The British XIII Corps in France and Flanders

XIII Corps was formed on 12 November 1915.

Headquarters locations

  • Formation: Doullens
  • 30 November 1915: Domart-en-Ponthieu
  • 30 December 1915: Vignacourt
  • 6 February 1916: Heilly
  • 29 April 1916: Corbie
  • 27 June 1916: Chipilly
  • 22 July 1916: Etinehem
  • 15 August 1916: Domart-en-Ponthieu
  • 4 October 1916: Couin
  • 29 November 1916: Acheux
  • 12 January 1917: Doullens
  • 20 March 1917: La Beuvrière
  • 12 April 1917: Ecoivres
  • 1 April 1918: Bryas
  • 24 April 1918: Ferfay
  • 26 September 1918: Villers-Bocage
  • 1 October 1918: Bussu Wood (J.7.a.5.5) near Aizecourt-le-Haut
  • 9 October 1918: Ronssoy
  • 13 October 1918: Elincourt
  • 5 November 1918: Le Cateau
  • 11 November 1918: Maroilles
  • 8 December 1918: Caudry (remained there until at least the end of July 1919)

Commanding Officers

Lieutenant-General Walter N. Congreve VC (wounded 12 June 1917)
17 June 1917: Lieutenant-General Frederick W. N. McCracken
March 1918: Lieutenant-General Sir Henry de Beauvoir de Lisle (transferred to XV Corps)
April 1918: Lieutenant-General Sir Thomas Morland

Imperial War Museum image Q2369, with thanks. Major-General Frederick McCracken, then General Officer Commanding 15th (Scottish) Division, speaks with a senior nurse during a Divisional Sports Day at Wail (south-west of St. Pol, on the Hesdin-Frevent Road) on 3 June 1917. Later that month, McCracken was promoted to Lieutenant-General and sent to command XIII Corps.

Battles and Engagements

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

Fourth Army

The Battles of the Somme, 1916:

The Battle of Albert (1-13 July 1916) including the capture of Montauban

The Battle of Bazentin (14-17 July 1916)

Fifth Army

The Battle of the Ancre (1-18 October 1916)

First 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 Battle of Arleux (28-29 April 1917)

The Third Battle of the Scarpe (3-4 May 1917) and the capture of Oppy Wood (28 June 1917)

First Army

The First Battles of the Somme, 1918:

The First Battle of Arras, 1918 (28 March 1918)

Fourth Army

The Battles of the Hindenburg Line:

The Battle of the St. Quentin Canal (29 September – 2 October 1918)

The Battle of Beaurevoir (3-5 October 1918)

The Battle of Cambrai, 1918 (8-9 October 1918)

Fourth Army

Later operations:

The pursuit to the Selle (9-12 October 1918)

The Final Advance in Picardy:

The Battle of the Selle (17-25 October 1918)

The Battle of the Sambre (4 November 1918) including the passage of the Sambre-Oise Canal

Links

The British Corps headquarters in France and Flanders