X Corps (United Kingdom)
Encyclopedia
The X Corps was a British Army
formation in the First World War and was later reformed in 1942 during the North African campaign
of the Second World War as part of the Eighth Army
.
in July 1915 under Thomas Morland
. In 1917, X Corps, formed a part of the Second Army and comprised 29th and 30th Divisions. In the autumn of 1916 the corps took part in the Battle of the Somme and in autumn 1917 it took part in the Battle of Messines
. In May and June 1918, it was commanded by William Peyton
. Later in 1918 it came under the command of Reginald Stephens
.
Order of Battle Autumn 1940
under the command of Major General
William Holmes
. In 1942, Lieutenant-General Bernard Montgomery decided it should join Eighth Army
to become a mobile corps to exploit infantry
breakthroughs in North Africa
. It then comprised two armoured divisions (1st and 10th) with parts of a third (8th) divided between them, and the New Zealand Division
. From 1942, its commander was Lieutenant General Herbert Lumsden
, albeit not Montgomery's preferred choice. Lumsden was later dismissed because of a perceived reluctance to pursue the retreating Afrika Korps
and replaced by Brian Horrocks
.
X Corps were heavily involved at the Second Battle of El Alamein
. The original plan was to be simultaneous attacks by XXX Corps and XIII Corps
to clear corridors for X Corps' armour to exploit. Events affected the plan and on the 5 October, it was decided to attack simultaneously with both XXX and X Corps.
The New Zealanders rapidly captured Miteirya Ridge. While XIII Corps pressed forward, X Corps was to strike northwestwards to distract and defeat Rommel
's Panzer
s. By November 4, X Corps was in full pursuit, but heavy rain bogged the armour down and Rommel escaped.
The corps was active through the remainder of the campaign with Eighth Army until the Axis forces surrender in Tunisia in May 1943.
but became part Lieutenant-General Mark Clark
's US Fifth Army to take part in the landings at Salerno, Italy on 9 September 1943. Here it was commanded by Lieutenant-General Richard McCreery
. After Salerno it continued to fight on the Fifth Army's left wing including taking part in the first Battle of Monte Cassino
in January 1944.
In the spring of 1944 the corps was relieved by the French Expeditionary Corps (1943-1944)
and switched back to the Eighth Army taking position on the right of British XIII Corps. The corps had a minor role in the fourth and decisive battle of Cassino but was involved in the Allied advance north through the summer to the German Gothic Line
defences.
In September 1944 the corps played a holding role on the left flank of Eighth Army during Operation Olive, the autumn offensive on the Gothic Line.
In November 1944 command of X Corps was taken by Lieutenant-General John Hawkesworth
when Richard McCreery was promoted to command Eighth Army.
When the Axis forces withdrew from Greece
, from October British troops under Lieutenant-General Ronald Scobie
were sent there to maintain internal stability. In late 1944 Hawkesworth and X Corps HQ were sent to Greece to assume control of military operations so that Scobie could concentrate more on the highly complex and sensitive political aspects of the British involvement.
By March 1945 Hawkesworth and his HQ had returned to Italy. X Corps was in a reserve role and not involved in the Allies' final offensive
in April 1945 culminating with the surrender of Axis forces in Italy in early May.
By this time it had become apparent that Hawkesworth was suffering from a serious heart condition. He died on the way home to Britain, when he suffered a heart attack while on board his troopship
which lay at Gibraltar
, on 3 June 1945.
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
formation in the First World War and was later reformed in 1942 during the North African campaign
North African campaign
During the Second World War, the North African Campaign took place in North Africa from 10 June 1940 to 13 May 1943. It included campaigns fought in the Libyan and Egyptian deserts and in Morocco and Algeria and Tunisia .The campaign was fought between the Allies and Axis powers, many of whom had...
of the Second World War as part of the Eighth Army
Eighth Army (United Kingdom)
The Eighth Army was one of the best-known formations of the British Army during World War II, fighting in the North African and Italian campaigns....
.
First World War
X Corps was formed in FranceFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
in July 1915 under Thomas Morland
Thomas Morland
General Sir Thomas Lethbridge Napier Morland KCMG, DSO was a British general during the First World War.-Biography:Born in Montreal, Canada East, Morland was the son of Thomas Morland and Helen Servante...
. In 1917, X Corps, formed a part of the Second Army and comprised 29th and 30th Divisions. In the autumn of 1916 the corps took part in the Battle of the Somme and in autumn 1917 it took part in the Battle of Messines
Battle of Messines
The Battle of Messines was a battle of the Western front of the First World War. It began on 7 June 1917 when the British Second Army under the command of General Herbert Plumer launched an offensive near the village of Mesen in West Flanders, Belgium...
. In May and June 1918, it was commanded by William Peyton
William Peyton
General Sir William Eliot Peyton KCB KCVO DSO was a British soldier, a general of the First World War who fought in several other wars.He was Delhi Herald of Arms Extraordinary at the time of the Delhi Durbar of 1911....
. Later in 1918 it came under the command of Reginald Stephens
Reginald Byng Stephens
General Sir Reginald Byng Stephens KCB CMG DL was a British Army general of the First World War and later Commandant of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, from 1919 to 1923, Major-General commanding the 4th Division, 1923 to 1926, and finally Director-General of the Territorial Army, 1927 to...
.
Home Defence
X Corps was reformed in 1940 as part of Home Forces in the UK.Order of Battle Autumn 1940
- 54th (East Anglian) Division
- 59th (Staffordshire) Division
- Royal ArtilleryRoyal ArtilleryThe Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery , is the artillery arm of the British Army. Despite its name, it comprises a number of regiments.-History:...
- 121st (West Riding) Army Field Regiment
- 1st Medium Regiment
North Africa
X Corps first went on active service in SyriaSyria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
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...
William Holmes
William Holmes (British Army officer)
Lieutenant-General Sir William George Holmes KBE CB DSO was a British general of the Second World War.-Early life:Holmes was educated at Gresham's School, Holt, and the Royal Military Academy.-Army service:...
. In 1942, Lieutenant-General Bernard Montgomery decided it should join Eighth Army
Eighth Army (United Kingdom)
The Eighth Army was one of the best-known formations of the British Army during World War II, fighting in the North African and Italian campaigns....
to become a mobile corps to exploit infantry
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
breakthroughs in North Africa
North Africa
North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...
. It then comprised two armoured divisions (1st and 10th) with parts of a third (8th) divided between them, and the New Zealand Division
New Zealand 2nd Division
The 2nd New Zealand Division was a formation of the New Zealand Military Forces during World War II. It was commanded for most of its existence by Lieutenant-General Sir Bernard Freyberg, and fought in Greece, Crete, the Western Desert and Italy...
. From 1942, its commander was Lieutenant General Herbert Lumsden
Herbert Lumsden
Lieutenant-General Herbert Lumsden, CB, DSO, MC, psc was a British Army general during World War II.-Early career:...
, albeit not Montgomery's preferred choice. Lumsden was later dismissed because of a perceived reluctance to pursue the retreating Afrika Korps
Afrika Korps
The German Africa Corps , or the Afrika Korps as it was popularly called, was the German expeditionary force in Libya and Tunisia during the North African Campaign of World War II...
and replaced by Brian Horrocks
Brian Horrocks
Lieutenant-General Sir Brian Gwynne Horrocks, KCB, KBE, DSO, MC was a British Army officer. He is chiefly remembered as the commander of XXX Corps in Operation Market Garden and other operations during the Second World War...
.
X Corps were heavily involved at the Second Battle of El Alamein
Second Battle of El Alamein
The Second Battle of El Alamein marked a major turning point in the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War. The battle took place over 20 days from 23 October – 11 November 1942. The First Battle of El Alamein had stalled the Axis advance. Thereafter, Lieutenant-General Bernard Montgomery...
. The original plan was to be simultaneous attacks by XXX Corps and XIII Corps
XIII Corps (United Kingdom)
XIII Corps was a British infantry corps during World War I and World War II.-World War I:XIII Corps was formed in France on 15 November 1915 under Lieutenant-General Walter Congreve to be part of Fourth Army. It was first seriously engaged during the Battle of the Somme in 1916. On the First day on...
to clear corridors for X Corps' armour to exploit. Events affected the plan and on the 5 October, it was decided to attack simultaneously with both XXX and X Corps.
The New Zealanders rapidly captured Miteirya Ridge. While XIII Corps pressed forward, X Corps was to strike northwestwards to distract and defeat Rommel
Rommel
Erwin Rommel was a German World War II field marshal.Rommel may also refer to:*Rommel *Rommel Adducul , Filipino basketball player*Rommel Fernández , first Panamanian footballer to play in Europe...
's Panzer
Panzer
A Panzer is a German language word that, when used as a noun, means "tank". When it is used as an adjective, it means either tank or "armoured" .- Etymology :...
s. By November 4, X Corps was in full pursuit, but heavy rain bogged the armour down and Rommel escaped.
The corps was active through the remainder of the campaign with Eighth Army until the Axis forces surrender in Tunisia in May 1943.
Italy and Greece
The Corps was not involved in the Sicily campaignAllied invasion of Sicily
The Allied invasion of Sicily, codenamed Operation Husky, was a major World War II campaign, in which the Allies took Sicily from the Axis . It was a large scale amphibious and airborne operation, followed by six weeks of land combat. It launched the Italian Campaign.Husky began on the night of...
but became part Lieutenant-General Mark Clark
Mark Wayne Clark
Mark Wayne Clark was an American general during World War II and the Korean War and was the youngest lieutenant general in the U.S. Army...
's US Fifth Army to take part in the landings at Salerno, Italy on 9 September 1943. Here it was commanded by Lieutenant-General Richard McCreery
Richard McCreery
General Sir Richard Loudon McCreery GCB, KBE, DSO, MC , was a British career soldier, who was Chief of Staff to Field Marshal Harold Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis, at the time of the Second Battle of El Alamein and later commanded the British Eighth Army in Northern Italy during...
. After Salerno it continued to fight on the Fifth Army's left wing including taking part in the first Battle of Monte Cassino
Battle of Monte Cassino
The Battle of Monte Cassino was a costly series of four battles during World War II, fought by the Allies against Germans and Italians with the intention of breaking through the Winter Line and seizing Rome.In the beginning of 1944, the western half of the Winter Line was being anchored by Germans...
in January 1944.
In the spring of 1944 the corps was relieved by the French Expeditionary Corps (1943-1944)
French Expeditionary Corps (1943-1944)
The French Expeditionary Corps , also known as the French Expeditionary Corps in Italy , was an expeditionary force composed of French soldiers that fought in the Italian Campaign during World War II under the command of General Alphonse Juin....
and switched back to the Eighth Army taking position on the right of British XIII Corps. The corps had a minor role in the fourth and decisive battle of Cassino but was involved in the Allied advance north through the summer to the German Gothic Line
Gothic Line
The Gothic Line formed Field Marshal Albert Kesselring's last major line of defence in the final stages of World War II along the summits of the Apennines during the fighting retreat of German forces in Italy against the Allied Armies in Italy commanded by General Sir Harold Alexander.Adolf Hitler...
defences.
In September 1944 the corps played a holding role on the left flank of Eighth Army during Operation Olive, the autumn offensive on the Gothic Line.
In November 1944 command of X Corps was taken by Lieutenant-General John Hawkesworth
John Hawkesworth (British Army officer)
Lieutenant-General Sir John Ledlie Inglis Hawkesworth, KBE, CB, DSO and Bar was an officer in the British Army during World War I and World War II.-Early life and career:...
when Richard McCreery was promoted to command Eighth Army.
When the Axis forces withdrew from Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
, from October British troops under Lieutenant-General Ronald Scobie
Ronald Scobie
Lieutenant-General Sir Ronald MacKenzie Scobie KBE, CB, MC was a British Army officer who commanded III Corps.-Military career:...
were sent there to maintain internal stability. In late 1944 Hawkesworth and X Corps HQ were sent to Greece to assume control of military operations so that Scobie could concentrate more on the highly complex and sensitive political aspects of the British involvement.
By March 1945 Hawkesworth and his HQ had returned to Italy. X Corps was in a reserve role and not involved in the Allies' final offensive
Spring 1945 offensive in Italy
The Spring 1945 offensive in Italy, codenamed Operation Grapeshot, was the Allied attack by Fifth United States Army and British 8th Army into the Lombardy Plain which started on 6 April 1945 and ended on 2 May with the surrender of German forces in Italy....
in April 1945 culminating with the surrender of Axis forces in Italy in early May.
By this time it had become apparent that Hawkesworth was suffering from a serious heart condition. He died on the way home to Britain, when he suffered a heart attack while on board his troopship
Troopship
A troopship is a ship used to carry soldiers, either in peacetime or wartime...
which lay at Gibraltar
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...
, on 3 June 1945.
General Officers Commanding
Commanders have included:- Jul 1915 - Apr 1918 Lieutenant-General Thomas MorlandThomas MorlandGeneral Sir Thomas Lethbridge Napier Morland KCMG, DSO was a British general during the First World War.-Biography:Born in Montreal, Canada East, Morland was the son of Thomas Morland and Helen Servante...
- May 1918 - Jun 1918 Lieutenant-General William PeytonWilliam PeytonGeneral Sir William Eliot Peyton KCB KCVO DSO was a British soldier, a general of the First World War who fought in several other wars.He was Delhi Herald of Arms Extraordinary at the time of the Delhi Durbar of 1911....
- 1918 - 1919 Lieutenant-General Reginald StephensReginald Byng StephensGeneral Sir Reginald Byng Stephens KCB CMG DL was a British Army general of the First World War and later Commandant of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, from 1919 to 1923, Major-General commanding the 4th Division, 1923 to 1926, and finally Director-General of the Territorial Army, 1927 to...
- Jun 1940-Aug 1942 Lieutenant-General William HolmesWilliam Holmes (British Army officer)Lieutenant-General Sir William George Holmes KBE CB DSO was a British general of the Second World War.-Early life:Holmes was educated at Gresham's School, Holt, and the Royal Military Academy.-Army service:...
- Aug 1942-Dec 1942 Lieutenant-General Herbert LumsdenHerbert LumsdenLieutenant-General Herbert Lumsden, CB, DSO, MC, psc was a British Army general during World War II.-Early career:...
- Dec 1942-Apr 1943 Lieutenant-General Brian HorrocksBrian HorrocksLieutenant-General Sir Brian Gwynne Horrocks, KCB, KBE, DSO, MC was a British Army officer. He is chiefly remembered as the commander of XXX Corps in Operation Market Garden and other operations during the Second World War...
- Apr 1943-May 1943 Lieutenant-General Bernard FreybergBernard Freyberg, 1st Baron FreybergLieutenant-General Bernard Cyril Freyberg, 1st Baron Freyberg VC, GCMG, KCB, KBE, DSO & Three Bars , was a British-born New Zealand Victoria Cross recipient and soldier who later served as the seventh Governor-General of New Zealand.A veteran of the Mexican Revolution, he became an officer in the...
- Aug 1943-Oct 1944 Lieutenant-General Sir Richard McCreeryRichard McCreeryGeneral Sir Richard Loudon McCreery GCB, KBE, DSO, MC , was a British career soldier, who was Chief of Staff to Field Marshal Harold Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis, at the time of the Second Battle of El Alamein and later commanded the British Eighth Army in Northern Italy during...
- Nov 1944-May 1945 Lieutenant-General Sir John HawkesworthJohn Hawkesworth (British Army officer)Lieutenant-General Sir John Ledlie Inglis Hawkesworth, KBE, CB, DSO and Bar was an officer in the British Army during World War I and World War II.-Early life and career:...