I Corps

[ADMIN]

 

NAME:

I Corps / First Corps / 1st Corps / I Army Corps

 

NICKNAME:

"America's Corps"

 

BATTLE HONORS:

 

World War I

Champagne-Marne

Aisne-Marne

St. Mihiel

Meuse-Argonne

Ile de France 1918

Champagne 1918

Lorraine 1918

 

World War II

Papua

New Guinea

Luzon

 

Korean War

UN Defensive

UN Offensive

CCF Intervention

First UN Counteroffensive

CCF Spring Offensive

UN Summer-Fall Offensive

Second Korean Winter

Korea, Summer-Fall 1952

Third Korean Winter

Korea, Summer 1953

 

Operation Iraqi Freedom

 

UNIT DECORATIONS:

Presidential Unit Citation (Army) for Papua

 

Army Superior Unit Award - for 1999-2000

 

Philippine Presidential Unit Citation for October 17, 1944 TO July 4, 1945

 

Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation for Korea 1950-1953

 

Meritorious Unit Citation for Iraq 2004-2005

 

 

LINEAGE:

Organized 15-20 January 1918 in the Regular Army in France as Headquarters, I Army Corps

 

Demobilized 25 March 1919 in France

 

Constituted 15 August 1927 in the Regular Army as Headquarters, XX Corps

 

Redesignated 13 October 1927 as Headquarters, I Corps

 

Activated 1 November 1940 at Columbia, South Carolina

 

Redesignated 1 January 1941 as Headquarters, I Army Corps

 

Redesignated 19 August 1942 as Headquarters, I Corps

 

Reconstituted 27 June 1944 in the Regular Army as Headquarters, I Corps; concurrently consolidated with Headquarters, I Corps (active) (see ANNEX), and consolidated unit designated as Headquarters, I Corps

 

Inactivated 28 March 1950 in Japan

 

Activated 2 August 1950 at Fort Bragg, North Carolina

 

Reorganized and redesignated 1 December 1967 as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, I Corps

 

 

ACTIVATED:

Jan 15, 1918

Nov 1, 1940

Aug 2, 1950

 

DEACTIVATED:

March 25, 1919

March 28, 1950

 

HISTORY:

 

The I Corps (First Corps) aka ("eye core"), nicknamed America's Corps, is a corps of the United States Army with headquarters in Fort Lewis, Washington. The I Corps serves under the U.S. Army Pacific Command (USARPAC). The current I Corps is a different organization than the I Corps of the Union Army during the American Civil War.

 

World War I

 

Following the American declaration of war on the country of Germany, on April 6, 1917, the I Corps was organized and activated on January 15–20, 1918, in the National Army in Neufchâteau, France, as Headquarters & Headquarters Company, I Army Corps. Assisted by the French XXXII Corps, the headquarters was organized and trained; on January 20, Major General Hunter Liggett took command.

 

In February, the corps consisted of the 1st, 2d, 26th, 32d, 41st, and 42d Infantry Divisions. From February to July, 1918, the German Army launched four major offensives, attempting to secure victory before the full American force could be brought to bear. The final offensive, started in July 1918, was an attempt to cross the Marne, in the area of Chateau-Thierry, but the American lines (including I Corps) held, and the offensive was fought back. Thereafter, the I Corps, along with other U.S. and Allied units, moved forward, breaking the German will to fight, until the armistice, signed on November 11, 1918.

 

The I Corps shoulder sleeve insignia was approved by the Adjutant General, American Expeditionary Forces on December 3, 1918.

 

The I Corps continued to train in France, until it was demobilized on March 25, 1919. I Army Corps was immediately returned to the inactivated list.

 

Sub-units

1st, 2d, 3d, 4th, 5th, 6th, 26th, 28th, 32d, 35th, 36th, 41st, 43d, 77th, 78th, 80th, 82d, 90th, 91st, and 92d Divisions (United States).

 

62d, 167th, and 5th Cavalry Divisions (French).

 

 

Interwar Period

 

I Corps shoulder sleeve insignia was approved by the War Department on June 17, 1922.

 

Constituted August 15, 1927, in the Regular Army as Headquarters, XX Corps

 

Redesignated October 13, 1927, as Headquarters, I Corps

 

Activated November 1, 1940, at Columbia, South Carolina

 

Redesignated January 1, 1941, as Headquarters, I Army Corps

 

 

World War II

 

The original Distinctive Unit Insignia for I Corps was approved on June 8, 1942.

 

Redesignated August 19, 1942 as Headquarters, I Corps, and moved to Australia.

Deployed to the Pacific Theater September 11, 1942.

 

Reconstituted June 27, 1944. In the Regular Army as Headquarters, I Corps; concurrently consolidated with Headquarters, I Corps (active) (see Australian information), and Consolidated unit designated as Headquarters, I Corps.

 

During World War II, the corps fought in the South West Pacific Area. Its initial operations were in Papua, reinforcing Australian forces, which had turned back Japanese attacks along the Kokoda Track. The Allied forces then took the offensive, against the Japanese beachheads at Buna and Gona.

 

Thereafter, I Corps engaged in the western part of Operation Cartwheel, the encircling and neutralization of the Japanese base at Rabaul in New Britain. After this operation was completed, I Corps took part in prolonged Allied mopping-up operations along the northern shores of New Guinea.

 

In by far the largest series of operations in the theater during the war, I Corps took part in the invasion of Luzon. It was still engaged on mopping up operations there at the end of the war.

 

Post-World War II to March 1950

 

After the end of hostilities, I Corps was assigned to Occupation Force Duty in Japan.

 

Headquarters & Headquarters Company, I Corps was demobilized on March 28, 1950, in Japan, and returned to the Inactive list.

 

 

Reactivation to Present

 

HHC, I Corps was reactivated August 2, 1950, at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and was assigned to take control of the UN Forces in the Korean War.

 

Reassigned to Fort Jay, New York, as its Home Post on May 21, 1951, concurrent with the reactivation of XVIII Airborne Corps at Fort Bragg.

 

The Corps had only a short period of inactivity, for with the entry of American troops into Korea it was again to be the "first"; I U.S. Corps was reactivated at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, on 2 August 1950 and advance elements of the headquarters took their place in the Pusan perimeter on 27 August. The headquarters, designated "Task Force Jackson," assumed control of the I Republic of Korea Corps, the 21st Regimental Combat Team, and the 3d Battalion Combat Team of the 9th Infantry Regiment. On 12 September, under command of Lieutenant General (then Major General) Frank W. Milburn, the Corps became operational.

 

Four days later the Corps participated in the attack that was to mark the changing tide of American fortunes; from the Pusan perimeter Corps troops pushed northward against crumbling enemy opposition to establish contact with forces of the 7th Infantry Division driving southward from the beachhead established by the amphibious landings at Inchon. Major elements of the North Korean Army were destroyed and cut off in this aggressive penetration; the link-up was effected south of Suwon on 26 September. The offensive was continued on to the north, past Seoul, and across the Thirty-eighth Parallel on 1 October. The momentum of the attack was maintained, and the race to the North Korean capitol, Pyongyang, ended on 19 October when elements of the 1st ROK and 1st Cavalry Divisions both entered the city. The advance continued, but against unexpectedly increasing enemy resistance. On 25 October the first Chinese prisoners on the Eighth Army front were taken by Corps troops. By the end of October the city of Chongju, forty miles from the Yalu River border of North Korea, had been captured.

 

The complexion of the conflict suddenly changed when on 27 November massed Chinese attacks were launched against troops of the Corps. The overwhelming strength of these massed assaults forced the withdrawal of friendly forces. Valiant actions, unnumbered examples of personal intrepidity, and the skillful use of all forces and agencies of the Corps enabled the withdrawal to be effected. The Chinese attacked in the face of tremendous fires, seemingly indifferent to the number of their casualties. Friendly forces were able to remove much of their supplies; that which could not be removed was destroyed to preclude its use by the enemy. Early in 1951, Seoul fell for the second time to the Communists. Following the establishment of defenses south of the capital city, the United Nations forces resumed the offensive; on 15 January the Corps was attacking to the north, Seoul was liberated again on 14 March. The momentum of this attack carried the Corps over the Thirty-eighth Parallel.

 

As Corps troops approached the "Iron Triangle" formed by the cities of Chorwon, Kumhwa, and Pyonggang-a vital enemy supply and communication center-the Communist resistance increased. On 22 April 1951 the enemy took up the offensive; his attacks were again marked by masses of men thrown against Corps positions without regard for losses. These fanatical attacks were countered by the controlled withdrawal of friendly troops, according to prearranged plans, to previously prepared defensive positions. At each position the maximum casualties were inflicted upon the enemy and most advantageous use was made of our fire power, then our forces were moved to the next phase line prior to being over-run by the enemy. This tactic proved successful and the momentum of the Communist offensive was absorbed, it was stopped short of Seoul, and then its depleted forces were driven back by the United Nations counter-offensive that carried the Corps troops north of the Imjin River, to the positions that they were to occupy with slight alteration until the Armistice Agreement was reached more than two years later. The line was stabilized by 27 May 1951.

 

The peace talks began in July, and action along the front was light for the remainder of the summer. Lieutenant General (then Major General) John W. O'Daniel assumed command of the Corps in July. In October, Operation "Commando" was launched with the objective of improving corps defensive positions in the vicinity of Chorwon and of enabling our forces to develop the rail line from Seoul to Chorwon to Kumwha. The missions of the offensive were achieved and the action for the remainder of the year continued light.

 

While the period from late 1951 until the Armistice was agreed upon and signed in July 1953 saw no battle ranging over large areas, no great offensive moves, the whole period was one of intense military activity. With the relative stability of the fighting lines came the necessity for constructing semi-permanent fortifications. As the enemy's artillery potential rose, Corps troops were forced to increase the strength of these positions. This work was never completely done: enemy fire reduced many bunkers that had to be rebuilt, thaws following cold weather weakened emplacements that had to be repaired, roads to grant access for tanks and positions form which they could deliver direct fire into enemy positions had to be constructed.

 

In addition to this work was the ever-present necessity for aggressive patrolling to locate and destroy the enemy, to capture prisoners, and to screen friendly positions and activities from the Communists. These essential patrols were not to receive much-deserved publicity, but to the men who had to go on them, they represented combat of an intense and extremely dangerous nature.

 

The major offensive engagements of the period were generally limited objective attacks and raids by I U.S. Corps troops to keep the enemy off the terrain features close-in to the Main Line of Resistance, to hinder the enemy build-up, and to keep the troops in an aggressive attitude. The major defensive engagements were efforts to hold outposts located in front of the Corps defense positions and intended to protect the main positions. These efforts were made under severe handicaps, for these positions were frequently far out in "no man's land" and easier of access to the attacking enemy than to friendly reinforcement and counterattack. In some cases they had to be evacuated in view of the cost of holding them against obvious enemy intentions to gain them at any cost. Under these circumstances the outposts could no longer be considered of tactical value; they had outlived their function of early warning and delaying enemy attacks on the Main Line of Resistance.

 

Constant engagement in minor offensive or defensive missions, continual training of all units, and continuous alert-these characterized the activities after the late fall of 1951.

 

For three weeks, beginning in the last days of December 1951, the Communists unsuccessfully attempted to wrest positions near Tumae-ri from the determined 1st ROK Division. These efforts cost an estimated seven thousand enemy casualties. In June 1952, a ten-day attack against 45th Infantry Division outposts was likewise hurled back.

 

On 28 June 1952 Lieutenant General (then Major General) Paul W. Kendall assumed command of the Corps. The aggressive patrolling continued; the toll taken of the enemy attackers mounted steadily as proof to the enemy that his attempts to penetrate the Corps' Main Line of Resistance were futile, but he seemed not to consider this terrible cost.

 

September 1952 began with renewed enemy attacks against the outposts that protected the main line. Enemy attacks up to regimental size against garrisons of platoon and company strength were turned back without exception by the determined infantrymen of the Corps aided by the skill of their supporting tankers, artillery men, and service troops. Fighting teamwork of the highest order, sparked by individual and unit bravery and devotion to duty, was demonstrated to be superior to these fanatical attacks of the Communist hoards. The names of Bunker Hill, The Hook, Kelly, Old Baldy, Nori, and Pork Chop are synonymous with the gallantry of the men of I U.S. Corps. All along the front, the enemy was driven back with thousands of casualties.

 

On 23 January 1953, the first major action of the year was initiated with a raid by aggressive infantrymen of the 1st ROK Division against the enemy's Big Nori positions. The next months saw many such raids which harassed the enemy, captured prisoners, and destroyed defensive works.

 

Beginning in March, the Communists were continually attacking the Corps outposts. In that month, troops on Old Baldy were withdrawn, on orders from Corps, after extracting a tremendous price in casualties from the enemy.

 

On 10 April 1953 Lieutenant General (then Major General) Bruce C. Clarke, who was to see the Corps through the remainder of its combat, assumed command from General Kendall.

 

The fighting on the outposts continued; the 7th Infantry Division stopped wave after wave of the Chinese thrown against Pork Chop. Troops of the Turkish Brigade, attached to the 25th Infantry Division, defending Berlin, Vegas, Carson, and Elko fought fiercely in hand-to-hand combat with the enemy. They were ordered to evacuate all but the Berlin position at the end of May. The Commonwealth Division ejected the Chinese after their assault on the Hook. The 1st ROK Division troops were ordered off the positions on Queen, Bak, and Hill 179 when heavy enemy assaults divested the positions of their tactical value. The closing days of the fighting saw the 7th Infantry Division withdrawn from Pork Chop and the 1st Marine Division ordered to evacuate the Berlin positions for the same reason.

 

The truce negotiations which had been in progress for the preceding two years reached an end with the signing of the Armistice Agreement at 1000 on 27 July 1953. According to the terms of the agreement, it became effective twelve hours later and required the withdrawal of Corps troops two thousand meters from the Demarcation Line running between the contending forces. The word was passed to the lowest echelons of the Corps and the firing ceased a few minutes before the historic hour. As the realization that the fighting was over spread among the front-line soldiers, they emerged slowly from their bunkers, not in an elated mood as might have been expected, but with the knowledge that another phase of the war had been reached and a sober understanding that the truce represented a temporary cease-fire requiring the continuation of the alert, ready-for-action attitude of the past. The old positions were dismantled for the salvage of timbers, wire, sandbags, and other fortification materials needed on the new line. The troops moved back to the new Main Battle Position and began the hard work of preparing it to meet the threat of another Communist onslaught. The Demilitarized Zone, extending two thousand meters on either side of the Demarcation Line, had to be marked and lanes through it cleared of mines and obstacles. Supply and service installations had to be displaced, roads to the new areas had to be constructed, and new plans had to be drawn. As these activities taper off, the training of replacements and the constant re-training of units assumes greater importance. In every mind is the knowledge that an enemy attack may come; in every heart is the determination to turn it back.

 

Major American nits which have served in the I U.S. Corps in the Korean conflict have been the 1st Cavalry, 1st Marine, 2d Infantry, 3d Infantry, 7th Infantry, 24th Infantry, 25th Infantry, and the 45th Infantry Divisions. Others of the United Nations having fought by the side of these American units are the 1 Commonwealth Division, composed of British, Canadian, Australian, New Zealand, and Indian troops; the Capitol, 1st, 7th, and 9th Republic of Korea Infantry Divisions; and smaller units, integrated into American divisions, representing the Philippines, Belgium, Thailand, Greece, Turkey, the Netherlands, France, Colombia, and Ethiopia. Thus the I U.S. Corps has achieved its success as an Allied unit.

 

On 12 September 1953, the I U.S. Corps completed three years of service in the Korean conflict. It saw the darkest days of the Pusan perimeter give way to the elation of a victorious drive almost to the Yalu. It absorbed the general offensive that marked the intervention of the Chinese Communist Forces into the conflict, and later pushed these forces out of South Korea. Following this drive it was again called upon to stanch the flood of attacking Chinese as they mounted their second and last major effort to drive the United Nations Forces from Korea. After a masterfully fought delaying action, I U.S. Corps troops again turned to the offensive and drove northward until halted by the Communist request for the initiation of the "truce talks." In the stabilized war which followed, Corps troops were ordered to hold their positions. This they did; the enemy was never able to penetrate the Corps' Main Line of Resistance despite his desperate efforts to do so.

 

 

Post-Korean War to Present

 

Reorganized and redesignated December 1, 1967, as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, I Corps.

 

A second Distinctive Unit Insignia was authorized on May 21, 1970.

 

A third DUI design was approved on September 14, 1982 and cancelled on October 31, 1988.

 

The current Distinctive Unit Insignia was approved on October 31, 1988.

I CORPS (FORWARD) Served in Mosul, Iraq from January 2004 - January 2005. Led by Brigadier General Carter F. Ham based from Fort Lewis.

 

History

 

After the Armistice in 1953, Republic of Korea assumed the responsibility of the defense of the eastern half of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) in the form of First Republic of Korea Army (FROKA). Western half of the DMZ was defended by the United States First Corps Group. In 1971, under Nixon's détente policy, US Seventh Infantry Division was withdrawn, leaving the US Second Infantry Division as the only US Army unit in Korea. I Corps remained in Korea as a two-division formation until until 1971 when the Corps Headquarters was reduced to zero strength. With growing confidence among Korean senior staff and American insistance on burden-sharing, a new command was formed to defend the western half of DMZ. By 1982, the Third Republic of Korea Army (TROKA) assumed command of the Republic of Korea Corps formerly under US First Corps Group.

 

In each of the three wars there is a striking similarity: In each the Corps entered the fighting when things were going badly, and in each the Corps performed its mission, emerging victorious. It has participated in more campaigns than any other corps and is the only corps ever to receive the U.S. Presidential Unit Citation. First Corps is the most decorated corps in the active Army.

 

I Corps was transferred to Fort Lewis, Washington, on 1 October 1981, where it was brought back to strength and re-organized as a quick reaction or "contingency" corps for Pacific theatre units.

 

For the Active Component and Reserve Component (AC-RC) to truly share responsibility, The Army established some cross-component general officer and command/staff billets. The Deputy Commanding General of I Corps, one of the Army's three active corps, is an RC general officer. I Corps, headquartered at Fort Lewis, Washington, has subordinate units throughout the continental United States. Almost 80 percent of its units are in the RC. Assigning an RC deputy commander fosters integration and improved command and control. The Army is reviewing other general officer positions for designation as RC billets.

 

Designated an early deploying corps for military contingencies in the Pacific, I Corps [First Corps] is able to deploy on short notice with both Active Army and Reserve Component forces. I Corps is a contingency force with active, reserve and national guard units in 47 out of 50 states. One brigade out of the I Corps forces, usually drawn from the 25th Infantry Division or 172nd Infantry Brigade, is assigned as the "Division Ready Brigade" for Pacific contigencies, and is available within 48 hours of alert by air transport.

 

I Corps is unique among the three continental United States (CONUS) Corps in that it has no assigned active Army divisions in peacetime and is composed of a balance of Active and Reserve base units in peacetime and wartime. It is further unique in that it is under the Combatant Command of U.S. Pacific Command and under the Operational Control of U.S. Army Pacific. As it is CONUS-based, it relies on U.S. Army Forces Command for Title 10 U.S. Code support, or in Joint terminology, is Administratively Controlled (ADCON) to Forces Command.

 

War plans for I Corps include the Defense of Korea or the Defense of Japan. As a U.S. PACOM major operational headquarters, I Corps is designated by CINCPAC as a standing Joint Task Force (JTF) for theater-wide contingencies. The other primary PACOM standing JTF's are 7th Fleet in Yokosuka, Japan, and III MEF in Okinawa, Japan. Thus, I Corps' readiness responsibilities range from conventional Corps roles in a medium-intensity conflict to a full spectrum of missions as a USPACOM JTF.

 

I Corps base units include approximately 20,000 active-duty soldiers at Fort Lewis, Washington, and an equal number of U.S. Army Reserve and National Guard soldiers based in many of the fifty states. Thus I Corps' name, "America's Corps!" While I Corps is not directly responsible for the readiness of the RC units, it does coordinate with the U.S. Army Reserve Command and the states' Adjutant Generals to articulate the wartime requirements and anticipated missions for these Corps base units.

 

Many of these Reserve Component units participate in I Corps' exercises in CONUS and overseas, including exercises in Japan and Thailand. I Corps' Reserve Component units participated in Operations Joint Guard and Able Sentry. I Corps is at the forefront of the integration of Active Component and Reserve Component units. The military intelligence brigade and engineer group each contain organic Reserve Component subordinate units. It is one of two organizations in America's Army sponsoring the Integrated Infantry Battalion Experiment which will test the ability of integrated Active Component and Reserve Component combat arms units to train and deploy on operational missions. I Corps also works hard to maintain good relationships with the geographically proximate Pacific Northwest enhanced separate brigades from Washington and Oregon.

 

I Corps serves as AC associate/senior mentor and retains responsibilities for the following corps base units: 311th CS COSCOM, HHC; 35th EN Bde, HHC; I Corps Artillery, HHC; 66th AV Brigade, HHC; 142d SC Brigade, HHC; 464th CM Brigade, HHC; 326th FI Group, HHC; 82d HQ Detachment, RTOC; 177th MP Brigade, HHC; 364th CA Brigade, HHC; and 426th MD Brigade, HHC.

 

Under a new concept called "corps packaging," all of the National Guard's eight combat divisions and 15 enhanced separate brigades will be matched with active-component divisions at the corps level. Army Chief of Staff Gen. Eric K. Shinseki announced this expansion of teaming between active and Guard divisions 14 September 2000 in a speech to the National Guard Association annual conference in Atlantic City, NJ. Under I Corps at Fort Lewis, Wash., California's 40th Infantry Division (Mechanized) is teamed with the Army's 2nd Infantry Division in Korea, while the Corps also includes three of the Guard's enchanced brigades -- the 116th Armored Cavalry Brigade in Idaho, the 29th Infantry Brigade in Hawaii, and Washington's 81st Infantry Brigade.

 

The Total Army Analysis [TAA] is a biennial, multiphased force-structuring process that generates the tactical support forces and general purpose forces necessary to support divisional and non-divisional combat forces in executing the national strategy, given resource constraints and end-strength guidance. The TAA-05 confirmed the 111th ADA Brigade missioning to I Corps.

 

 

 

 

Divisional history from:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._I_Corps

http://www.lewis.army.mil/corps-history-ww1.asp

http://www.lewis.army.mil/corps-history-ww2.asp

http://www.lewis.army.mil/corps-history-occupation.asp

http://www.lewis.army.mil/corps-history-korean.asp

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/age...rmy/i-corps.htm

[Jim Baker]

I Corps.

[36-tex]

Here are several variations.

[36-tex]

And an I Corp with a tab

[vzemke]

Japanese made. Always great when the patch says where it was made!

 

Probably late 1950's era.

 

[vzemke]

Korean made. Hard to tell in the photo, but it is on black wool.