Battle Honours of the First Canadian Army in the North West Europe campaign, 1944-1945
First Canadian Army in the North West Europe, Battle Honours
It can be difficult to chase down specific photographs of the Canadian units that served in the campaign in North West Europe that involved formations of the First Canadian Army during the Second World War. The campaign included Canadian participation in several major periods of action, including the Raid on Dieppe, 19 August 1942, the Battle of Normandy, from 5 June 1944 through to 25 August 1944, the battles to seize the Channel Ports in September 1944, the Battle of the Scheldt in the Netherlands in October 1944, the battles in the Nijmegen Salient from November 1944 to February 1945, the Battle of the Rhineland from February 1945 to March 1945 and the battles in the Final Phase of the war from March 1945 to May. 1945
The Battle Honour North-West Europe was granted to regiments who served in any of these major periods of action. The Battle Honour's title is suffixed with the addition of the years of service, i.e. North-West Europe, 1944-45 for a unit engaged in combat in phases of the campaign during both 1944 and 1945. The First Special Service Force was also awarded this battle honour as the only Canadian ground unit to serve in Southern France.
The following units were awarded the Battle Honour "North-West Europe":
"NORTH-WEST EUROPE, 1942, 1944-1945"
2nd Canadian Division
The Toronto Scottish Regiment (MG)
The Toronto Scottish Regiment (Machine Gun)
During the Second World War, the regiment initially mobilized a machine gun battalion for the 1st Canadian Infantry Division. Following a reorganization early in 1940, the battalion was reassigned to the 2nd Canadian Infantry Division, where it operated as a support battalion, providing machine-gun detachments for the Operation Jubilee force at Dieppe in 1942, and then with an additional company of mortars, it operated in support of the rifle battalions of the 2nd Division in northwest Europe from July 1944 to VE Day. In April 1940, the 1st Battalion also mounted the King's Guard at Buckingham Palace. The 2nd Battalion served in the reserve army in Canada.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3262696)
Soldiers of the Toronto Scottish Regiment in their Universal Carrier waiting to move forward, Nieuport, Belgium, 9 September 1944.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3204241)
A German armoured car dug into the ground and used as a pillbox fortification, Nieuport, Belgium, 9 September 1944.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3524442)
Private L.P. McDonald and Lance-Corporals W. Stevens and R. Dais, all of the Royal Canadian Artillery (RCA), manning a six-pounder anti-tank gun, Nieuport, Belgium, 9 September 1944.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3199687)
Personnel of The Toronto Scottish Regiment (M.G.) aboard a motorboat en route from Beveland to North Beveland, Netherlands, 1 November 1944.
4th Canadian Infantry Brigade
The Royal Regiment of Canada
The Royal Hamilton Light Infantry
The Essex Scottish Regiment
The Royal Regiment of Canada
The regiment mobilized the Royal Regiment of Canada, CASF (Canadian Active Service Force), for active service on 1 September 1939. It embarked for garrison duty in Iceland with "Z" Force on 10 June 1940, and on 31 October 1940 it was transferred to Great Britain. It was redesignated the 1st Battalion, the Royal Regiment of Canada, CASF, on 7 November 1940 when a 2nd Battalion was formed to provide reinforcements to the Regiment in Europe. The 1st battalion took part in the raid on Dieppe on 19 August 1942. It landed again in France on 7 July 1944, as part of the 4th Infantry Brigade, 2nd Canadian Infantry Division, and continued to fight in North West Europe until the end of the war. The 1st battalion was disbanded on 31 December 1945 when it amalgamated with the 2nd Battalion back home.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3209320)
Infantrymen of "D" Company, Royal Regiment of Canada, supported by a Sherman tank of the Fort Garry Horse, advance from Hatten to Dingstede, Germany, 24 April 1945.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3209746)
A signalman of The Royal Regiment of Canada with a No.18 wireless set near Dingstede, Germany, 25 April 1945.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3209321)
Infantrymen of "D" Company, Royal Regiment of Canada, examine equipment taken from surrendering German soldiers during the advance from Hatten to Dingstede, Germany, 24 April 1945.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3299067)
Corporal W.E. Oliver, Royal Regiment of Canada, directing mortar fire, watched by Private J. Keller, driver of their Universal Carrier, France, 28 September 1944.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3525067)
Infantrymen of The Royal Regiment of Canada resting after a long march, Blankenberghe, Belgium, 11 September 1944.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3209320)
Infantrymen of "D" Company, Royal Regiment of Canada, supported by a Sherman tank of the Fort Garry Horse, advance from Hatten to Dingstede, Germany, 24 April 1945.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3209321)
Infantrymen of "D" Company, Royal Regiment of Canada, examine equipment taken from surrendering German soldiers during the advance from Hatten to Dingstede, Germany, 24 April 1945.
(Stuart Phillips Photo)
The Royal Hamilton Light Infantry (Wentworth Regiment)
The regiment mobilized the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry, CASF for active service on 1 September 1939. It was redesignated as the 1st Battalion, the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry, CASF on 7 November 1940. It embarked for Britain on 22 July 1940. The battalion took part in Operation Jubilee on 19 August 1942. (General Denis Whitaker, who fought as a captain with the RHLI at Dieppe, in a 1989 interview stated, “The defeat cleared out all the dead weight. It was the best thing that ever happed to the regiment.) The RHLI returned to France on 5 July 1944 as part of the 4th Infantry Brigade, 2nd Canadian Infantry Division, and continued to fight in North West Europe until the end of the war. The overseas battalion was subsequently disbanded on 31 December 1945.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3205115)
Infantrymen of The Royal Hamilton Light Infantry in General Motors C15TA armoured trucks, Krabbendijke, Netherlands, 27 October 1944.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3524891)
Infantrymen of The Royal Hamilton Light Infantry passing wrecked German wagons, Elbeuf, France, 27 August 1944.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3577399)
Canadians of the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry meeting Americans of the U.S. Army's 2nd Armoured Division, Elbeuf, France, 27 August 1944.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3199698)
Infantrymen of The Royal Hamilton Light Infantry riding in a Universal Carrier, Krabbendijke, Netherlands, 27 October 1944.
(Stuart Phillips Photo)
The Essex Scottish Regiment
During the Second World War, the regiment was among the first Canadian units to see combat in the European theatre during the invasion of Dieppe. By the end of The Dieppe Raid, the Essex Scottish Regiment had suffered 121 fatal casualties, with many others wounded and captured. The Essex Scottish later participated in Operation Atlantic and was slaughtered attempting to take Verrières Ridge on 21 July. By the war's end, the Essex Scottish Regiment had suffered over 550 war dead; its 2,500 casualties were the most of any unit in the Canadian army during the Second World War.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3205594)
The Essex Scottish Regiment in Universal Carriers, ready for loading onto Buffalo amphibious vehicles, 13 April 1945.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3208311)
Private L. Wilkins of the Essex Regiment resting on his motorcycle, 14 April1945.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3524539)
Lance-Corporal J.E. Cunningham of The Essex Scottish Regiment practices firing a Lifebuoy flamethrower near Xanten, Germany, 10 March 1945
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3396411)
Infantrymen of The Essex Scottish Regiment lying in a ditch to avoid German sniper fire en route to Groningen, Netherlands, 14 April 1945.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3224251)
Fifteen German prisoners of war captured by the Essex Scottish Regiment during the attack on Zetten and Hemmen, the Netherlands.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3524165)
Captain Fred A. Tilston of The Essex Scottish Regiment near Caen, France, 5 August 1944. He was a Canadian recipient of the Victoria Cross.
On 1 March 1945, near Uedem, Germany, he led "C" Company in a 500-yard attack across muddy terrain soaked by recent rain and snow, through barbed wire and enemy automatic weapons fire. After being slightly wounded by shell fragments in the head, he personally destroyed one enemy machine gun position with a hand grenade, and led the men of C company on to a second German line of resistance when he was wounded for the second time in the hip. He struggled to his feet and led his men forward where the Essex Scottish overran the enemy positions with rifle butts, bayonets and knives in close hand-to-hand combat. While consolidating the Canadian position against German counterattacks and on his 6th trip from a neighbouring unit bringing ammunition and grenades to his company, which had been depleted to about 25% of its usual strength or 40 men, Tilston was wounded for the 3rd time in the leg. He was found almost unconscious in a shell hole and refused medical attention while he organized his men for defence against German counter-attacks, emphasized the necessity of holding the position at all cost, and ordered his one remaining officer to take command. For conspicuous gallantry and steadfast determination in the face of battle, Tilston was awarded the Victoria Cross.
6th Canadian Infantry Brigade
The Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders of Canada
The South Saskatchewan Regiment
Les Fusiliers Mont-Royal
The Queen’s Own Cameron Highlanders of Canada
The regiment mobilized The Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders of Canada, CASF for active service on 1 September 1939. It was redesignated as the 1st Battalion, The Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders of Canada, CASF on 7 November 1940. It embarked for Great Britain on 12 December 1940. The battalion took part in Operation Jubilee, the Dieppe Raid, on 19 August 1942. It returned to France on 7 July 1944, as part of the 6th Infantry Brigade, 2nd Canadian Infantry Division, and it continued to fight in North West Europe until the end of the war. The overseas battalion disbanded on 30 November 1945.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3230012)
Universal Carriers of The Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders of Canada preparing to move from Germany to the Netherlands. Leer, Germany, 11 July 1945.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 5180146)
Pte. J.E. Kirby of The Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders of Canada stands guard over a V-2 rocket motor near the Antwerp Docks, Netherlands, 15 Oct 1942.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3199694)
Scouts of The Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders of Canada, Camp de Brasschaet, Belgium, 9 October 1944.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3209748)
Infantrymen of Support Company, The Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders of Canada, supported by a Sherman tank of The Fort Garry Horse, advancing south of Hatten, Germany, 22 April 1945.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3524541)
Wounded infantrymen of Support Company, The Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders of Canada, being helped to cover south of Kirchatten, Germany, ca. 22 April 1945.
(Stuart Phillips Photo)
The South Saskatchewan Regiment
During the Second World War, The South Saskatchewan Regiment participated in many major Canadian battles and operations, as part of the 2nd Canadian Infantry Division. The South Saskatchewan Regiment fought in the Dieppe Raid of 1942, Operation Atlantic, Operation Spring, Operation Totalize, Operation Tractable, and the recapture of Dieppe in 1944. They, along with the 8th Reconnaissance Regiment liberated the Westerbork transit camp on 12 April 1945.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3520709)
Infantrymen of The South Saskatchewan Regiment firing through a hedge during mopping-up operations along the Oranje Canal, Netherlands, 12 April 1945.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 49358)
Regimental Aid Party of The South Saskatchewan Regiment resting on the southern bank of a canal north of Laren, Netherlands, 7 April 1945.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3396365)
Infantrymen of The South Saskatchewan Regiment during mopping-up operations along the Oranje Canal, 12 April 1945.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3205112)
German prisoners guarded by infantrymen of The South Saskatchewan Regiment, Hoogerheide, Netherlands, 15 October 1944
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3396197)
Personnel of the South Saskatchewan Regiment in captured Germany. 'Schwimmwagen' amphibious car of the Wehrmacht, Rocquancourt, France, 11 August 1944.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3396200)
Private G.O. Parenteau of The South Saskatchewan Regiment, Rocquancourt, France, 11 August 1944.
Les Fusiliers Mont-Royal
The regiment mobilized the Les Fusiliers Mont-Royal, CASF for active service on 1 September 1939. It was redesignated as the 1st Battalion, Les Fusiliers Mont-Royal, CASF on 7 November 1940. It embarked for garrison duty in Iceland with "Z" Force on 1 July 1940. On 31 October 1940 it was transferred to Great Britain. The regiment took part in OPERATION JUBILEE, the raid on Dieppe on 19 August 1942. It returned to France on 7 July 1944, as part of the 6th Infantry Brigade, 2nd Canadian Infantry Division, and it continued to fight in North West Europe until the end of the war. The overseas battalion was disbanded on 15 November 1945.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3209740)
Tactical Headquarters of Les Fusiliers Mont-Royal, 29 April 1945.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3524542)
Infantry of Les Fusiliers de Mont-Royal Regiment taking cover between two tanks during attack in the vicinity of Oldenburg, Germany, 29 April 1945.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3228083)
Sherman tanks of "C" Squadron, The Fort Garry Horse, passing infantrymen of Les Fusiliers Mont-Royal, Munderloh, Germany, 29 April 1945.
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(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3226042)
Infantrymen of Les Fusiliers Mont-Royal loading Sten gun magazines, Munderloh, Germany, 29 April 1945.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3262650)
Infantrymen of Les Fusiliers Mont-Royal in front of a statue of Frederick the Great, Berlin, Germany, 14 July 1945.
"NORTH-WEST EUROPE, 1942, 1945"
1st Canadian Armoured Brigade
14th Canadian Armoured Regiment (The Calgary Regiment)
(Stuart Phillips Photo)
14th Armoured Regiment (The Calgary Regiment)
On 16 February 1941, the 14th Army Tank Battalion (Calgary Regiment) was mobilized at Mewata Barracks.[5] When the Canadian Armoured Corps was created, the Calgary Regiment lost its status as an infantry regiment and transferred to the new corps. A reserve regiment remained in Calgary. The regiment was composed of 400 members of the reserve battalion, drawing also from reinforcement personnel from The Seaforth Highlanders of Canada and the Edmonton Regiment. The original 'A' Squadron was drawn from Olds and district, 'B' Squadron from Stettler area, 'C' Squadron from Red Deer, and Headquarters from Calgary, High River, and Okotoks district. In March 1941 the regiment moved to Camp Borden, becoming part of the First Army Tank Brigade and in June 1941 sailed for Great Britain. Matilda tanks were initially used on the Salisbury Plains, but these were replaced later in the year by the first manufactured Churchills.
The overseas unit trained on various vehicles in Canada and the United Kingdom, and in August 1942 took the Churchill tank into battle for the first time at Dieppe. During the battle, the Battalion suffered casualties: two officers and eleven men were killed, 33 men and officers were wounded and taken prisoner with 143 other men; Only five of 181 men returned to England after the battle. A notable casualty was Lieutenant Colonel "Johnny" Andrews, who was killed in action. In the spring of 1943, Lieutenant-Colonel C.H. Neroutsos took command of the regiment. The new unit went to Sicily in 1943 with the First Canadian Army Tank Brigade, re-equipped with the Sherman tank.
In late February 1945 the regiment was moved to Leghorn and embarked to Marseilles, France, where it moved by rail to the North West Europe theatre. The regiment moved to the Reichswald Forest and on 12 April 1945 fought in the Second Battle of Arnhem, supporting the 49th (West Riding) Infantry Division to Ede, the Netherlands. The regiment's final actions of the Second World War were in support of the 1st Belgium Brigade in clearing the resistance between the Nederrijn and Waal Rivers. When the overseas unit returned to Canada in 1945, it was disbanded, and the Calgary Regiment continued its service as a reserve armoured unit.
"NORTH-WEST EUROPE, 1944-1945"
1st Canadian Army
The Elgin Regiment
The Royal Montreal Regiment
The Lorne Scots (Peel, Dufferin and Halton Regiment
25th Armoured Delivery Regiment (The Elgin Regiment) Canadian Armoured Corps (CAC).
Headquarters and F Squadron.
In 1942 it was designated as the 25th Armoured Regiment (The Elgin Regiment). In 1943 it became the1st Canadian Tank Delivery Regiment, laterthatsme year renamed the 25th Canadian Tank Delivery Regiment (The Elgin Regiment). From 1943 to 1945 it served as the 25th Armoured Delivery Regiment (The Elgin Regiment). "A" & "B" Squadrons were attached to 1st Canadian Armoured Brigade. "C" Squadron was attached to 2nd Canadian Armoured Brigade. "D" Squadron was attached to 4th Canadian Armoured Division. "E" Squadron was attached to II Canadian Corps. "F" Squadron was attached to First Canadian Army. "G" Squadron was attached to 5th Canadian Armoured Division, and "H" Squadron was attached to I Canadian Corps.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No.)
A Sherman from the Canadian 25th Armoured Delivery Regiment (The Elgin Regiment) rolls down the road in France, 1944.
Canadian Infantry Corps, First Canadian Army Defence Battalion - Royal Montreal Regiment.
The regiment mobilized as The Royal Montreal Regiment (Machine Gun), CASF for active service on 1 September 1939. It was redesignated 1st Battalion, The Royal Montreal Regiment (Machine Gun), CASF on 7 November 1940. The regiment converted to armour on 25 January 1943 and was redesignated the 32nd Reconnaissance Regiment (Royal Montreal Regiment), CAC, CASF. It was reconverted back to infantry on 12 April 1944 and redesignated as the First Army Headquarters Defence Company (Royal Montreal Regiment), CASF, and on 5 April 1945 as the First Canadian Army Headquarters Defence Battalion (Royal Montreal Regiment), CASF.
The Royal Montreal Regiment (Machine Gun) embarked for the Great Britain on 7 December 1939. On 28 July 1944, the First Army Headquarters Defence Company (Royal Montreal Regiment), CASF, landed in France as a unit of First Canadian Army Troops, and it continued to serve in North West Europe until the end of the war. The overseas battalion disbanded on 30 September 1945.
On 24 May 1944, a sub-unit of the regiment, designated as the No. 9 Defence and Employment Platoon (Royal Montreal Regiment), CIC, CASF, was mobilized in England. On 27 June 1944, it landed in France as a unit of First Canadian Army Troops, and it continued to serve in North West Europe until the end of the war. This overseas platoon disbanded on 16 October 1945.
On 1 June 1945, a second Active Force component of the regiment mobilized for service in the Pacific theatre of operations as the 6th Canadian Infantry Division Reconnaissance Troop (The Royal Montreal Regiment), CAC, CASF. It was redesignated the 6th Canadian Infantry 2-2-262 Division Reconnaissance Troop (The Royal Montreal Regiment), RCAC, CASF on 2 August 1945. The troop disbanded on 1 November 1945.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 4233426)
General H.D.G. Crerar, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief First Canadian Army, in the turret of a Daimler armoured car, with Lt. Clifford Smith of the Royal Montreal Regiment.
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(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3227968)
General H.D.G. Crerar, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief First Canadian Army, with personnel of The Royal Montreal Regiment, in front of a Daimler armoured car, Grave, Netherlands, 11 April 1945.
First Canadian Army Defence Battalion - Lorne Scots (until April 1944) replaced by the Royal Montreal Regiment.
The Lorne Scots (Peel, Dufferin and Halton Regiment) mobilized the No. 1 Infantry Base Depot, CASF, for active service on 1 September 1939. This unit was disbanded in England on 11 July 1940, following the formation of the No. 1 Canadian Base Depot on 1 May 1940 as the No. 1 Canadian General Base Depot, CASF. It was re-designated No. 1 Canadian Base Depot, CASF, the same day. It was stationed in Liverpool, England for the convenience of disembarkation and embarkation of Canadian soldiers. The depot was disbanded on 18 July 1944.
On the eve of the fall of France, the War Cabinet resolved to send every available division, including the 1st Canadian Infantry Division, to Brittany in a forlorn hope of stemming the German advance. An advance party from the Depot––Major W.H. Lent, CSM E Ching and Corporal Hiscock–went to establish a base depot at Isse near Chateaubriand. On their arrival, the expeditionary force heard of the surrender of Paris, and started to return. Major Lent's party, who had set foot on French soil on June 12, were back in Barossa Barracks by the 18th.
The regiment subsequently mobilized the 1st Battalion, The Lorne Scots (Peel, Dufferin and Halton Regiment), CASF for active service on 6 February 1941, to "provide personnel and reinforcements for all 'Defence and Employment' requirements of The Canadian Army. As a result, numerous Lorne Scots defence and employment units served in the Mediterranean, North West Europe and Canada. The overseas battalion was disbanded on 21 February 1947, when its last unit, No. 1 Non- Effective Transit Depot, CASF was disbanded.
At Dieppe, No. 6 Defence Platoon (6th Canadian Infantry Brigade) were brought by LST (Landing Ship Tank), touching down on White Beach at 1605 hours on the 19th. It was split into two parts. CSM Irvine, with Privates Breault[?], Dubois, Rosenberger and Seed waded ashore with Brigadier Southern—all were reported missing. Lieutenant E.J. Norris, with Privates Hancock, Lane, Moor and Keith Spence accompanied the brigade major and signals. Their LST carried three Churchill tanks from the Calgary Regiment and a signal cart. The tanks were to lead off and clear an area to set up the headquarters. Spence was to engage enemy aircraft, but had no tracers so could not observe his fire, and ran out of ammunition since the craft carrying the stores had been hit. Most if his group were dead or wounded, and when a serviceable craft came alongside, he helped Hancock, Moore and Lane on board. As they pulled away, the LST that had brought them in sank. The Germans concentrated their fire on the craft in the water, leaving those on the shore till later, and the group pulled many soldiers of the from the water. On the return to Newhaven, the platoon commander and Privates Lane and Hancock were sent to hospital.
Corporal Larry Guator, with Privates McDougall and Stephen Prus, were to act as bodyguard for Brigadier Leth (4th Brigade). They landed on Red Beach at 0550. Prus was beside the brigadier when the latter was wounded in the arm, and carried him on a stretcher to the evacuation craft. Ashore, they fought until 1300 hours, when they were ordered to retreat.
The company was disbanded in April 1944, when its duties were taken over by the Royal Montreal Regiment.
the invasion of Sicily in July 1943, by British, Canadian and American forces; the 1st Canadian Infantry Division and the First Canadian Army Tank Brigade were part of General Montgomery's force.
McNaughton had only committed Canadians to Sicily for battle experience, and had not planned to break up the army he had forged for the last great battle in Europe. But Ottawa had agreed, not only to leave the Canadians already there in the campaign, but to augment them with the 5th Armoured Division and First Corps Headquarters.
On 26 October 1943, the Edmund B. Alexander pulled out of Gourock with 4,700 troops, including the Headquarters I Canadian Corps and its Defence Company. The men had thought that they were going on an exercise, and as the ship joined a convoy of 24, they realised they were going into action, although even on the voyage they were unsure of their destination. It was in Sicily, at Augusta, that the Alexander disembarked, the men going ashore in landing craft. Their record in Italy is documented on a separate page.
When Italy was secured, the Canadians began in February 1945, in great secrecy, to move to Norfth West Europe. The I Canadian Corps moved to Marseille, then Antwerp, and on 15 March took over the Nijmegen area in the Netherlands.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3524866)
Lieutenant J.E.R. Bingeman and a guard of honour consisting of infantrymen of The Lorne Scots (Peel, Dufferin and Halton Regiment) at a plaque unveiling ceremony outside the Hotel Der Wereld, Wageningen, Netherlands, 9 July 1945.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3524567)
An officer serving with the The Lorne Scots (Peel, Dufferin and Halton Regiment) stencilling the regiment's identification number on a jeep, England, ca. 30 May-1 June 1943.
II Canadian Corps
12th Manitoba Dragoons
18th Armoured Car Regiment (12th Manitoba Dragoons)
During the Second World War the Regiment mobilized the 18th (Manitoba) Reconnaissance Battalion, CAC, CASF, for active service on 10 May 1941. It was redesignated the 18th (Manitoba) Armoured Car Regiment, CAC, CASF, on 26 January 1942; the 18th Armoured Car Regiment (12th Manitoba Dragoons), CAC, CASF, on 16 December 1942; and 18th Armoured Car Regiment (12th Manitoba Dragoons), RCAC, CASF on 2 August 1945. It embarked for Great Britain on 19 August 1942. On 8 and 9 July 1944 it landed in Normandy, France as a unit attached directly to II Canadian Corps, where it fought in North West Europe until the end of the war.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3202099)
General Motors T17E1 Staghound armoured cars of "A" Squadron, 12th Manitoba Dragoons, in the Hochwald, Germany, 2 March 1945.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3224497)
General Motors T17E1 Staghound armoured cars of "A" Squadron, 12th Manitoba Dragoons, 30 December 1943.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3524437)
A General Motors Staghound T-17E1 armoured car of the 12th Manitoba Dragoons crossing a Bailey bridge, Elbeuf, France, 28 August 1944.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3191574)
General Motors T17E1 Staghound armoured cars of "A" Squadron, 12th Manitoba Dragoons, crossing the Seine River, 28 August 1944.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3224495)
2 Canadian Infantry Division parade in front of Queen Wilhelmina. Scout cars of the12thManitoba Dragoons pass the base, 28 June 1945.
2nd Canadian Division
8th Canadian Reconnaissance Regiment (14th Canadian Hussars)
(Stuart Phillips Photo)
8th Reconnaissance Regiment (14th Canadian Hussars) (8 Recce)
8 Recce was formed at Guillemont Barracks, near Aldershot in southern England, on 11 March 1941, by merging three existing squadrons within the division. Its first commanding officer was Lieutenant Colonel Churchill C. Mann. Mann was succeeded as commanding officer on 26 September 1941, by Lieutenant Colonel P. A. Vokes, who was in turn followed on 18 February 1944, by Lieutenant Colonel M. A. Alway. The last commanding officer was Major "Butch" J. F. Merner, appointed to replace Alway a couple of months before the end of the fighting in Europe.
8 Recce spent the first three years of its existence involved in training and coastal defence duties in southern England. It was not involved in the ill-fated Dieppe Raid on 19 August 1942, and thus avoided the heavy losses suffered that day by many other units of the 2nd Canadian Infantry Division. The regiment landed with its division in Normandy on 6 July 1944, one month after D-Day, and first entered combat as infantry in the ongoing Battle of Normandy. The regiment's first three combat deaths occurred on 13 July, two of which when a shell struck a slit trench sheltering two men near Le Mesnil. Another Trooper was killed during the Battle of Caen the same day from a mortar shell.
Following the near-destruction of the German Seventh Army and Fifth Panzer Army in the Falaise Pocket in August 1944, the remaining German forces were compelled into a rapid fighting retreat out of Northern France and much of Belgium. 8 Recce provided the reconnaissance function for its division during the advance of the First Canadian Army eastward out of Normandy, up to and across the Seine River, and then along the coastal regions of northern France and Belgium. The regiment was involved in spearheading the liberation of the port cities of Dieppe and Antwerp; it was also involved in the investment of Dunkirk, which was then left under German occupation until the end of war. 8 Recce saw heavy action through to the end of the war including the costly Battle of the Scheldt, the liberation of the Netherlands and the invasion of Germany.
An early demonstration of the mobility and power of the armoured cars of 8 Recce occurred during the liberation of Orbec in Normandy. Over the period 21-23 August, the infantry of the 2nd Canadian Infantry Division had succeeded in pushing eastward up to the west bank of the River Tourques, but they were unable to expand an initial bridgehead across the river because of the presence of enemy positions in Orbec on the east bank. Humbers of 8 Recce had meanwhile scouted out possible river crossings northwest of the town. They succeeded in crossing the Tourques, then circled back to Orbec and attacked the German defenders unexpectedly from the north and east. Enemy resistance in the town was rapidly overcome and the division's advance towards the Seine could resume.
The reconnaissance role of 8 Recce often put its members well ahead of the main body of the division, especially during the pursuit of the retreating German army across northern France and Belgium in late August and September 1944. For example, elements of 8 Recce entered Dieppe on the morning of 1 September 1944, scene of the disastrous Dieppe Raid of 1942, a full 12 hours before the arrival of truck-borne Canadian infantry. The liberation of Dieppe was facilitated by the withdrawal of the German occupying forces on the previous day. The unexpectedly early liberation allowed a planned and likely devastating Allied bombing raid on the city to be called off. 8 Recce was responsible for liberating many other towns in the campaign across Northwest Europe.
During the Battle of the Scheldt, 8 Recce advanced westwards and cleared the southern bank of the West Scheldt river. In one notable action, armoured cars of 'A' Squadron were ferried across the river; on the other side the cars then proceeded to liberate the island of North Beveland by 2 November 1944. Bluff played an important role in this operation. The German defenders had been warned that they would be attacked by ground support aircraft on their second low-level pass if they did not surrender immediately. Shortly thereafter 450 Germans surrendered after their positions were buzzed by 18 Typhoons. Unbeknownst to the Germans, the Typhoons would not have been able to fire on their positions since the aircraft's munitions were already committed to another operation.
Shortly after midnight on the night 6–7 February 1945 (Haps, Holland), when 11 and 12 troops of C Squadron patrolled and contacted each other and started back - 11 troop patrol was challenged with halt from, the ditch. L/Cpl. Bjarne Tangen fired a sten magazine into the area from which the challenge came and then he and the others quickly took-up positions in the ditch, while the 3rd member of their patrol ran back and collected the 12 troop patrol, together with reinforcements from 12 troop and returned to the scene of firing. The evening ended with the patrol taking one German prisoner and one deceased. The German prisoner, Lt. Gunte Finke, was interrogated and he disclosed that he gave himself up after seeing the response of an estimated 30 men from the skirmish. The German intention was to verify information that armoured cars were in the area; not to bother with foot patrol or prisoners, but to attempt to "Bazooka one of our vehicles with the 2 Panzerfaust that their patrols carried". L/Cpl.Tangen was awarded the Dutch Bronze Cross, and Mentioned in dispatches, for this event.
On 12 April 1945, No. 7 Troop of 'B' Squadron liberated Camp Westerbork, a transit camp built to accommodate Jews, Romani people and other people arrested by the Nazi authorities prior to their being sent into the concentration camp system. Bedum, entered on 17 April 1945, was just one of many Dutch towns liberated by elements of 8 Recce in the final month of the war.
8 Recce's last two major engagements were the Battle of Groningen over 13–16 April and the Battle of Oldenburg, in Germany, over 27 April to 4 May. Three members of 8 Recce were killed on 4 May, just four days before VE Day, when their armoured car was struck by a shell.
During the war 79 men were killed outright in action while serving in 8 Recce, and a further 27 men died of wounds.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3524797)
8th Reconnaissance Regiment Recce vehicles of the 2 Canadian Infantry Division on barges performing an amphibious operation, from Beveland Peninsula to North Beveland Island from just north of Oostkerke, Netherlands, 1 November 1944.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3237870)
A Universal Carrier of the 8th Reconnaissance Regiment (14th Canadian Hussars), being loaded aboard a barge en route from South Beveland to North Beveland, Netherlands, 1 November 1944.
3rd Canadian Division
7th Canadian Reconnaissance Regiment (17th Duke of York's Royal Canadian Hussars)
The Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa (MG)
7th Reconnaissance Regiment (17th Duke of York’s Royal Canadian Hussars)
On May 24, 1940 the 17th Duke of York’s Royal Canadian Hussars were mobilised becoming successively the 3rd Canadian Motorcycle Regiment. In February 1941 the 3rd Canadian Motorcycle Regiment became the 7th Reconnaissance Regiment (17th Duke of York’s Royal Canadian Hussars) of the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division (later in 1944 to be nicknamed The Water Rats) and it embarked for the United Kingdom on 23 August 1941.
The 7th Reconnaissance Regiment (17th Duke of York’s Royal Canadian Hussars) landed in England on September 7, 1941. In 1941 the 6th Duke of Connaught’s Royal Canadian Hussars were called upon to furnish the Headquarters Squadron of the 5th Canadian Armoured Division and were designated 15th Armoured Regiment (6th Duke of Connaught’s Royal Canadian Hussars). In October 1943 the 5th Canadian Armoured Division landed in Italy going into action in mid-January 1944. The 15th Armoured Regiment (6th Duke of Connaught’s Royal Canadian Hussars) later moved to France in February 1945.
On June 6, 1944 the 7th Reconnaissance Regiment (17th Duke of York’s Royal Canadian Hussars) participated in D-Day when members of B Squadron tasked as Beach Exit Parties and Brigade Contact Detachments landed on Juno Beach in Normandy. By July 17, 1944 the entire regiment was functioning as a Unit and continued to do so until the German surrender in 1945. The 7th Reconnaissance Regiment (17th Duke of York’s Royal Canadian Hussars) campaigned through Europe winning eleven Battle Honours.
In 1945 a reconnaissance regiment was required for the occupation troops remaining in Europe. This unit was designated as the Second 7th Reconnaissance Regiment (17th Duke of York’s Royal Canadian Hussars) and consisted of volunteers from several other units. The original 7th Reconnaissance Regiment (17th Duke of York’s Royal Canadian Hussars) returned to Montreal. The Second 7th Reconnaissance Regiment (17th Duke of York’s Royal Canadian Hussars) remained on occupation duty in Germany until relieved and sent home beginning in May 1946.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3191645)
Dutch civilians on a WASP of 7th Reconnaissance Regiment (17th Duke of York's Royal Canadian Hussars), 3rd Canadian Infantry Division, celebrating the liberation of Zwolle, Netherlands, 14 April 1945.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3378681)
Personnel of the 17th Duke of York's Royal Canadian Hussars in their Humber Mk. IV armoured car in Normandy, France, 18-20 July 1944.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3405642)
Personnel of the 17th Duke of York's Royal Canadian Hussars with the unit's Humber IIIA armoured cars, Vaucelles, France, 18 July 1944.
The Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa (Machine Gun)
In July 1940, the Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa's active service battalion left for garrison duty in Iceland, which ended in April 1941 when they sailed to England. On 6 June 1944, the Camerons were the only Ottawa unit to land on D-Day at Juno Beach. The 1st Battalion consisted of three machine gun companies and one mortar company. Following the landing on D-Day, the battalion fought in almost every battle in the northwestern Europe campaign. However, the battalion's soldiers were often attached as platoons and companies in support of other units, so the battalion never fought as an entire entity. During this time, the 2nd Battalion recruited and trained soldiers in Canada for overseas duty. The 3rd Battalion was formed in July 1945 as a part of the Canadian Army Occupation Force in Germany.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3238874)
Soldiers of the Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa (MG), cleaning Vickers machine guns during a training exercise, England, 14 April 1944.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3238875)
Soldiers of the Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa laying down fire with a Vickers machine gun during a training exercise, England, 14 April 1944.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3199873)
The Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa (MG) machine gunners in action firing through hedge in Normandy, 4 July 1944.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3199857)
Personnel of the Machine Gun Platoon, Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa (M.G.), with a Universal Carrier, on the Rhine River west of Rees, Germany, 26 March 1945.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3206448)
Members of the Regimental Aid Party of the Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa (MG) treating a wounded soldier near Caen, France, 15 July 1944.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3405375)
Lieutenant-Colonel P.C. Klaehn (centre), Commanding Officer of The Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa (MG), holding a map session with officers of the regiment near Caen, France, 15 July 1944.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3524179)
A Universal Carrier of The Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa (M.G.) passing through Holten, Netherlands, 9 April 1945.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3224314)
Canada and the USA have worked together in the past to deal with war crimes issues after the battle. Here we have a soldier of the Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa guarding internees at Esterwegen internment camp. U.S. Army Major A. Levine, Commanding Officer of the War Crimes Investigation Team on the Borkum Island case questions a German prisoner about the fate of seven missing American fliers, 30 October 1945.
4th Canadian Division
29th Canadian Armoured Reconnaissance Regiment (The South Alberta Regiment)
The New Brunswick Rangers
The Lake Superior Regiment (Motor)
29th Armoured Reconnaissance Regiment (The South Alberta Regiment)
The South Alberta Regiment mobilized in 1940 as part of the 4th Canadian Infantry Division. When the division was reorganized as an armoured formation to satisfy demand for a second Canadian armoured division, the South Alberta Regiment was named 29th Armoured Regiment (The South Alberta Regiment) and received Ram tanks in February 1942. The unit was again renamed as 29th Armoured Reconnaissance Regiment (The South Alberta Regiment) in January 1943.
The SAR was deployed to northern France in mid-June 1944 (Normandy landings, D-Day was 6 June 1944), replacing their Ram tanks to be equipped with Stuart and Sherman tanks. They participated in the later battles of the Invasion of Normandy, taking part in Operation Totalize and finally closing the Falaise pocket in Operation Tractable. The South Albertas went on to participate in the liberation of the Netherlands and the Battle of the Scheldt.
In January 1945, they took part in the Battle for the Kapelsche Veer. They spent the last weeks of the war fighting in northern Germany
Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3396233)
Major David V. Currie (left, with pistol in hand) of The South Alberta Regiment accepting the surrender of German troops at St. Lambert-sur-Dives, France, 19 August 1944. This photo captures the very moment and actions that would lead to Major Currie being awarded the Victoria Cross. Battle Group Commander Major D.V. Currie at left supervises the round up of German prisoners. Reporting to him is trooper R.J. Lowe of "C" Squadron.
Major David Vivian Currie of the SAR received the Victoria Cross for his actions near Saint-Lambert-sur-Dives, as the allies attempted to seal off the Falaise pocket. Currie was one of only 16 Canadians to receive the Victoria Cross during the Second World War. It was the only Victoria Cross awarded to a Canadian soldier during the Normandy campaign, and the only Victoria Cross ever awarded to a member of the Royal Canadian Armoured Corps. Lieutenant Donald I. Grant took a photograph of the event that would become one of the most famous images of the War. Historian C. P. Stacey called it "as close as we are ever likely to come to a photograph of a man winning the Victoria Cross."
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3191555)
Sherman V tanks of the South Alberta Regiment (SAR) and M5A1 Stuart tanks of the 5th Canadian Armoured Division, a Ram II Observation (OP) tank with false wooden gun, Willys jeeps, Canadian Military Pattern (CMP) trucks and a Humber armoured car in the centre, laagered in the village square of Bergen-op-Zoom in the Netherlands, 31 Oct 1944.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3228469)
Trooper J.C. McEachern hooking a cable between two Sherman tanks of The South Alberta Regiment, Louisendorf, Germany, 26 February 1945.
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(NBMHM Collection, Author Photo)
The New Brunswick Rangers
The 1st Battalion, The New Brunswick Rangers, CASF, was mobilized on 1 January 1941. It was redesignated as The 10th Canadian Infantry Brigade Support Group (The New Brunswick Rangers), CIC, CASF on 1 November 1943 and as The 10th Independent Machine Gun Company (The New Brunswick Rangers), CIC, CASF on 24 February 1944. The unit served at Goose Bay, Labrador in a home defence role as part of Atlantic Command from June 1942 to July 1943. It embarked for Britain on 13 September 1943. On 26 July 1944, the company landed in France as part of the 10th Infantry Brigade, 4th Canadian Armoured Division, and it continued to fight in North West Europe until the end of the war. The overseas company was disbanded on 15 February 1946.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3224767)
New Brunswick Rangers on exercise, May 1943.
5th Canadian Infantry Brigade
The Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) of Canada
Le Régiment de Maisonneuve
The Calgary Highlanders
(Stuart Phillips Photo)
The Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) of Canada
The regiment mobilized the 1st Battalion, The Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) of Canada, CASF, on 1 September 1939. This unit, which served in Newfoundland from 22 June to 11 August 1940, embarked for Great Britain on 25 August 1940. Three platoons took part in the raid on Dieppe on 19 August 1942. On 6 July 1944, the battalion landed in France as part of the 5th Infantry Brigade, 2nd Canadian Infantry Division, and it continued to fight in North West Europe until the end of the war. The overseas battalion was disbanded on 30 November 1945.
The 1st Battalion suffered more casualties than any other Canadian infantry battalion in Northwest Europe according to figures published in The Long Left Flank by Jeffrey Williams. On the voyage to France on the day of the Dieppe Raid, casualties were suffered by the unit during a grenade priming accident on board their ship, HMS Duke of Wellington. During the Battle of Verrières Ridge on 25 July 1944, 325 men left the start line and only 15 made it back to friendly lines, the others being killed or wounded by well-entrenched Waffen SS soldiers and tanks. On 13 October 1944 – known as Black Friday by the Black Watch – the regiment put in an assault near Hoogerheide during the Battle of the Scheldt in which all four company commanders were killed, and one company of 90 men was reduced to just four survivors.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3590885)
Infantrymen of "B" Company, The Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) of Canada, firing a three-inch mortar, Groesbeek, Netherlands, 3 February 1945.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3613491)
Soldiers with the Black Watch of Canada training with a 6-pounder anti-tank gun. Note the Lee-Enfield rifle used as a small calibre aiming device.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3203511)
Infantrymen of "C" Company, The Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) of Canada, gathered around a slit trench in the woods near Holten, Netherlands, 8 April 1945.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3396388)
Infantry of the Black Watch of Canada (Royal Highland Regiment) crossing the river Regge south of Ommen, Netherlands, 10 April 1945.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3230698)
American-born members of Support Company, The Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) of Canada, South Beveland, Netherlands, 30 September 1944.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 4232588)
Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, inspecting the The Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) of Canada, 1943.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3205164)
C Company commander, 5 Brigade Black Watch, Captain W.L. Barnes checks map reference with signalman Pte H. Howard, 8 April 1945.
(Stuart Phillips Photo)
Le Régiment de Maisonneuve
The regiment mobilized Le Régiment de Maisonneuve, CASF, on 1 September 1939. It embarked for Great Britain on 24 August 1940. It was redesignated as the 1st Battalion, Le Régiment de Maisonneuve, CASF, on 7 November 1940. 17 On 7 July 1944, the battalion landed in France as part of the 5th Infantry Brigade, 2nd Canadian Infantry Division. It suffered heavy casualties in the Battle of the Scheldt, and was notably depleted by the time of the Battle of Walcheren Causeway. The unit recovered during the winter and was again in action during the Rhineland fighting and the final weeks of the war, taking part in the final campaigns in northern Netherlands, the Battle of Groningen, and the final attacks on German soil. The overseas battalion was disbanded on 15 December 1945.
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(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3207886)
Lieutenant Louis Woods of Le Régiment de Maisonneuve observing a German position during Operation VERITABLE near Nijmegen, Netherlands, 8 February 1945.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3524835)
Privates Arthur Richard and Aurele Nantel of the Regimental Aid Party, Le Régiment de Maisonneuve, treating a wounded soldier near the Maas River, Cuyk, Netherlands, 23 January 1945.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3392829)
GM C15TA Armoured Truck CZ428917 'Aristocrat' near Nijmegen, Netherlands, 5 December 1944.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. )
Corporal C. Robichaud of Le Régiment de Maisonneuve examining a disabled German Sturmhaubitz 42 105-mm self-propelled gun, Woensdrecht, Netherlands, 27 October 1944.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3210492)
A two inch mortar crew in action - Privates Raoul Archambault and Albert Harvey of Le Régiment de Maisonneuve, 23 January 1945.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3225204)
Regiment de Maisonneuve during the attack on the Western Front, 8 Feb 1945.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3524187)
Infantrymen of Le Régiment de Maisonneuve riding on a Sherman tank of The Fort Garry Horse entering Rijssen, Netherlands, 9 April 1945.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3205241)
Infantry of the Regiment de Maisonneuve moving through Holten to Rijssen, both towns in the Netherlands, 9 April 1945.
The Calgary Highlanders
The regiment mobilized for active service as The Calgary Highlanders, Canadian Active Service Force (CASF) on 1 September 1939. It was re-designated as the 1st Battalion, The Calgary Highlanders, CASF, on 7 November 1940. On 27 August 1940, it embarked for Britain. The battalion's mortar platoon took part in the Dieppe Raid on 19 August 1942. On 6 July 1944, the battalion landed in France as part of the 5th Canadian Infantry Brigade, 2nd Canadian Infantry Division, and it continued to fight in North West Europe until the end of the war. The regiment selected the Battle of Walcheren Causeway for annual commemoration after the war. The overseas battalion disbanded on 15 December 1945.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3358102)
Corporal Frank Maguire of The Calgary Highlanders manning a machine gun in a Universal Carrier near Doetinchem, Netherlands, 1 April 1945.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3227193)
Private D. Tillick of the Toronto Scottish Regiment (M.G.) and Lieutenant T.L. Hoy of the Calgary Highlanders, who both were wounded on the causeway between Beveland and Walcheren, waiting for treatment at the Casualty Clearing Post of the 18th Field Ambulance, Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps (RCAMC), Netherlands, 1 November 1944.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3405373)
Infantrymen of The Calgary Highlanders, Doetinchem, Netherlands, 1 April 1945.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3358102)
Corporal Frank Maguire of The Calgary Highlanders manning a machine gun in a Universal Carrier near Doetinchem, Netherlands, 1 April 1945.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3231598)
Private M. Voske and Private H. Browne of The Calgary Highlanders examinea captured German radio-controlled Goliath remote controlled demolition vehicle, Goes, Netherlands, 30 October 1944.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3596657)
Corporal S. Kormendy and Sergeant H.A. Marshall of The Calgary Highlanders cleaning the telescopic sights of their No. 4 Mk. I(T) rifles during a scouting, stalking and sniping course, Kapellen, Belgium, 6 October 1944.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3206370)
Sergeant Harold Marshall, of the Calgary Highlanders Scout and Sniper Platoon, posing for Army photographer Ken Bell near Fort Brasschaet, Belgium, September 1944.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3521073)
A Calgary Highlanders soldier servicing a No. 18 wireless set, Pagham, England, 20 January 1943.
7th Canadian Infantry Brigade
The Royal Winnipeg Rifles
The Regina Rifle Regiment
The Canadian Scottish Regiment
The Royal Winnipeg Rifles
The regiment landed in England in September 1940. As part of the 7th Infantry Brigade, 3rd Canadian Division, the Rifles were in the first wave of landings on D Day, 6 June 1944. The Royal Winnipeg Rifles fought throughout the Normandy campaign, fighting in famous battles such as Caen and the Falaise Gap. After helping liberate several of the Channel Ports, the regiment fought to clear the Scheldt Estuary to allow the re-opening of the Antwerp harbour. After helping to liberate the Netherlands, the regiment ended the war preparing to assault the northern German town of Aurich. Three battalions of the regiment served during the Second World War. The 1st Battalion served in the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division, the 2nd Battalion was a reserve unit that remained on part-time duty in Winnipeg, and a 3rd Battalion served in the Canadian Army Occupation Force. The 1st Battalion were among the first Allied troops to land on the Normandy beaches on D-Day. They served throughout the Northwest Europe campaign, including the Battle of the Scheldt, the Rhineland, and the final battles across the Rhine, before returning to Canada in 1945. The 3rd Battalion was raised in 1945 and remained in Germany until 1946.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3191681)
Infantrymen of The Royal Winnipeg Rifles in Landing Craft Assault (LCAs) en route to land at Courseulles-sur-Mer, France, 6 June 1944.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3524573)
H/Captain J.L. Steele, Chaplain of The Royal Winnipeg Rifles, talking with his driver, Rifleman J.L. Simard, France, 16 July 1944
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3227215)
Infantrymen of The Royal Winnipeg Rifles searching German prisoners, Aubigny, France, ca.16-17 August 1944.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3513060)
Ram Kangaroo armoured troop carrier transporting personnel of the Royal Winnipeg Rifles, 16 February 1945.
The Regina Rifle Regiment
The Regina Rifle Regiment, CASF, was mobilized for active service on 24 May 1940. It was redesignated the 1st Battalion, The Regina Rifle Regiment, CASF, on 7 November 1940 and embarked for Britain on 24 August 1941. On D-Day, 6 June 1944, it landed in Normandy, France as part of the 7th Infantry Brigade, 3rd Canadian Infantry Division, and it continued to fight in North West Europe until the end of the war. The 1st Battalion was disbanded on 15 January 1946.
On 1 June 1945, a third Active Force component of the regiment, the 4th Battalion, The Regina Rifle Regiment, CIC, CAOF, was mobilized for service with the Canadian Army Occupation Force in Germany. The 4th Battalion was disbanded on 4 April 1946. The 2nd (Reserve) Battalion did not mobilize. During the Second World War members of the regiment received 14 Military Medals with one bar to that award, seven Distinguished Service Orders, seven Military Cross awards, a British Empire Medal, an Africa Star, three French Croix de Guerre, and a Netherlands Bronze Lion. Many more were Mentioned in Dispatches. The regiment suffered 458 fatal casualties by 7 May 1945.
Its first taste of combat came in Normandy, landing on Juno Beach on D-Day, during which it was the first Canadian regiment to successfully secure a beachhead. It later faced the 12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend, which was almost completely annihilated by the British and Canadian forces. The regiment later entered Caen.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3405774)
PIAT anti-tank gunners of The Regina Rifle Regiment who knocked out a German PzKpfW V Panther tank thirty yards from Battalion Headquarters, Bretteville-l'Orgeuilleuse, France, 8 June 1944.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3394461)
Infantrymen of The Regina Rifle Regiment manning a Bren gun position inside a captured German barracks, Vaucelles, France, 23 July 1944.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3205216)
Infantrymen of The Regina Rifle Regiment and a dispatch rider firing into a damaged building, Caen, France, 10 July 1944.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3225986)
Allied vehicles entering Caen, 10 July1944.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3409521)
Infantrymen of the Regina Rifle Regiment, Zyfflich, Germany, 9 February 1945.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3256086)
A three-inch (7.62 cm) mortar crew of Support Company, The Regina Rifle Regiment, Bretteville-l'Orgueilleuse, France, ca. 9 June 1944.
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(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3582821)
Three soldiers of the Regina Rifles Regiment who landed in France on June 6, 1944, in Ghent, Belgium, November 8, 1944
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 4558334)
Lieutenant R.R. Smith briefing his Regina Rifles NCOs with a sketch of their objective, Courseulles-Sur-Mer, 4 June 1944.
(Stuart Phillips Photo)
1st Battalion The Canadian Scottish Regiment
The Canadian Scottish were unusual in 1939 in having two battalions on the strength of the Canadian Militia. The 1st Battalion was mobilized for overseas service in 1940 and trained in Debert, Nova Scotia, until August 1941, from where it moved to the United Kingdom as part of the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division. On 6 June 1944 C Company was in the first wave ashore in Normandy on Juno Beach, the rest of the battalion following in the second wave. The battalion proceeded to advance a total of six miles inland – farther than any other assault brigade of the British Second Army that day. The regiment went on to earn 17 battle honours, including one for the liberation of Wagenborgen, a Dutch village; this last honour was not awarded until the 1990s.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3225491)
Captain Albert Johnson and Captain Gordon, both of the 1st Battalion, The Canadian Scottish Regiment, taking part in a house-clearing training exercise, England, 22 April 1944.
Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3191554)
H/Captain Robert Seaborn, Chaplain of the 1st Battalion, The Canadian Scottish Regiment, giving absolution to a soldier of the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division near Caen, France, 15 July 1944.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3198877)
Major C. Wightman (left) of the 1st Battalion, The Canadian Scottish Regiment, talking with Captain J.C.G. Young, a medical officer, France, 15 June 1944.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3199981)
Lieutenant-Colonel D.G. Crofton, Commanding Officer of the 1st Battalion, The Canadian Scottish Regiment, examining the wreckage of a German 155mm. gun, Breskens, Netherlands, 28 October 1944.
8th Canadian Infantry Brigade
The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada
Le Régiment de la Chaudière
The North Shore (New Brunswick) Regiment
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(Fredericton Region Museum Collection, Author Photo)
The Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada
After a build-up and training period, the unit embarked for Britain on 19 July 1941. The regiment mobilized the 3rd Battalion, The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada, CASF for active service on May 12, 1942. It served in Canada in a home defence role as part of the 20th Infantry Brigade, 7th Canadian Infantry Division. The battalion was disbanded on 15 August 1943.
For the Invasion of Normandy, the regiment landed in Normandy, France, as part of the 8th Infantry Brigade, 3rd Canadian Infantry Division. The first major combat operations were on D-day 6 June 1944. The Queen's Own Rifles landed on "Nan" sector of Juno Beach and with the support of tanks of the Fort Garry Horse captured the strategic seaside resort town of Bernières-sur-Mer. The battalion fought its way to its D-Day objective – the village of Anisy 13.5 km (8.4 mi) inland, the only Regiment to reach its assigned objective that day. The QOR had the highest casualties amongst the Canadian regiments, with 143 killed, wounded or captured. As well as losses in the initial landing, the reserve companies' landing craft struck mines as they approached the beach.
In the battle for Caen, the QOR – as part of the 8th Infantry Brigade – participated in Operation Windsor to capture the airfield at Carpiquet which was defended by a detachment from the 12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend. The Germans inflicted heavy casualties and Panzer-grenadiers attempted to recapture the village.
During the war, 463 riflemen were killed in action and almost 900 were wounded as they fought through Normandy, Northern France, and into Belgium and the Netherlands, where they liberated the crucial Channel ports. Sixty more members of the regiment were killed while serving with other units in Hong Kong, Italy and northwest Europe. The overseas battalion was disbanded on 30 November 1945.
On 1 June 1945, a third Active Force battalion, designated the 4th Battalion, The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada, CIC, CAOF, was mobilized for service with the Canadian Army Occupation Force in Germany. The battalion was disbanded on 14 May 1946.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3205139)
Lieutenant Stan Biggs briefing Universal Carrier flamethrower crews of The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada, Vaucelles, France, 29 July 1944.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3525803)
Officers of the Queen's Own Rifles of Canada discussing tactics, Carpiquet, France, 8 July 1944.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3525804)
Lieutenant E.M. Peto (left), 16th Field Comapny, Royal Canadian Engineers (RCE), with Company Sergeant-Major Charlie Martin and Rifleman N.E. Lindenas, both of "A" Company, Queen's Own Rifles of Canada, planning where to lay a minefield, Bretteville-Orgueilleuse, France, 20 June 1944.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3225655)
Queen's Own Rifles demonstrate flame throwers in action against dugouts among the trees in Normandy, 29 July 1944.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3205245)
Queen's Own Rifles moving up to extreme front action; attack on German airport and the village of Carpiquet, 4 July 1944.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3262647)
Infantrymen of the Queen's Own Rifles of Canada, who wear full British snow camouflage kit, go on patrol near Nijmegen, Netherlands, 22 January 1945.
Le Régiment de la Chaudière
The battalion was sent to England in August 1941. The unit was assigned to the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division as a standard rifle battalion and was designated as a reserve battalion during the D-Day landings in June 1944. Le Régiment de la Chaudière came ashore on the second wave at Bernières-sur-Mer after The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada, surprising the locals who hadn't expected to find francophone troops in the liberating forces. It was the only French-Canadian regiment to participate in Operation Overlord, and one of the few French-speaking units to come ashore that day alongside the bilingual The North Shore (New Brunswick) Regiment and the Free-French Commando Kieffer.
The regiment participated in the Battle for Caen, suffering several casualties in the fight at Carpiquet airfield on 4 July 1944. With the rest of the division, the regiment fought in the Battle of the Scheldt, notably in actions in the Breskens Pocket between 6 October and 3 November 1944. The unit wintered in the Nijmegen Salient and was again active in the Rhineland fighting in February 1945, and finished the war on German soil in May. A 2nd Battalion served in the Reserve Army. A 3rd Battalion was raised for the Canadian Army Occupation Force.
3rd Division's operation to clear the Breskens Pocket was an amphibious assault by 9th Infantry Brigade from the area of Terneuzen, westward along the south shore of the Scheidt, west across the Braakman Inlet, and landing in the rear of the main German defences.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3405729)
Infantrymen of Le Régiment de la Chaudière in a Landing Craft Assault (LCA) alongside HMCS Prince David off Bernières-sur-Mer, France, 6 June 1944.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3194343)
Lieutenant Jack Beveridge, who was wounded by an exploding mine, being brought aboard HMCS Prince David off Bernières-sur-Mer, France, 6 June 1944.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3405729)
Infantrymen of Le Régiment de la Chaudière moving through Bernières-sur-Mer, France, 6 June 1944.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 5180127)
Personnel of le Régiment de la Chaudière, Normandy, France, 8 June 1944.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3520748)
Infantrymen of Le Régiment de la Chaudière riding on an M-10 A1 tank destroyer vehicle of the 3rd Anti-Tank Regiment, Royal Canadian Artillery (RCA) during the attack on Elbeuf, France, 26 August 1944.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3203114)
Infantrymen of Le Régiment de la Chaudière talking with French civilians, Bernières-sur-Mer, France, 6 June 1944.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3223932)
Infantry of the Chaudière Regiment marching German prisoners (including two civilians) back along dyke, 10 February 1945.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3526093)
Lance-Corporal George Gagnon, Le Régiment de la Chaudière, aboard a Landing Ship Tank fusing hand grenades to be used on D-Day. Southampton, England, 4 June 1944.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3942419)
Parade in Amsterdam for Queen Wilhelmina's return by Canadian Troops and Dutch organizations. Regiment de Chaudières march past, 28 June 1945.
9th Canadian Infantry Brigade
The Highland Light Infantry of Canada
The Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Highlanders
The North Nova Scotia Highlanders
(Stuart Phillips Photo)
The Highland Light Infantry of Canada
On 8 July 1944, Soldiers of the Highland Light Infantry of Canada (HLI of C), 9th Brigade, 3rd Canadian Infantry Division assaulted the German positions within the town of Buron, supported by tanks of the Sherbrooke Fusiliers and Royal Artillery. The HLI of C faced stiff opposition from members of the 25th Panzer Grenadiers of the 12th SS Panzer Div. The Battalion suffered 262 casualties, including 62 killed while liberating the town. It continued to fight in North West Europe until the end of the war. The battalion was disbanded on 1 May 1946.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3227614)
Private W. Smith of The Highland Light Infantry of Canada training to operate a Lifebuoy flamethrower, Nijmegen, Netherlands, 14 December 1944.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3198835)
Platoon commander Lieutenant J.H. Chrystler (centre) issuing patrol instructions to Sergeant F.C. Edminston and Private L.J.L. Coté, all of The Highland Light Infantry of Canada, France, 20 June 1944.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3205036)
Personnel of the Highland Light Infantry of Canada boarding LCI(L)s 252, 276 and 277 of the 1st and 2nd Canadian (260th and 262nd RN) Flotillas during Exercise 'Fabius III', 1 May 1944.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3205647)
Troops of the Highland Light Infantry of Canada (Kitchener, Galt) going aboard a Canadian L.C.I.(L.) at dawn, 7 June 1944.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3524486)
Infantrymen of the Highland Light Infantry of Canada aboard LCI 306 of the 2nd Canadian (262nd RN) Flotilla on D-Day. The photographer standing in bows of landing craft is Lieutenant Gilbert A. Milne, 65 June 1944.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3205609)
Infantrymen of The Highland Light Infantry of Canada passing Sherman tanks en route to cross the Orne River near Caen, France, 18 July 1944.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3397598)
Infantrymen of The Highland Light Infantry of Canada attaching drag ropes to a six-pounder anti-tank gun, Thaon, France, 6 August 1944
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3599865)
Privates H.A. Fraser, G.R. Wood and W.F. Sager, all of the Highland Light Infantry of Canada, eating lunch on a makeshift table, on which can be seen a German Waffen SS helmet, Thaon, France, 6 August 1944.
(Stuart Phillips Photo)
The Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Highlanders (Fencibles)
The regiment mobilized The Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Highlanders, CASF for active service on 24 May 1940. It was redesignated as the 1st Battalion, The Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Highlanders, CASF on 7 November 1940. The unit embarked for Great Britain on 19 July 1941. On D-Day, 6 June 1944, it landed in Normandy, France, as part of the 9th Infantry Brigade, 3rd Canadian Infantry Division, and it continued to fight in North West Europe until the end of the war. The overseas battalion was disbanded on 15 January 1946. The regiment mobilized the 3rd Battalion, The Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Highlanders, CIC, CAOF on 1 June 1945 for service with the Canadian Army Occupation Force in Germany. This battalion was disbanded on 24 May 1946.
The SD&G Highlanders landed in Normandy on D Day and was the first regiment to enter Caen, reaching the centre of the city at 1300 hours, 9 July 1944.
Fifty-five days later, 112 SD&G Highlanders had been killed in action and 312 more wounded in the Falaise Gap. The Regiment fought across France via Rouen, Eu, Le Hamel and Boulogne, moved into the Netherlands and took part in the amphibious landing across the Savojaardsplaat, and advanced to Knokke by way of Breskens. It moved next to Nijmegen to relieve the airborne troops, and helped guard the bridge while the Rhine crossing was prepared. The Regiment then fought through the Hochwald and north to cross the Ems-River and take the city of Leer. At dawn on 3 May 1945, German marine-units launched an attack on two forward companies of the SD&G Highlanders, occupying the village of Rorichum, near Oldersum, that was the final action during the war, VE Day found the SD&G Highlanders near Emden. It was said of the Regiment that it "never failed to take an objective; never lost a yard of ground; never lost a man taken prisoner in offensive action."
Altogether 3,342 officers and men served overseas with the SD&G Highlanders, of whom 278 were killed and 781 wounded; 74 decorations and 25 battle honours were awarded. A total of 3,418 officers and men served in the 2nd Battalion (Reserve); of them, 1,882 went on active service and 27 were killed. A third battalion raised in July 1945 served in the occupation of Germany and was disbanded in May 1946.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3225495)
Lieutenant J. McKinnell (third from right) briefing infantrymen of The Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Highlanders during a training exercise, England, 14 April 1944.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3204914)
Infantrymen of The Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Highlanders loading supplies aboard LCI(L) 252 of the 2nd Canadian (262nd RN) Flotilla during Exercise FABIUS III, Southampton, England, ca. 1 May 1944.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3225642)
Infantrymen of the Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Highlanders crossing the Orne River on a Bailey bridge built by the Royal Canadian Engineers (RCE) en route to Caen, France, 18 July 1944.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3225644)
Infantrymen of the Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Highlanders crossing the Orne River on a Bailey bridge built by the Royal Canadian Engineers (RCE) en route to Caen, France, 18 July 1944.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3225643)
Infantrymen of the Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Highlanders with a truck-mounted 40-mm Bofors anti-aircraft gun, crossing the Orne River on a Bailey bridge built by the Royal Canadian Engineers (RCE) en route to Caen, France, 18 July 1944.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3396194)
Infantryman of the Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Highlanders armed with a German MP40 sub-machine gun, searching through the rubble for isolated pockets of resistance after the capture of Caen, France, 10 July 1944.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3524780)
Personnel of the Stormont Dundas and Glengarry Highlanders of Canada advancing through Bathmen, Netherlands, 9 April 1945.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3524679)
Civilians waiting to be moved back from the front; members of the Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Highlanders of the 9th Infantry Brigade, 3 Infantry Division are in evidence. Rhine River, Germany, 25 March 1945.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3396132)
Infantrymen of the Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Highlanders searching railway cars, Vaucelles, France, 18 July 1944.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3521663)
Infantrymen of The Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Highlanders eating lunch outside the railroad station, Caen, France, 20 July 1944.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3194299)
Crowd welcoming Infantrymen of The Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Highlanders to Leeuwarden, Netherlands, 16 April 1945.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3194299)
Crowd welcoming the Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Highlanders of Canada, on board a Ram Kangaroo, Leeuwarden, Netherlands, 16 April 1945.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3237904)
Infantrymen of the Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Highlanders aboard a Buffalo amphibious vehicle near Mehr, Germany, 11 February 1945.
(Stuart Phillips Photo)
The North Nova Scotia Highlanders
The North Nova Scotia Highlanders, CASF were mobilized for active service on 24 May 1940. The regiment embarked for England on 18 July 1941. On D-Day, 6 June 1944, the Highlanders landed in Normandy, France, as part of the 9th Infantry Brigade, 3rd Canadian Infantry Division, and continued to fight in North West Europe until the end of the war. The overseas battalion was disbanded on 15 January 1946. On 1 June 1945, the regiment mobilized the '3rd Battalion, The North Nova Scotia Highlanders, CIC, CAOF' for service with the Canadian Army Occupation Force in Germany. The battalion was disbanded on 1 May 1946.
Shortly after the D-Day landings in Normandy, German soldiers under the command of Waffen SS Major General Kurt Meyer, murdered captured soldiers from the North Nova Scotia Highlanders regiment. After the war he was tried and convicted in Canada. Sentenced to death on 28 December 1945, his sentence was commuted to life imprisonment on 14 January 1946. After serving nearly nine years in prison, Meyer was released on 7 September 1954.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3191503)
The Highland Light Infantry of Canada and the North Nova Scotia Highlanders aboard LCI(L) en route to France, 6June 1944.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3205046)
Landing Craft Infantry (LCI) 135 of the 2nd Canadian (262nd RN) Flotilla carrying personnel of the North Nova Scotia Highlanders and the Highland Light Infantry of Canada en route to France on D-Day, 6 June 1944. On approaching the beach most troops closed up as far aft as possible to raise the bow to get as close aground as possible and avoid beach obstacles before lowering ramps . .a stern anchor was dropped to assist later winching off the beach. This photo of LCI 135 photo was taken sometime between 9 and 11 am when the flotilla was circling off the beaches awaiting orders to go in. The troops are "standing to" since "beaching stations" was given at 0905. At 1114, orders were given to land at Nan White. At 1129, LCI 135 touched down on Juno beach.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3614538)
French Front Line - North Nova Scotia Regiment, 9th Canadian Infantry Brigade - Furthermost Canadian outpost - 'Arty' O Pip sighting for a shoot, 1,000 yds from the enemy, 22 June 1944.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3203205)
Major C.F. Kennedy and Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Petch of The North Nova Scotia Highlanders, France, 22 June 1944.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3192177)
Infantrymen of the North Nova Scotia Highlanders advancing along the Orne River towards Vaucelles, France, 18 July 1944.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3209513)
The North Nova Scotia Highlanders advancing towards Zutphen. Dorterhoek, Netherlands, 8 April 1945.
10th Canadian Infantry Brigade
The Lincoln and Welland Regiment
The Algonquin Regiment
The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada (Princess Louise's)
The Lincoln and Welland Regiment
On 16 July 1943 the 1st Battalion it embarked for Britain. On 25 July 1944 it landed in France as a part of the 10th Infantry Brigade, 4th Canadian Armoured Division, and it continued to fight in North West Europe until the end of the war. The overseas battalion was disbanded on 15 February 1946.
From Tilly-la-Campagne on 31 July 1944 until Bad Zwischenahn on 1 May 1945, the regiment distinguished itself in many actions. Over 1500 men of the regiment were casualties. Of the original men who enlisted in 1940, only three officers and 22 men were on parade in St. Catharines in 1946 when the 1st Battalion was dismissed.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3223902)
Personnel of the Lincoln and Welland Regiment with an M5A1 Stuart tank of the 4th Canadian Armoured Division awaiting orders to go through a roadblock, 11 April 1945.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3224032)
Soldiers of the Lincoln and Welland Regiment advance through the streets chasing the German paratroopers out of the town, 11 April 1945.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3202801)
Infantrymen of the Lincoln and Welland Regiment, who wear British snow camouflage clothing, prepare to go on patrol, Vught, Netherlands, 1 February 1945.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3223900)
Personnel of the Lincoln and Welland Regiment during house-to-house fighting, 11 April 1945.
The Algonquin Regiment
The Regiment embarked for England on 11 June 1943 and landed in France on 25 July 1944, as part of the 10th Infantry Brigade, 4th Canadian Armoured Division, and continued to fight in North West Europe until the end of the war. The overseas battalion disbanded on 15 February 1946.
In January 1943, the Algonquin regiment was chosen for operations overseas, was moved to Debert Camp in Nova Scotia and, for administration purposes, was assigned to the 20th Brigade of the Seventh Canadian Infantry Division. The regiment embarked on the RMS Empress of Scotland in Halifax on 10 June 1943, and sailed the following day for England with a complement of 4,500 troops. Upon arriving in Liverpool the regiment proceeded to Heathfield and was made part of the 10th Canadian Infantry Brigade of the Fourth Canadian (Armoured) Division.
On 16 July 1944, an advance party left for Normandy, France, with the regiment as a whole arriving a couple of days later. The morning of 25 July 1944, all four companies of the Algonquin Regiment landed on Juno Beach where, in the following days, learned of their ensuing mission to support the 4th Canadian (Armoured) Division in closing the Falaise Gap. On 9 August 1944, the regiment, supporting the British Columbia Regiment (BCR), jointly forming 'Worthington Force' were tasked with taking Hill 195. Taking an unfortunate wrong turn at 02:00 hours they ended up four miles east of Hill 195, closer to Hill 140, deep in German territory. The regiment suffered heavy losses with total casualties of 128 men and 47 tanks. The leader of the force, BCR commander Lt. Col Don Worthington, was killed and the Algonquins' commander, Lt. Col. Art Hay, was seriously wounded. RSM A. J. Primeau was killed by the same mortar bomb that seriously wounded Hay.
Leading up to 31 August 1944, the Algonquin Regiment, moving within the Fourth CAD, were tasked with filling the gap to the south at Hill 240, fighting alongside the Polish Armoured Division. The period from 31 August to 8 September was a period of rapid movement into Belgium, halted on the eighth at the Ghent - Brugge Canal. Fighting, all day and suffering multiple setbacks resulting in numerous casualties across all the regiments, ended on 10 September with the Allies across the Ghent - Brugge Canal after holding back the German counterattacks. A few days later the attempt of the regiment to cross the Leopold Canal (Operation Switchback), was successfully repelled at Moerkerke by the German 245 Infantry Division. The Canadians pulled back after a tremendous covering artillery barrage. The regiment continued with the Fourth Division north out of Belgium into the Netherlands in a progression of battles for the north shore of the Sheldt area, eventually leading to the liberation of Welberg and Steenbergen. The operation to liberate Welberg was initiated on 31 October 1944, however with "D" Coy resting, "A", "B" and "C" Companies fell short of their objectives, facing massive German counterattacks. Fighting continued on until 1 November, when the regiment retreated back to a few km outside of Welberg. On 2 November 2 they launched their second attack, this time along the right side of the town, fighting continued throughout the night.
By the end of 3 November all four companies had reached their target objectives and succeeded in the liberation of Welberg. From 5 to8 November, the Algonquin Regiment rested in the Steenbergen area, the period proceeding became known as the "winter war" (November 1944-February 1945). Leading into Operation Blockbuster, this dislodgment of the German hinge in Hochwald on27 February, fighting to close the Hochwald gap began by midday of 3 March 1945, the allies had completed their objectives. Over the next couple of months, the Algonquin Regiment continued to fight, as they had been the entire war, under the Canadian Fourth Division crossing the Rhine with the last round-up (16 April-4 May) and cease-fire called just past Rastede Germany. As of January 1946, the Algonquin Regiment's final death toll was 65 officers and 1,235 other ranks.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3202020)
Lieutenant-Colonel W.J. Megill, D.S.O., Commanding Officer, The Algonquin Regiment, Wadhurst, England, 22 November 1943.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3202258)
Captain G.B. Shellon, Intelligence Officer of the 10th Canadian Infantry Brigade, and Lieutenant R.C. McNairn of the Pioneer Platoon, Algonquin Regiment, talking with Dutch civilians near the Belgium-Netherlands border, 16 October 1944.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3329807)
Plaque commemorating The Algonquin Regiment, Wierden, Netherlands, 2 July 1945.
The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada (Princess Louise’s)
By August 1943 the regiment had moved to England and joined the l0th Brigade of the 4th Canadian (Armoured) Division. Acting Sergeant John Rennie won a posthumous George Cross in October 1943, dying while shielding others from an exploding grenade during training. Collective training, specialized courses for individuals, and schemes at battalion, brigade and divisional level occupied the unit, now under the command of Lieutenant Colonel J. David Stewart.
The unit's first battles in early August 1944 were small successes fought along the road to Falaise. The first major action, Hill 195 on 10 August, was an unorthodox success; Stewart led the Battalion single file through the darkness of night and German lines to capture this hitherto unassailable strong point. It was an act which historian John A. English has called "the single most impressive action of Operation Totalize." Less than ten days later in the Falaise Gap, a battle group of "B" and "C" companies of the Argylls, and a squadron of South Alberta Regiment tanks captured St Lambert-sur-Dives and held it for three days against desperate counter-attacks. The action resulted in Major David Vivian Currie of the South Albertas being awarded the Victoria Cross.
Through Moerbrugge, the Scheldt, Kapelsche Veer, and the Hochwald Gap to Friesoythe, the Küsten Canal, and Bad Zwischenahn, the Argylls were successful against the enemy – but there was more. Their losses (267 killed and 808 wounded) were the lowest in the l0th Brigade The 1st Battalion provided the headquarters and one rifle company for the Canadian BerlinBattalion, a composite battalion which represented the Canadian Armed Forces in the British victory celebrations in Berlin in July 1945. The Battalion returned to Hamilton in January 1946 where it was dismissed.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3224827)
Officers of the Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders - Captains M.S. Smith, T.E. Abbott, Lt. G.G. Armour and Captain W.T. Whiteside, 17 Dec 1944.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3224835)
Private A.N. Geroux, Argyle and Sutherland Regiment keeps guard on a group of German prisoners, 26 Feb 1945.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3212087)
Infantrymen of "B" Company, The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada, riding in a captured German truck with German prisoners, St. Lambert-sur-Dives, France, 19 August 1944.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3223906)
Infantrymen of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada riding on a Kangaroo armoured personnel carrier, Wertle, Germany, 11 April 1945.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3224034)
Soldiers of The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada are rushed forward in convoys of 'Kangaroos', 11 April 1945.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3194445)
German troops captured by "B" Company of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada, 19 August 1944.
2nd Canadian Armoured Brigade
6th Canadian Armoured Regiment (1st Hussars)
10th Canadian Armoured Regiment (The Fort Garry Horse)
27th Canadian Armoured Regiment (The Sherbrooke Fusilier Regiment)
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(Fredericton Region Museum Collection, Author Photo)
6th Canadian Armoured Regiment (1st Hussars)
The Canadian Armoured Corps (CAC) was raised in August 1940 and the 1st Hussars found themselves organized within it. In spring of 1941, 1st Hussars, now the 6th Canadian Armoured Regiment (1st Hussars) (6 CAR), became part of the 1st Canadian Armoured Brigade, which departed to England in October 1941. The regiment took up residence in Aldershot where they continued their training. In early 1942, 6 CAR received some M3 Lee tanks and Canadian Ram Mk. Is and IIs. The Hussars remained a part of 1 CAB until January 1943, when they were reorganised into the 3rd Canadian Army Tank Brigade along with The Fort Garry Horse and the Sherbrooke Fusilier Regiment. In July 1943, 3 CATB was re-designated the 2nd Canadian Armoured Brigade (2CAB), a designation which remained until the end of the war.
6 CAR continued training in the village of Elstead in southern England before moving to Combined Operations Training Centre in Inverary, Scotland where they prepared for an Amphibious assault. In December 1943, the First Hussars were introduced to "Duplex Drive" (DD for short) tanks. Initially the regiment was trained on the Valentine DD, until it was re-equipped with the M4A4 Sherman DD and Sherman Vc "Firefly" in April 1944.
The DD tanks of the 1st Hussars were amongst the allied forces to come ashore in Normandy. The Hussars were to support the infantry landing on the western half of Juno Beach. At 07:15, 19 tanks of 'B' Squadron launched their Sherman V DDs from their landing-craft into the English Channel some 4000 meters from shore of Nan Green Beach. Of 'B' Squadron's 19 tanks, 15 made it to shore ahead of the Regina Rifles, whom they were tasked to support.
'A' Squadron launched some of their DDs some ten minutes later than 'B' Squadron, from approximately 1500 meters out and headed towards Mike Beach. Only two of the four LTCs carrying 'A' Squadron were able to launch all their tanks off shore. Of 'A' Squadron's 19 tanks, 10 were launched into the channel with seven of those making it to shore. Five tanks were landed directly onto the beach, and four were stranded on a landing craft which struck a mine. The tanks of 'A' Squadron were to support the Winnipeg Rifles, who were already fighting on the beach when they came ashore.
At the beach, many of tanks of the 1st Hussars stayed partially submerged just off shore in a hull down position. After dropping their screens, they began engaging the German antitank guns, machine-gun nests and other strong points, allowing the infantry to break the beach defences and make its way inland. 'A' Squadron made its way inland to the village of Graye-sur-Mer where the Winnipeg Rifles were attempting to capture bridges over the Suelles River. 'B' Squadron helped clear Courseulles-sur-Mer before breaking out into the countryside.
At 08:20, 'C' Squadron's Sherman Vc Fireflies and Sherman IIIs were landed directly onto Mike Red beach, along with the regimental Headquarters Squadron. By this time, resistance at the beach had been cleared. After clearing Courseulles-sur-Mer, The regiment made its way inland. South of Reviers, 'B' Squadron encountered a German 88 which knocked out six tanks before being put out of action. Seven Hussar crewmen were killed in the engagement. Due to these losses,'B' squadron was pulled back to the beach after the encounter. As mentioned above, 'A' Squadron moved on to Graye-sur-Mer where the Winnipeg Rifles were fighting to secure the village. 'A' Squadron joined the fight in support of the Winnipegs, along with elements of 'C' squadron who were catching up. After the village was captured, 'C' Squadron pressed on, with 2nd Troop reaching the regiment's objective of the Caen-Bayeux Highway, becoming the only Allied unit to reach its D-Day objective. One survivor of D-Day said that "A German soldier actually saluted us on our way to the objective. I guess he was surprised to see us this far inland". However, 2nd troop had to pull back, as they were too far ahead of the rest of the force and too few to hold the objective. At dusk, the regiment pulled back to the channel to rest. the 1st Hussars suffered 21 killed, 17 wounded during the actions of D-Day. 'A' Squadron was left with 9 tanks at the end of the day and 'B' Squadron was reduced to 4 tanks. On D-Day, 2 Troop 'C' Sqn commanded by Lieutenant W. F. (Bill) McCormick failed to contact the infantry but kept going, returning an hour and a half later after a 10-mile ramble inland through Bretteville and almost into Carpiquet. By crossing the Caen-Bayeux railway line the troop became somewhat fortuitously "the only unit of the allied invasion forces known to reach its final objective on D-Day."
From the 27 Canadian Armoured Regiment (SFR), War Diary, Events of D-Day and D plus 1, by Sgt. T.C. Reid, No. 2 Troop, C Squadron.
D-Day, and we have hit the beach at last, we move off the beach and into our respective convoys, so far its exactly like any one of numerous schemes in England and we are on our to our assembly area where I join my Squadron, also my own troop [this means Sgt Reid's tk was in a different LCT from the rest of his Tp]. On the way I catch my first glimpse of the foe and these are prisoners and they are not so unhappy about it. The convoy has reached the assembly area at last; I meet Cpl. Quinn and Lt. MacLean and he hurriedly attempts to give us some of the score as to what's happening ahead. The Sqn convoy then gets under way to move up and the day soon fades into night and our Sqn Cmdr. gets us into a battle formation in a field, where we hear some scary reports about Jerry tanks forming up. What a bastard of a night, no time for sleep, no time to eat, no time for anything but looking into the dark and wondering what's ahead.Day No. 1 at last. We hear over the air about some of the exploits of our assault Sqns. "A" and "B", and with what I hear, I'm not afraid to admit I'm a wee bit glad my Sqn is in reserve. We move on late in the morning, my troop No.2 in the lead. We no sooner get going than down the road comes Mr. Thompson walking in a daze, Mortar fire quickly put him out of the picture. We go on a little farther and we take a Jerry machine gun crew prisoners. The next thing I hear is Major Walsh tell my troop leader to go with his troop and help "B" Sqn. We go and for one hour we are in the centre of the heaviest mortar fire I could ever imagine and I was glad to once more hear my troop leader order us back to a small orchard, where he quickly outlined our next job which was to assist "C" Company, I believe of the N.N.S.H., to clean out the towns codenamed Rhine and Danube. I believe the proper names were Authie and Buron; however just as we were set to go Mr. MacLean severely damaged his right wrist caused by catching it with the counter balance of his gun. It was badly swollen and painful looking, I believe it was broken so he put me in point tank position. We blasted all the houses holding up the infantry in the first town and put two machine gun positions out. Then on to Buron. I no sooner get going than they opened up with terrific small arms fire, we answered with our co-ax and they shut up. Mr. MacLean and Cpl. Quinn were deploying to my left and knocking off fleeing infantry who kept popping up in front and instead of surrendering, just either shot it out or ran. Mr. MacLean came up on the "B" set and told me to halt and take out an enemy hornet which I couldn't see, but pulling up a little farther, I discovered two of them at about a distance of 8 or 9 hundred yards. He instructed me to take the one on the left and my gunner Tpr. Gilbert, L.J. lifted the ring cupola into the air with his first, his 2nd & 3rd shots burned said tank up. In the meantime either Sgt. Cathcart [of 1 Tp C Sqn], who had come and joined us or Lt. MacLean, I couldn't truthfully say, blew the other hornet up. We then carried on and I saw a "B" Sqn troop had also joined us. We were running line abreast and although at the time I hadn't noticed Lieut. E. Spafford [Tp Ldr 1 Tp C Sqn] had pulled into the show on our right. The first house we came to at Buron gave forth Machine gun fire so I lobbed H.E. in the windows. Those that ran out to the road got smacked down by Mr. Spafford's guns and those ran to left were caught by Sgt. Cathcart., Mr. MacLean and Cpl. Quinn. We shoved on again and it was a breeze, nothing but infantry until we were fire on by A/T guns to our right. Mr. MacLean quickly dispersed us and instructed us as to the guns we were to take out. I believe the gun crew on my particular target had deserted the gun, however we took no chances and quickly dispatched same. The "B" Sqn troop, commanded as I later found by Lieut. Steeves [Tp Ldr 1 Tp B Sqn] and the remainder of the tanks were taking out their guns when suddenly, out of the blue we got it. I, myself, felt a jolt in my tank, looked back and found my blanket box shot through. The next shot unseated my L.O., Tpr Galley, and I then saw what was hitting us. There were 12 hornets lined up in hull downs about 2500 yds. away and the had us cold; their third round went through my engine and quickly after that they struck Lieut. MacLean's and Lieut. Steeves' almost simultaneously. They both burned up and then I saw Mr. Steeves and his gunner both frantically struggling to get out of the turret. Mr. Steeves fell back in and the gunner fell out, Mr. Steeves then reappeared and he was pretty badly burnt, also his co-driver whose hatch was caught by the gun being traversed over it. About Mr. MacLean and his Gunner and L.O. I can't say I saw them get out although driver William Redmond claims the turret was empty as he looked. The remaining tanks, Cpl. Quinn, Sgt. Cathcart, 1 Recce tk. and Sgt. Fisher all scooted behind a large barn where Sgt. Fisher decided to make a run back. He started down the road and they struck him three times and burned his tank up, his L.O. burned up with it.
B Squadron, 27th Canadian Armoured Regiment, was in action east of Buron and C Squadron was west of them. German soldiers shown here examining knocked out Canadian tanks, June 1944. (Die Deutsche Wochenschau (The German Weekly Review) Photos, June 1944)
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3224241)
1st Hussars tanks of the Canadian Army during the attack in the Zetten and Hemmen area. Capt. Joe Dolan and Lt. Bruce Caw on their tank waiting to go ahead, 20 January 1945.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3207720)
Sherman Vc Firefly tank of the 1st Hussars near Zetten, Netherlands, 20 January 1945.
(XFM Photo)
Sherman Vc Firefly tank of the 1st Hussars, Normandy, 1944.
After D-Day, the 1st Hussars continued to support infantry as it advanced and faced German counter-attacks. On 9 June, the Hussars supported the Canadian Scottish as they re-took Putot-en-Bessin and engaged Panthers of the 1st Battalion, SS Panzer Regiment 12 (of the 12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend), destroying 6.
On the afternoon of Sunday, 11 June, 'B' Squadron of the 1st Hussars was decimated during an abortive attack with The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada on the hamlet of Le Mesnil Patry, North West of Caen. Panzergrenadiers, pioneers and tanks of the 12th SS Panzer Division were able to ambush the tanks of 'B' Squadron in part due to intelligence gleaned from the Hussar's own radio traffic after capturing wireless codes from a destroyed Canadian tank on 9 June. Using Panzerfausts, Panzerschrecks and anti-tank guns, the German forces were able destroy 51 Shermans, and inflict 61 killed or missing, 2 wounded and 11 captured on the 1st Hussars. The Queen's Own Rifles suffered 55 killed, 33 wounded and 11 taken prisoner during the attack. The attack is remembered as "The Black Day", "Black Sunday" and the "Black Sabbath" within the Regiment. It accounted for roughly one third of the 1st Hussars' dead over the entire war.
After the disaster at Le Mesnil Patry, the 1st Hussars were taken off the front lines to refit and regroup. After a few weeks of rest and training the Hussars were back in action on 8 July 1944 as part of Operation Charnwood, with the objectives of capturing the village of Cussy and the Ardenne Abbey. 'A' Squadron supported the Canadian Scottish in its attack on Cussy, 'C' squadron was assigned to support the Regina Rifles in their attack on the Abby while 'B' Squadron and The Royal Winnipeg Rifles were held in reserve. When the attack started at 18:30, the Hussars again found themselves opposing the 12th SS, including Panther tanks, anti-tank guns and infantry. 'A' Squadron and the Reginas had to first fight to secure their start line before proceeding to the Abbey. At around 23:45, the Abbey, which had been the headquarters of Kurt 'Panzer' Meyer and the site of the execution of 20 Canadian POWs who were captured a month before, was captured. By 9 July, portions of Caen north and east of the Orne River had been captured.
The 1st Hussars were again in action on 18 July during Goodwood which aimed to capture the portions of Caen South and East of the Orne. The Canadian portion of Goodwood was code-named Operation Atlantic, which aimed to secure a bridgehead over the Orne east of Caen. The Hussar's objectives during Atlantic included the capture of the steelworks at Colombelles on the east bank of the river, the eastern suburbs of Giberville and Faubourg de Vaucelles. By end of 19 July, all the Hussars' objectives were captured and the bridgehead was secure.
As Atlantic wound down, planning for an attack against Verrières Ridge began, known as Operation Spring. As the Canadian's pushed south towards the Start Line on 20 July, 'A' Squadron of the 1st Hussars was tasked with supporting the attack on Saint-André-sur-Orne and the Beauvoir and Troteval farms by Les Fusiliers Mont-Royal. Les Fusiliers Mont-Royal initially captured the village and the farms, but were pushed back by the counter-attacks of the 1SS Panzerdivision and 272nd Infantry Division. The Beauvoir and Troteval farms would be retaken later in the evening with the assistance of the Hussar's 'A' Sqn. Sporadic fighting continued for a few days as the lines stabilized below Verrières Ridge. During this time, the Germans reinforced their positions on the ridge under the cover of storms that kept allied attack aircraft grounded.
Operation Spring began on 25 July. 'C' Sqn of the 1st Hussars were to support the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry in their attack against the village of Verrières and then continue to Rocquancourt with the Royal Regiment of Canada. 'B' Sqn was to support the Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders, the Calgary Highlanders and the Black Watch as they attacked the villages of Saint-André-sur-Orne, Saint-Martin-de-Fontenay, May-sur-Orne and Fontenay-le-Marmion. Most of the attacks against the ridge met heavy resistance and were fought to a standstill by the Germans, with only the Village of Verrières being captured and held. The attack cost 'C' Squadron 14 of its 19 tanks and 27 casualties. These losses paled in comparison to those of the Black Watch who lost 310 of the 325 men who left the start line.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3205393)
Major A. D'Arcy Marks and Captain A. Brandon Conron with a Sherman tank of "C" Squadron, 1st Hussars Regiment, Colomby-sur-Thaon, France, 28 June 1944.
For a brief glimpse into what happened to Canadians in Normandy, this article is from the 1st Hussars History. The Canadian Armoured Corps (CAC) was raised in August 1940 and the 1st Hussars found themselves organized within it. In spring of 1941, 1st Hussars, now the 6th Canadian Armoured Regiment (1st Hussars) (6 CAR), became part of the 1stCanadian Armoured Brigade, which departed to England in October 1941. The regiment took up residence in Aldershot where they continued their training. In early 1942, 6 CAR received some M3 Lee tanks and Canadian Ram Mk. Is and IIs. The Hussars remained a part of 1 CAB until January 1943, when they were reorganized into the 3rd Canadian Army Tank Brigade along with The Fort Garry Horse and the Sherbrooke Fusilier Regiment. In July 1943, 3 CATB was re-designated the 2nd Canadian Armoured Brigade (2CAB), a designation which remained until the end of the war.
6CAR continued training in the village of Elstead in southern England before moving to the Combined Operations Training Centre in Inverary, Scotland where they prepared for an Amphibious Assault. In December1943, the First Hussars were introduced to "Duplex Drive" (DD forshort) tanks. Initially the regiment was trained on the Valentine DD, until it was re-equipped with the M4A4 Sherman DD and Sherman Vc Firefly tanks in April 1944.
The DD tanks of the 1st Hussars were amongst the allied forces to come ashore in Normandy. The Hussars were to support the infantry landing on the western half of Juno Beach.
At07:15, 19 tanks of 'B' Squadron launched their Sherman V DDs from their landing-craft into the English Channel some 4000 meters from shore of Nan Green Beach. Of 'B' Squadron's 19 tanks, 15 made it to shore ahead of the Regina Rifles, whom they were tasked to support.
'A' Squadron launched some of their DDs some ten minutes later than 'B' Squadron, from approximately 1500 meters out and headed towards Mike Beach. Only twoof the four LTCs carrying 'A' Squadron were able to launch all their tanks offshore. Of 'A' Squadron's 19 tanks, 10 were launched into the channel with seven of those making it to shore. Five tanks were landed directly onto the beach, and four were stranded on a landing craft which struck a mine. The tanks of 'A' Squadron were to support the Winnipeg Rifles, who were already fighting on the beach when they came ashore.
At the beach, many of tanks of the 1st Hussars stayed partially submerged just offshore in a hull down position. After dropping their screens, they began engaging the German anti-tank and machine-gun nests nests and other strong points, allowing the infantry to break the beach defences and make itsway inland. 'A' Squadron made its way inland to the village of Graye-sur-Mer where the Winnipeg Rifles were attempting to capture bridges over the SuellesRiver. 'B' Squadron helped clear Courseulles-sur-Mer before breaking out into the countryside.
At08:20, 'C' Squadron's Sherman Vc Fireflies and Sherman IIIs were landed directly onto Mike Red beach, along with the regimental Headquarters Squadron. By this time, resistance at the beach had been cleared.
After clearing Courseulles-sur-Mer, The regiment made its way inland. South of Reviers, 'B' Squadron encountered a German 88-mm anti-tank gun which knocked out six tanks before being put out of action. Seven Hussar crewmen were killed in the engagement. Due to these losses, 'B' squadron was pulled back to the beach after the encounter. As mentioned above, 'A' Squadron moved on to Graye-sur-Mer where the Winnipeg Rifles were fighting to secure the village. A' Squadron joined the fight in support of the Winnipegs, along with elements of 'C' squadron who were catching up. After the village was captured, 'C' Squadron pressed on, with 2nd Troop reaching the regiment's objective of the Caen-Bayeux Highway, becoming the only Allied unit to reach its D-Day objective. One survivor of D-Day said that "A German soldier actually saluted us on our way to the objective. I guess he was surprised to see us this far inland". However,2nd troop had to pull back, as they were too far ahead of the rest of the force and too few to hold the objective. At dusk, the regiment pulled back to thechannel to rest. the 1st Hussars suffered 21 killed, 17 wounded during the actions of D-Day. 'A' Squadron was left with 9 tanks at the end of the day and 'B' Squadron was reduced to 4 tanks.
After D-Day, the 1st Hussars continued to support infantry as it advanced and faced German counterattacks. On 9 June, the Hussars supported the Canadian Scottish as they re-took Putot-en-Bessin and engaged Panthers of the1st Battalion, SS-Panzer Regiment 12 (of the 12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend)), destroying 6.
On the afternoon of Sunday, 11 June, 'B' Squadron of the 1st Hussars was decimated during an abortive attack with The Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada on the hamlet of Le Mesnil Patry, North West of Caen. Panzergrenadiers, pioneers and tanks of the 12 SS Panzer Division were able to ambush the tanks of 'B' Squadron in part due to intelligence gleaned from the Hussar's own radio traffic after capturing wireless codes from a destroyed Canadian tank on 9June. Using Panzerfausts, Panzerschrecks and anti-tank guns, the German forces were able destroy 51 Shermans, and inflict 61 killed or missing, 2wounded and 11 captured on the 1st Hussars. The Queen's Own Rifles suffered 55killed, 33 wounded and 11 taken prisoner during the attack. The attack is remembered as "The Black Day", "Black Sunday" and the"Black Sabbath" within the Regiment. It accounted for roughly one third of the 1st Hussars' dead over the entire war.
After the disaster at Le Mesnil Patry, the 1st Hussars were taken off the front lines to refit and regroup. After a few weeks of rest and training the Hussars were back in action on 8 July 1944 as part of Operation Goodwood, with the objectives of capturing the village of Cussy and the Ardenne Abbey. 'A' Squadron supported the Canadian Scottish in its attack on Cussy, 'C' squadron was assigned to support the Regina Rifles in their attack on the Abby while 'B' Squadron and The Royal Winnipeg Rifles were held in reserve. When the attack started at 18:30, the Hussars again found themselves opposing the 12th SS, including Panther tanks, anti-tank guns and infantry. 'A' Squadron and the Reginas had to first fight to secure their start line before proceeding to the Abbey. At around 23:45, the Abbey, which had been the headquarters of Kurt ‘Panzer’ Meyer and the site of the execution of 20 Canadian POWs who were captured a month before, was captured. By 9 July, portions of Caen north and east of the Orne River had been captured.
The 1st Hussars were again in action on 18 July during Goodwood which aimed to capture the portions of Caen South and East of the Orne. The Canadian portion of Goodwood was code-named Operation Atlantic, which aimed to secure a bridgehead over the Orne east of Caen. The Hussar's objectives during Atlantic included the capture of the steelworks at Colombelles on the east bank of the river, the eastern suburbs of Giberville and Faubourg de Vaucelles. By end of 19 July, all the Hussars' objectives were captured and the bridgehead was secure.
As Atlantic wound down, planning for an attack against Verrères Ridge began, known as Operation Spring. As the Canadian's pushed south towards the Start Line on 20 July, 'A' Squadron of the 1st Hussars was tasked with supporting the attack on Saint-André-sur-Orne and the Beauvoir and Troteval farms by Les Fusiliers Mont-Royal. Les Fusiliers Mont-Royal initially captured the village and the farms, but were pushed back by the counter-attacks of the 1 SS Panzerdivision and 272nd Infantry Division. The Beauvoir and Troteval farms would be retaken later in the evening with the assistance of the Hussar's 'A' Sqn. Sporadic fighting continued for a few days as the lines stabilized below Verrières Ridge. During this time, the Germans reinforced their positions on the ridge under the cover of storms that kept allied attack aircraft grounded.
Operation Spring began on 25 July. 'C' Sqn of the 1st Hussars were to support the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry in their attack against the village of Verrières and then continue to Rocquancourt with the Royal Regiment of Canada. 'B' Sqn was to support the Queen’s Own Cameron Highlanders, the Calgary Highlanders and the Black Watch as they attacked the villages of Saint-André-sur-Orne, Saint-Martin-de-Fontenay, May-sur-Orne and Fontenay-le-Mamion. Most of the attacks against the ridge met heavy resistance and were fought to a standstill by the Germans, with only the Village of Verrières being captured and held. The attack cost 'C' Squadron 14 of its 19 tanks and 27 casualties. These losses paled in comparison to those of the Black Watch who lost 310 of the 325 men who left the start line. (Wikipedia. McNorgan, Michael R. (2004). The Gallant Hussars: a history of the 1st Hussars Regiment. The First Hussars Cavalry Fund. Zuehlke, Mark. (2005). Holding Juno: Canada's heroic defense of the D-Day beaches, June 7–12, 1944. Douglas & McIntyre Ltd. Vancouver.)
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10th Canadian Armoured Regiment (The Fort Garry Horse)
The regiment embarked for Britain in November 1941. The regiment landed in Normandy on 6 June 1944, as a part of the 2nd Canadian Armoured Brigade, in support of the 8th Canadian Infantry Brigade, 3rd Canadian Infantry Division, and fought in North West Europe until the end of the war. The overseas regiment was disbanded on 31 January 1946.
In October 1941, the Regiment was moved to Debert Camp near Truro, Nova Scotia in preparation for the move overseas. Training continued in Debert then off to Halifax to embark on the liner S.S. Oronsay on the night on the 9th of November. After several days in the harbour a large flotilla of transports and Naval vessels sailed arriving in Liverpool, England, on the 22nd of November. The Regiment moved first to Aldershot and later to the Headley, Hampshire area where the first of the Canadian designed “Ram” tanks were issued.
The first firings on the ranges in Wales took place in July 1942. The Garrys built a record of efficiency and skill on the ranges and in sports, winning several Divisional titles. Moves to Hove, in Sussex, and Crowborough barracks, took place in August and September, returning to Hove in December 1942. At this time, the Garrys left the 5th Armoured division, and with the 1st Hussars and the Sherbrooke Fusiliers, formed the new 3rd Canadian Army Tank Brigade. This organization lasted until July 1943 when the 2nd Canadian Army tank Brigade arrived in England. The new brigade was broken up and the units absorbed into the Garrys, the 1st Hussars and the Sherbrooke Fusiliers. Now known as the 2nd Canadian Armoured Brigade, this was the formation the Garrys would remain with until the end of the war.
In October 1943, the first of the new American Sherman tanks were issued and firing practice took place on ranges in Kirkudbright, Scotland, after which the regiment moved to the South coast at Milford-on-Sea.
Each Squadron was trained in combined operations and amphibious landings at Inverary, in Northern Scotland. Many exercises took place with the 8th Infantry Brigade of the 3rd Canadian Division in preparation for support during the planned invasion. “B” and “C” Squadrons took special training in the use of “Duplex Drive” or “DD” swimming tanks in great secrecy.
Training intensified, including French lessons. Improved Sherman “Firefly” tanks with British high velocity 17 pounder antitank guns were issued on a scale of one per tank troop. “B” and “C” Squadrons moved with their secret vehicles to a hiding area near Fawley on the South coast, while “A” and Headquarters Squadrons moved to Fort Gomer, near Gosport. More and more new equipment was issued, a far cry from the early days. In May the Squadrons moved again to concentration areas prior to loading on the landing craft.
The plan for the assault was for “B” Squadron, supporting the Queen’s Own Rifles, to land at Bernières-sur-Mer, while “C” Squadron, supporting the North Shore (New Brunswick) Regiment, would land at St. Aubin-sur-Mer. “A” and Headquarters Squadrons with La Regiment de la Chaudière were kept in reserve to land where they were needed most. The swimming tanks of “B” and “C” Squadrons were intended to land ahead of the Infantry but due to heavy seas they had to be launched close to the shore landing later than planned. “B” Squadron landed at Bernières but were unable to scale the sea wall for over and hour until Engineer bridge laying tanks arrived. By 0900 the town had been nearly cleared and “A” Squadron and the Chaudières landed there.
“B” Squadron continued on toward Basly while “A” Squadron and the Chaudières moved inland to Beny-sur-Mer and Colomby-sur-Thaon. “A” and “B” Squadrons finally concentrated at Beny-sur-Mer for replenishment late that night. To the East, “C” Squadron landed at St. Aubin losing three tanks to enemy fire. As there was no breach in the sea wall the Squadron forced their way through a minefield losing another three tanks in the process. The German defenders proved stubborn and one position in the town held out all day until Sgt. Walterson charged in with his tank forcing the enemy to surrender. Two troops moved South through the town of Tailleville to take the high ground beyond before the enemy could set up a defence. Due to a request for support from the North Shores, “C” Squadron did not rejoin the regiment until June 7th.
The regiment continued to support the 8th Infantry Brigade and later the 7th Brigade in defensive positions. On 4 July, the battle for Carpiquet Airfield took place against heavy resistance. The airfield was not fully secure until July 10th. The regiment immediately went into action again holding a river crossing near Eterville Ridge. After a few days rest and refit, they were in action again at Tilly-La-Campagne and Fleury-sur-Orne.
On 7 August 1944, the regiment took part in Operation Totalize, a bold night attack to close the Falaise gap and cut off the retreating German 7th Army. Against fierce opposition and heavy losses, the Regiment pushed on across the River Laison and held the bridgehead until follow-up forces arrived. The Garrys continued in pursuit of the retreating enemy, crossing the Seine river on 28 August 1944. At this time LCol. Morton relinquished command to Major E.M. Wilson.
Due to the recent losses, The Regiment was regrouped into two Squadrons and moved North the take part in the attack on the Fortress of Boulogne. After six days of tank and Infantry attacks, the German garrison of more than 9,000 surrendered. “A” and “B” Squadrons replaced their losses and moved to Antwerp in Belgium, while “C” Squadron assisted in the assault on Calais. Next, the Belgian port of Antwerp was taken with little resistance but the Germans held the nearby Scheldt Estuary. Bitter fighting along flooded fields and dikes leading toward Woensdrecht lasted until 21 October.
On 24 October the regiment moved on to Beveland and assisted the Calgary Highlanders in the abortive attack on Walcheren Island. Afterward there was a move to Breda for a brief refit. On 11 November, the Garrys had the rare opportunity to relieve their Allied Regiment, the 4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards in the line near Nijmegen. A three month rest period followed while the Regiment was brought up to strength in vehicles and personnel.
Eager to get on with the job, the Garrys advanced into the Siegfried Line toward the Goch-Calcar road, being the first Canadian armoured regiment to enter Germany on 17 February 1945. Later, “A” and “B” Squadrons supported the 9th Brigade clearing Udem, while “C” Squadron supported the Infantry attack into the Hochwald. On 29 March the Regiment crossed the Rhine near Rees and pushed on in the pursuit of the enemy through the Netherlands.
The towns of Gendrigen, Terborg, Doetinchem, the Twente Canal, Laren and Holten were taken in quick order between 29 March and 8 April. While the Squadrons were engaged in battle for the town of Groningen, Regimental Headquarters and A Echelon took on the enemy held town of Haren. The odd group of cooks, clerks, drivers and mechanics captured two antitank guns and 34 prisoners. When The Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders of Canada arrived to take the town, they found the “Fort Garry Infantry” already in charge.
On the 18th of April, the Regiment moved again into Germany making a 150 mile approach march into Fort Cloppenburg. From 22 April the Garrys pushed on through Wildeshausen, Delmenhorst, and Ganderkessee, taking part in the seizure of the city of Oldenburg on 3 May 1945. There the cease-fire was announced on 5 May and the Regiment accepted the surrender of German forces in the area. After the cease-fire, the regiment moved back into the Netherlands for refit and preparation for repatriation. The Garrys turned in their equipment, made plans for the future, and began their return to Canada on 30 November 1945.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3396203)
Sherman tanks of The Fort Garry Horse taking part in Operation Tractable moving out near Brettevile-le-Rabet, France, 14 August 1944.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3624882)
Civilians greet Canadian troops of the Fort Garry Horse and the Régiment de Maisonneuve, 9 April 1945.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3397547)
Personnel of the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry aboard a Sherman tank of "B" Squadron of the Fort Garry Horse, near Assen, Netherlands, 13 April 1945.
(Archives Normandie 1939-1945 Photo)
Tank concentration of the Fort Garry Horse, Normandy, summer 1944.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3205618)
Burning Allied tanks and vehicles, 10 August 1944.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3205162)
Fort Garry Horse Ram Kangaroo APCs lined up along a lane, 8 April 1945.
(IWM Photo, B 14680)
Sherman tanks of 10th Canadian Armoured Regiment (Fort Garry Horse) with infantry of the Royal Regiment of Canada massing in preparation for the assault on Goch, 17 February 1945.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3206454)
The mail jeep of "A" Squadron, The Fort Garry Horse, making its first delivery stop, Putte, Belgium, 11 October 1944
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3228088)
A Sherman Vc Firefly tank of The Fort Garry Horse near the Beveland Canal, Netherlands, c29 October 1944.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. )
Crew of a turretless Ram tank used by The Fort Garry Horse as a "flat-top" armoured ambulance, Holten, Netherlands, 8 April 1945.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3209748)
Infantrymen of Support Company, The Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders of Canada, supported by a Sherman tank of The Fort Garry Horse, advancing south of Hatten, Germany, 22 April 1945.
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(Stuart Phillips Photo)
27th Canadian Armoured Regiment (The Sherbrooke Fusilier Regiment)
From 1940 to 1945, the Sherbrookes operated the following vehicle types: Universal or BREN Carriers; Valentine tanks in Debert, NS; 6-Pdr Ram tanks; Humber Scout Cars; Grant tanks; Sherman Mk III (M4A2) tanks; Firefly tanks; Stuart tanks; Anti-aircraft tanks; as well as the typical Jeeps, motorcycles, 8-Cwt trucks, 15-Cwt trucks, 30-Cwt trucks, 3-ton trucks, a water truck, staff cars, and station wagons. The Ram tanks were well suited for crew training in Canada and England even though they differed from the Shermans, which only started to be delivered in August 1943.
The DDay landing establishment of tanks was RHQ 4 Shermans, HQ Sqn 6 anti-aircraft 'Cruiser' tanks and 11 Stuarts; three fighting squadron HQs 3 Shermans including 1 'rear link' equipped, and 5 troops of 3 Shermans or Fireflies each. In the first days after the invasion, the Fireflies were assigned to Troop Leaders, which was led to disasterous casualty rates in the junior officers. The personnel establishment was 37 officers and 661 other ranks, short by one officer and 14 other ranks.
From D-Day, when the Allies landed on the beaches of Normandy until the German unconditional surrender in May 1945, the First Canadian Army under General Harry Crerar fought in seven major battle campaigns. These included: the Normandy Landings, the capture of Caen, closing the Falaise Gap, clearing the coastal ports, clearing the Scheldt Estuary, invading the Rhineland and the liberation of the Netherlands.
The 27th Armoured Regiment (Sherbrooke Fusilier Regiment) (SFR), loaded their Landing Craft, Tank in Ostend, UK on 3 June.[31] The regiment was equipped with waterproofed Sherman and Sherman Firefly tanks, pulling "Porpoise" sledges filled with supplies. After a 24hr weather pause, they landed to the west of Bernières-sur-Mer of Juno Beach just after noon on 6 June 1944 with the 9th Canadian Infantry Brigade (CIB). The SFR was their assigned tank force to exploit through the bridgehead created by the assault infantry and tanks of the 8th CIB. The beach was congested with other troops, and progress was slow getting inland to their assembly area near Beny-sur-Mer.
With about 3 hours of daylight remaining and three companies of North Nova Scotias riding on their tanks, the SFR passed through the assault battalions’ forward lines and fought their way southward toward their preplanned D-Day objectives. The North Nova Scotia's reached Villons-les-Buissons by dusk and ran into more German resistance. When it was evident that their objectives were still about four miles beyond near Carpiquet, they formed all-around defences around La Mare for the night. Behind them the brigade was fighting bypassed German positions in the assembly area.
Starting from their exposed but advanced positions, on 7 June a force including all SFR squadrons pushed out in four prongs towards a cluster of villages south of Villons and Les Buissons, including Buron and Authie; A Sqn right, HQ and C Sqn centre, B Sqn left, and Recce Troop exploring the enemy's rear area. The advance-to-contact included tank-on-tank combat. The SFR lost several tanks including most of the Fireflies which were commanded by junior officers. A number of men were killed, wounded, missing and captured.
Twenty-three Canadian prisoners including six SFR soldiers were killed by their captors at the Ardenne Abbey massacre. After the war, the German commander Brigadefuhrer Kurt Meyer was convicted of war crimes.
The SFR's Anglican padre Capt Walter L Brown, Bishop's University, Huron University College of Orillia was one of two Canadian padres killed in Normandy. After landing on the 6th and throughout the day of the 7th, Brown was helping the medical officer at the regimental aid post. On the evening of 7 June, he responded to a message that, "the padre is needed at the front". Travelling by Jeep, Brown, his batman and driver Lt Grainger, and a passenger LCpl Greenwood, turned a corner and immediately encountered a German patrol. There was an exchange of fire. Greenwood was killed and Grainger was injured. Brown was seen surrendering and later reported missing. His body was identified on 10 July at a casualty collection point. The regimental padre observed marks on his chest suggesting Brown was possibly bayonetted by his captors.
The battle did not change the front substantially. However, this action and the next month of skirmishing blunted half an enemy division, prevented them from attacking into the beachhead, and remained a preoccupation for the German leadership. B Sqn started with fifteen tanks and ended with five, including "Bomb". The SFR and the North Nova Scotia Highlanders are the only Canadian units with the Authie battle honour.
The advance to Caen renewed in early July 1944. To the West the Americans had cleared large areas of western Normandy and pushed out of their bridgeheads. Although the Canadian and British divisions were strong, the thick hedges of Normandy favoured the defenders, especially around Caen. If anything, the comparative stalemate kept the Germans from moving troops away from Caen.
The battle of Orne began when the Canadians pushed out to the towns of Buron and Gruchy. Two SFR squadrons were attached to two battalion-strength infantry battlegroups. Once into the village of Buron, A Sqn's tanks helped the infantry fight house to house. The German defenders stubbornly fought to the last man rather than withdraw. On the afternoon of 7 July, the SFR and two British M10 self-propelled anti-tank gun troops destroyed 14 counterattacking tanks. By nightfall on the 8th, A Sqn's five remaining tanks had the high ground south of Buron. By 9 July the German defences outside Caen collapsed. The SFR CO himself (LtCol Mel Gordon) and his HQ were the first tanks into Caen.
While somewhat anticlimactic compared to other battles, the assault crossing of the Orne River by SFR tanks provided hard-pressed infantry battalions with much needed close support as they struggled to secure the crossing in depth.
The Canadian infantry continued their fight clearing the Faubourg de Vaucelles suburb of Caen, south of the Orne River. Just as the SFR's tanks reinforced the infantry, the enemy's withdrawal allowed them to harden their defences, which could have been disastrous for the attackers. The battle turned when a strong British force hooked around behind the built-up area from the northeast and linked up with the Canadians.
As high command pressure grew for bolder strategic gains, the Canadians were grouped into larger and larger manoeuver formations. Over two weeks’ of fighting in mid-July, Canadian infantry were thrown toward the small towns and dominating high features south of Caen, including Verrières Ridge. Available tank squadrons were paired with attacking battalions. The SFR's battles were between the Orne River and nearby Bourgébus Ridge. Across the division's frontage, Canadian casualties were very heavy. When the SFR was pulled back, A Sqn was down to six tanks and the other squadrons not much better. While the overall operation did not achieve all of its objectives, the Germans had had to contain aggressive attacks across a wide front and were left so badly weakened that the next battles were decisive.
During Operation Totalize, A Sqn commanded by Major Sydney Radley-Walters was in a support position with six 75 mm Shermans and two 17-pounder Sherman Fireflies in a walled Chateau compound 44 near Gaumesnil. SS-Hauptsturmführer Michael Wittmann, known as the "Black Baron", led a heavily armoured counterattack on 8 August attempting to drive a seam between British and Canadian formations. The SFR tanks were placed behind the chateau’s stone walls with holes knocked out for firing positions. The tanks were about 300m broadside to the German platoon's axis of advance. When they opened fire, the Canadian tanks destroyed two Tiger I tanks, two Panzer IVs and two self-propelled guns while British tank fire destroyed three other Tigers. The German counterattack collapsed. At the time, the tank crew doctrine was to attack the most dangerous target first. A British Firefly crew later claimed to have killed Wittmann and his crew in their Tiger I tank. However, proximity and forensic examination of the holes more strongly supports that he was killed by the Sherbrooke tanks.
The intensity of the break-out battles can be seen in the number of replacement vehicles that had to be brought forward. At the beginning of August the 27th Canadian Armoured Regiment had 63 fit Sherman 75mm and Firefly 17-Pounder tanks. In the next two-and-a-half weeks, 23 were lost or damaged by enemy action, and half of those were repairable. Thirteen more were out of action for 2nd line maintenance, or work that was beyond the immediate capability of the unit's mechanics or facilities. Two were in 1st line maintenance, or temporarily out of the line for manageable repairs. Thirteen replacement tanks were received, either newly arrived from stocks in UK or repaired from battlefield salvage. Therefore, on 18 August, the SFR could field 38 fit tanks not including the two at the regimental Light Aid Detachment (LAD) on two-days availability. Though not a perfect count, this was enough to theoretically field three squadrons of four troops. Each troop could field three tanks each, plus four for the headquarters squadron. Other regiments involved in heavy combat equally received large numbers of replacement tanks in short order.
While the British and Canadians were holding the enemy in the east of the Normandy bridgehead, the Americans were able to break through German lines in the west. Meanwhile, the Germans started moving in another Army Group and redeployed others to attack the Americans. Seeing an opportunity to entrap the enemy, the Canadians were ordered to relentlessly drive south.
Clair Tizon was a series of infantry and tank engagements to capture bridges south of Caen.[50] After the massed infantry and armour attacks south from Caen, the Canadians were ordered to attack along a parallel axis as a way of diluting German defenders. The Liaison was a series of leapfrog battles to clear a long narrow river valley further west of the Caen to Falaise road. Infantry battalions were paired with squadrons from the 2nd Canadian Armoured Brigade to move past each other from one objective to the next. The SFR was ordered in because it had worked feverishly to replace lost crews and tanks following its last battles. Falaise was the bigger battle to close off two trapped German armies.
After reviewing the last two months of fighting, the commander of II Canadian Corps, Lieutenant General Guy Simonds decided that to keep the enemy off balance, he needed to leapfrog German lines with half-squadrons of tanks, mechanized engineers, self-propelled artillery and infantry in armoured personnel carriers, grouped into fighting columns. Although highly classified in wartime, the Allies also had the German plans because of Top Secret intercepted signals decoded with ULTRA.
Column after column of Canadians fought day after day to wear down the German defences. Nearby Polish and British divisions pressed hard. The Americans formed a big hook that trapped the Germans in the Falaise Pocket. Two SFR squadrons and their battalions actually entered the town of Falaise on 16 August. By 21 August, SFR tanks and infantry of the Lincoln and Welland Regiment, closed one of the last routes in or out of the pocket near Hill 258 northeast of Trun, near Les Champeaux. Nearly fifty thousand Germans were killed, wounded or captured. The battle of Normandy was over, but the pursuit of retreating Germans had just begun.
Operation Kitten, Operation Paddle. The closure of the Falaise Gap brought dramatic enemy capture and destroyed numbers, but the enemy was far from defeated. Their rearguard operations slowed the SFR and the various ever-changing brigades and regiments it supported. In the weeks that followed, the SFR refitted with replacement tanks and crews, worked on lessons learned, and halted when ordered due to fuel shortages.
As the Germans retreated from France into Belgium and the Netherlands, Allied supply lines became longer. The port of Antwerp was needed by the Allies to improve their logistics challenges, but the approaches to Antwerp were still controlled by the Germans. The first step in a four-part battle was to clear the area north of Antwerp and secure access to South Beveland.
The SFR was attached to the I British Corps, with individual squadrons supporting different British infantry brigades' attacks. Initially daily advances gained bridges and valuable ground between the dominating canals. The operations were distinctive for the large numbers of disorganized prisoners taken while suffering limited friendly casualties. Despite the teamwork of the British, Polish and Canadians to clear the banks of the Scheldt, the enemy consolidated their resistance along the only axis available. The fighting was fierce. The well-entrenched German forces made it difficult for the Allied Forces to advance.
Following the comparatively conventional battle for Antwerp, the action to clear the Scheldt Estuary was anything but simple. Canadian and British forces, mostly infantry supported by artillery, and direct fire from tanks, struggled across terrible conditions to clear German defenders little by little from the shores and islands between Antwerp and the North Sea. It was one of the most distressing periods for the Canadian Army in the Second World War.
Through November and December after the intense actions to clear the Scheldt, the Canadians were ordered to move towards the Meuse (Maas) delta, a comparatively quiet sector held by the American 82nd Airborne and replace a British Guards regiment, which gave the SFR time to rest and receive training on new techniques. The front was still active, but generally static due to badly damaged roads, large flooded areas, and winter conditions. Throughout January and February 1945, the whole regiment or individual squadrons were moved around the 2nd and 3rd Canadian Infantry Division areas, and were often assigned direct and indirect fire tasks against enemy positions.
In early January 1945, LCol Gordon left the SFR in early Jan 45 and LCol FT Jenner assumed command for the balance of the war.
As late winter arrived, significant Canadian forces, with attached British divisions mounted Operations Veritable and Blockbuster to push into heavily defended German territory. Once more, the SFR was parcelled out to attacking brigades and regiments to fight the infantry onto their objectives. Mobility was hindered by sodden terrain, heavy forest, well-fortified defences and highly motivated defenders. With the general disappearance of enemy armour and more conventional tank fighting, the SFR's role was characterized by shock and firepower for the infantry, whose progress was regularly aided by Kangaroo APCs, flail minesweeping tanks, and flame-throwing tanks. Lesson learned from the costly Normandy campaigns.
As winter ended, the First Canadian Army intensified the drive to overwhelm and defeat the Germans, starting with pushing them out of the area between the Meuse (Maas) to the west and the Rhine to the north and against the Ninth US Army to the south. The opening attack of Operation Blockbuster saw the 2nd Canadian Armoured Brigade including the SFR and Fort Garry Horse, with infantry battalions from the 6th Canadian Infantry Brigade riding on the tanks or in Kangaroo APCs, attacking fiercely defending German positions. The last objective was Xanten, achieved in early March after fighting which the official histories described as the most grim and grueling of the war.
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(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3226402)
Sherman tank of the Sherbrooke Fusiliers in Normandy, 9 July 1944.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3226823)
Sherman tank of the Sherbrooke Fusiliers Regiment, Caen, France, 11 July 1944.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3199150)
Sherman tanks of the Sherbrooke Fusiliers advancing to Caen, 9 July 1944.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No.3226406)
Sherman tanks of the Sherbrooke Fusiliers advancing to Caen, 9 July 1944.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3192195)
Sherman tanks of the Sherbrooke Fusiliers advancing into Caen, 10 July 1944.
4th Canadian Armoured Brigade
21st Armoured Regiment (The Governor General's Foot Guards)
22nd Armoured Regiment (The Grenadier Guards)
28th Armoured Regiment (The British Columbia Regiment)
21st Armoured Regiment (The Governor General’s Foot Guards)
During the Second World War the GGFG was mobilized in May 1940. In 1942 the regiment was re-rolled to become an armoured unit to address the need for more armoured units in the Canadian Army, assuming the name “21st Canadian Armoured Regiment (GGFG)”. It embarked for Great Britain on 23 September 1942. On 24 July 1944, it landed in France as part of the 4th Armoured Brigade, 4th Canadian Armoured Division and it continued to fight in northwest Europe until the end of the war taking part in the battle of Normandy, the battle of the Scheldt, and the Rhineland. Over the course of the war the Regiment’s casualties were 101 dead and 284 wounded. The overseas regiment was disbanded on 31 January 1946.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3405744)
Personnel with a Sherman tank of No.1 Squadron, The Governor General's Foot Guards, Bergen op Zoom, Netherlands, 6 November 1944.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3199723)
Officers holding an Orders ("O") Group in front of a Sherman tank of The Governor General's Foot Guards, Bergen op Zoom, Netherlands, 6 November 1944.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3207585)
Governor General's Foot Guards (GGFG) troopers with their Sherman Firefly tank, Bergen op Zoom, Netherlands, 6 November 1944.
(Stuart Phillips Photo)
22nd Armoured Regiment (The Canadian Grenadier Guards)
The regiment embarked for Britain on 25 September 1942. Less than two years later, in June 1944, it sailed with the D-Day landings. On 26 July 1944, it landed in France as part of the 4th Armoured Brigade, 4th Canadian Armoured Division, and continued to fight in North West Europe until the end of the war. The regimental casualties were 97 killed, and 230 wounded. It was reconfigured as the 22nd Armoured Regiment (The Canadian Grenadier Guards), RCAC, CASF on 2 August 1945. The overseas regiment was disbanded on 15 February 1946.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3401871)
Sergeants L.B. Armstrong and L.H. Stephens mounting a movie camera on a Sherman tank nicknamed 'Liza' of the Canadian Grenadier Guards, Donk, Belgium, 3 October 1944.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3593377)
Guardsman R.W. Ferguson of The Canadian Grenadier Guards watches two French children examining his Centaur MkII anti-aircraft vehicle, Elbeuf, France, 28 August 1944.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3208278)
Personnel of The Canadian Grenadier Guards stacking 75-mm shells near the regiment's positioned Sherman tanks south of Emmerich, Germany, 28 March 1945.
(Stuart Phillips Photo)
28th Armoured Regiment (The British Columbia Regiment)
The 28th Armoured Regiment (The British Columbia Regiment), RCAC, CASF, embarked for England on 21 August 1942. The regiment landed in France on 28 July 1944 as part of the 4th Armoured Brigade, 4th Canadian Armoured Division and continued to serve in North West Europe until the end of the war. The overseas regiment was disbanded on 15 February 1946.
In August 1943, Lieutenant-Colonel D.G. Worthington became the commanding officer of the regiment. In October, the regiment began to receive the M4 Sherman tanks, gradually replacing the Canadian-made Ram tanks, which had been in use for training.
Following the Allied invasion of Europe on D-Day, the regiment landed in France on July 23. The regiment saw its first action in the Second World War during Operation Totalize, on August 8, 1944. The operation was launched under the cover of darkness. To aid in navigation at night, searchlights had been pointed at the cloud cover to provide some illumination. 40 mm Bofors guns were also firing tracers along the line of advance to aid the attack. Despite these precautions, the 28th, accompanied by The Algonquin Regiment, became disoriented and navigated away from Hill 195, which was its objective, and steered instead towards Hill 140, but did not reach the hill before daybreak. As a result, when daylight came, the unit was located in an exposed valley with units of the 12th SS Panzer Division concealed in the high ground. The two Canadian regiments were attacked by the 12th SS, who were equipped with 88 mm flak guns and Tiger tanks, among other heavy weapons. Lieutenant-Colonel Worthington was killed during the battle, and the survivors of the regiment managed to break contact with the 12th SS, after suffering 133 casualties and losing 48 out of 52 tanks. The 28th would return to action only a week later, contributing to the closing of the Falaise Pocket during Operation Tractable, which saw the destruction of the German Seventh Army and the capture of a great number of enemy soldiers and equipment.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3396351)
Sherman tanks of Headquarters Squadron, The British Columbia Regiment, shelling a German position near Meppen, Germany, 8 April 1945.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3211514)
Personnel of Headquarters Squadron, British Columbia Regiment, with their Sherman tank, Brasschaet, Belgium, 14 October 1944.
Under Foreign Command
British 79th Armoured Division
1st Canadian Armoured Carrier Regiment
1st Canadian Armoured Personnel Carrier Regiment (1st CAPCR)
The 1st CAPCR It was formed in October 1944 at Tilburg, with the original 1st Canadian Armoured Personnel Carrier Squadron as its core. It was the only Canadian regiment to be both formed and disbanded overseas. The new regiment's purpose was to serve as a specialized armoured unit equipped with modified tanks used to carry infantry safely to their objectives. The concept of such was an entirely new innovation, and it was through the 1CACR's efforts that their effectiveness was proven, revolutionizing the tactical handling of infantry in battle.
The decision to convert redundant tanks into personnel carriers was inspired by Allied experiences during the D-Day landings, where British and Canadian forces experienced much lower casualty rates by leading attacks on German lines with armour than did the Americans, who led with an infantry assault. To General Guy Simonds, who was ordered to follow up the D-Day attacks with an assault on Falaise, this experience suggested both the usefulness of such armour-first tactics, as well as the further benefits of using armoured vehicles to transport troops, leading him to stress the issue while planning his assault, deeming it essential "...that the infantry must be carried in bullet-proof and splinter-proof vehicles to the actual objectives." No such vehicles existed at that time, and this idea thus marked the advent of what are now called armoured personnel carriers. Carriers were made on the spot from extra M7 Priest 105-mm (4.1 in) self-propelled guns by removing the guns and welding steel plates across the gaps this left in the armour. These modified tanks were entitled "Kangaroos" partially after the codename of the Army Workshops Detachment that produced them, and partially because of the idea that infantry would be carried in the belly of the tank as safely as a young kangaroo in its mother's pouch.
The order to convert 72 Priests into carriers by the commencement of Operation Totalize on August 9 was given on 31 July by Brigadier C. M. Grant, the Deputy Director of Mechanical Engineering at Headquarters. Ultimately, 78 would be converted prior to the first engagement, in spite of the fact that the operation's start date had been advanced to 7 August, an impressive feat, as the full engine overhaul included was generally a seven-day operation. The drivers for the new vehicles were swiftly and secretly recruited from the Armoured Corps reinforcements, artillery units, and the Elgin Regiment, and were rushed into service with almost no training, first seeing action during the attack on Falaise on the night of August, 1944.
The attack on Falaise was carried out successfully, resulting in the capture of 200 tanks, 60 assault guns, 250 towed guns, and 2500 motored vehicles from the Germans, as well as an unhindered six-day advance. The lead brigades of the assault had all been carried in the new Kangaroos, allowing them to move swiftly and providing a significant reduction in casualties of the seven Canadian infantry battalions involved.
On 28 August 1944, General Simonds' requests were granted, and the 1st Armoured Carrier Squadron was formed. The unit was established as four troops of 25 carriers (though only 55 vehicles were then available), with personnel consisting of one commanding officer, four troop commanders, and 100 drivers, and was attached to the 25th Canadian Armoured Delivery Regiment (The Elgin Regiment) for administrative purposes. When engaged in an operation, it would come "under command of various Infantry Brigades in turn." Each carrier had a .50-inch Browning machine gun, and approximately 60% of the vehicles were equipped with radios, however, there was no co-driver to fire the gun or operate the wireless set.
(Library andArchives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3209135)
Troops of 49th British Divion with their Universal Carriers inside a damaged factory, 13 April 1945.
After several months of operation, 21st Army Group concluded that the 1st Armoured Carrier Squadron was the best means to seize objectives and reduce infantry casualties, leading to their decision to form two armoured personnel carrier regiments—the British 49th Armoured Personnel Carrier Regiment for British Second Army, and the 1st Canadian Armoured Personnel Carrier Regiment for the First Canadian Army; both of which would belong to the 79th Armoured Division, with the 1CAPCR serving as the only Canadian regiment in the division. Official recognition of the change was delivered via the following proclamation:
"By authority of the GOC First Canadian Army, 19 October 1944, the 1st Canadian Armoured Personnel Carrier Squadron ceased to exist as a separate entity and became a squadron of the newly-created I Canadian Armoured Personnel Carrier Regiment. The Regiment to be commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Gordon M. Churchill, formerly 25th Canadian Armoured Delivery Regiment (Elgin Regiment) and 10 Canadian Armoured Regiment (Fort Garry Horse) with Major F.K. Bingham, Sherbrooke Fusiliers and First Hussars as Second-in-Command. Regimental Headquarters to be at 83 Van Ryswich St., Antwerp."
Due to the inclusion of the 1 CAPCR in the 79th, known for its wide array of specially modified armoured fighting vehicles (AFV), the regiment was also included in the 79th's classification as a secret operation, a principal reason for the scarcity of information regarding its activities.
After further petitioning on the part of Lieutenant-Colonel Churchill, the regiment was given its final title of the 1st Canadian Armoured Carrier Regiment on 1 January 1945. The regiment was both formed and ultimately disbanded in the Netherlands, without attachment to any regimental home, city, or province, and its personnel were drawn from all over Canada. In spite of its lack of a personal history, however, the regiment's high degree of success quickly molded them into a cohesive unit of high morale. The secret, foreign-born Canadian regiment that few would ever hear of ended its short history in the Canadian Army as of 11:59 pm (2359 hours) on 20 June 1945. (Wikipedia)
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3607881)
Sherman ARV, Normandy, France, July 1944.
(DND Photo)
Ram Kangaroo c1944.
British 6th Airborne Division
1st Canadian Parachute Battalion
1st Canadian Parachute Battalion
The 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion was an airborne infantry battalion of the Canadian Army formed in July 1942 during the Second World War; it served in North West Europe, Landing in Normandy during Operation Tonga, in conjunction with the D-Day landings of 6 June 1944 and in the airborne assault crossing of the River Rhine, Operation Varsity, in March 1945. After the end of hostilities in Europe, the battalion was returned to Canada where it was disbanded on 30 September 1945.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3565512)
Lieutenants Joseph Philippe Rousseau (left) and Joseph Maurice Rousseau, 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion, at a transit camp near Down Ampney, England, 13 February 1944. Both officers were later killed in action, Philippe on 7 June 1944 and Maurice on 20 September 1944.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3586536)
Three paratroopers of the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion, Carter Barracks, Bulford, England, 13 February 1944.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3524473)
6th British Airborne Division, 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion Captain John Russell Madden, from Winnipeg, Manitoba, supervising the loading of a Universal Carrier into an RAF General Aircraft Hamilcar Mk. I glider, in preparation for Operation Varsity (Rhine Drop), England, 18 Mar 1945.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3191613)
Mass drop from RAF Douglas Dakota'transports of personnel of the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion, 6 February 1944.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3225419)
Captains S.A. Mooney and I.C. Stewart, Forward Observation Officers attached to the 6th Airborne Division, British Army, Greven, Germany, 5 April 1945.
(Toronto Star Photo)
Canadian soldiers with the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion on parade in Wismar, Germany, after the capture of the city on 2 May 1945. They met and stopped the Russians from continuing on to seize Denmark where they intended to control the Baltic shipping routes. Bornhom Island was occupied by the Russians.
Bornholm was heavily bombarded by the Soviet Air Force in May 1945, as it was a part of the Eastern Front. The German garrison commander, German Navy Captain Gerhard von Kamptz (1902–1998), refused to surrender to the Soviets, as his orders were to surrender to the Western Allies. The Germans sent several telegrams to Copenhagen requesting that at least one British soldier should be transferred to Bornholm, so that the Germans could surrender to the Western Allied forces instead of the Soviets. When von Kamptz failed to provide a written capitulation as demanded by the Soviet commanders, Soviet aircraft relentlessly bombed and destroyed more than 800 civilian houses in Rønne and Nexø and seriously damaged roughly 3,000 more on 7–8 May 1945. The population had been forewarned of the bombardments, and the towns were evacuated, but 10 local people were killed. Soldiers were also killed and wounded. Some of them were conscripts from occupied Latvia fighting in German ranks against the Soviets.
During the Soviet bombing of the two main towns on 7 and 8 May, Danish radio was not allowed to broadcast the news because it was thought it would spoil the liberation festivities in Denmark. On 9 May Soviet troops landed on the island, and after a short fight, the German garrison (about 12,000 strong) surrendered. Soviet forces left the island on 5 April 1946 as part of the post-war division of interests of the Soviet Union and the Western Allies. Denmark was to be Western aligned, and in return Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania were to be kept in the Soviet sphere of influence.
"NORTH-WEST EUROPE, 1945"
I Canadian Corps
1st Armoured Car Regiment (Royal Canadian Dragoons)
(Fredericton Region Museum Collection, Author Photo)
1st Armoured Car Regiment (The Royal Canadian Dragoons) CAC
The cap badge of The Royal Canadian Dragoons since 1913 features a springbok in recognition of the regiment's service in South Africa.
The Royal Canadian Dragoons (Armoured Car Regiment), CASF, was mobilized on 21 September 1940. It was initially earmarked to serve in the 5th Canadian Armoured Division and embarked for Britain on 13 November 1941. The RCD landed in Sicily on 8 November 1943 and moved to mainland Italy on 5 January 1944. There it fought as the armoured car regiment for I Canadian Corps until being transferred to the 1st Canadian Infantry Division as the divisional armoured car regiment on 14 July 1944. Due to the mountainous terrain of Italy, the regiment fought much of its time there in a dismounted role as infantry.
In March 1945 the regiment moved with the I Canadian Corps to North West Europe as part of Operation Goldflake, and the regiment resumed its role as the I Canadian Corps armoured car regiment. The regiment was heavily engaged in operations in the Netherlands and Germany until the end of the war. The RCD was the first Allied unit to advance through Holland to the North Sea, famously liberated the city of Leeuwarden and fought off an attempted German amphibious assault. The fighting was so intense and chaotic that two of the squadron sergeants-major, WOII Deeming and WOII Forgrave, were separately awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal (DCM), (second in precedence to the Victoria Cross) for dismounting the members of their supply convoys and fighting through enemy infantry positions to get fuel, ammunition, water and rations forward to their squadrons.
On 1 September 1945 a second Active Force component of the regiment mobilized for service in the Pacific theatre of operations designated as the 2nd-1st Armoured Car Regiment (The Royal Canadian Dragoons), RCAC, CASF. It was redesignated as the 2nd-1st Armoured Regiment (The Royal Canadian Dragoons), RCAC, CASF, on 15 November 1945; and as the 1st Armoured Regiment (The Royal Canadian Dragoons), RCAC, CASF, on 1 March 1946. On 27 June 1946 the regiment was embodied in the Permanent Force.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3574238)
Troopers of the Royal Canadian Dragoons in a 75-mm halftrack gun carrier near Larino, Italy, 20 March 1944.
(RCD Archives Photo)
Members of D Squadron, The Royal Canadian Dragoons in a Lynx Scout Car followed by an M3 Halftrack, are greeted by Dutch citizens after the Regiment liberated Leeuwarden, in Friesland, the Netherlands, 15 April 1945.
1st Canadian Division
4th Reconnaissance Regiment (4th Princess Louise Dragoon Guards)
The Saskatoon Light Infantry (MG)
(Fredericton Region Museum Collection, Author Photo)
4th Reconnaissance Regiment (4th Princess Louise Dragoon Guards)
In July 1944, the divisional reconnaissance battalion, the 4th Princess Louise Dragoon Guards, converted to infantry and transferred to 12th Infantry Brigade of the 5th Canadian Armoured Division, to be replaced by The Royal Canadian Dragoons.
The regiment was returned to its reconnaissance role. The Royal Canadian Dragoons became the armoured car regiment of I Canadian Corps as its Armoured Corps status was restored on 15 March 1945. The regiment finished the war in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, after being transferred to the theatre as part of Operation Goldflake. Fighting in a number of engagements with the heavily armoured German divisions as they fled, a role the unit had performed with some distinction in Italy, 4th PLDG suffered heavy losses. Battlefield deaths, all ranks, for the entire year of 1944 were 150. In the four months 4th Recce fought in North West Europe, a third of the time it was in Italy, it lost some 187 men.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3203483)
4th Princess Louise Dragoon Guards'(PLDG) carriers pass saluting stand, 10 June 1945.
The Saskatoon Light Infantry (MG) - Machine gun battalion
1st Battalion, The Saskatoon Light Infantry (Machine Gun), CASF. On 4 March 1945, the battalion landed in France and upon arrival in the North West Europe theatre of operations with the rest of the First Canadian Army, it served until the end of the war. On 15 October 1945, the overseas battalion was disbanded.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3564308)
Personnel of the Saskatoon Light Infantry (MG) in Universal Carriers, Monacilione, Italy, ca. 9 - 18 October 1943.
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(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3524858)
Hon. T.C. Douglas, Premier of Saskatchewan, talking with Private P. Campbell of The Saskatoon Light Infantry (M.G.), Barneveld, Netherlands, 29 April 1945.
5th Canadian (Armoured) Division
3rd Armoured Reconnaissance Regiment (The Governor General's Horse Guards)
The Westminster Regiment (Motor)
The Princess Louise Fusiliers
3rd Armoured Reconnaissance Regiment (The Governor General’s Horse Guards)
The 3rd Armoured Reconnaissance Regiment (The Governor General's Horse Guards), RCAC, CASF embarked for Britain on 9 October 1941 and landed in Italy on 19 December 1943 as part of the 5th Armoured Brigade, 5th Canadian Armoured Division. On 20 February 1945 the regiment moved with the I Canadian Corps to North-West Europe as part of Operation Goldflake, where it continued to fight until the end of the war. The overseas regiment disbanded on 31 January 1946. The Regiment lost 71 Killed and 210 wounded in the war.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3191784)
Sherman tanks of the Governor General's Horse Guards, 9 March 1945.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3220432)
Sergeant H.K. Robertson briefing personnel of The Governor General's Horse Guards, Arnhem, Netherlands, 15 April 1945.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3220432)
Personnel of First Troop, "C" Squadron, Governor General's Horse Guards, with their Stuart recce tank, Cervia, Italy, 19 January 1945.
The Westminster Regiment (Motor)
After fighting in Italy, the Westminsters were dispatched to Livorno on February 21, 1945, and from there embarked on United States Navy shipping and conveyed to Marseilles, France. The unit mounted its own transport and drove through the Rhone Valley to Belgium, where they leaguered at Deinze.
The regiment was deployed to Meulebeke in Belgium as part of the 5th Canadian Armoured Division, now part of the I Canadian Corps, First Canadian Army. Most of the unit was sent on leave when the order came on 17 March 1945, to prepare to move into battle again. The first area of operations was in neighbouring Netherlands, on the Meuse (Maas) and Waal river lines near Nijmegen, where the Westminsters relieved the 12th Manitoba Dragoons and commenced active patrolling and used the battalion mortars against the German positions across the Waal in Tiel.
On 5 April 1945, the regiment was deployed to an area between the Waal and the Neder Rijn in conjunction with two companies of the 2nd Belgian Fusiliers. This was in preparation for a major offensive, which commenced on 12 April, with a move to Doesburg, just west of Arnhem. The division was given the task of exploiting the breakthrough created by the British 49th West Riding Division and driving to the Zuider Zee. At this point the unit's anti-tank platoon was issued Stuart tanks, unusual for an infantry regiment. The unit carried out a night attack across the IJssel River on the night of 12/13 April 1945 and passed through Arnhem. Pressing the attack, the 5th Canadian Armoured Division, in concert with the 1st Canadian Infantry Division. During the attack Lt Oldfield won the Military Cross for the action of his "A" Company Scout Platoon in clearing a German position and taking 40 prisoners.
The regiment attacked in concert with the Strathconas and the British Columbia Dragoons, capturing Deelen Airfield. The armoured drive continued against intense German opposition in fluid mobile operations, by-passing points of resistance to clean them up later. The unit advanced through Voorhuizen and Barneveld. German defences were in chaos and many prisoners were taken in the drive to Putten. When the operation had ended on 18 April 1945, the unit had covered 33 miles (53 km) and participated in cutting off thousands of German troops in the Amsterdam area.
The unit commenced coast watching and patrolling near Groningen to prevent the escape or infiltration of German forces still holding the islands off shore.
The unit's final action was the capture of the German anti-aircraft battery at Termunterzijl. The battery's 128-mm guns controlled the whole area and the operation was hampered by the lack of artillery and air support. The action was hard-fought against stiff German defences built in great depth to protect the battery. Relentless pressure form the Westminsters forced the abandonment of the battery and the withdrawal of the remaining German forces.
Hostilities ended in Europe on 7 May 1945. The unit was repatriated after a long wait for sea transport and passed through New York City, Toronto and finally to Vancouver by train. They marched up New Westminster's Columbia Street to Queen's Park where the final dismissal was given on 19 January 1946.
During the Second World War 4,236 men passed through The Westminster Regiment (Motor). Of these 134 were killed in action.
Awards conferred on members of the 1st Battalion of The Westminster Regiment (Motor) British Commonwealth were: 1 Victoria Cross, 3 Distinguished Service Order, 6 Military Cross, 1 Order of the British Empire, 1 Member of the Order of the British Empire, 18 Military Medal & 24 Mention In Dispatches. The Regiment was also awarded medals for courage by the Dutch Government.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3203475)
The Westminster Regiment passes the saluting base during Gen. H.D.G. Crerar's review at Eelde airport, 23 May 1945.
11th Independent Machine Gun Company (The Princess Louise Fusiliers)
11th Independent Machine Gun Company (The Princess Louise Fusiliers), CASF was formed on 1 July 1944. The machine gun company landed in Italy on 10 November 1943, as part of the 11th Infantry Brigade, 5th Canadian Armoured Division.
On 13 July 1944, the 12th Independent Machine Gun Company (The Princess Louise Fusiliers), CIC, CASF was organized in Italy to serve with the newly formed 12th Infantry Brigade, 5th Canadian Armoured Division. In February 1945, both companies moved with the 1st Canadian Corps to North West Europe. where the 12th Independent Machine Gun Company was disbanded on 15 March 1945, and the 11th Independent Machine Gun Company fought until the end of the war. The overseas company was disbanded on 15 February 1946.
The regiment fielded two machine gun companies, the 11th Independent MG Coy. in support of the 11th Infantry Brigade, and the 12th Independent MG Coy. in support of the 12th Infantry Brigade. In British and Commonwealth armoured divisions of that period, independent MG coys consisted of a HQ platoon, plus one platoon operating and a second platoon operating they were heavy direct-fire support units.
In February 1945 the 5th Armoured was transferred from Italy to Belgium, and these two companies participated in the liberation of the from late March to the German surrender. During the conflict, the regiment received nine more battle honours, bringing their total count to 16.Followinnverted back to a light infantry unit.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3524766)
General Crerar, GOC in C, 1st Canadian Corps, taking the salute from the Princess Louise Fusiliers, at the review and marchpast. Eelde airport, Netherlands, 23 May 1945.
1st Canadian Brigade
The Royal Canadian Regiment
48th Highlanders of Canada
The Seaforth Highlanders of Canada
(Stuart Phillips Photo)
The Royal Canadian Regiment
The RCR fought in several battles of the Italian campaign, including key engagements in the Moro River valley near Ortona in December 1943. During 1944, the regiment took part the Battle of Monte Cassino in attacks on German defensive lines called the Hitler Line and later the Gothic Line.
The regiment was transferred to northwest Europe in February 1945 during Operation Goldflake and took part in the liberation the Dutch city of Apeldoorn. The regiment received 28 battle honours for its participation in the Second World War. The regiment returned home to Canada in 1945.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 208396)
German troops filing into barracks where they are disarmed by members of the Royal Canadian Regiment, 11 May 1945.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3210799)
German soldier turning in his rifle to a Canadian soldier, IJmuiden, Netherlands, 11 May 1945.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3211669)
Privates J.A. Taylor and J.D. Villeneuve of the Royal Canadian Regiment stacking rifles turned in by surrendering German soldiers, IJmuiden, Netherlands, 11 May 1945.
48th Highlanders of Canada
The 1st Battalion, 48th Highlanders of Canada, CASF, departed Canada for Britain on 16 December 1939, and on 13 June 1940, it went to France as part of the abortive Second British Expeditionary Force. The battalion reached Sablé-sur-Sarthe before being ordered back to Britain. It landed in Sicily on 10 July 1943 and in Italy on 3 September 1943 as part of the 1st Infantry Brigade, 1st Canadian Infantry Division. In March 1945, the regiment moved with the remainder of I Canadian Corps to North-West Europe, where it fought until the end of the war. The overseas battalion was disbanded on 31 December 1945. On 1 June 1945, a second battalion of the regiment was mobilized for service in the Pacific theatre of operations, designated as the 3rd Canadian Infantry Battalion (48th Highlanders of Canada), CASF. This battalion was disbanded on 1 November 1945.
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(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3227313)
The 48th Highlanders of Canada preparing to move out, 19 April 1945.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3227315)
Infantrymen of The 48th Highlanders of Canada preparing to sweep the area between Apeldoorn and Harderwijk, Netherlands, 19 April 1945.
(Stuart Phillips Photo)
The Seaforth Highlanders of Canada
The battalion landed in Sicily on 10 July 1943 and in Italy on 4 September 1943 as part of the 2nd Brigade, 1st Canadian Infantry Division. On 14 March 1945, it moved with the I Canadian Corps to North-West Europe as part of Operation Goldflake, where it fought until the end of the war. The overseas battalion disbanded on 31 October 1945.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3534474).
Wireless operator Mac Keays relays the news of the end of hostilities to Universal Carrier driver Private Hugh McKerlain and infantrymen of "D" Company, The Seaforth Highlanders of Canada, De Glindhorst, Netherlands, 5 May 1945.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3220180)
Lieutenant L.J. Pronger of The Seaforth Highlanders of Canada interrogating German prisoners near Otterloo, Netherlands, 17 April 1945.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3524685)
Infantrymen of "D" Company, The Seaforth Highlanders of Canada, with their Universal Carrier, which is inscribed "Germany Kaput - Italia Tutto Finito - Here We Come Canada", De Glindhorst, Netherlands, 5 May 1945.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3203840)
Universal Carriers of the Seaforth Highlanders covered with Dutch civilians at the time of Liberation, 7 May 1940.
2nd Canadian Brigade
Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry
The Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment
The Loyal Edmonton Regiment
Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry
The PPCLI took part in heavy fighting in Italy. On 13 March 1945, I Canadian Corps was transferred to Northwest Europe where it joined the First Canadian Army and took part in the liberation of the Netherlands. Shortly after, the regiment captured the city of Apeldoorn, and, on 7 May 1945, it was the first allied force to enter Amsterdam, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Clark. In October 1945, the regiment's serving battalion in Europe, understrength, returned to Winnipeg and was demobilized.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3191525)
Members of Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry (PPCLI) and a Buffalo amphibious vehicle used to cross the Ijssel River, 11 April 1945.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3201095)
Infantrymen of Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry (PPCLI) boarding a Buffalo amphibious carrier north of Zutphen, Netherlands, 11 April 1945.
The Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment
The unit embarked for Great Britain on 22 December 1939, and on 13 June 1940 it went to France as part of the Second British Expeditionary Force, reaching a point beyond Laval before being ordered back to the United Kingdom. It landed in Sicily on 10 July 1943, and in Italy on 3 September 1943, as part of the 1st Canadian Infantry Brigade,1st Canadian Infantry Division. On 10 March 1945, the battalion moved with the I Canadian Corps to northwest Europe, where it fought until the end of the war. The overseas battalion was disbanded on 15 October 1945.
Canadian Author Farley Mowat, OC served as a platoon commander and as the Regiment's Intelligence Officer during the Second World War. He would author four books about the Regiment and his experiences during the Second World War: "The Regiment", "And No Birds Sang", "My Fathers' Son" and "Aftermath". Mowat left with the rank of Captain.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3227318)
Officers of The Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment at Battalion Headquarters near Apeldoorn, Netherlands, 19 April 1945.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3405716)
The Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment of 1st Canadian Division in the bush near Apeldoorn, Netherlands, 19 April 1945.
(Stuart Phillips Photo)
The Loyal Edmonton Regiment
the battalion landed in Sicily on 10 July and Italy on 3 September 1943, as part of the 2nd Infantry Brigade, 1st Canadian Infantry Division. The unit landed in France on 15 March 1945 as part of Operation Goldflake, on its way to the Northwest Europe theatre of operations, in which it fought until the end of the war. The overseas battalion disbanded on 15 October 1945.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3224893)
Regiment representatives in the Berlin Battalion in front of headquarters. Fusilier Léopold Desfossés (Fusiliers Mont-Royal), Pte Bob Jane (Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders), and Pte Max DeForest (Loyal Edmonton), 16 July 1945.
3rd Canadian Brigade
Royal 22e Regiment
The Carleton and York Regiment
The West Nova Scotia Regiment
(Stuart Phillips Photo)
Royal 22e Régiment
The regiment landed in Sicily on 10 July 1943 and in Italy on 3 September 1943 as part of 3rd Brigade, 1st Canadian Infantry Division. On 16 March 1945, the regiment moved with the I Canadian Corps as part of Operation Goldflake to North-West Europe, where it fought until the end of the war. The overseas regiment was disbanded on 1 March 1946.
(Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec, Photo P600,S6,D1,P913)
Parade marking the return of the Royal 22e Régiment from Europe to the Citadel in Quebec City, 1 October 1945.
(Fredericton Region Museum Collection, Author Photo)
The Carleton and York Regiment
After serving in the UK on anti-invasion duties, on 10 July 1943, the battalion landed in Sicily as part of Operation Husky where it fought for 38 days. The battalion would then on 3 September 1943, take part in the invasion of Italy and would serve with the rest of the I Canadian Corps in the Italian Campaign.
On 16 March 1945, the battalion along with the rest of I Canadian Corps moved to North-West Europe as part of Operation Goldflake, and where upon arrival, the battalion fought until the end of the war. Once in Marseilles I Canadian Corps (men, equipment, guns, tanks, Signals, Medical and everything else) loaded onto convoys and in five days drove through France, Belgium and then into the Netherlands in preparation for the final push into Nazi Germany. The Carleton and York Regiment had arrived in the village of Hoogland on 20 April 1945 and had come by two different roads from the village of Nijerke area. The people of Hoogland opened their homes to the men of the Regiment. On 30 September 1945, the overseas battalion of The Carleton and York Regiment was disbanded.
The West Nova Scotia Regiment
The regiment landed in Sicily on 10 July 1943, and in Italy on 3 September 1943, as part of the 3rd Infantry Brigade, 1st Canadian Infantry Division. On 19 March 1945, the battalion moved with the I Canadian Corps to North West Europe, where it fought until the end of the war. The overseas battalion was disbanded on 15 October 1945.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3524776)
Personnel of Headquarters Company, North Nova Scotia Regiment, occupying farm south of Dorterhoek, Dorterhoek, Netherlands (vic.), 8 April 1945
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3203845)
Infantrymen of The West Nova Scotia Regiment in a Universal Carrier en route to Rotterdam are surrounded by Dutch civilians celebrating the liberation of the Netherlands, 9 May 1945.
11th Canadian Brigade
The Perth Regiment
The Cape Breton Highlanders
The Irish Regiment of Canada
(Stuart Phillips Photo)
The Perth Regiment
The regiment landed in Italy on 8 November 1943, as part of the 11th Infantry Brigade, 5th Canadian Division. The 1st Battalion transferred with I Canadian Corps to North-West Europe in March 1945, where it fought until the end of the war. It returned home under command of a Perth militia officer, Lt Col MW Andrew and was disbanded on 31 January 1946.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3209465)
Soldiers of Perth Regiment on the march near Arnhem, Netherlands, 15 April 1945.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3240708)
Infantrymen of the Perth Regiment advancing through Arnhem, Netherlands, 15 April 1945.
The Cape Breton Highlanders
The CBH landed in Italy on 10 November 1943 as part of the 11th Infantry Brigade, 5th Canadian Armoured Division. The battalion moved to North-West Europe from 20 to 26 February 1945 as part of Operation Goldflake, where it continued to fight until the end of the war. The overseas battalion was disbanded on 15 February 1946.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 524428)
Lieutenant-Colonel R.B. Somerville of The Cape Breton Highlanders presenting the first prize to Captain J.M. Lockington, winner of the running broad jump event, Track and Field Day, Sneek, Netherlands, 3 July 1945.
The Irish Regiment of Canada
The regiment landed in mainland Italy on 10 November 1943, as part of the 11th Infantry Brigade, 5th Canadian Armoured Division. Between 20 and 27 February 1945, the battalion moved with I Canadian Corps to North-West Europe as part of Operation Goldflake, where it fought until the end of the war. The overseas battalion disbanded on 31 January 1946.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3194346)
Personnel of the Irish Regiment of Canada standing in front of a German roadblock and anti-tank ditch, near Otterloo, Netherlands, 16 April 1945.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3191618)
The Irish Regiment of Canada passes the saluting base during Gen. H.D.G. Crerar's review at Eelde airport, 23 May 1945.
1st Canadian Armoured Brigade
11th Canadian Armoured Regiment (The Ontario Regiment
12th Canadian Armoured Regiment (The Three Rivers Regiment)
11th Armoured Regiment (The Ontario Regiment)
The regiment landed in Sicily on 13 July 1943, as part of the 1st Canadian Armoured Brigade, and in Italy on 3 September 1943 in support of 17th Brigade, 5th British Division. On 8 March 1945 the regiment moved with the 1st Canadian Corps to North-West Europe as part of Operation Goldflake, where it fought until the end of the war. The overseas regiment was disbanded on 15 December 1945.[
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3208394)
Crew from 11th Armoured Regiment Ontario Tanks, Lt. H.S. Nixon (on top), Sgt. T.W. McCutcheon (at side), and Tpr. E. Kobarnynka (in tank) driving in tank from Germans who had left it because of lack of gasoline, 10 May 1945.
12th Armoured Regiment (Three Rivers Regiment)
On 21 June 1941 it embarked for Britain. The regiment landed in Sicily on 10 July 1943 and in Italy on 12 September 1943 as part of the 1st Canadian Armoured Brigade. On 8 March 1945 the regiment moved with the I Canadian Corps to North-West Europe as part of Operation Goldflake. There it fought until the end of the war. The overseas regiment disbanded on 30 November 1945.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3209253)
A Churchill tank of the Three Rivers Regiment taking part in Exercise SPARTAN, England, 8 March 1943.
5th Canadian Armoured Brigade
2nd Armoured Regiment (Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians))
5th Armoured Regiment (8th Princess Louise's (New Brunswick) Hussars)
9th Armoured Regiment (The British Columbia Dragoons)
(Stuart Phillips Photo)
2nd Armoured Regiment (Lord Strathcona’s Horse (Royal Canadians))
The regiment embarked for Britain on 13 November 1941 and landed in Italy on 8 November 1943, where it fought as part of the 5th Armoured Brigade, 5th Canadian Armoured Division. On 16 February 1945 the regiment moved with the I Canadian Corps to North-West Europe as part ofOperation Goldflake, where it fought until the end of the war. The overseas regiment was disbanded on 1 March 1946.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3661956)
Dutch women and children seated on a VC Firefly Sherman tank of Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians) Regiment, 19 April 1945.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3200390)
Civilians turn out to greet the 5th Canadian Division Perth Regiment and Lord Strathcona Horse tanks as they reach the Zuider Zee, 19 April 1945.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3202553)
Dutch children riding on a Sherman tank of Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians), Harderwijk, Netherlands, 19 April 1945.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3228598)
Troopers of Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians) on horseback, Harderwijk, Netherlands, 19 April 1945.
(Stuart Phillips Photo)
5th Armoured Regiment (8th Princess Louise’s (New Brunswick) Hussars))
The regiment landed in Italy on 19 December 1943 at Naples and saw action soon and frequently thereafter. The regiment fought in the Liri Valley, the Melfa Crossing, Ceprano, The Gothic Line, Missano Ridge, Coriano, the Crossing, and Coventello where it distinguished itself.
It moved to North-West Europe on 17 February 1945 as part of Operation Goldflake. The Hussars sailed from Italy to Southern France, and then moved by rail to Northwest Europe. After refitting the tanks, the regiment went into action in the Netherlands, breaking through to Putten in mid-April. The regiment then moved north for the final actions of the war at the Delfzijl Pocket where 3,000 German soldiers surrendered to the regiment. It was renamed as the "5th Armoured Regiment (8th Princess Louise's (New Brunswick) Hussars, RCAC, CASF", on 2 August 1945. On 26 January 1946, the regiment arrived in Halifax and the next day reached Sussex, New Brunswick where it was demobilized. The overseas regiment disbanded on 15 February 1946.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3396461a)
A Sherman V tank of the 8th Princess Louise's (New Brunswick) Hussars en route to the Zuider Zee passing through Putten, Netherlands, 18 April 1945.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3396461b)
Sherman Firefly 1c with 17-pounder Gun, 5th Canadian Armoured Division, 8th Princess Louise (New Brunswick) Hussars, en route to the Zuider Zee passing through Putten, Holland, 18 April 1945.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3524758)
Troopers of the 8th Princess Louise's (New Brunswick) Hussars presenting arms upon the arrival of Lieutenant-General G.G. Simonds, Groningen, Netherlands, 12 November 1945.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3203849)
German soldiers entering a concentration area to be disarmed by soldiers of the 1st Canadian Corps, Amsterdam, Netherlands, 9 May 1945.
9th Armoured Regiment (The British Columbia Dragoons)
The 9th Armoured Regiment (BCD), deployed to Italy as part of the 5th Armoured Brigade, 5th Canadian (Armoured) Division. The regiment saw heavy action in the Liri Valley, were the first unit to break through the Gustav Line in Italy, 1944, and helped smash the Gothic Line, holding Point 204 right in the centre of the line. Part of the "D-Day Dodgers", a term used by soldiers fighting in Italy after D-Day, they continued to fight until orders were given to move the regiment to the northwest Europe area. They served with distinction until the end of the war, at which point the regiment was demobilized and returned to Militia service.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3223023)
Tank crews of The British Columbia Dragoons lined up in front of their Sherman tanks during a review by General H.D.G. Crerar followed by a mounted marchpast, Eelde, Netherlands, 23 May 1945.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3223025)
General H.D.G. Crerar taking the salute during a mounted marchpast of The British Columbia Dragoons, Eelde, Netherlands, 23 May 1945.
"NORTH-WEST EUROPE, 1944"
First Special Service Force
The First Special Service Force was a unique joint formation of Canadian and American troops assigned to perform sabotage operations in Europe in the Second World War. Simply named "special forces" to conceal its "commando" or "ranger" purpose, this unit later gained fame as the "Devil's Brigade". The Canadians were designated the "2nd Canadian Parachute Battalion".
The FSSF saw continued action throughout the Mediterranean, at Monte Sammucro, Radicosa, and Anzio. For the final advance on Rome, the FSSF was given the honour of being the lead force in the assault and became the first Allied unit to enter the "Eternal City". Their success later continued in southern France and then at the France-Italian border. Often misused as line troops, the force suffered continuously high casualties until it was finally withdrawn from combat.
In August 1944, the Force was able to use its amphibious skills during the landings on islands flanking the invasion beaches in Southern France as part of Operation Dragoon. The unit then fell under the operational control of the 1st Airborne Task Force, clearing the French coastline east to the Italian border. It was their last major mission, and in December 1944, with the need for specialized forces waning, the Force was disbanded. The Canadians went largely to the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion, the Americans to the 474th Infantry (Separate) Regiment, or to US parachute units. The parachute-trained and combat tested Canadians of the FSSF were seen as a valuable asset for the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion then training in England.
