The 2nd Canadian Division (2 Cdn Div; ) is the Canadian Army's Defence of Canada division based in Montreal, Quebec. It is primarily composed of Army Reserve and Canadian Ranger formations and is responsible for domestic operations, homeland defence, and generating scalable force capacity for national emergencies and other contingencies. It also provides augmentation to the Canadian Army's expeditionary and major combat forces.
The division draws its historical lineage from formations that existed during the First and Second World Wars.
History
During the First World War, the division fought on the Western Front before being disbanded in 1919. It was reformed on 1 September 1939, as part of the First Canadian Army, at the outbreak of the Second World War, adopting the designation "2nd Canadian Infantry Division". It was initially composed of volunteers within brigades established along regional lines, though a halt in recruitment in the early months of the war caused a delay in the formation of brigade and divisional headquarters. With questions concerning overseas deployment resolved, the division's respective commands were formed in May and June 1940, and at British Prime Minister Winston Churchill's request, the division was deployed to the United Kingdom between 1 August and 25 December 1940.
Having performed well in training exercises during 1941 and early 1942, elements of the 2nd Division were selected as the main force for Operation Jubilee, a large-scale amphibious raid on the port of Dieppe in German-occupied France. On 19 August 1942, with air and naval gunfire support, the division's 4th and 6th brigades assaulted Dieppe's beaches. The Germans were well prepared and, despite being reinforced, the Canadians sustained heavy losses and had to be evacuated, fewer than half their number returning to the United Kingdom.
Following a period of reconstruction and retraining in 1942–44, the division joined II Canadian Corps as part of the Second British Army for the Allied Invasion of Normandy. 2nd Division saw significant action from 20 July to 21 August in the battles for Caen and Falaise. Joining the newly activated headquarters of the First Canadian Army in the assault on northwestern Europe, the 2nd Canadian Infantry Division played a significant role in the retaking of the Channel ports, the Battle of the Scheldt, and the liberation of the Netherlands. The division was deactivated shortly after the end of the war.
First World War
The formation of the 2nd Canadian Division began in May 1915 in Britain, following the arrival of a large contingent of soldiers from Canada. The 2nd Division remained in Great Britain only a short time before embarking for the Western Front in September 1915. It joined the 1st Canadian Division to form the Canadian Corps. The division was under the command of Major General Richard Turner, and its members spent a long and bitterly cold winter in a Belgian section of the front between Ploegsteert Wood and St. Eloi, south of Ypres. The 2nd Canadian Division served on the Western Front until the Armistice of 11 November 1918.
Infantry units 4th Canadian Brigade: (Formed after the original 4th Brigade was dispersed) 18th (Western Ontario) Battalion Canadian Infantry. 1 October 1914 – 11 November 1918; 19th (Central Ontario) Battalion Canadian Infantry. 19 October 1914 – 11 November 1918; 20th (Central Ontario) Battalion Canadian Infantry. October 1914 – 11 November 1918; 21st (Eastern Ontario) Battalion Canadian Infantry. 19 October 1914 – 11 November 1918.
5th Canadian Brigade: 22nd (Canadien Francais) Battalion Canadian Infantry. 21 October 1914 – 11 November 1918; 24th (Victoria Rifles) Battalion Canadian Infantry. 22 October 1914 – 11 November 1918; 25th (Nova Scotia) Battalion Canadian Infantry. 28 October 1914 – 11 November 1918; 26th (New Brunswick) Battalion Canadian Infantry. 2 November 1914 – 11 November 1918.
6th Canadian Brigade 27th (City of Winnipeg) Battalion Canadian Infantry. 21 October 1914 – 11 November 1918; 28th (North West) Battalion Canadian Infantry. 19 October 1914 – 11 November 1918; 29th (Vancouver) Battalion Canadian Infantry. 24 October 1914 – 11 November 1918; 31st (Alberta) Battalion Canadian Infantry. 16 November 1914 – 11 November 1918.
Pioneers: 2nd Canadian Pioneer Battalion. March 1916 – June 1917. To the 2nd Canadian Engineer Brigade.
Battles and engagements on the Western Front 1916: Actions of St. Eloi Craters: 27 March – 16 April Battle of Mount Sorrel: 2–13 June 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: 9–14 April Attack on La Coulotte: 23 April Battle of Arleux: 28–29 April Third Battle of the Scarpe: 3–4 May Battle of Hill 70: 15–25 August Second Battle of Passchendaele: 26 October – 10 November Battle of Cambrai (1917): 20 November – 3 December
1918: First Battle of Arras: 28 March Battle of Amiens: 8–11 August Actions round Damery: 15–17 August Battle of the Scarpe: 26–30 August The Pursuit to the Selle: 9–12 October Passage of the Grande Honnelle: 5–7 November
Second World War
Formation and early organization (1939) At the start of the Second World War, the Canadian Active Service Force was initially composed of two divisions; the 1st and 2nd Canadian Infantry Divisions, both raised on the first of September 1939.Bercuson, p. 27 The fighting power of this force lay in its constituent infantry brigades, of which each division had three. These were in turn composed of three rifle and one machine gun battalion, with additional divisional artillery and engineer units in support.Bercuson, p. 279
The 2nd Division, like its sister formation, was originally organized along regional lines. Its 4th Brigade was composed of regiments from Ontario, the 5th Brigade of regiments from Quebec, and 6th Brigade of regiments from Western Canada.
2nd Canadian Infantry Division, 1939UnitRegion4th Canadian Infantry BrigadeThe Royal Regiment of CanadaToronto, OntarioThe Royal Hamilton Light Infantry (Wentworth Regiment)Hamilton, OntarioThe Essex Scottish RegimentWindsor, OntarioThe Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa (machine gun)Ottawa, Ontario5th Canadian Infantry BrigadeThe Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) of CanadaMontreal, QuebecLes Fusiliers Mont-RoyalMontreal, QuebecLe Régiment de MaisonneuveMontreal, QuebecLe Régiment de la Chaudière (machine gun)Levis, Quebec6th Canadian Infantry BrigadeThe Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders of CanadaWinnipeg, ManitobaThe South Saskatchewan RegimentEstevan, SaskatchewanThe Calgary HighlandersCalgary, AlbertaThe Winnipeg Grenadiers (machine gun)Winnipeg, Manitoba
Garrison duties and reorganization (1940)
It was over a year before the 2nd Division came together as a cohesive unit and, during the interim period between formation and arrival in the United Kingdom, many changes to its organization were made. The first brigade concentrations took place in May and June 1940, until which time all units had trained in their own garrisons. The 4th Brigade assembled at Camp Borden in Ontario, the 5th at Valcartier Camp in Quebec, and the 6th at Camp Shilo in Manitoba.Bercuson, p. 29 The divisional artillery was concentrated at Camp Petawawa in Ontario, and at Shilo.
The 2nd Division's structure was altered in early 1940, reducing its number of machine-gun battalions from three to one.Copp, p. 20 The Camerons and the Chaudières (now a rifle battalion) were reassigned to the newly mobilized 3rd Canadian Infantry Division, and the Winnipeg Grenadiers were sent to Jamaica for garrison duty, after which they returned to Canada then redeployed to Hong Kong, where they were captured when it fell to the Japanese on 25 December 1941.Willmot & Keegan, p. 57
In May 1940, The Black Watch were moved from Valcartier to Newfoundland, and in June, the 2nd Division was earmarked for garrison duty by the forces of the British Commonwealth,Copp, p. 15 with the Royal Regiment of Canada and Les Fusiliers Mont Royal arriving in Iceland later that month.Copp, p. 16 However, at the request of Winston Churchill these deployments were cut short, as the division was badly needed in England to supplement the British Army—then facing the imminent possibility of German invasion.
As a result, most of the 2nd Division's units were sent to the United Kingdom in August 1940, although the Iceland garrison remained in place until 31 October. The absence of the Mont Royals allowed Major-General Victor Odlum to reassign the Calgary Highlanders to the 5th Brigade in September, in an attempt to ethnically mix the brigades of the division.Copp, p.19
Training in the United Kingdom (1941)
In 1941, the Toronto Scottish Regiment was transferred from the 1st Division to become the machine-gun battalion of the 2nd Division.Copp, p.12 Around the same time, the 8th Reconnaissance Regiment (14th Canadian Hussars) was raised from 2nd Division personnel supplemented by reinforcements from Canada. Due to equipment shortages, it was often difficult to adequately supply newly arrived divisions in England.Berton, p. 362 Artillery units had to make use of outmoded 75 mm guns with steel tires, and a lack of anti-aircraft guns—diverted to civil defense during the height of the Battle of Britain—left Canadian units to fend for themselves with small arms.Copp, p. 22 However, by February 1941, enough Bren guns had been issued to the infantry units and, by September, the artillery had been equipped with 25-pounder (84 mm, 3.3-in) howitzers, although signals equipment and transport were still lacking and anti-tank guns were dangerously scarce.Bercuson, p. 63
When the division was not engaged in coastal-defence duties or unit training, formation-level training took the form of increasingly larger exercises. Exercise Waterloo, conducted from 14 to 16 June 1941, was the largest in the United Kingdom to date, with I Canadian Corps counter-attacking an imagined German sea and air landing. Exercise Bumper, held from 29 September to 3 October, was larger still, involving 250,000 men. These exercises tended to concentrate on traffic control, communications, and logistical concerns, and were of little practical value to the infantry.Copp, p. 23
On 30 December 1941, the Calgary Highlanders introduced "battle drill" to the division.Copp, p. 24 This new type of training emphasized small unit tactics as well as "hardening" training through use of live ammunition, slaughterhouse visits, and obstacle courses, and was adopted throughout Commonwealth forces stationed in Britain.
Operation Jubilee (1942)
In early 1942, under Major General J. H. Roberts, the 2nd Canadian Infantry Division participated in several additional full-scale combat exercises, again gauging the ability of Commonwealth divisions to repel a possible German invasion. As April and May progressed, the exercises intensified, becoming significantly more demanding on the participants.Copp, p.29 As a result, the 2nd Division was judged to be one of the four best divisions in the United Kingdom,Copp, p. 30 and was selected as the primary force for the upcoming Allied attack on the German-occupied port of Dieppe—codenamed Operation Jubilee. Mounted as a test of whether or not such a landing was feasible,Bercuson, p. 62 the Dieppe raid was to be undertaken by the 4th and 6th Brigades, with additional naval, air, and infantry support. Significant elements of the 5th Brigade were also involved.