VII Corps (United States)

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VII Corps
XXX

Association badge

Association badge of the VII US Corps
active August 19, 1918 to April 15, 1992 (with interruption)
Country United StatesUnited States United States
Armed forces Mark of the United States Army, svg United States Army
Subordinate troops

see text

headquarters Stuttgart GermanyGermany

The VII Corps ( German  VII. US Corps ; The Jayhawk Corps ) was, along with the V US Corps, one of the two corps of the US Army in Europe during the Cold War . It was set up in 1918, was subordinate to the 7th US Army (USAREUR) for most of the time and had its headquarters in the Kelley Barracks in Stuttgart-Möhringen , until it was finally deactivated in 1992. A VII. Corps already existed during the Civil War (1862–1863 and after being reorganized 1863–1865), but has no connection with the later units

First World War

A few months before the end of the First World War in northern France, the VII. Corps was set up on August 19, 1918 in Remiremont , the first in command was Major General William M. Wright . On November 8, 1918, the corps was still subordinate to the 1st US Army , between November 22, 1918 and May 11, 1919, the 3rd US Army . The quick victory over the German Empire no longer made military use on the western front necessary. The command was dissolved on July 11, 1919. In the interwar period, a command existed on January 9, 1922 in St. Louis, Missouri ; on October 1, 1933, the headquarters moved to Omaha , Nebraska, where it was disbanded on November 25, 1940.

Second World War

On November 25, 1940, the imminent danger of war with the Axis Powers made it necessary to reactivate the VII Corps at Fort McClellan, Alabama, and Major-General Frederic H. Smith became the commander. The first task was to train the 27th, 33rd and 35th Divisions of the National Guard for military service. On January 25, 1941, the headquarters of the command moved to Birmingham, Alabama . After several months of basic training, maneuvers in Tennessee followed in June 1941, with a mock war being waged against its own 5th Infantry and 2nd Armored Division . In early August 1941, Major-General Robert C. Richardson took command, under him further maneuvers in Arkansas and Louisiana followed.

After the outbreak of war with Japan, the corps command moved to San Jose in California from December 1941 and was subordinate to the Western Defense Command until March 9, 1943. The 27th and 43rd Infantry Divisions received their final training and were embarked for deployment in the Pacific War against Japan. In November 1942 the general command moved to Jacksonville, Florida . During further maneuvers, Major General Richardson was recalled and Major General RB Woodruff took over command of the corps. In the autumn of 1943, the relocation to Europe took place, from October 6th the command was in England.

General Joseph Lawton Collins

Invasion of Normandy

On February 14, 1944, the previous Chief of Staff of the Corps, Major-General Joseph Lawton Collins, was appointed the new commanding officer of the VII Corps and prepared his corps for the invasion of Normandy . On " D-Day " June 6, 1944, the VII Corps formed one of the two attack corps of the 1st US Army under General Omar Bradley . As part of Operation Overlord , the corps landed in the Utah Beach landing section on the east coast of the Cotentin Peninsula . The landings of the Corps were preceded by the air landings of the 82nd and 101st US Airborne Divisions (Maj. Gen. Maxwell D. Taylor ) in the hinterland between Carentan and Sainte-Mère-Église . After the connection to the neighboring V. Corps (Major General Leonard T. Gerow ) at Omaha Beach was not successful on the first day of landing , General Collins tried to break through to the south on Carentan , for which the 101st Airborne Division was assigned, which was responsible for the connection until June 12th to the V. Corps. On June 14th, the 4th Infantry Division (Maj. Gen. Raymond O. Barton) managed to break through the German main line of defense at Montebourg in the north of the Cotentin, despite strong resistance . In the west of the peninsula, the 90th Infantry Division (Brig. Gen. Jay W. MacKelvie) and 79th Infantry Division (Maj. Gen. Ira T. Wyche) made slow progress as they had to cross the Merderet and Douve rivers . On June 15, General Collins reinforced the forces advancing west of the Merderet with the 82nd Airborne Division (Maj. Gen. Matthew B. Ridgway ) and the 9th Infantry Division (Maj. Gen. Manton S. Eddy ). On the evening of June 17, troops of the 9th Division reached the west coast near Barneville-Carteret and cut off the German troops standing north of it. The Cherbourg port fortress was enclosed by the 4th, 9th and 79th Divisions by June 21st, followed by massive bombing raids on the German defensive positions on June 22nd. Cherbourg surrendered under the fortress commandant von Schlieben on June 26th after heavy artillery fire and fierce street fighting. The American losses amounted to about 2,800 dead, 3,000 missing and about 13,500 wounded. The 1st US Army was now in possession of a deep-water port, and additional material was brought in via sea. The 8th US Corps under Major General Middleton was followed up via Cherbourg as reinforcement in the western Cotentin. On June 30th all of northern Cotentin was occupied.

On July 2, 1944, the VII. Corps took over a narrow sector in the area south of Carentan on the newly formed southern front of the peninsula between the VIII. And XIX. Corps. On July 18, in cooperation with the XIX. Corps taking Saint Lo . In Operation Cobra , after a massive carpet of bombs with thousands of aircraft and the breakthrough of the 2nd and 3rd Armored Divisions west of Saint Lo , the VII Corps was able to push south with the 4th, 9th and 30th Divisions and reach Avranches on July 30th . Since August 1, 1944, the superior 1st US Army General Courtney H. Hodges was subordinate to the 12th Army Group. After the breakthrough of the German lines by the 30th Infantry Division (Major General Leland S. Hobbs) at Mortain , the corps pushed against the southern front of the Falaise pocket until mid-August . The V. Corps, set further east, began to encircle Argentan and established the connection to the British XXX. Corps (General Horrocks ).

Raid through France

The following raid through France began on August 21st. The advance of the 1st and 9th Infantry Divisions and the 3rd Panzer Division, reinforced by the 4th Cavalry Group under Colonel Tullys , gained between 25 and 45 kilometers per day. On August 25th the Seine was reached at Melun , on the 27th the Marne was crossed at Château-Thierry . Advancing northwards, the advance across the Aisne to Laon was advanced by the 3rd Panzer Division, closely followed by the 1st and 9th Infantry Divisions. At the beginning of September 1944 the Belgian border was reached near Mons , where the advance of the 3rd Panzer and 1st Infantry Divisions (Major General Clarence R. Huebner ) to the north was stopped for the time being. On September 12, the corps reached the German border at the Siegfried Line and took Aachen on October 21, followed by the battle in the Huertgen Forest . On 16 November 1944, the 1st and started 9th US Army , the operation queen . The 4th Infantry Division under the leadership of the VII. US Corps, which was now back in the section of the 1st US Army, was supposed to pass through the front of the German LXXXI. Break army corps and reach the Rur . The worn out 1st was replaced by the 9th Infantry Division (Major General Louis Aleck Craig), after 30 days of fighting in the gloomy Hürtgenwald , the 4th Division was withdrawn, and the 104th Infantry Division (Major General Terry Allen) was subordinated to the corps.

The Battle of the Bulge

On December 16, 1944, the Germans launched the Battle of the Bulge , one last attempt to throw the Western Allies back from the frontier. The VII Corps had to take a new front 65 kilometers long on both sides of the Ourthe between Dinant and Grandmenil. Links to the XVIII. Airborne Corps and right to the British XXX. Corps then, the advance of the German LVIII. Panzer Corps are stopped. The VII. Corps were again subordinated to the 2nd and 3rd Armored Divisions, as well as the 75th and 84th Infantry Divisions (Major General Alexander R. Bolling) were reassigned. A counterattack by the 2nd Armored Division south of Ciney to the southeast began at the end of December, together with the counterattack by the 3rd US Army to the north, the German front projection was removed by mid-January 1945 and the new front in the Houffalize area straightened. By February 5, the corps command received 12 days of recovery and then received the old section along the west bank of the Rur, still held by the 8th and 104th Infantry Divisions.

Rhineland and Ruhrkessel

On February 23, 1945, the 9th US Army began Operation Grenade ; the VII Corps attacked across the river Rur and covered the right flank. The 8th and 104th Infantry Divisions crossed the still swollen river. The 8th Division occupied Düren , the 99th Infantry Division (Maj. General Walter E. Lauer ) protected the right flank. On March 2, 1945 the 99th Division went on the offensive , the Erft was crossed at Glesch and Cologne was occupied on March 5 and 6 . Parts of the 3rd Panzer Division reached the Rhine on March 4th, and Bonn was taken on March 8th . A vanguard of the 9th Armored Division captured the Rhine bridge at Remagen on March 7 ; other troops quickly formed a bridgehead. The 1st and 74th Infantry Divisions broke out of this and took part in the encirclement of the Ruhr area. In the section of the VII. Corps, an additional 1,176 meter long pontoon bridge was built over the Rhine. The 104th Division led the attack to the east, while the 78th Division covered the left flank of the VII Corps south of the Sieg . On March 25, the 1st US Army started its attack with the VII, III and V Corps to the east. The 3rd Panzer Division advanced the 1st and 104th Divisions in four columns towards Paderborn . In memory of the commander of the 3rd Panzer Division, General Maurice Rose , who fell on March 31, the Ruhrkessel battle in the USA is also known as the "Rose Pocket". After three days and 90 kilometers of advance, Marburg was reached. The corps was then pulled out of the kettle front to continue the advance east. On April 8, the 1st Infantry Division crossed the Weser and occupied Fürstenberg . Despite fierce resistance, the Ruhr basin collapsed with the German surrender by April 15. Meanwhile, the VII Corps made deep forays into the area south of the Harz Mountains , reached Nordhausen and, on April 20, the Saale near Halle . While the 1st, 9th and 104th Divisions were fighting German units in the Harz region, the 3rd Panzer Division reached the Elbe on April 24 without a fight near Dessau . After eleven months of operations, the VII Corps mission in Europe was accomplished; The return journey to the United States began in mid-June 1945.

In the cold war

In 1970 the corps was made up of the following units:

  • Corps Headquarters, Stuttgart
    • 3rd Infantry Division (Mech), Würzburg
    • 4th Armored Division, Goeppingen
    • 35th Field Artillery Group, Bamberg
    • 72nd Field Artillery Group, Wertheim
    • 210th Field Artillery Group, Herzogenaurach
    • 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment, Nuremberg
    • 34th Signal Battalion, Ludwigsburg
    • 16th Aviation Battalion, Nellingen
    • 7th Engineer Brigade, Kornwestheim
    • VII. Corps Support Command, Nellingen

During the Cold War, units of the Corps were used to secure the Iron Curtain as part of the NATO troops. After Saddam Hussein's troops occupied Kuwait in August 1990, the corps was moved to Saudi Arabia.

Shortly before the transfer, the corps consisted of the following units:

Gulf War

In the Second Gulf War , the VII Corps was probably the most powerful major organization. Typically, a full strength corps is made up of three divisions , plus other units such as artillery , engineers, and supply units . The VII Corps was many times as large as divisions and brigades of other corps were added to it: Among other things, there were the 1st Armored Division , the 3rd Armored Division , the 1st Infantry Division , the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment (reconnaissance), the 1st Cavalry Division , the British 1st Armored Division , and the 11th US Army Aviation Group under the command of the VII Corps.

In Operation Desert Storm , the corps was given the task of destroying the heavy divisions of the Iraqi republican guards, which it managed with ease. This attack cost the lives of around two hundred Corps soldiers. In turn, it smashed several Iraqi divisions, including the Medina and Tawalkna Guard Divisions. After the fighting ended, the VII Corps was relocated back to Germany. On April 15, 1992, it was deactivated as part of the American troop reduction in Europe after the end of the Cold War.

Commanding generals

August 19, 1918 - September 6, 1918 Major General William M. Wright
September 6, 1918 - September 13, 1918 Lieutenant Colonel Gordon Johnston
September 13, 1918 - October 25, 1918 Major General Omar Bundy
October 25, 1918 - October 27, 1918 Lt. Col. Adna R. Chaffee
October 27, 1918 - November 21, 1918 Colonel Herbert J. Brees
November 21, 1918 - April 23, 1919 Major General William G. Haan
April 23, 1919 - May 8, 1919 Major General Charles H. Martin
May 8, 1919 - May 11, 1919 Maj. General Henry T. Allen
October 1, 1933 - February 1, 1935 Major General Frank Ross McCoy
December 31, 1940 - July 31, 1941 Major General Frederic H. Smith
August 1, 1941 - May 1943 Maj. Gen. Robert C. Richardson, Jr.
May 1943 - February 14, 1944 Major General Roscoe B. Woodruff
February 14, 1944 - August 28, 1945 Lieutenant General Joseph Lawton Collins
August 29, 1945 - March 1, 1946 Lt. Gen. Alvan C. Gillem, Jr.
06/1951 - 12/1952 Major General Withers A. Burress
12/1952 - 03/1954 Maj . Gen. James A. Gavin
03/1954 - 02/1955 Lieutenant General Henry I. Hodes
02/1955 - 05/1956 Lieutenant General George H. Decker
06/1956 - 07/1956 Major General Halley G. Maddox
08/1956 - 08/1958 Lieutenant General John F. Uncles
09/1958 - 10/1959 Lieutenant General Gordon B. Roger
10/1959 - 01/1961 Lieutenant General Guy S. Meloy Jr.
01/1961 - 04/1962 Lieutenant General John C. Oakes
04/1962 - 08/1963 Lieutenant General CH Bonesteel III
09/1963 - 07/1965 Lieutenant General Louis W. Truman
07/1965 - 05/1968 Lieutenant General Frank T. Mildren
06/1968 - 09/1969 Lieutenant General Donald V. Bennett
10/1969 - 02/1971 Lieutenant General George G. O'Connor
02/1971 - 03/1973 Lieutenant General Filmore K. Mearns
03/1973 - 06/1975 Lieutenant General George S. Blanchard
07/1975 - 10/1976 Lieutenant General Frederick J. Kroesen
10/1976 - 10/1978 Lieutenant General David E. Ott
10/1978 - 06/1981 Lieutenant General Julius W. Becton Jr.
06/1981 - 07/1983 Lieutenant General William J. Livsey
07/1983 - 02/1985 Lieutenant General John R. Galvin
02/1985 - 07/1987 Lieutenant General Andrew P. Chambers
07/1987 - 08/1989 Lieutenant General Ronald L. Watts
08/1989 - 06/1991 Lieutenant General Frederick M. Franks Jr.
08/1991 - 04/1992 Lieutenant General Michael F. Spigelmire

literature

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