XX Corps (United Kingdom)
| XX Corps | |
|---|---|
| Active | World War I |
| Country |  United Kingdom |
| Branch |  British Army |
| Type | Field corps |
| Part of | Egyptian Expeditionary Force |
| Engagements | World War I |
The XX Corps was an army corps of the British Army during World War I.
Contents |
[edit] First World War
The Corps was formed in Palestine in June 1917 under Lieutenant General Philip Chetwode.[1] Following the British failure in the Second Battle of Gaza, the Egyptian Expeditionary Force underwent a major rearrangement with the appointment of General Edmund Allenby as the new Commander-in-Chief. The infantry component of the force was divided into two corps; XX Corps and XXI Corps.
The corps initially comprised four infantry divisions:[2]
The XX Corps first saw action in the Beersheba phase of the Third Battle of Gaza on 31 October 1917.[2] The 60th and 74th Divisions captured Turkish outposts west of the town but were not involved in the final assault. Following Beersheba on 6 November, the corps made a frontal assault against the Turkish fortifications in the vicinity of Sheria where the 10th, 60th and 74th Divisions succeeded in breaking through. The 10th Division captured the Hareira Redoubt on 7 November[3] and the 60th Division advanced on Huj in support of the Australian Mounted Division's effort to cut off the retreating Turkish army.[4]
During the Battle of Megiddo the formation was:[5]
- Corps Troops
- 10th Indian Division
- 53rd (Welsh) Division
[edit] General Officers Commanding
Commanders included:
- June 1917 - November 1918 Lieutenant General Philip Chetwode[6]
[edit] Order of Battle 19 September
- 53rd (Welsh) Division (Major General S. F. Mott)
- 158th Brigade (Brigadier General H. A. Vernon)
- 5/6th R. Welsh Fus., 4/11th Gurkhas, 3/153rd and 154th Indian Inf.
- 159th Brigade (Brigadier General N. Money)
- 4/5th Welsh Regt., 3/152nd, 1/153rd and 2/153rd Indian Inf.
- 160th Brigade (Brigadier General V. L. N. Pearson)
- 1/7th R. Welsh Fus., 1/17th Indian Inf., 1/21st Punjabis, 1st Cape Corps
- 265th, 266th, 267th Brigades RFA each with three batteries of twelve 18-pdrs. and four 4.5-inch hows.
- 39th Indian Mountain Battery
- Troop Corps Cavalry Regiment (1/1st Worcester Yeomanry)
- 158th Brigade (Brigadier General H. A. Vernon)
- 10th (Irish) Division (Major General J. R. Longley)
- 29th Brigade (Brigadier General C.L. Smith)
- 1st Leinsters, 1/101st Grenadiers, 1/54th Sikhs, 2/151st Infantry
- 30th Brigade (Brigadier General F. A. Greer)
- 1st Royal Irish Regt., 1st Kashmir I.S. Rifles, 38th Dogras, 46th Punjabis
- 31st Brigade (Brigadier General E. M. Morris)
- 2nd Royal Irish Fus., 2/101st Grenadiers, 74th Punjabis, 2/41nd Deolis
- 67th, 68th, 263rd Brigades RFA (67th and 68th Brigades with three batteries of twelve 18-pdrs. and four 4.5-inch hows.; 263rd Brigade with six 18-pdrs. and four 4.5-inch hows.)
- Hong Kong and Singapore Mountain Battery
- 29th Brigade (Brigadier General C.L. Smith)
- "Watson's Force" (holding centre of XX Corps' Front
- Corps Cavalry Regiment (1/1 Worcester Yeomanry)
- Pioneer Battalions (2/155th and 1/155th) of 10th and 53rd Divisions
- Corps Reinforcement Detachment (700 strong)
- XX Corps Heavy Artillery
- For support of 53rd Division
-
- 103rd Brigade RGA
- R. Section 10th Heavy Battery
- L. Section 10th Heavy Battery
- 205th Siege Battery
- 387th Siege Battery (less 1 gun)
- 392nd Siege Battery
- For support of 10th Division
[edit] References
- ^ The British Corps of 1914-1918
- ^ a b Grainger (2006), pp.239–240
- ^ The Battle of Sheria, Palestine, 7 November 1917
- ^ Affair of Huj, 8 November 1917
- ^ Perrett, Bryan (1999). Megiddo 1918: the last great cavalry victory. Osprey Publishing. ISBN 1855328275.
- ^ Liddell Hart Centre for Military archives
- ^ Field Marshal Earl Wavell, The Palestine Campaigns E.W. Sheppard (ed) A Short History of the British Army 3rd Edition (London: Constable & Co, 1968) p. 217-8
- ^ William T. Massey, Allenby’s Final Triumph (London: Constable & Co., London 1920) pp. 339-40
- Doughty, Robert A. (2005). Pyrrhic Victory: French Strategy and Operation in the Great War. Belknap Press.
- Grainger, John D (2006). The Battle for Palestine, 1917. Woodbridge: Boydell Press.
