The Canadian Corps had been constituted in September after the arrival of the 2nd Canadian Division. When formed under the command of Lieutenant General Edwin Alderson, the corps lacked a general staff and consisted of an infantry division and cavalry brigade. Alderson was succeeded in May 1916 by General Julian Byng, who presided over his first battle as corps commander, just weeks after his appointment. Allocated positions in the Ypres Salient near Hooge, Hill 60 and Zwarteleen, the Canadian Corps had been instructed by Byng to begin preparations for a "localised attack" not anticipating the possibility of one being conducted by the German XIII Corps against the tactically important vantages Mount Sorrel and Tor Top.