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VI Corps (United States)

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For the VI Corps during the American Civil War, seeVI Corps (Union Army).

VI Corps
Shoulder sleeve insignia
Active1918–19
1922–46
1946–50
1951–53
1957–62
CountryUnited StatesUnited States
BranchUnited States Army
EngagementsWorld War II
Commanders
Notable
commanders		George Bell Jr.
Ernest J. Dawley
John P. Lucas
Lucian Truscott
Edward H. Brooks
U.S. Corps (1939–present)
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V Corps (United States)VII Corps (United States)

TheVI Corpswas activated as VI Army Corps in August 1918 atNeufchâteau,France, serving in the Lorraine Campaign. Constituted in the Organized Reserves in 1921, it was allotted to the Regular Army in 1933 and activated on 1 August 1940 at Fort Sheridan,Illinois.VI Corps took part in some of the most high-profile operations inWorld War II.

By war's end it was part of theSeventh Armyof the6th Army Group.In early May 1945 its 103d Infantry Division, which had raced south through Bavaria intoInnsbruck,Austria, met up with troops of the 349th Infantry,88th DivisioninVipitenoin the Italian Alps.[1]

History[edit]

World War I[edit]

The VI Corps was activated as VI Army Corps on 1 August 1918 atNeufchâteau,France. It served in the Lorraine Campaign (campaign streamer awarded). VI Corps commanders during World War I were Major GeneralOmar Bundy,from 26 August through 12 September 1918; Major GeneralCharles C. Ballou,from 23 October 1918 through 10 November 1918; Major GeneralCharles T. Menoher,from 10 November 1918 (commanding corps at termination of hostilities). Major GeneralAdelbert Cronkhitecommanded from January to April, 1919.[2]The corps was demobilized on 11 April 1919, atVillerupt,France. (Army Almanac, Stackpole, Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, 1958, p. 645)

Inter-War Period[edit]

The VI Corps was reconstituted in the Organized Reserves on 29 July 1921, and was organized in March 1922 at Chicago, Illinois, in theSixth Corps Area,responsible for the6th,32nd, and 33rd Divisions.[3]It was withdrawn from the Organized Reserves on 1 October 1933 and allotted to the Regular Army. The corps was activated on 1 August 1940 atFort Sheridan,Illinois.[4]The future-AbwehragentOscar C. Pfausserved in VI corps during the 1920s.[5]

World War II[edit]

Italy[edit]

The VI Corps took part in some of the most high-profile operations inWorld War II.The corps, commanded byMajor GeneralErnest J. Dawley,first saw combat during theAllied invasion of Italywhen it landed at Salerno on 9 September 1943, along with theBritish X Corps,under the command of theU.S. Fifth Armyas part of Operation Avalanche. The stiffness of theGermandefences sorely tested the VI Corps and it suffered heavy casualties before German attempts to throw the Americans back into the sea were thwarted by the artillery of the45th "Thunderbird"and36th "Arrowhead" Infantry Divisions,strongly supported by naval gunfire, bombing and the approach ofBritish Eighth Armyfrom the south. Major General Dawley was replaced after the battle, as he was judged to be worn out. He was replaced by Major GeneralJohn Lucas.

From October to December 1943 VI Corps was involved in a bruising and bloody slog advancing fromNaplesup the Italian peninsulaagainst the determined rearguard defence of theGerman 10th Armywhich skillfully took great advantage of the favorable terrain in organising successive lines of prepared defenses (Volturno Line,Barbara LineandBernhardt Line). At the end of December, after heavy fighting on the Bernhardt Line (the forward defenses of the formidableWinter Linedefenses) without a breakthrough, VI Corps was taken out of the line in an attempt to find a solution to the problem. In its secondamphibious assaultof the war, itcame ashore at Anzio,south of Rome inOperation Shinglein January 1944 which was planned to threaten the rear lines of supply and communication of the German 10th Army. At first German resistance was negligible. However, Major General Lucas felt he needed to consolidate hisbeachheadbefore breaking out. This gave the Germans critical time to concentrate forces against him. Another bloodystalemateensued, with the corps almost being driven back into the sea for the second time in Italy, again being rescued by naval and air power. When the stalemate was finally broken in the spring of 1944, the corps had lost another commander; Lucas was sacked for his poor performance and replaced by Major GeneralLucian Truscott,previously the commander of the3rd Infantry Division.VI Corps also commanded units of theBritish Armyduring its time at Anzio, theBritish 1st Infantry Division,from 20 January until 21 May, and theBritish 2nd Commando Brigadeand later, in mid-February, theBritish 56th Infantry Divisionand, from late March until 22 May, theBritish 5th Infantry Division.

When the corpsbroke outduringOperation Diadem,it was ordered by the Fifth Army commander,Lieutenant GeneralMark Clark,northwest up the coast towardsRomeinstead of advancing northeast to block the German line ofretreat from Cassinoon the Gustav Line, leading to prolonged and bloody combat before it was taken by a combination of American, British,Canadian,French,andPolish troops.By disobeying his orders Clark received the glory of capturing the vacant Italian capital–abandoned without resistance by the Germans and left anopen city–but was castigated by his peers and superiors for failing to trap and destroy the German forces.[6]This, along with the poor performance at Anzio, would cast a shadow over the reputation of the corps.

Southern France[edit]

Following the capture of Rome, VI Corps again left the line, and again prepared for an amphibious assault, its third and last of the war.Operation Dragoonwas aimed at capturing southern France, and VI Corps provided the assault troops, coming underSeventh Army.The landing, on 15 August 1944, was not opposed with much fervor, with allied casualties estimated at 95 killed and 385 wounded for the first day. German forces, by comparison, lost over 2,000 men, with the bulk taken prisoner. Fearing their forces in southern France would be caught in a squeeze between the U.S. Seventh Army and allied forces advancing eastward fromNormandy,the Germans began a strategic retreat toward the north.

Wishing to avoid a repeat of the Anzio landings, elements of VI Corps moved north rapidly while the beachhead was consolidated. These units established a commanding position over the main route of German retreat near the town ofMontelimar.Combat raged for a week over control of the main road through Montelimar with the Germans bent on escape but taking significant losses from U.S. artillery fire. When theBattle of Montelimarended on 28 August 1944, the Germans had suffered 2,100 battle casualties plus 8,000 POWs, while the Americans had 1,575 casualties.[7][8]

Vosges Mountains[edit]

The liberation of southern France occurred rapidly, with the corps takingBesançonon 7 September 1944, and fighting its way intoVesoulless than one week later. In mid-September, the character of the fighting changed from the pursuit operations of southern France to a grinding advance against firm German resistance in theVosges Mountainsof eastern France. VI Corps liberatedEpinalon 25 September 1944 and pushed on toBruyèresin mid-October 1944. The drive onSaint-Diéensued but required a month of agonizingly slow advances in the rough terrain of the Vosges. On 25 October 1944, Major GeneralEdward H. Brooksassumed command of the corps when Truscott was promoted to take command ofU.S. 5th Armyin Italy. VI Corps completed its fight through the Vosges at the end of November, 1944, and moved onto the plains ofAlsace.

Alsace[edit]

In the first two weeks of December, 1944, the corps liberatedSélestatandHagenauand advanced to the German border. The German offensive into theArdenneson 16 December 1944, forced a major redeployment of allied armies south of the Ardennes, and like the rest of the U.S. Seventh Army, the VI Corps assumed a defensive stance. At this time, the corps held the front betweenBitcheand theRhine River.

During the German'sOperation Nordwind(Unternehmen Nordwind), VI Corps was assaulted by elements of four German corps in the first week of January 1945, and the corps was forced to give ground in bitter winter fighting until 25 January 1945. While fighting was heavy all through the corps' front, the units of the corps took especially heavy losses in and around theBas-Rhintowns ofHerrlisheimandDrusenheim.The U.S. Seventh Army counter-attacked in the last week of January, 1945, and VI Corps recaptured lost ground north ofStrasbourguntil its attacks were halted by flooded ground near the Rhine River in mid-February, 1945.

Germany and Austria[edit]

The VI Corps resumed its advance in mid-March, 1945, reaching the German border for the second time. By the end of March, 1945, the corps had assaulted and pierced theSiegfried Linein theWissembourg Gapand theBienwald Forest,and driven to the Rhine River north ofKarlsruhe.After crossing the Rhine, the corps moved towardHeilbronnin early April, 1945. Bitter resistance byWaffen SStroops,Naziparty auxiliary forces, and other German troops forced a harsh nine-day house-to-house battle, with Heilbronn being taken by the corps on 12 April 1945. Concurrently, armored units of the VI Corps were stopped and almost cut off during a heavily-fought four-day battle against SS Troops forCrailsheimthat ended in a minor defeat for elements of the corps on 10 April 1945.

On 17 April 1945, the corps was ordered to move SE to the border of Switzerland. Within ten days, the corps had conqueredSchwäbisch Hall,Kirchheim unter Teck,Schwäbisch Gmünd,Ulm(crossing theDanube Riverthere),Memmingen,andKempten.On 28 April 1945, the corps crossed into Austria nearFüssen.Despite the obvious collapse of Nazi Germany, German forces continued to oppose the corps, forcing it to fight for theFern Passduring 1–2 May 1945. On 4 May 1945, the corps occupiedInnsbruck,crossed theBrenner Passinto Italy, and made contact with its old comrades of the U.S. Fifth Army.[9]Within two days, all German forces in the region surrendered unconditionally, ending the war for VI Corps.

Campaign credits[edit]

VI Corps is credited with service in the Lorraine campaign (World War I) and with service in the Naples-Foggia (with arrowhead), Anzio (with arrowhead), Rome-Arno, Southern France (with arrowhead), Rhineland, Ardennes-Alsace, and Central Europe campaigns of World War II.

Inactivation[edit]

Headquarters, VI Corps, was redesignated Headquarters,United States Constabulary,on 1 May 1946. The corps was inactivated on 24 November 1950 in Germany. It was activated and redesignated VI Corps atCamp Atterbury,Indianaon 22 January 1951. It was inactivated on 1 April 1953 atCamp Atterbury,Indiana.Activated 22 November 1957 atFort Benjamin Harrison,Indiana, part of theU.S. Army Reserve.Moved to Battle Creek in July 1962.[10]The last inactivation occurred on 29 February 1968 atBattle Creek,Michigan.[citation needed]

Commanding generals[edit]

Deputy Commanding generals[edit]

Artillery Commanders[edit]

Chiefs of Staff[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^Fifth Army History • Race to the Alps, Chapter VI: Conclusion[1]"On 3 May the 85th and 88th [Infantry] Divisions sent task forces north over ice and snow 3 feet deep to seal the Austrian frontier and to gain contact with the American Seventh Army, driving southward from Germany. The 339th Infantry [85th Division] reached Austrian soil east of Dobbiaco at 0415, 4 May; the Reconnaissance Troop, 349th Infantry [88th Division], met troops from [103rd Infantry Division] VI Corps of Seventh Army at 1051 at Vipiteno, 9 miles south of Brenner."
  2. ^McHenry, Robert (1978).Webster's American Military Biographies.Mineola, New York: Dover Publications. p. 86.ISBN9780486247588.
  3. ^Clay 2010.
  4. ^Army Almanac.Stackpole, Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. 1958. p. 645.
  5. ^Farago, Ladislas.(1971)The Game of the Foxes.New York: David Mckay Co. p. 511.
  6. ^Katz, Robert,The Battle for Rome,Simon & Schuster, 2003ISBN978-0-7432-1642-5
  7. ^Zaloga (2009), p. 71-81
  8. ^Clarke & Smith (1993), pp. 160–165
  9. ^From the Rhine to the Elbe[2]"The end came when troops of Seventh Army's VI Corps captured Innsbruck in the Austrian Tirol on 3 May, and at 1051 the following morning met U.S. Fifth Army near Vipiteno on the Italian side of the Brenner Pass." 44
  10. ^"Timeline: Fort Benjamin Harrison".Retrieved19 May2020.

Sources[edit]

  • Clark, Jeffrey J., and Smith, Robert Ross (1993). "U.S. Army in World War II, Riviera to the Rhine". Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office.
  • Williams, Mary H., compiler (1958). "U.S. Army in World War II, Chronology 1941–1945". Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office.
  • Wilson, John B., compiler (1999). "Armies, Corps, Divisions, and Separate Brigades". Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office.ISBN0-16-049994-1.
  • Clarke, Jeffrey J.; Smith, Robert Ross (1993).Riviera to the Rhine. The official US Army History of the Seventh US Army.Washington Dc: Center of Military History, United States Army.ISBN978-0-16-025966-1.
  • Zaloga, Steven J. (2009).Operation Dragoon 1944: France's other D-Day.Osprey Publishing Ltd.ISBN978-1-84603-367-4.

External links[edit]

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