XX Corps (United Kingdom)

British army unit in First World War

This article is about the United Kingdom Army unit. For other units of the same name, see XX Corps.

XX Corps

XX Corps formation badge.

Active| World War I
Country|  United Kingdom
Branch|  British Army
Type| Field corps
Part of| Egyptian Expeditionary Force
Engagements| World War I

* Sinai and Palestine Campaign
* Beersheba
* Battle of Megiddo

Military unit

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

## First World War

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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]

* 10th (Irish) Division
* 53rd (Welsh) Division
* 60th (2/2nd London) Division
* 74th (Yeomanry) Division

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

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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

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* British military history

## References

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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

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* 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.