the side of the Allies, the French launched Operation Vésuve and landed elements of the I Corps at Ajaccio
on September 13, meeting Corsican partisans
who also wanted enemy troops off the island.
German General von Senger und Etterlin hoped to obtain reinforcements with which to hold the island. After the Germans began disarming Italian soldiers, General Magli of the Italian Army
ordered Italian forces to consider the Gemans as an enemy rather than as allies. Thereafter, Italian units on the island cooperated with the French forces. Surprising the Italian Friuli Division in the northern port of Bastia
on the night of September 13, 1943, the SS troops took 2,000 Italian prisoners and secured the port from which the Germans could evacuate their forces. Although supported by the Royal Navy
, the French were unable to land forces quickly enough on Corsica to prevent the bulk of the German troops from reaching their exit ports on the east coast of the island. The final combat took place around Bastia, with the island secured by French forces on October 4, 1943. The bulk of the German forces, however, had made good their escape. The Germans took 700 casualties and lost 350 men to POW camps. The Italians lost 800 men in the fighting (mostly Friuli Division troops), and the French had 75 killed, 12 missing, and 239 wounded. From October 1943 until May 1944, the I Corps defended Corsica, conducted training, and moved units between Corsica and North Africa. On April 18, 1944, the I Corps was subordinated to General de Lattre's
Armée B
.
Following the liberation of Corsica, the French proposed to invade the island of Elba
, possession of which would allow the Allies to dominate by gunfire ships in the Piombino
Channel and vehicles on the coastal road of the Italian peninsula, both transportation arteries essential to the supply of German forces in western Italy. Initially, the proposal was denied by General Eisenhower
, who considered it a dispersal of resources while the planning for the Anzio landings
was underway. After British General Sir Henry Maitland Wilson took over the Mediterranean Theater, however, attitudes at Allied headquarters changed and the operation was approved. By this time, though, the Germans had strongly fortified Elba, an island dominated by rugged terrain in any case, making the assault considerably more difficult.
At 0400 hours on June 17, 1944, the I Corps assaulted Elba in Operation Brassard. French forces comprised the 9th Colonial Infantry Division (9e DIC), two battalions of French commando
s (Commandos d'Afrique and Commandos de Choc), a battalion and supplementary battery of the Colonial Artillery Regiment of Morocco (R.A.C.M.) and the 2nd Group of Morrocan Tabor
s (2e GTM), in addition to 48 men from "A" and "O" commandos of the Royal Navy. French Choc (lightly armed fighters who had the mission of operating behind enemy lines) units landed at multiple points before the main landing force and neutralized coastal artillery batteries. Landing in the Gulf of Campo on the south coast, the French initially ran into difficulties because of the German fortifications and extremely rugged terrain that ringed the landing area. Falling back on an alternate plan, the landing beach was shifted to the east, near Nercio, and here the troops of the 9th Colonial Infantry Division seized a viable beachhead. Within two hours, French commandos reached the crest of the 400-meter Monte Tambone Ridge overlooking the landing areas. The RN commandos boarded and seized the German Flak ship Köln and also landed to guide in other troops headed for the beaches, but a massive blast from a German demolition charge killed 38 of their men. Portoferraio was taken by the 9th Division on June 18 and the island was largely secured by the following day. Fighting in the hills between the Germans and the Senegalese colonial infantry was vicious, with the Senegalese employing flamethrower
s to clear entrenched German troops.
The Germans defended Elba with two infantry battalions, fortified coastal areas, and several coastal artillery batteries totaling some 60 guns of medium and heavy caliber. In the fighting, the French seized the island, killing 500 German and Italian defenders, and taking 1,995 of them prisoner. French losses were 252 killed and missing, and 635 men wounded in action, while the British lost 38 of their 48 commandos, with nine others wounded by the blast of the demolition charge.
Following the successful landings in southern France
, the headquarters of the I Corps was assembled at Aix
, France on September 1, 1944 to command troops as a subordinate corps of the French First Army. I Corps was now under the command of Lieutenant General Émile Béthouart, a veteran of the 1940 campaign in Norway
and an officer who had actively assisted the Allied landings in French North Africa
in November 1942. For the remainder of the war in Europe, many French divisions would be subordinated to I Corps, but the divisions that spent the most time with the corps were the 2nd Moroccan Infantry Division (2e DIM), the 9th Colonial Infantry Division (9e DIC), the 4th Moroccan Mountain Division (4e DMM), and the 1st Armoured Division (1re DB).
I Corps drove north along the east bank of the Rhône River
, but the push lacked strength as the 4e DMM was still deploying to France (and would be further engaged securing the alpine frontier with Italy for several months) and the 1re DB was still assembling in southern France. In mid-September, the corps secured the Lomont Mountains, a range about 130 kilometres (80.8 mi) long running from the Doubs River
to the Swiss border. German resistance was spotty in September, but rapidly coalesced in front of the Belfort Gap
, a corridor of relatively flat terrain that lies between the Vosges Mountains
and the Swiss frontier and that is a gateway to the Rhine River. Operating with one division and experiencing the same logistics problems as other Allied units in Europe, the advance of the I Corps was slowed in front of the Belfort Gap by the German 11. Panzer-Division.
Compounding the distance that supplies had to travel from the ports in southern France were the north-south railway lines with destroyed bridges and sections of track. Early October 1944 also saw the unseasonably early arrival of cold and wet weather more characteristic of November. All of these factors served to force a halt to the I Corps' advance in October while the corps improved its supply situations and resolved manpower issues caused by the French high command's decision to rotate the Senegalese troops to the south and replace them with FFI
manpower. The supply situation had improved by early November, coinciding with orders from General Eisenhower, now in charge of all Allied forces in northwestern Europe, directing a general offensive all along the Western Front
.
Believing that the relative inactivity of I Corps meant the corps was digging in for the winter, the Germans reduced their forces in the Belfort Gap to a single, not-at-full strength infantry division. The I Corps launched their attack to force the Belfort Gap on November 13, 1944. By a stroke of fate, the French attack caught the German division commander near the front lines, who perished under a hail of Moroccan gunfire. The same attack narrowly missed capturing the commander of the German IV. Luftwaffen-Feldkorps. Although desperate German troops formed islands of resistance, most notably at the fortified city of Belfort, troops of the 2e DIM, 9e DIC, and the 1re DB pushed through gaps in the German lines, disrupting their defense and keeping the battle mobile. French tanks moved through the Belfort Gap and reached the Rhine River at Huningue
on November 19.
The battle cut off the German 308. Grenadier-Regiment on November 24, forcing the German troops to either surrender or intern themselves in Switzerland. On November 25, I Corps units liberated both Mulhouse
(taken by a surprise armored drive) and Belfort (taken by assault of the 2e DIM). Realizing the German defense had been too static for their own good, General De Lattre (commander of the French First Army
) directed both corps of his army to close on Burnhaupt in order to encircle the German LXIII. Armeekorps (the former IV. Luftwaffe Korps). This maneuver succeeded on November 28, 1944 and resulted in the capture of over 10,000 German troops, crippling the LXIII. Armeekorps. French losses, however, had also been significant, and plans to immediately clear the Alsatian Plain of German forces had to be shelved while both sides gathered strength for the next battles.
The November offensives of the French First Army and the U.S. Seventh Army had collapsed the German presence in Alsace to a roughly circular pocket around the town of Colmar
on the Alsatian Plain. This Colmar Pocket
contained the German 19. Armee. As the southern-most corps of Allied forces in northwestern Europe, the French I Corps now faced the Rhine at Huningue and held Mulhouse and the southern boundary of the Colmar Pocket. A French offensive in mid-December designed to collapse the Colmar Pocket failed for lack of offensive power and the requirement to cover more of the Allied front line as U.S. units were shifted north in response to the Ardennes Offensive. On January 1, 1945, the Germans launched Operation Nordwind
, an offensive with the goal of recapturing Alsace. After the U.S. Seventh and French First Armies had held and turned back this offensive, the Allies were ready to reduce the Colmar Pocket once and for all.
The I Corps led the attack against the Colmar Pocket on January 20, 1945. Fighting in woodlands and dense urban areas, the I Corps attack stalled after the first day, meeting a German defense in depth and attracting German 19. Armee reinforcements. By the end of the month, however, other attacks by U.S. and French forces against the Colmar Pocket had forced the Germans to redistribute their troops, and an early February attack by the I Corps moved north through weak German resistance, reaching the bridge over the Rhine at Chalampé and making contact with the U.S. XXI Corps
at Rouffach
, south of Colmar. The final German forces in the I Corps area retreated over the Rhine into Baden
on February 9, 1945. Thereafter, the thrust of the Allied offensive moved to the north, and the I Corps was assigned the defense of the Rhine River from the area south of Strasbourg
to the Swiss frontier until mid-April, 1945.
On April 15, I Corps was given the mission of crossing the Rhine, traversing the Black Forest
, and sweeping south Baden of German troops. The 4e DMM drove directly on Freudenstadt
, an important Black Forest road junction, capturing it on April 17, 1945. The 9e DIC, crossing the Rhine north of Karlsruhe
, raced south along the east bank of the Rhine and then swung east, paralleling the course of the Swiss frontier. From Freudenstadt, the 4e DMM turned south and met the 9e DIC near Döggingen on April 29, cutting off the German XVIII. SS-Armeekorps in the Black Forest. Frantic attempts at escape by the encircled German troops came to naught among French roadblocks and the formidable terrain of the forest, and they were left no options save death or surrender.
From Freudenstadt, elements of the 1re DB pushed east and south, capturing Ulm
on April 24, and then pushed south again with elements of the 2e DIM into the Alps, crossing into Austria and marching into Sankt-Anton
on May 7, 1945. Elements of the 5e DB and the 4e DMM drove southeast along the north shore of Lake Constance
, capturing Bregenz
and then turning east toward Sankt-Anton. The following day was VE Day, ending Allied military operations in Europe.
During the course of its operations in France and Germany in 1944 - 1945, the I Corps lost 3,518 men killed, 13,339 wounded, and 1,449 missing, for a total of 18,306 casualties. Although not all casualties inflicted on the Germans by I Corps are known, the corps is credited with taking 101,556 Germans prisoner during the campaigns to liberate France and invade Germany.
, and Austria, with corps headquarters initially in Ravensburg
. On July 16, 1945, the I Corps was renamed "Army Corps of the South" . General Béthouart became the commander of French forces in Austria and the High Commissioner for France in Austria until 1950. I Corps was inactivated on April 30, 1946. It was reformed later during the Cold War, and in 1989 it had its HQ at Metz with the 1st Armoured Division at Trier
(Germany), the 7th Armoured Division
at Besançon
, 12th Light Armoured Division at Saumur
, and the 14th Light Armoured Division at Montpellier
. It was again disbanded circa 1990.
Corsica
Corsica is an island in the Mediterranean Sea. It is located west of Italy, southeast of the French mainland, and north of the island of Sardinia....
and Elba
Elba
Elba is a Mediterranean island in Tuscany, Italy, from the coastal town of Piombino. The largest island of the Tuscan Archipelago, Elba is also part of the National Park of the Tuscan Archipelago and the third largest island in Italy after Sicily and Sardinia...
in 1943 - 1944, and in the campaigns to liberate France in 1944 and invade Germany in 1945.
World War 1
The Corps saw service throughout the entirety of World War I, including participating in the Battle of Passchendaele (as part of the French First ArmyFrench First Army
The First Army was a field army of France that fought during World War I and World War II. It was also active during the Cold War.-First World War:...
). At the time of the Battle of Passchendaele, the Corps comprised the 1st Division, 2nd Division
2nd Infantry Division (France)
The French Infantry Division was one of the oldest divisions of the French army.-Heads of the Infantry Division:* 22 March 1815: Division General Donzelot*.*1870: General Martineau des Chenez*....
, 51st Division and 162nd Division.
1940 Campaign
Lille
Lille is a city in northern France . It is the principal city of the Lille Métropole, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the country behind those of Paris, Lyon and Marseille. Lille is situated on the Deûle River, near France's border with Belgium...
under the command of Major General
Major General
Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...
Sciard as part of the French mobilization
Mobilization
Mobilization is the act of assembling and making both troops and supplies ready for war. The word mobilization was first used, in a military context, in order to describe the preparation of the Prussian army during the 1850s and 1860s. Mobilization theories and techniques have continuously changed...
for war. Initially assigned as part of the French First Army
French First Army
The First Army was a field army of France that fought during World War I and World War II. It was also active during the Cold War.-First World War:...
, the corps was transferred to the French Seventh Army and moved to coastal regions near Calais
Calais
Calais is a town in Northern France in the department of Pas-de-Calais, of which it is a sub-prefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's capital is its third-largest city of Arras....
and Dunkerque by mid-November, 1939. On May 10, 1940 the Corps commanded the 25th Motorised Infantry Division (25e DIM) in addition to its organic units.
With the German invasion violating the neutrality of Belgium and the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
on May 10, 1940, the I Corps moved into Belgium with the goal of gaining contact with the Dutch Army. This was achieved on May 12 near Breda
Breda
Breda is a municipality and a city in the southern part of the Netherlands. The name Breda derived from brede Aa and refers to the confluence of the rivers Mark and Aa. As a fortified city, the city was of strategic military and political significance...
, but the general failure of the Allies to hold the German advance mandated early retreats so that the I Corps would not be cut off. Breda fell to the Germans on May 13 and the corps conducted a fighting withdrawal through Dorp and Wuustwezel
Wuustwezel
Wuustwezel is a municipality located in the north of the Belgian province of Antwerp, at the Dutch border.The municipality as it is now originated in 1977, when Wuustwezel merged with the municipality of Loenhout...
to the fortified zone of Antwerp, Belgium. During May 15–17, the corps defended the Scheldt Estuary with the 60th and 21st Infantry Divisions (60e DI and 21e DI), but was ordered to retreat back into France on May 18.
The period from May 19–26 saw the corps falling back to the line of the Somme River
Somme River
The Somme is a river in Picardy, northern France. The name Somme comes from a Celtic word meaning tranquility. The department Somme was named after this river....
, where the French Army intended to make a major stand. Because of German advances, the I Corps had to deploy its divisional reconnaissance
Reconnaissance
Reconnaissance is the military term for exploring beyond the area occupied by friendly forces to gain information about enemy forces or features of the environment....
units to cover positions on the river that the slower-moving infantry divisions (4th Colonial Infantry Division - 4e DIC, 7th North African Infantry Division - 7e DINA, and the 19e DI) could then occupy. This required combat with the Germans, but the corps reached positions near Le Hamel, Aubigny, and along the road between Amiens
Amiens
Amiens is a city and commune in northern France, north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme department in Picardy...
and Saint-Quentin
Saint-Quentin, Aisne
Saint-Quentin is a commune in the Aisne department in Picardy in northern France. It has been identified as the Augusta Veromanduorum of antiquity. It is named after Saint Quentin, who is said to have been martyred here in the 3rd century....
. During May 24–25, troops of the corps seized and lost Aubigny twice. The Germans, however, had held onto a large bridgehead at Peronne
Péronne, Somme
Péronne is a commune of the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.It is close to where the Battles of the Somme took place during World War I...
. The Germans broke out of this bridgehead on June 5, 1940, and continued their advance into the heart of France. A counterattack by armored elements of the corps on June 6 was halted by the Germans.
From June 9, the corps was involved in a succession of withdrawals that were meant to form lines of defense along the Avre
Avre (Somme)
The Avre is a river in Picardie and is the principal tributary, from the left side, of the Somme. At 66 kilometres long, it drains a relatively important basin of 1,150 km² but only flows at best 5,1 m³/s near its confluence at Longueau....
, Oise
Oise River
The River Oise is a right tributary of the River Seine, flowing for 302 km in Belgium and France. Its source is in the Belgian province Hainaut, south of the town Chimay. It crosses the border with France after about 20 km. It flows into the Seine in Conflans-Sainte-Honorine, near Paris...
, Nonette
Nonette River
The Nonette is a tributary to the Oise River in northern France. Its source is in Nanteuil-le-Haudouin, from which it flows west through Senlis and Chantilly, and joins the Oise in Gouvieux....
, Seine, and Loire rivers. The crossing of the Oise River was made under German air attack, some bridges were destroyed by the Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
, and portions of the corps' infantry had to surrender north of the Oise.
After the Germans crossed the Loire River on June 18, the 19e DI of the corps was largely destroyed near La Ferté
La Ferté
La Ferté is the name or part of the name of several communes in France:* La Ferté, in the Jura département* La Ferté-Alais, in the Essonne département* La Ferté-Beauharnais, in the Loir-et-Cher département...
. This was followed by capture of the bulk of the infantry of the 29th (29e DI) and 47th Infantry Divisions (47e DI) on June 19 near Lamotte-Beuvron. The final week of the campaign was a constant retreat for the remnants of the corps, with elements crossing the Dordogne River
Dordogne River
The Dordogne is a river in south-central and southwest France.-Name:Contrary to appearances, the name of the Dordogne is not a recent word resulting from the names of the Dore and the Dogne...
near Bergerac
Bergerac, Dordogne
Bergerac is a commune and a sub-prefecture of the Dordogne department in southwestern France.-Population:-Economy:The region is primarily known for wine and tobacco...
on June 24, 1940. The following day, an armistice was declared and the corps assembled in the region of Miallet and Thiviers
Thiviers
Thiviers is a commune in the Dordogne department in Aquitaine in southwestern France.-Population:-Personalities:It is notable as being the town in which Jean-Paul Sartre lived as a child. Painter Pierre Bouillon was born there.-References:*...
.
On July 1, Brigadier General
Brigadier General
Brigadier general is a senior rank in the armed forces. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries, usually sitting between the ranks of colonel and major general. When appointed to a field command, a brigadier general is typically in command of a brigade consisting of around 4,000...
Trancart assumed command of the corps. The I Corps was demobilized on July 10, 1940.
Corsica 1943
French Algeria
French Algeria lasted from 1830 to 1962, under a variety of governmental systems. From 1848 until independence, the whole Mediterranean region of Algeria was administered as an integral part of France, much like Corsica and Réunion are to this day. The vast arid interior of Algeria, like the rest...
. Now commanded by Lieutenant General
Lieutenant General
Lieutenant General is a military rank 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 battlefield, who was normally subordinate to a Captain General....
Martin the primary combat units of the corps were provided American equipment and weapons as part of the rearmament of the French Army of Africa
Army of Africa (France)
The Army of Africa was an unofficial but commonly used term for those portions of the French Army recruited from or normally stationed in French North Africa from 1830 until the end of the Algerian War in 1962.-Composition:...
.
While British and American troops invaded mainland Italy in September 1943, the I Corps, comprising Headquarters, 4th Moroccan Mountain Division (4e DMM), the 1st Regiment of Moroccan Tirailleur
Tirailleur
Tirailleur literally means a shooting skirmisher in French from tir—shot. The term dates back to the Napoleonic period where it was used to designate light infantry trained to skirmish ahead of the main columns...
s (1er RTM), the 4th Regiment of Moroccan Spahi
Spahi
Spahis were light cavalry regiments of the French army recruited primarily from the indigenous populations of Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco. The modern French Army retains one regiment of Spahis as an armoured unit, with personnel now recruited in mainland France...
s (4e RSM) (light tank), the 2nd Group of Moroccan Tabors (2e GTM), the Commandos de Choc battalion and the 3rd Battalion, 69th Mountain Artillery Regiment (69e RAM), landed on the island of Corsica
Corsica
Corsica is an island in the Mediterranean Sea. It is located west of Italy, southeast of the French mainland, and north of the island of Sardinia....
in the same month. To the south, the German 90. Panzergrenadier-Division and the Reichsführer-SS assault infantry brigade were evacuating Sardinia
Sardinia
Sardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea . It is an autonomous region of Italy, and the nearest land masses are the French island of Corsica, the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Tunisia and the Spanish Balearic Islands.The name Sardinia is from the pre-Roman noun *sard[],...
and landing on the southern coast of Corsica. Wishing to cut off the German troops, and informed on September 10, 1943, that the Italian troops on Corsica were willing to fight on the side of the Allies, the French launched Operation Vésuve and landed elements of the I Corps at Ajaccio
Ajaccio
Ajaccio , is a commune on the island of Corsica in France. It is the capital and largest city of the region of Corsica and the prefecture of the department of Corse-du-Sud....
on September 13, meeting Corsican partisans
French Resistance
The French Resistance is the name used to denote the collection of French resistance movements that fought against the Nazi German occupation of France and against the collaborationist Vichy régime during World War II...
who also wanted enemy troops off the island.
German General von Senger und Etterlin hoped to obtain reinforcements with which to hold the island. After the Germans began disarming Italian soldiers, General Magli of the Italian Army
Italian Army
The Italian Army is the ground defence force of the Italian Armed Forces. It is all-volunteer force of active-duty personnel, numbering 108,355 in 2010. Its best-known combat vehicles are the Dardo infantry fighting vehicle, the Centauro tank destroyer and the Ariete tank, and among its aircraft...
ordered Italian forces to consider the Gemans as an enemy rather than as allies. Thereafter, Italian units on the island cooperated with the French forces. Surprising the Italian Friuli Division in the northern port of Bastia
Bastia
Bastia is a commune in the Haute-Corse department of France located in the northeast of the island of Corsica at the base of Cap Corse. It is also the second-largest city in Corsica after Ajaccio and the capital of the department....
on the night of September 13, 1943, the SS troops took 2,000 Italian prisoners and secured the port from which the Germans could evacuate their forces. Although supported by the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
, the French were unable to land forces quickly enough on Corsica to prevent the bulk of the German troops from reaching their exit ports on the east coast of the island. The final combat took place around Bastia, with the island secured by French forces on October 4, 1943. The bulk of the German forces, however, had made good their escape. The Germans took 700 casualties and lost 350 men to POW camps. The Italians lost 800 men in the fighting (mostly Friuli Division troops), and the French had 75 killed, 12 missing, and 239 wounded. From October 1943 until May 1944, the I Corps defended Corsica, conducted training, and moved units between Corsica and North Africa. On April 18, 1944, the I Corps was subordinated to General de Lattre's
Jean de Lattre de Tassigny
Jean Joseph Marie Gabriel de Lattre de Tassigny, GCB, MC was a French military hero of World War II and commander in the First Indochina War.-Early life:...
Armée B
French First Army
The First Army was a field army of France that fought during World War I and World War II. It was also active during the Cold War.-First World War:...
.
Elba 1944
Elba
Elba is a Mediterranean island in Tuscany, Italy, from the coastal town of Piombino. The largest island of the Tuscan Archipelago, Elba is also part of the National Park of the Tuscan Archipelago and the third largest island in Italy after Sicily and Sardinia...
, possession of which would allow the Allies to dominate by gunfire ships in the Piombino
Piombino
Piombino is an Italian town and comune of circa 35,000 inhabitants in the province of Livorno . It lies on the border between the Ligurian Sea and the Tyrrhenian Sea, in front of Elba Island and at the northern side of Maremma.-Overview:...
Channel and vehicles on the coastal road of the Italian peninsula, both transportation arteries essential to the supply of German forces in western Italy. Initially, the proposal was denied by General Eisenhower
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. He was a five-star general in the United States Army...
, who considered it a dispersal of resources while the planning for the Anzio landings
Operation Shingle
Operation Shingle , during the Italian Campaign of World War II, was an Allied amphibious landing against Axis forces in the area of Anzio and Nettuno, Italy. The operation was commanded by Major General John P. Lucas and was intended to outflank German forces of the Winter Line and enable an...
was underway. After British General Sir Henry Maitland Wilson took over the Mediterranean Theater, however, attitudes at Allied headquarters changed and the operation was approved. By this time, though, the Germans had strongly fortified Elba, an island dominated by rugged terrain in any case, making the assault considerably more difficult.
At 0400 hours on June 17, 1944, the I Corps assaulted Elba in Operation Brassard. French forces comprised the 9th Colonial Infantry Division (9e DIC), two battalions of French commando
Commando
In English, the term commando means a specific kind of individual soldier or military unit. In contemporary usage, commando usually means elite light infantry and/or special operations forces units, specializing in amphibious landings, parachuting, rappelling and similar techniques, to conduct and...
s (Commandos d'Afrique and Commandos de Choc), a battalion and supplementary battery of the Colonial Artillery Regiment of Morocco (R.A.C.M.) and the 2nd Group of Morrocan Tabor
Tabor (Morocco)
A tabor is a Moroccan military term used to describe a formation of three or four goums. A goum in this case is equivalent to a Company and a tabor would thereby be equivalent to a Battalion...
s (2e GTM), in addition to 48 men from "A" and "O" commandos of the Royal Navy. French Choc (lightly armed fighters who had the mission of operating behind enemy lines) units landed at multiple points before the main landing force and neutralized coastal artillery batteries. Landing in the Gulf of Campo on the south coast, the French initially ran into difficulties because of the German fortifications and extremely rugged terrain that ringed the landing area. Falling back on an alternate plan, the landing beach was shifted to the east, near Nercio, and here the troops of the 9th Colonial Infantry Division seized a viable beachhead. Within two hours, French commandos reached the crest of the 400-meter Monte Tambone Ridge overlooking the landing areas. The RN commandos boarded and seized the German Flak ship Köln and also landed to guide in other troops headed for the beaches, but a massive blast from a German demolition charge killed 38 of their men. Portoferraio was taken by the 9th Division on June 18 and the island was largely secured by the following day. Fighting in the hills between the Germans and the Senegalese colonial infantry was vicious, with the Senegalese employing flamethrower
Flamethrower
A flamethrower is a mechanical device designed to project a long controllable stream of fire.Some flamethrowers project a stream of ignited flammable liquid; some project a long gas flame. Most military flamethrowers use liquids, but commercial flamethrowers tend to use high-pressure propane and...
s to clear entrenched German troops.
The Germans defended Elba with two infantry battalions, fortified coastal areas, and several coastal artillery batteries totaling some 60 guns of medium and heavy caliber. In the fighting, the French seized the island, killing 500 German and Italian defenders, and taking 1,995 of them prisoner. French losses were 252 killed and missing, and 635 men wounded in action, while the British lost 38 of their 48 commandos, with nine others wounded by the blast of the demolition charge.
France 1944
Operation Dragoon
Operation Dragoon was the Allied invasion of southern France on August 15, 1944, during World War II. The invasion was initiated via a parachute drop by the 1st Airborne Task Force, followed by an amphibious assault by elements of the U.S. Seventh Army, followed a day later by a force made up...
, the headquarters of the I Corps was assembled at Aix
Aix-en-Provence
Aix , or Aix-en-Provence to distinguish it from other cities built over hot springs, is a city-commune in southern France, some north of Marseille. It is in the region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, in the département of Bouches-du-Rhône, of which it is a subprefecture. The population of Aix is...
, France on September 1, 1944 to command troops as a subordinate corps of the French First Army. I Corps was now under the command of Lieutenant General Émile Béthouart, a veteran of the 1940 campaign in Norway
Norwegian Campaign
The Norwegian Campaign was a military campaign that was fought in Norway during the Second World War between the Allies and Germany, after the latter's invasion of the country. In April 1940, the United Kingdom and France came to Norway's aid with an expeditionary force...
and an officer who had actively assisted the Allied landings in French North Africa
Operation Torch
Operation Torch was the British-American invasion of French North Africa in World War II during the North African Campaign, started on 8 November 1942....
in November 1942. For the remainder of the war in Europe, many French divisions would be subordinated to I Corps, but the divisions that spent the most time with the corps were the 2nd Moroccan Infantry Division (2e DIM), the 9th Colonial Infantry Division (9e DIC), the 4th Moroccan Mountain Division (4e DMM), and the 1st Armoured Division (1re DB).
I Corps drove north along the east bank of the Rhône River
Rhône River
The Rhone is one of the major rivers of Europe, rising in Switzerland and running from there through southeastern France. At Arles, near its mouth on the Mediterranean Sea, the river divides into two branches, known as the Great Rhone and the Little Rhone...
, but the push lacked strength as the 4e DMM was still deploying to France (and would be further engaged securing the alpine frontier with Italy for several months) and the 1re DB was still assembling in southern France. In mid-September, the corps secured the Lomont Mountains, a range about 130 kilometres (80.8 mi) long running from the Doubs River
Doubs River
The Doubs is a 453 km long river in eastern France and western Switzerland, left tributary of the Saône. Its source is near Mouthe in the western Jura mountains....
to the Swiss border. German resistance was spotty in September, but rapidly coalesced in front of the Belfort Gap
Belfort Gap
The Belfort Gap is a plateau located between the northern end of the Jura Mountains and the southernmost part of the Vosges mountains. Its altitude varies between 345 meters at its lowest and a little more than 400 meters in the area of the watershed between the catchment areas of the Rhine and...
, a corridor of relatively flat terrain that lies between the Vosges Mountains
Vosges mountains
For the department of France of the same name, see Vosges.The Vosges are a range of low mountains in eastern France, near its border with Germany. They extend along the west side of the Rhine valley in a northnortheast direction, mainly from Belfort to Saverne...
and the Swiss frontier and that is a gateway to the Rhine River. Operating with one division and experiencing the same logistics problems as other Allied units in Europe, the advance of the I Corps was slowed in front of the Belfort Gap by the German 11. Panzer-Division.
Compounding the distance that supplies had to travel from the ports in southern France were the north-south railway lines with destroyed bridges and sections of track. Early October 1944 also saw the unseasonably early arrival of cold and wet weather more characteristic of November. All of these factors served to force a halt to the I Corps' advance in October while the corps improved its supply situations and resolved manpower issues caused by the French high command's decision to rotate the Senegalese troops to the south and replace them with FFI
French Forces of the Interior
The French Forces of the Interior refers to French resistance fighters in the later stages of World War II. Charles de Gaulle used it as a formal name for the resistance fighters. The change in designation of these groups to FFI occurred as France's status changed from that of an occupied nation...
manpower. The supply situation had improved by early November, coinciding with orders from General Eisenhower, now in charge of all Allied forces in northwestern Europe, directing a general offensive all along the Western Front
Western Front (World War II)
The Western Front of the European Theatre of World War II encompassed, Denmark, Norway, Luxembourg, Belgium, the Netherlands, France, and West Germany. The Western Front was marked by two phases of large-scale ground combat operations...
.
Believing that the relative inactivity of I Corps meant the corps was digging in for the winter, the Germans reduced their forces in the Belfort Gap to a single, not-at-full strength infantry division. The I Corps launched their attack to force the Belfort Gap on November 13, 1944. By a stroke of fate, the French attack caught the German division commander near the front lines, who perished under a hail of Moroccan gunfire. The same attack narrowly missed capturing the commander of the German IV. Luftwaffen-Feldkorps. Although desperate German troops formed islands of resistance, most notably at the fortified city of Belfort, troops of the 2e DIM, 9e DIC, and the 1re DB pushed through gaps in the German lines, disrupting their defense and keeping the battle mobile. French tanks moved through the Belfort Gap and reached the Rhine River at Huningue
Huningue
Huningue is a commune in the Haut-Rhin department of Alsace in north-eastern France. Huningue is a northern suburb of the Swiss city of Basel. It also borders Germany . In 2008 it had a population of 6503 people...
on November 19.
The battle cut off the German 308. Grenadier-Regiment on November 24, forcing the German troops to either surrender or intern themselves in Switzerland. On November 25, I Corps units liberated both Mulhouse
Mulhouse
Mulhouse |mill]] hamlet) is a city and commune in eastern France, close to the Swiss and German borders. With a population of 110,514 and 278,206 inhabitants in the metropolitan area in 2006, it is the largest city in the Haut-Rhin département, and the second largest in the Alsace region after...
(taken by a surprise armored drive) and Belfort (taken by assault of the 2e DIM). Realizing the German defense had been too static for their own good, General De Lattre (commander of the French First Army
French First Army
The First Army was a field army of France that fought during World War I and World War II. It was also active during the Cold War.-First World War:...
) directed both corps of his army to close on Burnhaupt in order to encircle the German LXIII. Armeekorps (the former IV. Luftwaffe Korps). This maneuver succeeded on November 28, 1944 and resulted in the capture of over 10,000 German troops, crippling the LXIII. Armeekorps. French losses, however, had also been significant, and plans to immediately clear the Alsatian Plain of German forces had to be shelved while both sides gathered strength for the next battles.
The November offensives of the French First Army and the U.S. Seventh Army had collapsed the German presence in Alsace to a roughly circular pocket around the town of Colmar
Colmar
Colmar is a commune in the Haut-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France.It is the capital of the department. Colmar is also the seat of the highest jurisdiction in Alsace, the appellate court....
on the Alsatian Plain. This Colmar Pocket
Colmar Pocket
The Colmar Pocket ; in Alsace, France, was the site of an operation during the Second World War, between 20 January and 9 February 1945, where the French First Army and the U.S...
contained the German 19. Armee. As the southern-most corps of Allied forces in northwestern Europe, the French I Corps now faced the Rhine at Huningue and held Mulhouse and the southern boundary of the Colmar Pocket. A French offensive in mid-December designed to collapse the Colmar Pocket failed for lack of offensive power and the requirement to cover more of the Allied front line as U.S. units were shifted north in response to the Ardennes Offensive. On January 1, 1945, the Germans launched Operation Nordwind
Operation Nordwind
Operation North Wind was the last major German offensive of World War II on the Western Front. It began on 1 January 1945 in Alsace and Lorraine in northeastern France, and it ended on 25 January.-Objectives:...
, an offensive with the goal of recapturing Alsace. After the U.S. Seventh and French First Armies had held and turned back this offensive, the Allies were ready to reduce the Colmar Pocket once and for all.
The I Corps led the attack against the Colmar Pocket on January 20, 1945. Fighting in woodlands and dense urban areas, the I Corps attack stalled after the first day, meeting a German defense in depth and attracting German 19. Armee reinforcements. By the end of the month, however, other attacks by U.S. and French forces against the Colmar Pocket had forced the Germans to redistribute their troops, and an early February attack by the I Corps moved north through weak German resistance, reaching the bridge over the Rhine at Chalampé and making contact with the U.S. XXI Corps
XXI Corps (United States)
Initially constituted on 2 December 1943 in the Army of the United States, the XXI Corps was activated on 6 December 1943 at Camp Polk, Louisiana. XXI Corps fought for 116 days in the European Theater of Operations, fighting from Alsace through southern Germany and into Austria. The corps was...
at Rouffach
Rouffach
Rouffach is a commune in the Haut-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France.Rouffach lies along the Alsatian wine route ....
, south of Colmar. The final German forces in the I Corps area retreated over the Rhine into Baden
Baden
Baden is a historical state on the east bank of the Rhine in the southwest of Germany, now the western part of the Baden-Württemberg of Germany....
on February 9, 1945. Thereafter, the thrust of the Allied offensive moved to the north, and the I Corps was assigned the defense of the Rhine River from the area south of Strasbourg
Strasbourg
Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking,...
to the Swiss frontier until mid-April, 1945.
Germany 1945
Black Forest
The Black Forest is a wooded mountain range in Baden-Württemberg, southwestern Germany. It is bordered by the Rhine valley to the west and south. The highest peak is the Feldberg with an elevation of 1,493 metres ....
, and sweeping south Baden of German troops. The 4e DMM drove directly on Freudenstadt
Freudenstadt
Freudenstadt is a town in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. It is capital of the district Freudenstadt. The closest population centres are Offenburg to the west and Tübingen to the east ....
, an important Black Forest road junction, capturing it on April 17, 1945. The 9e DIC, crossing the Rhine north of Karlsruhe
Karlsruhe
The City of Karlsruhe is a city in the southwest of Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg, located near the French-German border.Karlsruhe was founded in 1715 as Karlsruhe Palace, when Germany was a series of principalities and city states...
, raced south along the east bank of the Rhine and then swung east, paralleling the course of the Swiss frontier. From Freudenstadt, the 4e DMM turned south and met the 9e DIC near Döggingen on April 29, cutting off the German XVIII. SS-Armeekorps in the Black Forest. Frantic attempts at escape by the encircled German troops came to naught among French roadblocks and the formidable terrain of the forest, and they were left no options save death or surrender.
From Freudenstadt, elements of the 1re DB pushed east and south, capturing Ulm
Ulm
Ulm is a city in the federal German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the River Danube. The city, whose population is estimated at 120,000 , forms an urban district of its own and is the administrative seat of the Alb-Donau district. Ulm, founded around 850, is rich in history and...
on April 24, and then pushed south again with elements of the 2e DIM into the Alps, crossing into Austria and marching into Sankt-Anton
St. Anton
Sankt Anton am Arlberg is a village and ski resort in Tyrol, western Austria, with a permanent population of approximately . It is situated at above sea level in the Tyrolean Alps, with Aerial tramways and chairlifts up to . It is also a popular summer resort among trekkers and...
on May 7, 1945. Elements of the 5e DB and the 4e DMM drove southeast along the north shore of Lake Constance
Lake Constance
Lake Constance is a lake on the Rhine at the northern foot of the Alps, and consists of three bodies of water: the Obersee , the Untersee , and a connecting stretch of the Rhine, called the Seerhein.The lake is situated in Germany, Switzerland and Austria near the Alps...
, capturing Bregenz
Bregenz
-Culture:The annual summer music festival Bregenzer Festspiele is a world-famous festival which takes place on and around a stage on Lake Constance, where a different opera is performed every second year.-Sport:* A1 Bregenz HB is a handball team....
and then turning east toward Sankt-Anton. The following day was VE Day, ending Allied military operations in Europe.
During the course of its operations in France and Germany in 1944 - 1945, the I Corps lost 3,518 men killed, 13,339 wounded, and 1,449 missing, for a total of 18,306 casualties. Although not all casualties inflicted on the Germans by I Corps are known, the corps is credited with taking 101,556 Germans prisoner during the campaigns to liberate France and invade Germany.
Postwar
After VE Day, the I Corps occupied Baden, parts of WürttembergWürttemberg
Württemberg , formerly known as Wirtemberg or Wurtemberg, is an area and a former state in southwestern Germany, including parts of the regions Swabia and Franconia....
, and Austria, with corps headquarters initially in Ravensburg
Ravensburg
Ravensburg is a town in Upper Swabia in Southern Germany, capital of the district of Ravensburg, Baden-Württemberg.Ravensburg was first mentioned in 1088. In the Middle Ages, it was an Imperial Free City and an important trading centre...
. On July 16, 1945, the I Corps was renamed "Army Corps of the South" . General Béthouart became the commander of French forces in Austria and the High Commissioner for France in Austria until 1950. I Corps was inactivated on April 30, 1946. It was reformed later during the Cold War, and in 1989 it had its HQ at Metz with the 1st Armoured Division at Trier
Trier
Trier, historically called in English Treves is a city in Germany on the banks of the Moselle. It is the oldest city in Germany, founded in or before 16 BC....
(Germany), the 7th Armoured Division
7th Armored Division (France)
The 7th Armoured Division was an armoured division of the French Army. The division was active during the Cold War and some time after the fall of the Berlin Wall, before being disbanded...
at Besançon
Besançon
Besançon , is the capital and principal city of the Franche-Comté region in eastern France. It had a population of about 237,000 inhabitants in the metropolitan area in 2008...
, 12th Light Armoured Division at Saumur
Saumur
Saumur is a commune in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France.The historic town is located between the Loire and Thouet rivers, and is surrounded by the vineyards of Saumur itself, Chinon, Bourgueil, Coteaux du Layon, etc...
, and the 14th Light Armoured Division at Montpellier
Montpellier
-Neighbourhoods:Since 2001, Montpellier has been divided into seven official neighbourhoods, themselves divided into sub-neighbourhoods. Each of them possesses a neighbourhood council....
. It was again disbanded circa 1990.
Article Sources
- L'Armée de la Victoire (Four volumes). Paul Gaugac. ISBN 2702500552, Paris: Charles Lavauzelle, 1985.
- Guerre 1939 - 1945. Les Grandes Unités FrançaisesGrandes Unités FrançaisesGrandes Unités Françaises is a monumental six-volume World War II order of battle and military unit history reference compiled by the historical service of the chief of staff of the French Army...
(Volumes I, IV, V-I, and V-III). Armée de Terre, Service Historique. Paris: Imprimerie Nationale, 1976. - The History of the French First Army. Jean de Lattre de Tassigny. London: George Allen and Unwin Ltd, 1952.
- History of the Great WarHistory of the Great WarThe History of the Great War is a series of 28 volumes covering the military operations of the British Army during the First World War. The full title is the History of the Great War Based on Official Documents but the series is usually referred to as the British Official History...
- Military Operations: France and Belgium, 1917, Volume II. J. E. Edmonds, 1948 - Riviera to the Rhine (U.S. Army in World War II Series). Jeffrey J. Clarke and Robert Ross Smith. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1993.
- Biographical data for WW2 Generals