II ANZAC Corps

History

The corps was formed in Egypt in February 1916 as part of the reorganization of the Australian Imperial Force following the evacuation of Gallipoli in December 1915, under the command of William Birdwood. This corps, along with the I ANZAC Corps, replaced the original Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC), following the expansion of the Australian and New Zealand forces in preparation for their deployment to the Western Front.

General Alexander Godley, commander of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force, assumed command of the corps after the I Anzac Corps embarked for France in late March 1916. The corps initially comprised the two "new" Australian divisions—the Australian 4th and 5th Divisions—that had been spawned from the "veteran" 1st and 2nd Divisions. Support troops included the II ANZAC (XXII Corps) Mounted Regiment.

In July 1916, following the arrival of II Anzac in France, the Australian 4th Division was swapped for the New Zealand Division from I Anzac, and II Anzac took over a sector of front-line near Armentières. In mid-July, II Anzac lent the 5th Division to the British XI Corps for a diversionary operation that became known as the Battle of Fromelles.

In June 1917, the corps took part in the Battle of Messines, which was a prelude to the Third Battle of Ypres. During the action, II Anzac was the southernmost of three British corps to attack the Messines Ridge. At this time II Anzac contained the New Zealand Division, the Australian 3rd Division and the British 25th Division. The Australian 4th Division was also attached to the corps as reinforcements and was to mount a follow-up attack after the assault by the other three divisions.

Upon the formation of the Australian Corps in December 1917, which contained all five Australian divisions, II Anzac was reformed as the British XXII Corps. The only Australian troops that remained with the corps were the mounted troops.