XII Corps was formed in France on 8 September 1915 under the command of Lieutenant General
Henry F. M. Wilson, former commander of the
4th Division. In November, XII Corps was sent from France with
22nd,
26th and
28th divisions under command to reinforce
Allied forces on the
Macedonian front. Wilson and his corps
headquarters (HQ) arrived at the port of
Salonika on 12 November, but Lieutenant General
Sir Bryan Mahon, the commander of the
British Salonika Force (BSF), took XII Corp's staff to establish his own HQ. On 14 December, the
War Office sanctioned the establishment of two corps within the BSF and Wilson reformed XII Corps. After a period holding the defensive position known as 'the Birdcage' around Salonika, XII Corps moved up-country in July 1916, taking over former French positions, but only part was involved in the fighting during the summer and autumn. XII Corps was selected to attack the
Bulgarian positions west of Lake Doiran in April 1917. The area to be attacked was 'a defender's dream, being a tangled mass of hills cut by numerous ravines'. Wilson planned a three-stage operation to capture the three lines of defences, preceded by a short intense bombardment. The BSF's new commander, Lieutenant General
George Milne, decided that his manpower was too limited, and reduced this to a smaller assault on the first defence line only, preceded by a three-day bombardment to neutralise enemy batteries and destroy trenches and barbed wire. This, of course, lost the element of surprise and the Bulgarians were well aware of what was coming. Only three brigades were engaged, but the casualties were high and little ground was gained. In a second attack two weeks later, the assault troops managed to cross
no man's land, but it was difficult to get information back to HQs, and some companies simply disappeared. This
First Battle of Doiran (second battle by Bulgarian reckoning) had been a failure and, with many troops being withdrawn to other theatres, XII Corps did not get another opportunity to launch a major attack until 18 September 1918. On that day, with two brigades of the 22nd Division and the Greek Seres Division, XII Corps failed to take 'Pip Ridge' and the 'Grande Couronne'. The following day, the attack was renewed with a brigade from the
27th Division supported by the remnants of 22nd Division, the Seres Division, and the French 2nd Regiment of
Zouaves. Once more the attack failed with heavy casualties. However, the
2nd Battle of Doiran had served its purpose by drawing Bulgarian attention away from Gen
Franchet d'Esperey's main Franco-Serbian thrust, which broke through the Bulgarian lines further west. On 21 September, the BSF was ordered to pursue the retreating Bulgarians, with XII Corps in the lead. Bulgaria signed an
armistice with the Allies on 29 September, but XII Corps continued to advance across Bulgaria towards the Turkish frontier, until the
Ottoman Turks also signed the
Armistice of Mudros on 31 October. XII Corps occupied parts of European Turkey and Wilson was appointed GOC Allied Forces
Gallipoli and
Bosporus. On 11 February 1919, XII Corps ceased to exist, Wilson becoming Commander, Allied Forces Turkey in Europe, British Salonika Army, and British Army of the Black Sea.
First World War order of battle Order of Battle (March 1917) •
22nd Division •
26th Division •
60th (2/2nd London) Division Corps Troops: •
1/1st Lothians and Border Horse ==Second World War==