The corps was first activated on 17 January 1942 as the II Armored Corps at Camp Polk in Louisiana. When the concept of Armored Corps proved unnecessary, II Armored Corps was redesignated as XVIII Corps on 9 October 1943 at the Presidio of Monterey, California.
XVIII Corps deployed to Europe on 17 August 1944 and became the XVIII Airborne Corps on 25 August 1944 at Osbourne, St. George, England, assuming command of the 82nd and 101st Airborne divisions, as part of the preparation for Operation Market Garden. Prior to this time the 101st Airborne and 82nd Airborne were assigned to VII Corps and participated in Operation Overlord as part of VII Corps.[2]
Major General Matthew B. Ridgway commanded the corps, which then consisted of the 82nd Airborne Divisionand the 101st Airborne Division and was part of the First Allied Airborne Army. Following the Battle of the Bulge, all airborne units in the U.S. Army fell under the command of the corps. XVIII Airborne Corps planned and executed Operation Varsity, the crossing of the Rhine river into Germany. It was one of the largest airborne operations in World War II, including the 17th Airborne Division and the British 6th Airborne Division. The 13th Airborne Division was to participate in the assault, however due to a lack of a sufficient number of transports, it was unable to take part. The XVIII Airborne Corps returned to the U.S. in June 1945 and inactivated on 15 October 1945 at Camp Campbell, Kentucky.
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