XXX Corps (United Kingdom)
| XXX Corps | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Country |
 United Kingdom
|
| Branch |
 British Army
|
| Type | Corps |
| Engagements | |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders |
William Havelock Ramsden Sir Oliver Leese Gerard Bucknall Sir Brian Horrocks |
XXX Corps (30 Corps) was a corps of the British Army during the Second World War. The corps saw extensive service in North Africa at El Alamein in late 1942 and in Tunisia and Sicily in 1943. It returned to the United Kingdom and later fought again in Normandy, Holland and Germany from June 1944 until May 1945.
XXX Corps played a major role in the Western Desert Campaign, where it was initially formed for the British armoured units in North Africa in preparation for Operation Crusader, the last British attempt to relieve the siege of Tobruk. It took severe casualties, mainly because of obsolete British tank tactics, (especially charging anti-tank guns) but finally forced Erwin Rommel's Afrika Korps to withdraw to El Agheila in Central Libya.
In 1942, Rommel had counter-attacked and driven the British back to Gazala, a few miles west of Tobruk. The plan of British Eighth Army Commander Neil Ritchie was to have XIII Corps hold the line, while XXX Corps would stop any attempt to outflank the position south of Bir Hachiem, held by the 1st Free French Brigade. They managed to slow Rommel's armour down and forced Rommel's tanks into "The Cauldron", the gap left in the British Lines by the destruction of the 150th Infantry Brigade, part of the 50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division. British counterattacks attempted to crush it but failed. Eventually, the Free French at Bir Hachiem were forced to withdraw and Rommel was able to break out of the Cauldron. XXX Corps was forced to retreat to Mersa Matruh, held by the newly formed British X Corps. The Germans quickly broke through, surrounded X Corps (which fortunately for the British, managed to break out) and pushed XXX Corps back to El Alamein.
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