I Corps (United States)

Shoulder badge of the 1st US Corps

Badge of the 1st US Corps

The I Corps (US) ( German I. US Corps ) is a large unit at the corps level of the US Army . Its headquarters are in Fort Lewis , Washington State . It reports to the US Pacific Command regional command and forms the strategic reserve for the Pacific and Southeast Asian theater of war.

The ambiguous pronunciation of the letter " I " in the English language has meant that it is understood in relation to the task of the corps as an eye corps (meaning: "seeing corps").

history

At the beginning of the American Civil War , the corps of the Union Army were often counted within their armies, so that several field armies were temporarily named "I. Corps "led (eg" I. Corps, Potomac Army "or" I. Corps, Virginia Army "). Over time, however, the numbering became uniform throughout the army, and only the corresponding corps of the Potomac Army remained as "I. Corps ”left. It existed from 1862 to 1864 and was re-established in 1898 for participation in the Spanish-American War .

First World War

Hunter Liggett

The I Corps was established on the Western Front on January 15, 1918 under the command of Major General Hunter Liggett in northern France. On July 18, 1918, during the Second Battle of the Marne as part of the French 6th Army, the I. Corps and the 26th and 3rd Infantry Divisions played a significant role in the defense of the last German offensive in the area west of Château-Thierry .

During the Battle of St. Mihiel (September 12-15) the main attack was directed against the southern front of the front arc of St. Mihiel and was launched between Apremont and Pont-à-Mousson. On the right wing stood the 1st US Corps (from right to left with the 82nd, 5th , 90th and 2nd Divisions in front and the 78th Division in reserve) between Pont-à-Mousson on the Moselle to the west until Limey in the attack. As an operational target, the commanding General Hunter Liggett was assigned the main attack west of the priestly forest (Bois le Prêtre) in the direction of Thiaucourt . In the Meuse-Argonne Offensive , which was initiated on September 26, the I Corps formed the left wing of the 1st US Army in the Argonne . From left to right, the 77th , 28th and 35th Divisions were set up in the direction of Grandpré , with the 92nd Division serving as a reserve.

Second World War

According to Gen. Robert Eichelberger

On November 1, 1940, the I. Corps in Columbia (South Carolina) was reactivated and relocated to Australia in July 1942 . When the danger of a Japanese invasion in Australia no longer threatened, the corps launched a counter-offensive together with Australian units . On October 17, 1942, a major offensive against the Japanese invasion of the Southwest Pacific began from Rockhampton . With the subordinate 41st and 32nd US Infantry Divisions, the corps, under the leadership of Lieutenant General Robert L. Eichelberger, came to the aid of the Australian troops in the defense of New Guinea . The corps, which was soon reinforced with the Australian 7th Division, began their attacks in the Owen Stanley Mountains . During the Battle of Buna, the troops slowly advanced north under adverse terrain conditions. Although the numerically weaker Japanese forces were surrounded, they fought stubbornly. Buna, on the north coast of New Guinea, fell into Allied hands on January 22, 1943. After this campaign, the corps returned to Rockhampton, where it was entrusted with the training of new Allied forces.

From February 1943 to March 1944, the corps prepared for the next Operation Cartwheel , in which the coast at Hollandia (Jayapura) on the north coast of Dutch New Guinea was to be occupied. During the amphibious landing ( Operation Reckless ) on April 19, 1944, the I. Corps was landed: the 24th Infantry Division (Major General Frederick A. Irving) in Tanahmerah Bay and the 41st Infantry Division (Major General Horace Fuller) in Humboldt Bay. The entire Japanese 18th Army was cut off from the base. General Inada decided to withdraw his units some 400 km west to Sarmi. After protracted jungle and swamp fighting, the area was cleared by June 6th. Following this campaign, the I. Corps led the capture of Biak Island , which was completed on June 24th. From August 20, 1944, Major General Innis P. Swift led the corps, while General Eichelberger took over command of the 8th US Army .

On January 9, 1945, the I. Corps took part in the landing in the Gulf of Lingayen as part of the 6th US Army . In 34 days, the corps crossed central Luzon and separated the Japanese troops into two sections. After this operation, the corps came to Mindanao and began the advance towards the Cagayan Valley. Manila was retaken after heavy fighting. After the liberation of the Philippines , the Americans prepared for the invasion of mainland Japan: in Operation Downfall , the I. Corps was to carry out the attack on Miyazaki (Miyazaki) in southern Kyushu with the 25th, 33rd and 41st Infantry Divisions . Before the attack could start, Japan surrendered after using nuclear weapons on Hiroshima and Nagasaki . On September 19, 1945, the corps with the assigned 33rd Infantry Division was shipped from Lingayen -Golf to Japan and landed on the island of Honshu on September 25 to serve as part of the American occupation forces in Japan until 1948 . After the demobilization, the corps was deactivated on March 28, 1950.

Korean War

According to Gen. John W. O'Daniel, commander of the I. Corps from July 1951

After the outbreak of the Korean War and the intervention of the UN, the reactivation of the headquarters in Fort Bragg / North Carolina took place in August 1950 and the relocation to Korea, where the corps of the 8th US Army was subordinated. On September 12, 1950, the I. Corps under Lieutenant General Frank W. Milburn began operations on the Naktong Sector, subordinated to the 1st Cavalry Division, the 24th Infantry Division, the 27th British Brigade and the South Korean 1st Infantry -Division. The amphibious landings of the X. Corps in Inchon enabled the I. Corps and IX, who were held in the bridgehead at Pusan . Corps on September 15th the outbreak. Four days later, troops of the I. Corps advanced north after the withdrawal of the North Korean units. The connection with the 7th Infantry Division was established south of Suwon on September 26th . The offensive continued on October 1 north of Seoul and north across the 38th parallel . The advance to the North Korean capital Pyongyang ended on October 19 when parts of the South Korean 1st Infantry Division and the 1st US Cavalry Division invaded the city. By the end of October, the city of Chungju , forty miles from the northern border of the Yalu , had been captured.

On November 27, 1950, China entered the war on the side of North Korea against the UN. The Corps suffered heavy losses and had to retreat to the Imjin River south of the 38th parallel. In the course of the withdrawal, the I. Corps was reorganized, now the 3rd and 25th Infantry Divisions were assigned to the association. On January 1st, the US 8th Army was defeated again on the Imjin River and had to hurry back, and Seoul was lost to the Chinese.

On January 15, 1951, Operation Thunderbolt began a counter-offensive in which the I. Corps reached the Hangang River by February 9 . Between February and March 1951, the I. Corps also took part in Operation Killer and pushed the Chinese troops back further. This operation was followed by Operation Ripper , in which Seoul was retaken in March. In April 1951 the 8th Army was again north of the 38th parallel. After the front had frozen again, the I. Corps was in position across from the Chorwon, Kumhwa and Pyongyang lines. In March 1952, in addition to the 3rd, 24th and 45th US Infantry Divisions, the British 1st Commonwealth Division and the South Korean 1st, 8th and 9th Division were also subordinate to the corps. In September 1952, the positions of Bunker Hill, Old Baldy Hill, Nori and Pork Chop Hill were contested, and the opponent was repulsed everywhere. The last reorganization of the corps followed in January 1953: it took over command of the 2nd, 7th and 25th US infantry divisions and the 1st marine division. Towards the end of the Korean War on April 10, 1953, Lieutenant General Paul W. Kendall was replaced by General Bruce C. Clarke . After the end of the war in 1953, the corps remained subordinate to the 8th Army in Korea and was used to protect the demilitarized zone until 1971 .

Latest time

In 1981 the headquarters was relocated to Fort Lewis / Washington, where the corps took over the training of intervention and reserve forces for the Pacific region. In 2000 it was assigned to the United States Army Pacific . From 2004 to 2005, the corps took control of the coalition forces in northern Iraq with an advanced headquarters in Mosul ( Task Force Olympia ) and two Stryker brigades .

assignment

The 1st US Corps conducts and maintains close security cooperation with the US Pacific Command (PACOM), whose strategic reserve it forms, and supports it in all military questions within its territorial area of responsibility. In addition, the I. US Corps forms a Joint Task Force (JTF) operating worldwide , acts as the Joint Force Land Component Commander (JFLCC) within major united formations, as a command component of all land forces and serves as the headquarters (Corps HQ ) of the corps when undertaking independent operations. It puts the whole range of its potential applications in the service of national security and carries it out according to the directives of the National Command Authority . It has the task of providing constantly trained and ready-to-use expeditionary forces for all conceivable forms of military action.

Subordinate units

Organization chart of the 1st US Corps 2019

The following associations and units are currently (as of September 2019) subordinate to the 1st US Corps :

I Corps ( Fort Lewis , WA)
- 7th Infantry Division
  - 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division
  - 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division
  - 81st Stryker Brigade Combat Team
  - 2nd Infantry Division Artillery
  - 16th Combat Aviation Brigade
- 25th Infantry Division
  - 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team
  - 3rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team
  - 25th Infantry Division Artillery
  - Combat Aviation Brigade
  - 25th Sustainment Brigade
- US Army Alaska
  - 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division
  - 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division
- US Army Japan / I Corps Forward
  - 38th Air Defense Artillery Brigade
  - 10th Support Group
- 593rd Expeditionary Sustainment Command
  - 62nd Medical Brigade
- 17th Field Artillery Brigade (Artillery Brigade)
- 555th Engineer Brigade (Engineer Brigade)
- 201st Expeditionary Military Intelligence Brigade (battlefield surveillance)
- 42nd Military Police Brigade