The British II Corps was formed in both World War I and World War II. Combatants Entente Powers Central Powers Commanders {{{commander1}}} {{{commander2}}} Strength {{{strength1}}} {{{strength2}}} Casualties > 5 million military deaths > 3 million military deaths World War I, also known as the First World War and (before 1939) the Great War, the War of the Nations and the War to End All Wars, was a... Combatants Allied Powers Axis Powers Commanders {{{commander1}}} {{{commander2}}} Strength {{{strength1}}} {{{strength2}}} Casualties 17 million military deaths 7 million military deaths World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a mid-20th century conflict that engulfed much of the globe and is accepted as the largest and deadliest...

During WWII its first assignment was to the British Expeditionary Force where it was commanded by Alan Brooke (from whose name it took its insignia of a red leaping salmon upon three wavy blue bands against a white background, all in an oblong red border). It took part in the advance into Belgium, and was then pushed back with the rest of the force. It was evacuated from Dunkirk. After commanding forces in the United Kingdom, it was being disbanded in early 1944 when selected to be one of the two corps comprising the notional British Fourth Army, which under the deception plan Fortitude North was supposed to attack Norway. The British Expeditionary Force (BEF) was the British army sent to France and Belgium in World War I and British Forces in Europe from 1939 - 1940 during World War II. The BEF was established by Secretary of State for War Richard Haldane following the Boer War in case Britain ever... Lord Alanbrooke Field Marshal Sir Alan Francis Brooke, 1st Viscount Alanbrooke, Baron Alanbrooke, KG, GCB, OM, GCVO, DSO (July 23, 1883 - June 17, 1963) was a British Field Marshal during World War II. He also served as Lord High Constable during the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953. ... This article is about a Second World War battle in 1940, for the 1658 battle of the same name see Battle of the Dunes (1658) The Battle of Dunkirk (French: Bataille de Dunkerque) was a major battle during World War II which lasted from around May 26 to June 4...

For Fortitude North, with its headquarters supposedly at Stirling in Scotland, it notionally consisted of the genuine British 3d Infantry Division (shortly replaced by the notional British 58th Infantry Division), the genuine British 55th Division in Northern Ireland, and the genuine 113th Independent Infantry Brigade in the Orkneys. Under Fortitude North II Corps was supposedly to attack Stavanger, with the 3d (later the 58th) Division and supporting commandos and paratroops seizing the airfields, the 55th Division joining as followup; the genuine U.S. XV Corps from Northern Ireland would augment the force, which would advance on Oslo.

The corps was transferred to First U.S. Army Group ("FUSAG") in early June 1944 and moved to Lincolnshire; restored to Fourth Army when that formation joined FUSAG for Fortitude South II, headquarters now at Tunbridge Wells in Kent, with under command the British 55th and 58th Divisions and the British 35th Armored Brigade. It was notionally transferred to France in late September, consisting of the essentially notional 55th Division, the genuine 79th Armored Division, and the essentially notional 76th Division; also apparently at times the genuine 59th Division, disbanded but notionally kept alive. It was notionally part of Canadian First Army in the deception operation Trolleycar II (threatening an attack on the Germans in Holland) in November 1944.

After WWII, as a genuine corps it was based in the Middle East, controlling British forces around the Suez Canal. Following the British withdrawal from Egypt, II Corps was also the controlling force for the invasion of the country during the Suez Crisis. A map showing countries commonly considered to be part of the Middle East The Middle East is a region comprising the lands around the southern and eastern parts of the Mediterranean Sea, a territory that extends from the eastern Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf. ... 1881 drawing of the Suez Canal The Suez Canal (Arabic: قناة السويس, Qanā al-Suways), west of the Sinai Peninsula, is a 163 km maritime canal in Egypt between Port Said (Būr Saīd) on the Mediterranean Sea and Suez (al-Suways) on the Red Sea. ... Combatants Israel, France, United Kingdom Egypt Commanders Moshe Dayan (CoS of the IDF) General Sir Charles Keightley (C-in-C), Vice-Admiral Pierre Barjot (Deputy) Gamal Abdel Nasser Strength 45,000 British, 34,000 French, 175,000 Israeli 300,000 Egyptians Casualties 200 Israelis, 107 British, 43 French dead or...