Orchestrating Warfighting: The British Army’s Corps and Divisions Since 1914

This one-day academic conference examines the British Army’s experience of deploying and co-ordinating large formations in major conflicts.

Bringing together historians from the National Army Museum and the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS), alongside former commanders with operational experience, the conference will explore the role of British Army corps and divisions in large-scale warfighting since the First World War.

Through a series of historical case studies, speakers will consider the challenges of commanding and co-ordinating large formations, and the lessons that can be drawn from the Army's experience.

Programme

9.30am–10.30am

Registration

10.30am–11.10am

Opening lecture:

The British Corps and Division in the 20th Century: Historical Evolution and Doctrinal Context

• Dr Paul Latawski (Department of War Studies, RMAS)

11.20am–11.40am

British Army, Corps and Divisional Command on the Somme: Planning and Executing the Attack on the Leipzig Salient, 3 July 1916

• Dr Stuart Mitchell (War Studies, RMAS)

11.40am–12.00pm

‘A Man’s First Battle Is Always His Best’: Douglas Wimberley, the 51st Highland Division and the Battle of El Alamein

• Dr Chris Mann (War Studies, RMAS)

12.00pm–12.20pm

Indian Army Divisions in Italy, 1943-45

• Dr Alan Jeffreys (National Army Museum)

12.20pm–12.40pm

Divisional Operations in the Gulf Wars

• Dr Robert Johnson (University of Oxford)

12.40pm–1.00pm

Q&A Session: Divisional Level

1.00pm–2.00pm

Lunch

2.00pm–2.20pm

Imperial Warfighting: British and Empire Corps Command on the Western Front, 1914-18

• Dr Andy Simpson (Society of Army Historical Research)

2.20pm–2.40pm

‘A Sound and Definite Organisation’: The Egyptian Expeditionary Force and Corps Planning for the Third Battle of Gaza, October–November 1917

• Dr James Kitchen (War Studies, RMAS)

2.40pm–3.00pm

British and Canadian Corps Command During the 1944-45 North-West Europe Campaign

• Dr Stephen Hart (War Studies, RMAS)

3.00pm–3.20pm

Corps Command in the Fourteenth Army: IV (British) and XXXIII Indian Corps at the Battles of Imphal and Kohima

• Tim Bean (War Studies, RMAS)

3.20pm–3.40pm

Q&A Session: Corps Level

3.40pm–4.00pm

Break

4.00pm–5.00pm

Panel discussion:

Formation Command During the Iraq War

• Brigadier Justin Maciejewski (Director of the National Army Museum)
• Brigadier Ian Thomas (Dean of Academic Studies, RMAS)