XX Corps (United Kingdom)

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XX Corps
XX Corps formation badge.
ActiveWorld War I
Country United Kingdom
Branch British Army
TypeField corps
Part ofEgyptian Expeditionary Force
EngagementsWorld War I

The XX Corps was an army corps of the British Army during World War I.

First World War[edit]

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 (Irish) Division
  • 53rd (Welsh) Division

General officers commanding[edit]

Commanders included:

  • 2 August – 20 August 1917 Lieutenant-General Sir Philip Chetwode[6]
  • 20 August – 31 August 1917 Major-General John Shea (acting)
  • 31 August 1917 – November 1918 Lieutenant-General Sir Philip Chetwode

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "The British Corps of 1914-1918". Retrieved 6 May 2016.
  2. ^ a b Grainger (2006), pp. 239–240
  3. ^ "Australian Light Horse Studies Centre". Retrieved 6 May 2016.
  4. ^ "Affair of Huj, 8 November 1917". Retrieved 6 May 2016.
  5. ^ Perrett, Bryan (1999). Megiddo 1918: the last great cavalry victory. Osprey Publishing. ISBN 1-85532-827-5.
  6. ^ "King's Collections : Archive Catalogues : Military Archives". Retrieved 6 May 2016.

Bibliography[edit]

  • Doughty, Robert A. (2005). Pyrrhic Victory: French Strategy and Operation in the Great War. Cambridge, MA=London: Belknap Press.
  • Grainger, John D (2006). The Battle for Palestine, 1917. Woodbridge: Boydell Press.