The Sherbrooke Fusilier Regiment was a Second World War Canadian armoured regiment created in 1940 with officers and men from two Militia regiments in Sherbrooke, Quebec.

The name is a blend of Les Fusiliers de Sherbrooke, a francophone infantry unit, and the Sherbrooke Regiment, an English-speaking machine gun unit. The armoured corps lineage of the Sherbrooke Fusilier Regiment is carried forward by the present-day reserve regiment, The Sherbrooke Hussars.

Sydney Valpy Radley-Walters, later Director-General Training and Recruiting Canadian Forces, was an officer of the regiment during the war. He had three tanks shot out from under him and was wounded twice. He ended the war a lieutenant-colonel decorated with a Military Cross and Distinguished Service Order. The second most important artifact from the Second World War, after the guidon, is a Sherman tank named Bomb which landed in Normandy on 6 June and served on the front lines throughout the campaigns until May 1945 in Germany without being destroyed or knocked out. It was returned to Canada after the war, and is retained as a memorial.

History

Formation The regiment was formed as an infantry unit, The Sherbrooke Fusiliers Regiment in 1940, a plural form of the name which lasted only a short time. After GO 42/41 and GO 62/41, the name 'Fusiliers' changed from the plural to the singular 'Fusilier' form. It was converted to an armoured regiment in 1942, becoming the 27th Armoured Regiment (The Sherbrooke Fusilier Regiment). Initially part of the 4th Armoured Brigade, by the time it went into action, it was in the 2nd Canadian Armoured Brigade.

The regiment's commanding officer from 1943 was Mel Gordon who had been commissioned as a lieutenant in 1924. In 1941 as a trained major, Gordon was posted to the 12th Armoured Regiment (Three Rivers Regiment) at Camp Borden, Ontario. He was officer commanding "B" Squadron in Canada and in England until January 1943 when he was promoted to lieutenant-colonel and given command of the 27th Armoured Regiment (Sherbrooke Fusilier Regiment). Gordon led the regiment through training in England then in combat through France, Belgium and the Netherlands. Gordon's regimental headquarters Sherman was the first tank into the liberated French town of Caen. He was immediately inducted to the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) in the field in Belgium. Gordon retained his command despite heavy losses, setbacks, and the challenges throughout the Northwest European campaign. Gordon is described as having a cool, calm, and timbered (sic) voice, which over wireless had reassuring effects on the soldiers.page 99, Daniel M Braün, "Green Fields Beyond", Lulu Publishing, NBR List collectionscanada.gc.ca

Invasion of France

Normandy Landings (6 June 1944)

The tank element of the landing establishment of the regiment was a Regimental HQ (four Shermans), HQ Squadron with six anti-aircraft cruiser tanks and 11 Stuart light tanks; three fighting squadron HQs three Shermans including one 'rear link' radio equipped, and five troops of three Shermans or Fireflies each. The personnel establishment was 37 officers and 661 other ranks, short by one officer and 14 other ranks.

The regiment loaded their Landing Craft, Tank in Ostend, UK on 3 June. The regiment was equipped with waterproofed 75-mm gun Sherman and 17pdr gunned Sherman Firefly tanks. On debarking the LCT they dragged "Porpoise" sledges filled with supplies to shore. 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. The SFR was their assigned tank force to exploit through the bridgehead created by the assault infantry and tanks of the 8th Canadian Infantry Brigade. The beach was congested with other troops, and progress was slow getting inland to their assembly area near Beny-sur-Mer.

With about three 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 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. Significant numbers of German half-tracks and other lighter armoured vehicles were destroyed.Comments by Brig Cunningham, Commander of 9th Canadian Infantry Brigade as given to the Historical Officer, 26 June 1944. Accessed 29 April 2022, page 8 of https://scholars.wlu.ca/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1353&context=cmh 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 regiment's Anglican chaplain (padre) Captain Walter Brown 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.interview 28 Oct 19, Maj. (Padre) Rev. Dr. Tom Hamilton B.A., M.Div., M.A., Ph.D., unpublished PhD dissertation, U of T

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.

Caen (8–9 July 1944) Operation Charnwood

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.

Crossing the Orne

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.

Official war artist Major Will Ogilvie produced a dramatic panchromatic watercolour of the tanks, entitled, "Tanks of the 27th Canadian Armoured Regiment (The Sherbrooke Fusilier Regiment) Cross the Orne Near Caen by Ferry, 19 July 1944".Normandy photo ibiblio.org Modern-day researchers, writing in French, have identified numerous crossings pushed by Canadian engineers over the Orne River, including photo comparisons to the Ogilivie work.Accessed 9 August 2022, https://web.archive.org/web/20220401195624/http://sgmcaen.free.fr/les-ponts.htm

Faubourg de Vaucelles

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.

Bourguébus Ridge

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.

Operation Totalize