I Corps of the Australian Army was the main frontline corps of the army during World War II. Various Australian and other Allied divisions came under its control at various times. In 1940-42, the corps was based in the Mediterranean Theatre. In 1942-45, it oversaw Allied frontline units in the South West Pacific Area. The Australian Army Emblem The Australian Army is Australias military land force. ... A corps (a word that immigrated from the French language, pronounced like English core, but originating in the Latin corpus, corporis meaning body; plural same as singular) is either a large military unit or formation, a administrative grouping of troops within an army with a common function (such as artillery... Combatants Allies: • Soviet Union, • UK & Commonwealth, • USA, • France/Free France, • China, • Poland, • ...and others Axis: • Germany, • Japan, • Italy, • ...and others Commanders Strength Casualties Full list Full list World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a large scale military conflict that took place between 1939 and 1945. ... The group of countries known as the Allies of World War II came together, to fight the Axis Powers, as World War II unfolded and progressed. ... Symbol of the Polish 1st Legions Infantry Division in NATO code A division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of around ten to fifteen thousand soldiers. ... The Mediterranean region. ... South West Pacific Area (SWPA) was the name given to one of the four major Allied commands in the Pacific theatre of World War II, during 1942-45. ...

The corps was established on April 11, 1940 in Melbourne, Australia, to supervise the frontline divisions of the Second Australian Imperial Force (2nd AIF). Lieutenant General Thomas Blamey, the 2nd AIF commander, was appointed General Officer Commanding (GOC) I Australian Corps. April 11 is the 101st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (102nd in leap years). ... The City of Melbournes coat of arms The central business district of Melbourne, viewed from the north Alternate meanings: Melbourne (disambiguation) Melbourne is the capital and largest city of the state of Victoria, and the second largest city in Australia, with a population of 52,117 in the Central... The Second Australian Imperial Force (2nd AIF) was the name given to the volunteer units of the Australian Army in World War II. The 2nd AIF was formed, from 1939 onwards, to fight overseas: most army units were Militia (reserve) units and under Australian law at the time, Militia troops... Memorial statue of Field Marshal Sir Thomas Blamey in Kings Domain, Melbourne. ...

Mediterranean Theatre

On 10 June, 1940, Blamey left Australia to set up his headquarters in Palestine. June 10 is the 161st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (162nd in leap years), with 204 days remaining. ... Map of the territory under the British Mandate of Palestine. ...

The corps took over control of Cyrenaica, Libya on February 16, 1941, replacing the British XIII Corps. The Roman Empire ca. ... The Western Desert Force, during World War II, was a British Commonwealth Army unit stationed in Egypt. ...

In April 1941, I Corps HQ was transferred to Greece for the Greek campaign. The corps controlled the Australian 6th Division, the New Zealand 2nd Division, the Greek 12th Division and the British 1st Armoured Brigade. On April 12, it was officially renamed the Anzac Corps, a reference to the combined Australian-New Zealand formations of World War I. However, the Allied forces were quickly overcome by the German advance and I Corps HQ left Greece on April 23-24. The Balkans Campaign was the Italian and German invasion of the Yugoslavia and Greece during the Second World War. ... The most well-known 6th Division in the Australian Army was a unit in the Second Australian Imperial Force (2nd AIF) during World War II. (The 6th Division name was previously used for a short-lived World War I unit, formed from First Australian Imperial Force troops in England, in... The New Zealand 2nd Division was that countrys major land formation during much of World War II. Commanded for much of its existence by Lieutenant General Sir Bernard Freyberg. ... The Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (popularly abbreviated as ANZAC) was originally an army corps of Australian and New Zealand troops who fought in World War I at Gallipoli, in the Middle East and on the Western Front. ... Combatants Allies: • Serbia, • Russia, • France, • Belgium, • British Empire and Dominions, • United States, • Italy, • ...and others Central Powers: • Germany, • Austria-Hungary, • Ottoman Empire, • Bulgaria Commanders {{{commander1}}} {{{commander2}}} Strength {{{strength1}}} {{{strength2}}} Casualties 5 million military, 3 million civilian (full list) 3 million military, 3 million civilian (full list) {{{notes}}} World War I...

In June, as part of the initial plan for the invasion of Lebanon and Syria, I Corps was to take command of operations after Commonwealth forces reached the Beirut-Damascus road. However, on June 18, 1941, prior to that objective being reached, I Corps took charge, to improve command and control of the Allied forces. From this date all Allied troops in the theatre came under the command of Lt-Gen John Lavarack. They included: the Australian 7th Division (less the 18th Infantry Brigade), the Free French Division and the Indian 5th Infantry Brigade Group. Following the hard-fought Allied victory, I Corps assumed responsibilty for occupying all of Lebanon and Syria north of the Beirut-Damascus road, including the border with Turkey. The Syria-Lebanon campaign was the Allied invasion of Vichy French-controlled Syria and Lebanon in 1941, during World War II. The Allied offensive, also known as Operation Exporter, was aimed at preventing Nazi Germany from using Vichy territory as a springboard for attacks on the Allied stronghold of Egypt... The Commonwealth of Nations, usually known as The Commonwealth, is an association of independent sovereign states, almost all of which are former territories of the British Empire. ... Central Beirut (2004) Beirut (Arabic: , Bayrūt) is the capital, largest city, and chief seaport of Lebanon. ... Damascus by night, pictured from Jabal Qasioun; the green spots are minarets Damascus (Arabic officially دمشق Dimashq, colloquially ash-Sham الشام) is the capital city of Syria. ... The 7th Division of the Australian Army was formed to serve in World War II, as part of the Second Australian Imperial Force. ... The Free French Forces (Forces Françaises Libres in French) were French fighters in World War II, who decided to continue fighting against Axis forces after the surrender of France and German occupation, following the call of General De Gaulle, and the de jure government (Free French Government) of France...

South West Pacific Area

On January 3, 1941, following the outbreak of the Pacific War, the British government requested that two Australian divisions be sent to the Far East. The Australian government agreed to this request on the January 6, and ordered the redeployment of I Corps Headquarters, along with the 6th and 7th Divisions. These units had left Egypt for Java by the end of January. However, few Australian units landed in the Netherlands East Indies before it had fallen to Japanese forces. There was a dispute between Winston Churchill and Australian Prime Minister John Curtin, over whether the main part of the force should instead be sent to South Asia or Australia. However, I Corps HQ was relocated to Australia and the 6th Division (less the 19th Brigade) was detached to Ceylon. US landings in the Pacific, 1942–1945 The Pacific War occurred in the Pacific Ocean, its islands, and in Asia. ... The most well-known 6th Division in the Australian Army was a unit in the Second Australian Imperial Force (2nd AIF) during World War II. (The 6th Division name was previously used for a short-lived World War I unit, formed from First Australian Imperial Force troops in England, in... The 7th Division of the Australian Army was formed to serve in World War II, as part of the Second Australian Imperial Force. ... Map of Java Java (Indonesian, Javanese, and Sundanese: Jawa) is an island of Indonesia, and the site of its capital city, Jakarta. ... The Dutch East Indies, or Netherlands East Indies, (Dutch: Nederlands Indië) was the name of the colonies colonised by the Dutch East India Company which came under administration of the Netherlands during the ninteenth century (see Indonesia). ... Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, KG, OM, CH, TD, FRS (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British politician, best known as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. ... John Curtin (January 8, 1885 – July 5, 1945), Australian politician and 14th Prime Minister of Australia, led Australia through the darkest period of its history: when the Australian mainland came under direct military threat during the Japanese advance in World War II. Many Australians regard him as the countrys... Composite satellite image of South Asia Map of South Asia. ...

Commanders

• 1940-41: Lt Gen Thomas Blamey
• 1941-42: Lt Gen John Lavarack
• 1942: Lt Gen Sydney Rowell
• 1942-44: Edmund Herring
• 1944: Lt Gen Frank Berryman
• 1944: Lt Gen Stanley Savige
• 1944-45: Lt Gen Leslie Morshead

Memorial statue of Field Marshal Sir Thomas Blamey in Kings Domain, Melbourne. ... Sir Leslie James Morshead (September 18, 1889 - September 26, 1959) was an Australian soldier with a distinguished career in both world wars. ...

External links

? (no date) "I Australian Corps"