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The British II Corps was formed in both World War I
World War I

World War I, or the First World War , was a global military conflict which involved the Great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War I and the Central Powers....
 and World War II
World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a Participants in World War II, including all of the great powers, organised into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War II and the Axis powers....
.

During the Great War it was part of the original British Expeditionary Force, under the command of Sir Horace Smith-Dorrien
Horace Smith-Dorrien

General Sir Horace Lockwood Smith-Dorrien Order of the Bath, Order of St Michael and St George, Distinguished Service Order, Aide de Camp was a United Kingdom soldier and commander of the British II Corps and Second Army of the BEF during the Great War....
, and remained on the Western Front
Western Front

Western Front was a term used during the World War I and World War II world war to describe the "contested armed frontier" between lands controlled by Germany to the East and the Allies to the West....
 throughout the war.

During WWII its first assignment was to the British Expeditionary Force
British Expeditionary Force (World War II)

The British Expeditionary warfare was the name given to the British Forces in Europe from 1939?1940 during The Second World War....
 where it was commanded by Alan Brooke
Alan Brooke, 1st Viscount Alanbrooke

Field Marshal Alan Francis Brooke, 1st Viscount Alanbrooke Order of the Garter, Order of the Bath, Order of Merit, Royal Victorian Order, Distinguished Service Order Medal bar was a senior commander in the British Army....
 (from whose name it took its insignia of a red leaping salmon upon three wavy blue bands against a white background, all in an oblong red border).






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The British II Corps was formed in both World War I
World War I

World War I, or the First World War , was a global military conflict which involved the Great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War I and the Central Powers....
 and World War II
World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a Participants in World War II, including all of the great powers, organised into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War II and the Axis powers....
.

During the Great War it was part of the original British Expeditionary Force, under the command of Sir Horace Smith-Dorrien
Horace Smith-Dorrien

General Sir Horace Lockwood Smith-Dorrien Order of the Bath, Order of St Michael and St George, Distinguished Service Order, Aide de Camp was a United Kingdom soldier and commander of the British II Corps and Second Army of the BEF during the Great War....
, and remained on the Western Front
Western Front

Western Front was a term used during the World War I and World War II world war to describe the "contested armed frontier" between lands controlled by Germany to the East and the Allies to the West....
 throughout the war.

During WWII its first assignment was to the British Expeditionary Force
British Expeditionary Force (World War II)

The British Expeditionary warfare was the name given to the British Forces in Europe from 1939?1940 during The Second World War....
 where it was commanded by Alan Brooke
Alan Brooke, 1st Viscount Alanbrooke

Field Marshal Alan Francis Brooke, 1st Viscount Alanbrooke Order of the Garter, Order of the Bath, Order of Merit, Royal Victorian Order, Distinguished Service Order Medal bar was a senior commander in the British Army....
 (from whose name it took its insignia of a red leaping salmon upon three wavy blue bands against a white background, all in an oblong red border). It took part in the advance into Belgium
Belgium

* A small German-speaking Community of Belgium exists in eastern Wallonia. Belgium's linguistic diversity and related political and cultural conflicts are reflected in the history of Belgium and a complex Communities and regions of Belgium....
, and was then pushed back with the rest of the force. It was evacuated from Dunkirk
Battle of Dunkirk

The Battle of Dunkirk during the World War II was the defence and evacuation of British and Allied forces in Europe from May 26 to June 4, 1940....
 in June 1940. After commanding forces in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
, it was being disbanded in early 1944 when selected to be one of the two corps comprising the notional British Fourth Army
British Fourth Army

The Fourth Army was a field army of the British Expeditionary Force during the World War I. The Fourth Army was formed on 5 February 1916 under the command of General Henry S....
, which under the deception plan Fortitude
Operation Fortitude

Operation Fortitude was the codename for the deception operations used by the Allies of World War II during World War II in connection with the Battle of Normandy ....
 North was supposed to attack Norway
Norway

Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a constitutional monarchy in Northern Europe that occupies the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula....
.

For Fortitude North, with its headquarters supposedly at Stirling
Stirling

Stirling is a City status in the United Kingdom and former ancient burgh in Scotland, and is at the heart of the wider Stirling .The city is clustered around a large Stirling Castle and medi?val old-town....
 in Scotland
Scotland

conventional_long_name = ScotlandAlba|common_name= Scotland|image_flag = Flag of Scotland.svg|flag_width = 130px...
, it notionally consisted of the genuine British 3rd Infantry Division
British 3rd Infantry Division

The British 3rd Infantry Division, known at various times as the Iron Division, 3rd Division or as Iron Sides, was originally formed in 1809 by Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington for service in the Peninsular War, and was known as the "Fighting 3rd" under Thomas Picton during the Napoleonic Wars....
 (shortly replaced by the notional British 58th Infantry Division), the genuine British 55th Division in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland

conventional_long_name = Northern Ireland|native_name= Tuaisceart ?ireannNorlin Airlann|motto =|image_map = Europe location N-IRL2.png...
, and the genuine 113th Independent Infantry Brigade in the Orkneys. Under Fortitude North II Corps was supposedly to attack Stavanger
Stavanger

is a city and municipalities of Norway in the counties of Norway of Rogaland, Norway. Stavanger was established as a municipality 1 January 1838 . The rural municipalities of Hetland and Madla merged with Stavanger 1 January 1965....
, with the 3rd (later the 58th) Division and supporting commandos and paratroops seizing the airfields, the 55th Division
British 55th (West Lancashire) Division

The British 55th Infantry Division was a Territorial Force division which served on the Western Front during the World War I.History ...
 joining as followup; the genuine U.S. XV Corps
XV Corps

List of military corps — List of military corps by numberCountries with Fifteenth, or XV, Corps:*XV Corps *XV Corps , World War II*XV Corps , American Civil War...
 from Northern Ireland would augment the force, which would advance on Oslo
Oslo

is the Capital and largest List of cities in Norway in Norway.Metropolitan Oslo or the Greater Oslo Region makes up the third largest urban area in Scandinavia after Metropolitan Stockholm and Metropolitan Copenhagen....
.

The corps was transferred to First U.S. Army Group ("FUSAG") in early June 1944 and moved to Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire

Lincolnshire is a Counties of England in the east of England. It borders Norfolk, Cambridgeshire, Rutland, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire, South Yorkshire, and the East Riding of Yorkshire....
; restored to Fourth Army when that formation joined FUSAG for Fortitude South II, headquarters now at Tunbridge Wells
Royal Tunbridge Wells

Royal Tunbridge Wells is a town in west Kent, England, about south-southeast of central London, bordering the county of East Sussex. It is situated at the northern edge of the Weald, the sandstone geology of which is exemplified by the rock formations at the Wellington Rocks and High Rocks....
 in Kent
Kent

Kent is a Counties of England in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the River Thames estuary....
, with under command the British 55th and 58th Divisions and the British 35th Armoured Brigade. It was notionally transferred to France
France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
 in late September, consisting of the essentially notional 55th Division, the genuine 79th Armoured Division
79th Armoured Division

The 79th Armoured Division was a specialist British Army armoured unit formed as part of the preparations for the Battle of Normandy of 6 June 1944....
, and the essentially notional 76th Division; also apparently at times the genuine 59th Division
British 59th (Staffordshire) Infantry Division

The 59th Infantry Division was a 2nd Line Territorial Army unit of the British Army during the Second World War. It served as part of the 21st Army Group during the early stages of the North-West Europe campaign....
, disbanded but notionally kept alive. It was notionally part of Canadian First Army in the deception Operation Trolleycar II (threatening an attack on the Germans in Holland) in November 1944.

After WWII, as a genuine corps it was based in the Middle East
Middle East

File:GreaterMiddleEast1.pngThe Middle East is a region that spans southwestern Asia, western Asia, and northeastern Africa. It has no clear boundaries, often used as a synonym to Near East, in opposition to Far East....
, controlling British forces around the Suez Canal
Suez Canal

The Suez Canal is a canal in Egypt. Opened in November 1869, it allows water transportation between Europe and Asia without navigating around Africa or carrying goods overland between the Mediterranean and the Red Sea....
. Following the British withdrawal from Egypt
Egypt

Egypt is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Western Asia. Covering an area of about , Egypt borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Gaza Strip and Israel to the northeast, the Red Sea to the east, Sudan to the south and Libya to the west....
, II Corps was also the controlling force for the invasion of the country during the Suez Crisis
Suez Crisis

The Suez Crisis, also referred to as the Tripartite Aggression, was a military attack on Egypt by United Kingdom, France, and Israel beginning on 29 October 1956....
.