| XII Corps | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1915-19; 1940-45 |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Branch | British Army |
| Type | Field Corps (infantry) |
| Size | Around 60,000 men (WWII). |
| Engagements | World War I[1] |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders |
Lt-Gen Sir Henry Fuller Maitland Wilson Lt-Gen Bernard Montgomery Lt-Gen Neil Ritchie |
XII Corps was an army corps of the British Army in World War I and World War II. In World War I it formed part of the British Salonika Force on the Macedonian front In World War II it formed part of Second Army during the Normandy and North-West Europe campaigns of 1944-45.
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XII Corps was formed in France on 8 September 1915 under the command of Lt-Gen Sir Henry Fuller Maitland Wilson.[1][2] In November 1915, XII Corps was sent from France with 22nd, 26th and 28th Divisions under command to reinforce Allied forces on the Macedonian front. Wilson and his corps headquarters (HQ) arrived at the port of Salonika on 12 November, but the commander of the British Salonika Force (BSF) took XII Corp’s staff to establish his own HQ.[3] On 14 December 1915 the War Office sanctioned the establishment of two corps within the BSF and Wilson reformed XII Corps.[4]
After a period holding the defensive position known as ‘the Birdcage’ around Salonika, XII Corps moved up-country in July 1916, taking over former French positions, but only part was involved in the fighting during the summer and autumn.[5] XII Corps was selected to attack the Bulgarian positions west of Lake Doiran in April 1917.[6] The area to be attacked was ‘a defender’s dream, being a tangled mass of hills cut by numerous ravines’.[7] Wilson planned a three-stage operation to capture the three lines of defences, preceded by a short intense bombardment. The BSF’s commander, Sir George Milne decided that his manpower was too limited, and reduced this to a smaller assault on the first defence line only, preceded by a three-day bombardment to neutralise enemy batteries and destroy trenches and barbed wire. This of course lost the element of surprise, but the Bulgarians were well aware of what was coming. Only three brigades were engaged, but the casualties were high and little ground was gained. In a second attack two weeks later, the assault troops managed to cross no man’s land, but it was difficult to get information back to HQs, and some companies simply disappeared.[8]
This 1st Battle of Doiran (second battle by Bulgarian reckoning) had been a failure, and with many troops being withdrawn to other theatres, XII Corps did not get another opportunity to launch a major attack until 18 September 1918. On that day, with two brigades of 22nd Division and the Greek Seres Division, XII Corps failed to take ‘Pip Ridge’ and the ‘Grande Couronne’. The following day the attack was renewed with a brigade from 27th Division supported by the remnants of 22nd Division, the Seres Division, and the French 2nd Regiment of Zouaves. Once more the attack failed with heavy casualties.[9] However, the 2nd Battle of Doiran had served its purpose by drawing Bulgarian attention away from Gen Franchet d’Esperey’s main Franco-Serbian thrust, which broke through the Bulgarian lines further west. On 21 September the BSF was ordered to pursue the retreating Bulgarians, with XII Corps in the lead. Bulgaria signed an armistice with the Allies on 29 September, but XII Corps continued to advance across Bulgaria towards the Turkish frontier, until the Ottoman Turks also signed the Armistice of Mudros on 31 October.[10]
XII Corps occupied parts of European Turkey and Wilson was appointed GOC Allied Forces Gallipoli and Bosporus. On 11 February 1919 XII Corps ceased to exist, Wilson becoming Commander, Allied Forces Turkey in Europe, British Salonika Army, and British Army of the Black Sea.[11][12]
Order of Battle (March 1917)[13]
Corps Troops:
XII Corps formed part of Home Forces in the United Kingdom in the early part of World War II. Lieutenant-General Bernard Montgomery was its commander from 27 April 1941 until 13 August 1942, when he was sent to Egypt to take command on Eighth Army.[14]
Order of Battle Autumn 1940[15]
XII Corps was designated as one of the follow-up corps of the British Second Army, and was formed in the Odon Valley area in July 1944 to take over command of the troops holding the area (previously under command of the British VIII Corps). It took part in a diversionary action in the area prior to Operation Goodwood (18–20 July 1944), and was then involved in fighting south out of this area in August. The Corps was the last assignment of the 59th (Staffordshire) Infantry Division prior to its disbandment in August.
XII Corps supported the left flank of XXX Corps during Operation Market Garden in September 1944 but, like VIII Corps on right flank, struggled to match the pace of XXX Corps' rapid advance. This left XXX Corps' flanks exposed to German counter-attacks on its lines of communication, and was one of the major factors in the British failure at Arnhem.
Order of battle June 1944
General Officer Commanding Lt-Gen Neil Ritchie
Corps Troops[19]
Attached formations
Divisions attached at other times
Commanders have included:[31]