On 23 July 1917 Foott became Assistant Adjutant and Quartermaster General of the AIF Depots in the United Kingdom, with the temporary rank of brigadier general. Then on 17 March 1918 he became Chief Engineer of the Australian Corps. It was his first engineering post since before the war. Foott called conferences of his engineers and tried to build up a sense of esprit amongst the corps. Increasingly, the engineering effort was driven by corps, as the engineers attempted to keep the troops and supplies moving forwards.