The 1st Canadian Division (French: ) is the Canadian Army's manoeuvre division based at CFB Edmonton. It encompasses all Regular Force units within the Canadian Army.
Formed during the First World War in August 1914, the 1st Canadian Division was a formation of the Canadian Expeditionary Force. The division contained a cavalry squadron and a cyclist company, three infantry brigades (the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Canadian Infantry Brigades, each of four battalions), representing all parts of Canada, three field artillery brigades (roughly equivalent to modern regiments) armed with 18-pounders and engineers, together with elements of the Army Service Corps and the Army Medical Corps. The total war establishment of the division was 17,873 all ranks, with 4,943 horses. During its service in the First World War, the division fought at Ypres, Festubert, the Somme, Vimy Ridge, Passchendaele and Amiens among other notable battles on the Western Front.
Following the war, the division was stood down, only to be re-mobilized as a formation on 1 September 1939 as the 1st Canadian Infantry Division for service in the Second World War. The division was part of the Allied campaign to invade Sicily, as well as their campaign on the Italian mainland, where they are associated with such notable battles as Ortona, the Liri Valley and the Gothic Line. The division reunited with the First Canadian Army in 1945 to participate in the liberation of the Western Netherlands before the end of the war in Europe.
The division was also reactivated twice during the Cold War: from 1953 to 1958, and again from 1988 to 1992.
In 2010, the division was reactivated for a third time. While the four divisions (2nd to 5th) of the Canadian Army were responsible for command of units within their respective geographic regions, the 1st Canadian Division Headquarters was formed to serve as a task-tailored, deployable joint headquarters at high readiness to command and control joint, inter-agency, multinational forces to achieve national objectives at home and abroad.
First World War
The First Contingent of the Canadian Expeditionary Force was raised in August 1914, shortly after the outbreak of the Great War, concentrated at Valcartier Camp in Quebec, and set off for England in the largest trans-Atlantic convoy to date two months later. Training and reorganization commenced upon arrival in the United Kingdom in October 1914, and it was not until 26 January 1915 that the division was officially organized, under the command of Lieutenant-General Edwin Alderson, a British Army officer. Several units under command of the First Contingent were excluded from the divisional organization, including the 17th Battalion (Nova Scotia Highlanders), 18th Battalion, and several companies of Newfoundland soldiers (later formed into the Newfoundland Regiment and assigned to the 29th Division).
The division consisted originally of a cavalry squadron, cyclist company, four infantry brigades, three artillery brigades (equivalent in terms of numbers to the regiments used in the Second World War and after) armed with 18-pounders, and divisional engineers, with supporting troops of the Canadian Army Service Corps and Canadian Army Medical Corps. The strength of the division was placed at 17,873 all ranks, with 4,943 horses. The 4th Brigade was broken up in January 1915, with one battalion (the 10th) going to the 2nd Brigade, and the other three battalions being used to form the Canadian Training Depot, ultimately being re-designated as "Reserve" Battalions. The 10th Battalion replaced the 6th Battalion (Fort Garrys), which left the 2nd Brigade to become a cavalry unit, later serving in the Canadian Cavalry Brigade.
Pioneer units were added later in the war, including the 1st Canadian Pioneer Battalion from March 1916 to February 1917, when they became the 9th Canadian Railway Battalion. The 107th Canadian Pioneer Battalion also came under command between March 1917 and May 1918, before being absorbed by the 1st Canadian Engineer Brigade.
Lieutenant-General Alderson was selected and appointed in October 1914 to command the new Canadian Division, as it was known at that time, making him the highest ranking divisional commander in the British Army. He was selected — to the relief of many — in lieu of Sir Sam Hughes, who was promoted at this time by the prime minister to the rank of Major-General. It had been Hughes's wish to command the Canadians in action. Alderson, who had commanded Canadian units before, won out over three prospective Canadian appointees, who, while serving with the British Army, were still considered too inexperienced. Alderson, meanwhile, had first seen action against the Boers in 1881, and thereafter fought in Egypt, the Sudan (he served with a Camel Corps in the Nile Expedition of 1884–1885) and Mashonaland. He also served throughout the South African War of 1899–1902, in which he had Canadian mounted troops under his command.
Training in the winter of 1914 was rigorous, and conditions on Salisbury Plain were harsh due to cold and rain. Alderson rejected the "shoddy" kit that was supplied from Canada including the Ross Rifle which had been adopted due to the slow rate of supply of the Lee–Enfield and which was seen as an example of Canadian nationalism.Hayes, Geoffrey; Iarocci, Andrew; and Bechthold, Mike, editors; Vimy Ridge: A Canadian Reassessment, Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 2007, p. 38 A royal inspection of the division early in 1915 foretold a move to France.
Early in 1915, it was evident that the Canadians would soon be going to France. The division paraded in drill order for an inspection by His Majesty King George V; thereafter, units boarded troop ships at Avonmouth and during mid-February, the entire division crossed the rough Channel to St. Nazaire. After a brief period in reserve near Hazebrouck, the Canadians relieved the 7th British Division in the Fleurbaix sector near Armentières on 1–3 March. General Alderson then became responsible for of front line on the left flank of the First Army (General Sir Douglas Haig).
The division moved to the Ypres Salient in April, and faced its first real test during the defence of St. Julien beginning on 22 April. The Canadians withstood German attack — aided, for the first time on the Western Front, by the use of poison gas — and finally retired to secondary positions on 26 April, where they held on until 4 May. The Second Battle of Ypres, as the overall action came to be known, cost the infantry brigades some 5,506 men.
Two weeks later, the division was in action again at Festubert. Aiding in a diversionary offensive by the British armies, the Canadians suffered 2,204 casualties for gains of only . Another futile attack was launched at Givenchy-en-Gohelle in June 1915, after which the division moved to Ploegsteert.
The Canadians began a long period of static warfare which would last them throughout the winter. In September, the arrival of the 2nd Canadian Division meant that a national corps headquarters could take to the field to command the division. Major-General Arthur Currie took command of the division in September. Active operations resumed again in the spring of 1916, participating in the Battle of Mount Sorrel, and then restoring the situation at Sanctuary Wood.
The Battle of the Somme opened on 1 July 1916, the costliest day in the history of the British Army, with over 19,000 British soldiers killed and 38,000 wounded. The Canadian part in the battle, which was to last through to November, did not begin until September at Battle of Pozières and lasted through to October. It was on the Somme that the red patch was first worn as an identifying device—two inches by three inches and worn on both sleeves, this rectangle identified the wearer as belonging to the 1st Division. The insignia was also painted on steel trench helmets, and adorned with geometric shapes of different colours to further identify the soldier's specific battery, brigade, battalion or other subunit.
The division began to prepare for the historic assault on Vimy Ridge, and took the time-honoured position of right of the line on 9 April 1917 when the corps took the ridge. Other gains were made in the days following the successful assault on the ridge, and the division participated in the battle of Hill 70 in August 1917. The Third Battle of Ypres (Passchendaele) followed in mid-October, and fighting continued into November. The division served under Major-General Archibald Cameron Macdonell beginning in May; his command persisted until Armistice Day.
Massive German offensives came in the spring of 1918, but the Canadian Corps—now considered crack assault troops—were held in reserve for the inevitable counter-offensives. "Canada's Hundred Days"—the last 100 days of the war—were marked by several Canadian successes, at Amiens, Arras (which included the Drocourt-Quéant Line), Canal du Nord and the Pursuit to Mons. The armistice of 11 November 1918 finally brought the Great War to an end.
Infantry units 1st Canadian Brigade: 1st Canadian Battalion (Ontario Regiment), CEF. August 1914 – 11 November 1918; 2nd Canadian Battalion (Eastern Ontario Regiment), CEF. August 1914 – 11 November 1918; 3rd Canadian Battalion (Toronto Regiment), CEF. August 1914 – 11 November 1918; 4th (Central Ontario) Battalion, CEF. August 1914 – 11 November 1918.
2nd Canadian Brigade: 5th Battalion (Western Cavalry), CEF. August 1914 – 11 November 1918; 6th Battalion (Fort Garrys), CEF. August 1914 – December 1914 (Became Canadian Cavalry Depot); 7th Canadian Battalion (1st British Columbia), CEF. August 1914 – 11 November 1918; 8th Canadian Infantry Battalion (90th Regiment), CEF. August 1914 – 11 November 1918; 10th Battalion (Canadians), CEF. January 1915 – 11 November 1918.
3rd Canadian Brigade: 13th Battalion (Royal Highlanders of Canada), CEF. August 1914 – 11 November 1918. 14th Battalion (Royal Montreal Regiment), CEF. August 1914 – 11 November 1918. 15th Battalion (48th Highlanders of Canada), CEF. August 1914 – 11 November 1918. 16th Canadian Battalion (The Canadian Scottish), CEF. August 1914 – 11 November 1918.
4th Canadian Brigade: The brigade was dispersed in January 1915. 9th Battalion, CEF. August 1914 – January 1915. To the Canadian Training Depot. 10th Battalion (Canadians), CEF. August 1914 – January 1915. To the 2nd Canadian Brigade. 11th Battalion, CEF. August 1914 – January 1915. To the Canadian Training Depot. 12th Battalion, CEF. August 1914 – January 1915. To the Canadian Training Depot.
Pioneers: 1st Canadian Pioneer Battalion. March 1916 – February 1917. Became the 9th Canadian Railway Battalion. 107th Canadian Pioneer Battalion. March 1917 – May 1918. Absorbed by the 1st Canadian Engineer Brigade.
Attached troops: 17th Battalion, CEF. August 1914 – January 1915. To the Canadian Training Depot. 18th Battalion Canadian Infantry. August 1914 – September 1914. Disbanded. Newfoundland Companies. October 1914 – December 1914. Left the division and was made up to battalion strength. The Newfoundland Regiment then joined the British 29th Division in September 1915.
Battles and engagements on the Western Front 1915: Second Battle of Ypres Battle of Gravenstafel — 22–23 April Battle of Saint Julien —24 April – 4 May (see also Saint Julien Memorial) Battle of Festubert — 15–25 May Second Battle of Givenchy — 15–16 June
1916: Battle of Mount Sorrel — 2–13 June Battle of the Somme Battle of Flers-Courcelette — 15–22 September Battle of Thiepval — 26–28 September Battle of Le Transloy — 1–18 October Battle of the Ancre Heights — 1 October – 11 November
1917: Battle of Vimy Ridge — 9–12 April Battle of Arleux — 28–29 April Third Battle of the Scarpe — 3–4 May (including the capture of Fresnoy) Battle of Hill 70 — 15–25 August Third Battle of Ypres (Passchendaele) — 26 October – 10 November
1918: Battle of Amiens — 8–11 August