TheII Corps of theGrande Armée was a French military unit that existed during theNapoleonic Wars. At its formation in 1805, GeneralAuguste de Marmont was appointed commander of the II Corps.
The corps participated in theUlm campaign before advancing southeast to serve as a flank guard. Still under Marmont, the troops then served as the garrison of theIllyrian Provinces until 1809 when they became theArmy of Dalmatia and laterXI Corps.
Meanwhile, a parallel II Corps was created in 1809 to fight against Austria. The formation was led first by MarshalNicolas Oudinot, then by MarshalJean Lannes who was fatally wounded atAspern-Essling. Oudinot then took over II Corps again and won his marshal's baton atWagram in July 1809.
2e Corps was one of five corps of theFifth Army and upon mobilization consisted of the 3rd and 4th Infantry Divisions.[4] 2e Corps headquarters in 1914 was in Amiens.[5] Commanders were:[6]
In 1940, the2e Corps d'Armée Motorisé was one of three corps of theNinth Army and consisted of the4th Light Cavalry Division and5th Motorized Division. During theBattle of France, its commander general Jean Bouffet was killed and after the French capitulation, the Corps was dissolved on 26 May 1940.
AfterOperation Torch, the French troops in North Africa joined the allies, and a new 2nd Army Corps was created in Algeria on 16 August 1943. In November 1943, units of the 2nd Army Corps were used to create theFrench Expeditionary Corps (1943–44), which fought in Italy. In September 1944, the 2nd Army Corpslanded in the Provence and later liberated Lyon, Autun, Dijon and Chaumont. After having taken over the Vosges and Alsace, the 2nd Army Corps victoriously defended Strasbourg against theGerman counter-attack in January 1945.In April and May the Corps took part in the German campaign and captured Stuttgart.[8]
In 1944–45, the 2nd Army Corps was subordinated to theFirst Army. During the campaigns in France and Germany, many divisions served with the corps but the1st March Infantry Division, the3rd Algerian Infantry Division, and the 9th Colonial Infantry Division spent several months under 2nd Army Corps command.
Corps troops in 1985 included 32 and 74Regiments de Artillerie, with the Pluton SSM; two regiments of 155mm self-propelled guns; a target acquisition regiment; 51 and 53Regiments de Artillerie with Roland; two regiments of engineers;3e Regiment de Hussards, a reconnaissance unit; and two helicopter units.[10]
Major General Sengeisen (Jean, Pierre) was appointed Deputy General Commanding the 2nd Army Corps and Commander-in-Chief of the French forces in Germany as of October 1, 1991.[11]
Cordesman – Anthony H. Cordesman,NATO's Central Region Forces, London: Jane's Publishing Company Ltd., 1988.
GUF – Guerre 1939 – 1945. LesGrandes Unités Françaises. Armée de Terre, Service Historique. Paris: Imprimerie Nationale, 1967.
David G. Haglund and Olaf Mager (eds), Homeward bound? : allied forces in the new Germany, Westview Press, 1992. xi, 299 p. : ill.; 22 cm.ISBN0-8133-8410-9.
First French Empire
