I Canadian Corps

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article or section is missing citations or needs footnotes.
Using inline citations helps guard against copyright violations and factual inaccuracies. (March 2008)

I Canadian Corps was one of the two corps comprising the First Canadian Army during World War II. From December 25, 1940 until the formation of the Army in 1942, there was a single unnumbered Canadian Corps. I Canadian Corps became operational in Italy in November 1943 when the 5th Canadian (Armoured) Division joined the 1st Canadian Infantry Division, which had been assigned to the British Eighth Army immediately prior to the invasion of Sicily. I Canadian Corps was commanded successively by Lieutenant-General Harry Crerar (formation in 1942 to March 19, 1944), Lieutenant-General Eedson Burns (March 20, 1944 to November 5, 1944), and Lieutenant-General Charles Foulkes (November 10, 1944 to July 17, 1945).

I Canadian Corps participated in many of the important actions of the Italian Campaign including the Battle of Ortona, the Liri Valley campaign and the assault on the Gothic Line. The Corps was transported over January-February 1945 in Operation Goldflake to rejoin the First Canadian Army in Belgium and the Netherlands. There the Corps participated in the campaign to complete the liberation of the Netherlands. On May 6, 1945 at Wageningen, Lieutenant-General Foulkes received the final surrender by Colonel General Johannes Blaskowitz of all remaining German forces still active in the Netherlands. The Corps was deactivated in the summer of 1945 as part of general demobilization.

Although nominally a Canadian formation, I Canadian Corps contained significant elements at different times from other Allied countries. For example in Italy, during the assault on the Gothic Line in the Fall of 1944, the Corps included the 4th British Infantry Division, the 2nd New Zealand Division and the 3rd Greek Mountain Brigade. During the final campaign to liberate the Netherlands, the Corps included for a time the British 49th (West Riding) Infantry Division.

[edit] References

Byers, A. R. (ed.), The Canadians at War 1939/45, 2nd ed., The Reader's Digest Association (Canada) Ltd., Montreal, Canada, 1986, ISBN 0-88850-145-5.