Army Corps

Corps is a term used for several different kinds of organization. A military innovation by Napoleon, the formation was first named as such in 1805. The size of a corps varies greatly, but from two to five divisions and anywhere from 40,000 to 80,000 are the numbers stated by the US Department of Defense. Within military terminology a corps may be: • an operational formation, sometimes known as a field corps, which consists of two or more divisions, such as the Corps d'armée, later known as I Corps of Napoleon's Grande Armée; • an administrative corps – that is a specialized branch of a military service or; • in some cases, a distinct service within a national military. These usages often overlap. Corps may also be a generic term for a non-military organization, such as the US Peace Corps and European Solidarity Corps.