II Corps (Australia)

II Corps
Australian troops during the Battle of Sio, 1943–1944
Active1942–1945
Country Australia
Branch Australian Army
TypeCorps
SizeSeveral divisions
Part ofFirst Army
EngagementsWorld War II
Commanders
Notable
commanders
John Northcott
Insignia
Unit colour patch

II Corps was an Australian Army corps, one of three that were raised by the Army during the Second World War. Formed in mid-1942 as part of defensive measures to protect the eastern coast of Australia from invasion, the corps was initially composed mainly of home defence troops drawn from the Militia. For a brief period in 1942, a US infantry division was also assigned to the corps prior to its dispatch to fight the Japanese in New Guinea.

After the threat of invasion passed, the corps took more of an operational role and from late 1943 until the end of the war it commanded a mix of Second Australian Imperial Force and Militia units in action against the Japanese in New Guinea and on Bougainville. Following the conclusion of hostilities, the corps headquarters was disbanded in September 1945, and its constituent units transferred to the 3rd Infantry Division.