9th Army Corps (France)

History

First World War

At the mobilisation, the 9e Army Corps was constituted near Tours as a subunit of the Second Army. The 9e Corps comprised two infantry divisions, the 17th and 52nd, and the Division Marocaine, a colonial infantry division.

Second World War

In early September 1939, the 9e Corps was re-created in Tours, under general Émile Laure, from elements of the 9th military region. It was a part of the Fourth Army, under General Edouard Réquin, itself a part of the Second Army Group which was charged with the defence of the Maginot Line.

Battle of France

From late 1939 to May 1940, the 9e Corps was deployed around the Saint-Avold – Faulquemont sector, in Moselle, with the general staff in Landroff.

By late May, the Germans had pierced in the Ardennes and, with the military situation degrading, front units on the Maginot Line were gradually brought back and sent on the front on the Somme. On 22 May, General Marcel Ihler took command of the Corps. On 27 May, the Corps marched towards Sarcus, and then to Lyons-la-Forêt, in Normandy, along with General Altmayer's Tenth Army.

The remnants of the 9e Corps were eventually surrounded in Saint-Valéry-en-Caux and surrendered on 12 June 1940.

Detailed Order of Battle (10 May 1940)

9th Army Corps Assets (Corps Troops) (May 1940)

• Cavalry/Reconnaissance: 15th Army Corps Reconnaissance Group (15e Groupe de Reconnaissance de Corps d'Armée)
• Infantry: 609th Pioneer Regiment (609e Régiment de Pionniers) – I, II, III Battalions
• Artillery: 109th Heavy Horse-Drawn Artillery Regiment (109e Régiment d'Artillerie Lourde Hippomobile)
  • 1st Group (1er Groupe) – 12 x 105mm L 1913 guns
  • 2nd Group (2e Groupe) – 12 x 105mm L 1913 guns
  • 3rd Group (3e Groupe) – 12 x 155mm L 1917 guns
  • 4th Group (4e Groupe) – 12 x 155mm L 1917 guns
• Engineers:
  • 109/1 & 109/2 Sapper-Miner Companies
  • 109/16 Bridging Train Company
  • 109/21 Engineer Park Company
• Signals:
  • 109/81 Field Telegraph Company
  • 109/82 Radio Company
• Medical: 9th Light Horse Ambulance (AMH 9)

11th Infantry Division (11e DI)

• Infantry:
  • 26th Infantry Regiment (26e Régiment d'Infanterie) – I, II, III Battalions
  • 170th Infantry Regiment (170e Régiment d'Infanterie) – I, II, III Battalions
  • 8th Battalion of Chasseurs à Pied (8e BCP)
• Artillery:
  • 8th Artillery Regiment (8e Régiment d'Artillerie) – 1st, 2nd, 3rd Groups (75mm)
  • 208th Divisional Heavy Artillery Regiment (208e Régiment d'Artillerie Lourde Divisionnaire) – 4th Group (155mm C)
• Reconnaissance: 17th Divisional Reconnaissance Group (17e Groupe de Reconnaissance de Division d'Infanterie)
• Engineers: 11/1 & 11/2 Sapper-Miner Companies

47th Infantry Division (47e DI)

• Infantry:
  • 8th Infantry Regiment (8e Régiment d'Infanterie) – I, II, III Battalions
  • 44th Infantry Regiment (44e Régiment d'Infanterie) – I, II, III Battalions
  • 225th Infantry Regiment (225e Régiment d'Infanterie) – I, II, III Battalions
• Artillery:
  • 4th Artillery Regiment (4e Régiment d'Artillerie) – 1st, 2nd, 3rd Groups (75mm)
  • 204th Divisional Heavy Artillery Regiment (204e Régiment d'Artillerie Lourde Divisionnaire) – 4th Group (155mm C)
• Reconnaissance: 14th Divisional Reconnaissance Group (14e Groupe de Reconnaissance de Division d'Infanterie)
• Engineers: 47/1 & 47/2 Sapper-Miner Companies

Commanders

• 1870 : général Cousin-Montauban
• 1873 : général de Cissey
• 1874 : général du Barail
• 1879 : général Galliffet
• 20 January 1912 : général Dubail
• 29 April 1913 : général Dubois
• 13 March 1915 : général Curé
• 14 May 1916 : général Pentel
• 29 October 1916 : général Niessel
• 22 August 1917 : général Hirschauer
• 17 December 1917 : général Mangin
• 6 June 1918 : général Garnier-Duplessis
• 2 September 1939 : général Laure
• 22 May – 12 June 1940 : général Ihler

Sources and references

Sources

• Les Grandes Unités Françaises (SHAT), Vol. 1, Vincennes, 1967.

References

1. ''Historiques succints des grandes unités de l'armée de terre, guerre 1939-1945'', Tome 1, Paris, Imprimerie Nationale, 1967.
2. La Xème Armée, général Robert Altmayer, éditions Défense de la France, sans date