Corps and Divisions

[Peridot]

Hi All

This may be a very elementary question, but here goes, as the answer is not immediately to hand on the LLT.

Can anyone tell me which Army/ies 9th Corps and 18th Corps were part of?

Also which Corps and Army was 11th Division part of?

Thanks

Peridot

[Chris_Baker]

The answer to that is - they changed. Armies and Corps tended to be geographically static and the Divisions were moved around, changing Corps as they went. It would be possible to derive a timetable of the Corps/Army that 11th Div was under.

[Ron Clifton]

Hello Peridot

I was just about to PM you with the reply to your last message!

11 Div moved to France from Egypt in July 1916 and went to XVII Corps, Third Army. In August it moved to VI Corps, also in Third Army. In October it moved to II Corps, Fifth Army on the Somme, moving to IV Corps, Fifth Army in December. In March 1917 it moved to V Corps and in July it moved to XVIII Corps, both also in Fifth Army in the Ypres sector from July.

In Nov 1917 it moved to I Corps, First Army where it spent the rest of the war, although it was attached to the Canadian Corps in Oct and XXII Corps in Nov 18, both also in First Army.

IX Corps also came to France in July 1916 and joined Second Army around Ypres. It was briefly Fifth Army on the Somme in August.before returning to Second Army. It was transferred to Fourth Army when the latter took over Second Army's sector in Nov 1917 when Gen Plumer and his staff went to France.

In March 1918 the Corps HQ was transferred to Fifth Army but without any divisions under command. In May it came briefly under GHQ but returned to Fourth Army in July where it remaioned, but still not controlling any divisions until September.

Ron

[Roger H]

Ron

Where do you get that sort of information? Is it a single source or multiple sources?

Roger

[stevem49]

I was going to say that Ron

Roger - what is your interest in the 11th Division?

11th Div - Gallipoli - 22nd July to Dec 1915.

S

[Roger H]

Steve

To be honest, no particular interest in that Division. I was just keen to know how Ron had got that sort of information. In the past he supplied me with information with regard to the attachments of 311th (Army) RFA Brigade.

Roger

[Peridot]

Thanks all for your responses and will reply to your pm separately Ron.

Peridot

[Ron Clifton]

Hello Roger and Ian

The basic source is a set of files at the end of class WO95, the War Diaries at Kew. WO95/5467 to 5470 cover France & Flanders, with orbats at roughly monthly intervals. Subsequent files cover other theatres. Incidentally, WO95/5494 has details of the allocations of Heavy and Siege Brigades to HAGs and Bdes RGA, and of these and AFA Brigades to Armies and Corps.

You can find some information in Becke's Order of Battle volumes, especially where battles are concerned, and there is also some information in E A James' book which is called something like "A Record of the Engagements of the British Armies in France" which was reprinted by Naval & Military Press in about 1989.

Class WO153, files 2 to 14, has similar information for France from Jan 1916 onwards in map form, and other maps in that class have similar information.

Ron

[Roger H]

Ron

Thanks for that information. And there was me thinking you had it all at your finger tips!

Roger

[Ron Clifton]

Hello Roger

I do, literally! Via a mouse and several spreadsheets, of course.

Ron