Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians) (LdSH(RC)) is a regular armoured regiment of the Canadian Army. Currently based in Edmonton, Alberta, the regiment is part of 3rd Canadian Division's 1 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group. Members of the regiment are commonly called Strathconas or Strats as a short form. It was one of the last regiments in the British Empire to be created and raised by a private individual, Donald Alexander Smith, 1st Baron Strathcona and Mount Royal.
The regimental motto is "Perseverance". The colonel-in-chief of the regiment is King Charles III, while the colonel of the regiment is Colonel(Ret’d) Jamie Cade. The current commanding officer is Lieutenant-Colonel A. Nitu, and the regimental sergeant major is Chief Warrant Officer B. Holmes.
Regimental structure
The regiment is composed of a regimental headquarters (RHQ), three sabre (tank) squadrons (A, B, and C Sqns), and headquarters squadron which provides service support. In September 2006, B Squadron deployed to Afghanistan using the Leopard C2, the first NATO deployment of main battle tanks to Afghanistan.
Each year the squadron that distinguishes itself with the highest efficiency rating in the regiment earns the title "Prince of Wales Squadron" for the year. The regiment has seven affiliated cadet corps in Alberta and British Columbia.
Role
, Lord Strathcona's Horse operated with 40 Leopard 2s (20 A4s, 9 A4Ms and 11 2A6Ms) and 12 Coyote Reconnaissance Vehicles. Due to a change in Canadian army doctrine in the early 2000s away from heavy armour to more infantry-centred operations, Lord Strathcona's Horse was for several years the only regular armoured regiment to operate MBTs.
Heraldry Blazon: Lord Strathcona's coat of arms, without supporters, being a shield surmounted by a maple tree inclined to the left, and cut through by a beaver working at the base; in the chief a demi-lion rampant; in the centre a railroad spike and hammer crossed; in the base a canoe bearing a flag inscribed "NW" and containing four men; the whole surrounded by a riband which is encircled by a wreath of roses, thistles, shamrocks and maple leaves, and inscribed "Lord Strathcona's Horse Royal Canadians", surmounted by a scroll bearing the motto "perseverance", and the whole surmounted by the Crown".
This badge commemorates Lord Strathcona's role in the fur trade and in the settlement of North West Canada (as the province of Alberta was called prior to 1905) by its representation of a Hudson's Bay Company trade canoe, the flag 'NW' (for "North West"), and the representation of the railway construction tools. The latter mark Lord Strathcona's direct role in the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway.
The uniform shoulder titles are "STRATHCONA'S" (in brass, for service dress uniform) and "LdSH(RC)" (embroidered, for field combat clothing)
History
Strathcona's Horse and the Boer War Strathcona's Horse was authorized on 1 February 1900 and embarked for Africa on 17 March 1900. There it fought as part of the 3rd Mounted Brigade and 4th Infantry Brigade, II Division, until its departure from the theatre of operations on 20 January 1901. The unit disbanded on 9 March 1901.
The regiment was one of the last in the British Empire to be created and raised by a private individual, Donald Alexander Smith, 1st Baron Strathcona and Mount Royal. During the Boer War, Lord Strathcona recruited and equipped the cavalry regiment at his own expense for service in South Africa. Many skilled horsemen (cowboys and North-West Mounted Police members) enlisted, allowing for a short training period and rapid deployment to Africa. The 537 officers and men, as well as 599 horses, of the new regiment sailed from Halifax on 18 March 1900 and arrived in Cape Town on 10 April. Along with The Royal Canadian Dragoons, the regiment won renown for their scouting skills. Rumour exists that members of the North-West Mounted Police serving with the regiment during the Boer War preferred the boots the regiment wore, and adopted them as their own – hence the name "Strathcona boots" for Royal Canadian Mounted Police high brown boots.
Another legacy of the official kit is the popularity of the distinctive Stetson Campaign Hat worn by all Canadians serving in Africa during the Second Boer War. After seeing Canadian troops in this attire at the Relief of Mafeking, British Officer Robert Baden-Powell ordered 10,000 of the hats for his own troops.
Supposedly, General Kitchener was astonished at the size of the newly arrived Canadian soldiers. Their commander, Sam Steele, is said to have replied "My apologies, sir. I combed all of Canada and these are the smallest I could find."
Early 1900s After the war, the regiment boarded ship at Cape Town on 20 January 1901 and arrived in London on 14 February. Here they met Lord Strathcona for the first time and were presented their medals by King Edward VII personally. On its return to Canada on 9 March 1901, the regiment was disbanded. The name "Strathcona's Horse" was revived in 1909 when the Royal Canadian Mounted Rifles (which had been created in the Permanent Force in 1901) was renamed "Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians)". The word Lord was prepended to the regimental title in 1911.
First World War The regiment was placed on active service at the start of the Great War on 6 August 1914 for instructional and camp administration duties. On 14 September 1914 the regiment mobilized Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians), CEF, which embarked for England on 3 October 1914. On 5 May 1915 it disembarked in France, where it fought dismounted in an infantry role with Seeley's Detachment (really the Canadian Cavalry Brigade, part of the 2nd Indian Cavalry Division), 1st Canadian Division. On 27 January 1916, the regiment remounted and resumed its cavalry role as part of the 1st Canadian Cavalry Brigade, with whom it continued to fight in France and Flanders until the end of the war. The overseas regiment disbanded on 6 November 1920.
At the outbreak of the First World War, the regiment was mobilised and began its training in England. In 1915, Lord Strathcona's Horse served as infantry in the trenches in France. On 16 February 1916, the Strathcona's were reconstituted as a mounted force and, as an Imperial Service Regiment, served in the Canadian Cavalry Brigade attached to the 2nd Indian Cavalry Division, which in November 1916 became the 5th Cavalry Division of the British 4th Army. In March 1917, the regiment saw action as cavalry during the defence of the Somme front. It was during this fighting that Lieutenant Frederick Harvey won the Victoria Cross for rushing a German machine gun post and capturing the gun position. In spring 1918 during the last great German offensive, called by the Germans Operation Michael, when the Imperial and French armies were on the verge of being split, the regiment earned its third Victoria Cross.
On 31 March 1918, in what is known as "the last great cavalry charge" at the Battle of Moreuil Wood, Lieutenant Gordon Flowerdew was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross for leading the charge in a successful engagement with entrenched German forces. Nearly three-quarters of the Canadian cavalry involved in the attack against German machine-gun positions were killed or wounded. Unable to break the trench deadlock and of little use at the front, cavalry remained behind the lines for much of the war. During the German offensives of March and April 1918, however, the cavalry played an essential role in the open warfare that temporarily confronted the retreating British forces.
Second World War On 24 May 1940, Regimental Headquarters and one squadron were mobilized together with the Regimental Headquarters and one squadron of The Royal Canadian Dragoons to form the 1st Canadian Motorcycle Regiment, CASF (RCD/LSH(RC)). It was redesignated as Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians), CASF, on 21 September 1940; as the 2nd Armoured Regiment (Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians)), CASF, on 11 February 1941; as the 2nd Armoured Regiment (Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians)), CAC, CASF, on 15 October 1943; and as the 2nd Armoured Regiment (Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians)), RCAC, CASF, on 2 August 1945. 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 of Operation Goldflake, where it fought until the end of the war.
During the Second World War, the regiment mobilised an armoured regiment for overseas service, which joined the First Canadian Armoured Division (renamed the 5th Canadian Armoured Division). During an inspection in England, King George VI noticed that the divisional patches on the sleeves of the troopers bore the legend "LSH". He remarked to a Strathcona's officer that he had always thought the proper abbreviation of "Lord" was "Ld". The regiment promptly changed its formation patches and have used the correct designation ever since.
One of the many dramatic changes World War I introduced into military organisation and technology was the introduction of the tank, however, Canada would persist with horse cavalry until the Summer of 1940. The regiment did have a Ford and a Chevrolet armoured car, representing 50% of Canada's entire armoured strength at the start of the Second World War. In July 1940, LdSH(RC) along with The Royal Canadian Dragoons, were mobilized as the 1st Canadian Motorcycle Regiment. Later that year, the Strathcona's became 2nd Armoured Regiment, Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians). The Regiment trained in England for two years with Canadian built Ram tanks and saw its first action in an armoured role in Italy.
One of the regiment's most noteworthy battles in Italy was the Melfa River Crossing. During this desperate battle the Strathcona RHQ reconnaissance troop established a bridgehead in conjunction with "A" Company, The Westminster Regiment (Motor)Oldfield, Major J.E.: The Westminster's War Diary, pages 74–107. Mitchell Press, 1964. on the Melfa River and held it against determined German tank and infantry attacks until reinforcements could arrive. The action resulted in a Victoria Cross being awarded to the OC "A" Company, Major Jack Mahony and forged a long-standing association between the two regiments.
The advance up the boot of Italy bloodied the regiment but also forged their identity as a Canadian tank unit, second to none. The regiment left Italy in February 1945, and fought in the North West Europe campaign to liberate the Netherlands and the Lowlands. In 1946, the regiment returned to Canada and except for two operational tours in Germany, called Calgary its home garrison.
The overseas regiment was disbanded on 1 March 1946.
On 1 September 1945 a second Active Force component of the regiment was mobilized for service in the Pacific theatre of operations designated as the 2nd–2nd Armoured Car Regiment (Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians)), RCAC, CASF. It was redesignated as the 2nd Armoured Regiment (Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians)), RCAC, CASF) on 1 March 1946 and on 27 June 1946 it was embodied in the Permanent Force.
Post war to the present During the Cold War, the regiment was deployed on several rotations to West Germany, and three squadrons fought in rotation in the Korean War as part of the 1st Commonwealth Division. Originally intended to be equipped with M-10 tank destroyers, the Strathconas in Korea went into action with M4A3E8 Sherman tanks. A, B and C Squadrons fought independently in Korea from 19 April 1951 to 27 July 1953 as part of the 25th Canadian Infantry Brigade Group, 1st Commonwealth Division. The squadrons were equipped with M4A3E8 Sherman tanks.