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Canadian Expeditionary Force Study Group

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Unlike the British, who had five (5) "Armies", each with four (4) "Army Corps" or more, the Canadian military organization had only the one (1) "Corps".  As such, Canada did not have the higher level organization that we would have referred to as the "Canadian Army", as that would have suggested Canada had more that one Corps.  To further complicate matters, the Canadian Corps / Army Corps were often transferred back and forth under the control of the British Armies and at times Canadians had control of British French units.  

It was not until late in the Great War that the Canadian Corps fought as a stand-alone unified organization.  All of these issues are discussed in greater detail in each of the Division pages.

Nicholson – Formation of the Canadian Corps in 1915, pages 114 -115  

The creation of a Canadian Army Corps was a natural but by no means inevi­table result of the decision to send the 2nd Division to France . Under British prac­tice the largest permanently organized formation in the field was the division, and the divisions of a corps were subject to frequent interchange; the retention of two or more divisions together under the same corps headquarters, with the same corps troops permanently attached, was a recent Australian-New Zealand innovation.

Kitchener concurred in the recommendation that Alderson should be Corps Commander, and on 15 June the Secretary of State for the Colonies informed the Governor General that "the Army Council think that it would be advantageous, when the 2nd Canadian Division takes the field, to join the two Divisions into an Army Corps". Although the initial reply, eleven days later, was non-committal, Ottawa took immediate steps to furnish the necessary Corps Troops. Organization of the Corps proceeded during the summer, when the Prime Minister and Hughes were in England , and was completed by the end of August.

In his 2004 text, Norm Christie has presented a summary page that describes "The Make-up of an Army".  Here it is stated that the British Forces on the Western Front were divided into 4 or 5 Armies, all under the command of Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig.  It is reported here that the Canadian Corps belonged to the 1st British Army but at times served with the 4th British Army.  Similarly, as noted in the Matrix ORBAT Utility, the Canadian Corps often had British Divisions attached to for special attacks or battles.

	1st Division
	2nd Division
	3rd Division
	4th Division

In addition to these four (4) main Divisions, a 5th Division was initiated late in the war but was eventually broken up in England to provide reinforcements for the other operating Divisions.  A unique "Siberia and North Russia" Division also was formed from the 259th and 260th Battalions (the last formed during the war).  As with the other Divisions, it also received support from the "Corps Troops".

Units not in any one division are described in the section on Reorganized Units, which includes units for reinforcements, replacements or those broken up for other units.

Primary References:

	Nicholson, G. W. L. 1962. Official History of the Canadian Army in the First World War: Canadian Expeditionary Force 1914-1919. Queens Printer and Controller of Stationary, Ottawa, Canada. (Appendix B - Canadian Units in France and Belgium, November 1918; Appendix D - CEF Infantry Battalions)
	Love, D. W. 1999. "A Call to Arms" The Organization and Administration of Canada's Military in World War One.  Bunker to Bunker Books, Winnipeg & Calgary, Canada. (Chapter 1 - Elements of Military Organization)
	Stewart, C. H. 1970. "Overseas" The Lineages and Insignia of the Canadian Expeditionary Force 1914 -1919.  Little & Stewart, Mission Press, Toronto, Canada.

Secondary References:

Livesay, J. F. B. 1919.  Canada's Hundred Days: With the Canadian Corps from Amiens to Mons, Aug. 8 - Nov. 11, 1918.  Thomas Allen, Toronto. (Available on the Internet as an Archive Download)

Internet References:

	Canada and the First World War, Library and Archives Canada
	Library and Archives Canada - Evolution of the Canadian Corps