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| VII Army Corps | |
|---|---|
 Shoulder sleeve insignia of VII Corps | |
| Active | 1918–19 1921-27 1941–46 1950–92[1] |
| Country |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Army |
| Nickname(s) | The Jayhawk Corps |
| Engagements | World War I |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Robert C. Richardson Jr. J. Lawton Collins Julius W. Becton Jr. John Galvin Frederick M. Franks, Jr. James M. Gavin |
| Insignia | |
| Distinctive unit insignia |  |
| Shoulder sleeve insignia prior to 28 April 1944 |  |
| VII Corps Flag |  |
| U.S. Corps (1939–present) | ||||
|
TheVII Army Corps of theUnited States Army was one of the two principalcorps of theUnited States Army Europe during theCold War. Activated in 1918 forWorld War I, it was reactivated forWorld War II and again during theCold War. During both World War II and the Cold War it was subordinate to theSeventh Army, orUSAREUR and was headquartered atKelley Barracks inStuttgart,West Germany, from 1951 until it was redeployed to the US after significant success in theGulf War in 1991, then inactivated in 1992.
VII Corps was organized at the end ofWorld War I on 19 August 1918, atRemiremont,France and was inactivated on 11 July 1919.[1] It was commanded by Major GeneralsWilliam M. Wright,Omar Bundy,William G. Haan, andHenry Tureman Allen.[2] It was composed of the6th,81st and88th Divisions, and served in theVosges Sector.[2]
The VII Corps was constituted in theOrganized Reserve on 29 July 1921, allotted to the SeventhCorps Area, and assigned to the Third Army. Per General Order #2, Headquarters, Seventh Corps Area, the corps headquarters was activated on 9 January 1922 at the Old Customhouse, 3rd and Olive Streets,St. Louis, Missouri, with Regular Army and Organized Reserve personnel. The corps headquarters was responsible for providing and planning administration, organization, supply, and training for army, corps, and other nondivisional Reserve units, less field and coast artillery, in the Seventh Corps Area. The headquarters was relieved from active duty on 27 January 1923 and all Regular Army personnel were reassigned to the Headquarters, Non-Divisional Group, Seventh Corps Area, which assumed the responsibilities previously held by the VII Corps. Both the corps headquarters and headquarters company remained active in the Organized Reserve.
The VII Corps headquarters was withdrawn from the Organized Reserve on 15 August 1927 and allotted to the Regular Army. As part of the four-army plan put into effect on 1 October 1933, the VII Corps was relieved from the Third Army and assigned to the Fourth Army. Concurrently, the VII Corps headquarters was partially activated atOmaha, Nebraska, with Regular Army personnel assigned to Headquarters, Seventh Corps Area, and Reserve personnel from the corps area at large. On the same date, the headquarters company, VII Corps, was withdrawn from the Organized Reserve and allotted to the Regular Army. As a "Regular Army Inactive" unit, the corps headquarters was organized provisionally for short periods using its assigned Reserve officers and staff officers from Headquarters, Seventh Corps Area. These periods included several Second Armycommand post exercises (CPXs) in the 1930s and that part of the Fourth Army maneuvers held atCamp Ripley,Minnesota, in August 1937. The designated mobilization station for the corps headquarters from 1927 to 1939 wasCamp Pike,Arkansas, where it would assume command and control of its assigned subordinate corps troops, which would then be mobilizing primarily in the Seventh Corps Area. Although the 1939 Protective Mobilization Plan changed the mobilization station for the corps headquarters toFort Snelling, Minnesota.[3]
The headquarters, VII Corps, was activated on 25 November 1940, less Reserve personnel, atFort McClellan,Alabama; the headquarters company had been activated there two weeks before on 10 November. At Fort McClellan, the VII Corps assumed command and control of the27th,33rd, and35th Divisions. The corps headquarters was transferred on 25 January 1941 to the Ramsey Building at 19th Street and North E Avenue,Birmingham, Alabama. The corps participated in the Tennessee Maneuvers in May–June 1941 and the Louisiana Maneuvers in September–October 1941 as part of theSecond Army. After the Louisiana Maneuvers, the corps headquarters returned to Birmingham, where it was located on 7 December 1941. In late December 1941, VII Corps headquarters was moved toSan Jose,California as part of theWestern Defense Command and as it continued to train and prepare for deployment.[4]
Its first return tocontinental Europe took place onD-Day in June 1944, as one of the two assault corps for theU.S. First Army duringOperation Overlord, targetingUtah Beach viaamphibious assault. For Overlord, the82nd and101st Airborne Divisions were attached to VII Corps.[5] After theBattle of Normandy the airborne units were assigned to the newly createdXVIII Airborne Corps. Subsequently, VII Corps participated in many battles during theadvance across France; this included taking 25,000 German prisoners during theBattle of the Mons Pocket in early September 1944.[6] The corps subsequently took part in theinvasion of Germany until the surrender of theThird Reich in May 1945. The corps was inactivated in 1946.
For the Normandy Operation, VII Corps was part of21st Army Group under the command ofGeneralBernard Montgomery and theU.S. First Army commanded by Lieutenant GeneralCourtney Hodges. The Corps was commanded by Major GeneralJ. Lawton Collins.
VII Corps led the initial assault ofOperation Cobra, the First Army-led offensive as part of the breakout of the Normandy area. Its success is credited with changing the war in France from high-intensity infantry combat to rapidmaneuver warfare. Elements of VII Corps saw much combat in theBattle of the Hurtgen Forest.
4th Infantry Division, Major GeneralRaymond O. Barton
9th Infantry Division, Major GeneralManton S. Eddy
79th Infantry Division, Major GeneralIra T. Wyche
82nd Airborne Division, Major GeneralMatthew Ridgway
90th Infantry Division, Brigadier GeneralJay W. MacKelvie
101st Airborne Division, Major GeneralMaxwell D. Taylor
4th Cavalry Group (Mechanized), Colonel Joseph M. Tully
6th Armored Group, Colonel Francis F. Fainter| Unit | Total | Killed | Wounded | Missing | Captured |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All Units | 22,119 | 2,811 | 13,564 | 5,665 | 79 |
| 4th Inf Division | 5,452 | 844 | 3,814 | 788 | 6 |
| 9th Inf Division | 5,438 | 301 | 2,061 | 76 | 0 |
| 79th Inf Division | 2,438 | 240 | 1,896 | 240 | 0 |
| 90th Inf Division | 2,376 | 386 | 1,979 | 34 | 0 |
| 82d A/B Div. | 4,480 | 457 | 1,440 | 2,571 | 12 |
| 101st A/B Div. | 4,670 | 546 | 2,217 | 1,907 | 0 |
| Corps Troops | 304 | 37 | 157 | 49 | 61 |
From reactivation in 1950 and throughout theCold War, the corps guarded part ofNATO's front with theWarsaw Pact. Headquartered inStuttgart atKelley Barracks it was one of the two main US combat formations in Germany along withV Corps, which was headquartered inFrankfurt am Main atAbrams Building.
As finally envisaged in the General Defense Plan circa 1989, the1st Canadian Division with its main headquarters atKingston, Ontario, would have been assigned to the Commander,Central Army Group's tactical reserve, fighting alongside either the GermanII Corps or VII Corps.[8]
At the end of the Cold War in 1989 VII Corps consisted of the following units:
VII Corps,Stuttgart,West Germany[9]
AfterSaddam Hussein's troops invadedKuwait in 1990, the corps was deployed toSaudi Arabia as part of the second major wave of deployments of American forces. Its presence took US forces in theatre from a force capable of defending Saudi Arabia to a force capable of ejectingIraqi troops from Kuwait.
In theGulf War, VII Corps was probably the most powerful formation of its type ever to take to the battlefield. Normally, a corps commands three divisions when at full strength, along with other units such as artillery of various types, corps-level engineers and support units. However, VII Corps had far more firepower under its command. It consisted of 1,487 tanks, 1,384 infantry fighting vehicles, 568 artillery pieces, 132 MLRS, 8 missile launchers, and 242 attack helicopters.[11] It had a total troop strength of 146,321 troops.[12]
Its principal full-strength fighting formations were the1st Armored Division (United States), the3rd Armored Division (United States) and the1st Infantry Division (United States). The2nd Armored Division (Forward) was assigned to the 1st Infantry Division as its third maneuver brigade.[13] In addition, the corps had the2nd Cavalry Regiment (United States) to act as a scouting and screening force, and two further heavy divisions, the1st Cavalry Division (United States) and the British1st Armoured Division, as well as the11th Aviation Group.[14][15] Although both 1st Cavalry Division and 1st Armoured Division had only two maneuver brigades, they were still powerful formations in their own right.
VII Corps was originally deployed to provide an offensive option if needed. In the 100-hour war they were given a mission: To destroy theIraqi Republican Guard's heavy divisions. That meant that the 1st Infantry Division had to make a forced entry to make room for the British attack on the right wing and to secure the main forces advance on the left. That attack force was led by the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment andTask Force 1-41 Infantry followed by the other two brigades of the 1st Infantry Division.[14] The 1st Armored Division would head north to engage the Iraqi Republican Guard in theBattle of Medina Ridge.[16] The 3rd Armored Division would protect the flank of the 1st Infantry Division. That gave VII Corps commander GeneralFrederick M. Franks, Jr. a three division strike force to confront several Iraqi Armored Divisions. After the corps had turned 90 degrees east according to FRAGPLAN 7 and after the Cavalry Regiment had fought the single sidedBattle of 73 Easting the three Divisions (plus the British on the right wing) fought one of the most one-sided battles in the history of the U.S. Army.[citation needed]
VII Corps cut a swath through Iraqi forces. It advanced withU.S. XVIII Airborne Corps on its left wing andArab forces on its right wing. It pulverized all Iraqi forces that tried to stand and fight and destroyed a good proportion of theIraqi Republican Guard divisions.[14] This confrontation was known as theBattle of Norfolk.[17]
VII Corps' attack destroyed several divisions including the Medina and the Tawakalna Republican Guards division along with support units. It also destroyed most of the Iraqi VII Corps that had guarded the frontline as well as other units. TheBattle of 73 Easting was later studied as a textbook armored battle by U.S. staff colleges. The cost in lives was 36 US and UK dead; trifling, in terms of expected casualties, for the war the two armies had trained for against the Soviets.
Virtually every manoeuvre battalion in the 1st and 3rd Armored Divisions, 1st Inf Div (M), and 2 ACR received theValorous Unit Award. In addition, six of the ten VII Corps manoeuvre brigade headquarters that saw substantial combat against the Republican Guard received the VUA in contravention of the spirit, if not the letter, of AR672-5-1's guidance that "[o]nly on rare occasions will a unit larger than a battalion qualify for award of the VUA."[18]
During the Gulf War VII Corps destroyed nearly 1,350 Iraqi tanks, 1,224 armored troop carriers, 285 artillery pieces, 105 air defense systems, 1,229 trucks, and lost nearly 36 armored vehicles. They suffered a total of 47 dead and 192 wounded.[19]
1st Armored Division.svg)
3rd Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division (Mech) – Acting 1st Brigade
3rd Armored Division.svg)
1st Infantry Division (Mech)
3rd Brigade, 2nd Armored Division – Acting 3rd Brigade
4th Armoured Brigade
7th Armoured Brigade.svg)
1st Cavalry Division(-)Missing 3rd Brigade
11th Aviation Brigade
42nd Field Artillery Brigade – Supported 1st Inf Div, 3rd Armd Div
75th Field Artillery Brigade – Supported 1st Inf Div, 1st Armd Div
142nd Field Artillery BrigadeAR ARNG – Supported 1st Inf Div, 1st UK Armd Div
210th Field Artillery Brigade – Supported 2nd ACR, 1st Inf Div
332nd Medical Brigade USAR[24]
14th Military Police Brigade[25]
207th Military Intelligence BrigadeAfter the fighting was over, most VII Corps units were redeployed directly to the United States for reassignment or inactivation. VII Corps HQ returned to Germany and was disbanded as part of the post-Cold War American defense spending cuts. Some VII Corps units remained in Germany and were reassigned toV Corps orUSAREUR. A farewell ceremony was held in downtownStuttgart atSchlossplatz, where the VII Corps colors were retired on 18 March 1992.[26] The official inactivation was held at Fort McPherson, Ga., in April 1992.[27]
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