IX Corps (United Kingdom)

This article is about the United Kingdom Army unit. For other units of the same name, see IX Corps.
IX Corps
Active 1915–1919
1940–1943
Country  United Kingdom
Branch British Army
Type Corps
Engagements

World War I

World War II

Commanders
Notable
commanders		 Frederick Stopford
Julian Byng
Alexander Hamilton-Gordon
Walter Braithwaite
John T. Crocker
Brian Horrocks

IX Corps was a corps-sized formation of the British Army that existed during World War I and World War II.

World War I

The IX Corps was originally formed in England in 1915 in readiness to make a new landing at Suvla during the Battle of Gallipoli. Headquarters was formed at the Tower of London[1][2] Command of the corps was given to Lieutenant-General Sir Frederick Stopford.[1] His handling of the corps during the August Offensive warranted his replacement after only 9 days with Lieutenant-General Julian Byng.

During the Gallipoli campaign the corps comprised the following divisions:[3]

Following the British evacuation of Gallipoli, the corps was moved to France in 1916,[1] where it was commanded by Alexander Hamilton-Gordon until he was relieved in 1918.

In September 1918 the following divisions joined the Corps:

After severe losses during the Battle of the Lys in April 1918 the corps was moved south to a quiet sector to reform. This sector was the unlucky target of the next German offensive, the Third Battle of the Aisne in May–June 1918, causing further losses to IX Corps. General Duchene, commander of the French Sixth Army, had deployed IX corps (five divisions) too far forward, on the Chemin des Dames ridge which had been gained at such cost in the Second Battle of the Aisne the previous year. (The French Commander-in-Chief Petain and the Army Group Commander Franchet d’Esperey would have preferred the ridge to be lightly held and the main defence to be a battle zone between it and the Rive Aisne).[6]

At the time of the Armistice the IX Corps was part of the Fourth Army.

World War II

The corps was reactivated during World War II in 1940, serving mainly on home defence duties against a possible German invasion. IX Corps, under the command of Lieutenant-General John T. Crocker, was sent overseas to North Africa in late February 1943 and saw active service in Algeria and Tunisia as part of the British First Army. In April Crocker was wounded in a training accident and temporarily replaced by Lieutenant-General Brian G. Horrocks. The corps was disbanded after the end of the campaign, which ended in May 1943 with the surrender of almost 250,000 German and Italian prisoners of war.[7]

General Officers Commanding

First World War commanders included:[2][8]

Second World War commanders included:

Notes

References

Online sources

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