I Corps was an Australian Army corps, one of three that were raised by the Army during World War II. It was the main Australian operational corps for much of the war. Various Australian and other Allied divisions came under its control at different times. In 1940–1942, the corps was based in the Mediterranean and Middle Eastern theatres, and controlled forces in action against the Germans, Italians and later the Vichy French in North Africa, Greece and Syria–Lebanon.
Australian troops among the ruins of the old Crusader castle at Sidon, Lebanon, July 1941
Australian troops enter Bardia, January 1941
Australian anti-tank gunners resting, soon after their withdrawal from the Vevi area, during the fighting in Greece, April 1941
Troops from the 7th Infantry Division disembarking in Adelaide, March 1942
Corps is a term used for several different kinds of organization. A military innovation by Napoleon I, the formation was first named as such in 1805. The size of a corps varies greatly, but two to five divisions and anywhere from 40,000 to 80,000 are the numbers stated by the US Department of Defense.
The XVIII Airborne Corps command group returns home from Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2009
