The British VII Corps in France and Flanders

VII Corps was formed on 14 July 1915.

Headquarters locations

  • Formation: Saint-Omer
  • 19 July 1915: Marieux (SE of Doullens)
  • 24 February 1916: Pas-en-Artois
  • 14 January 1917: Fosseux
  • 17 April 1917: Bretencourt
  • 8 August 1917: St. Pol-sur-Ternoise
  • 1 October 1917: Templeux-la-Fosse
  • 29 October 1917: Le Catelet
  • 29 December 1917: Templeux-la-Fosse
  • 22 March 1918: Cléry-sur-Somme
  • 23 March 1918: Corbie
  • 26 March 1918: Montigny
  • 6 April 1918: Bernaville
  • 2 May 1918: Houlle (withdrawn into reserve and responsible for construction of reserve defence lines and training areas)
  • 26 September 1918: Fruges (continued to be responsible for training areas)
  • 26 November 1918: Roubaix (remained until at least end of April 1919)

Commanding Officers

15 July 1915: Lieutenant-General Sir Thomas D’Oyly Snow (to 3 January 1918)
3 January 1918: Lieutenant-General Sir Walter N. Congreve VC

Lt-Gen T. D’O. Snow. Photograph from “The Great War”, ed. H. W. Wilson, 1917

Battles and Engagements

The Battles Nomenclature Committee of 1921 defined VII Corps as participating in the following:

Third Army

The Battles of the Somme, 1916:

The attack on the Gommecourt salient (1 July 1916)

Third Army

The German retreat to the Hindenburg Line (14 March – 5 April 1917)

Third Army

The Battles of Arras, 1917:

The First Battle of the Scarpe (9-14 April 1917)

The Second Battle of the Scarpe  (23-24 April 1917)

The Third Battle of the Scarpe  (3-4 May 1917)

Third Army

Actions on the Hindenburg Line (20 May – 16 June 1917)

Third Army

The Battle of Cambrai, 1917:

The tank attack (20-21 November 1917)

The capture of Bourlon Wood (23-28 November 1917) (but not within the wood itself)

The German counter-attacks (30 November – 3 December 1917)

Third Army

The action of Welsh Ridge (30 December 1917)

Fifth Army

The First Battles of the Somme, 1918:

The Battle of St. Quentin (21-23 March 1918)

Actions at the Somme crossings (24-25 March 1918)

The First Battle of Bapaume (24-25 March 1918)

Third Army

The Battle of the Ancre (5 April 1918)

Links

The British Corps headquarters in France and Flanders

“Hunt’s Force” in the fight against the German offensive in March 1918