Westminster Regiment
The Royal Westminster Regiment (commonly referred to as the Westies) is a Primary Reserve infantry regiment of the Canadian Army. It is currently part of the 3rd Canadian Division's 39 Canadian Brigade Group and is based in New Westminster, British Columbia, at The Armoury and at Colonel Roger Kenwood St. John, OMM, CD Armoury in Chilliwack, British Columbia. Lineage The Royal Westminster Regiment *Originated 1 April 1910 in New Westminster, British Columbia as the 104th Regiment *Redesignated 15 December 1913 as the 104th Regiment Westminster Fusiliers of Canada *Amalgamated 12 March 1920 with the 6th Regiment "The Duke of Connaught's Own Rifles" to form the 1st British Columbia Regiment *Redesignated 1 November 1920 the 1st British Columbia Regiment (Duke of Connaught's Own) *Reorganized 15 May 1924 into three separate regiments: the 1st British Columbia Regiment (Duke of Connaught's Own) (now the British Columbia Regiment (Duke of Connaught's Own); The Vancouver Re ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Canadian Army
The Canadian Army (french: Armée canadienne) is the command responsible for the operational readiness of the conventional ground forces of the Canadian Armed Forces. It maintains regular forces units at bases across Canada, and is also responsible for the Army Reserve, the largest component of the Primary Reserve. The Army is headed by the concurrently held Commander of the Canadian Army and Chief of the Army Staff, who is subordinate to the Chief of the Defence Staff. The Army is also supported by 3,000 civilian employees from the civil service. Formed in 1855, as the Active Militia, in response to the threat of the United States to the Province of Canada after the British Garrison left for the Crimean War. This Militia was later split into the Permanent Active Militia and the Non-Permanent Active Militia. Finally, in 1940, an Order in Council was issued to rename the active militias to the Canadian Army. On 1 April 1966, prior to the unification of the Canadian Armed For ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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47th Battalion (British Columbia), CEF
The 47th Battalion (British Columbia), CEF, was an infantry battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force during the Great War. History The 47th Battalion was authorized on 7 November 1914 and embarked for Britain on 13 November 1915. It disembarked in France on 11 August 1916, where it fought as part of the 10th Infantry Brigade, 4th Canadian Division in France and Flanders until the end of the war. By war's end the 47th had lost 899 men. One third of the fatalities, 271 men, were killed in the last 100 days of the war. The battalion was disbanded on 30 August 1920.Canadian Forces Publication A-DH-267-003 Insignia and Lineages of the Canadian Forces. Volume 3: Combat Arms Regiments. The 47th Battalion recruited in New Westminster, Vancouver and Victoria, British Columbia and was mobilized at New Westminster.Meek, John F. ''Over the Top! The Canadian Infantry in the First World War.'' Orangeville, Ont.: The Author, 1971. The 47th Battalion had four officers commanding: *Lt-Col ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical region. Italy is also considered part of Western Europe, and shares land borders with France, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia and the enclaved microstates of Vatican City and San Marino. It has a territorial exclave in Switzerland, Campione. Italy covers an area of , with a population of over 60 million. It is the third-most populous member state of the European Union, the sixth-most populous country in Europe, and the tenth-largest country in the continent by land area. Italy's capital and largest city is Rome. Italy was the native place of many civilizations such as the Italic peoples and the Etruscans, while due to its central geographic location in Southern Europe and the Mediterranean, the country has also historically been home ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Bert Hoffmeister
Major General Bertram Meryl Hoffmeister, (15 May 1907 – 4 December 1999) was a Canadian Army officer, businessman, and conservationist. He served with distinction during the last two years of the Second World War, becoming, in Jack Granatstein's words, "the best Canadian fighting general of the war", rising from captain and a company commander in 1939 to major-general and commander of the 5th Canadian (Armoured) Division in 1944. Early life and career Born in Vancouver, British Columbia to parents Louis and Flora, Hoffmeister was a sales manager with the Canadian White Pine Co. Ltd. in Vancouver. He enlisted with the Non-Permanent Active Militia (NPAM, the Canadian Army Reserve Force) in 1927. He was promoted captain in 1934. After he was promoted to major, in 1939, he was made officer commanding a company of the Seaforth Highlanders of Canada, who went to England in 1939, the year the Second World War began, as part of Andrew McNaughton's 1st Canadian Division. Second World ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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German Invasion Of Poland
The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week after the signing of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact between Germany and the Soviet Union, and one day after the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union had approved the pact. The Soviets invaded Poland on 17 September. The campaign ended on 6 October with Germany and the Soviet Union dividing and annexing the whole of Poland under the terms of the German–Soviet Frontier Treaty. The invasion is also known in Poland as the September campaign ( pl, kampania wrześniowa) or 1939 defensive war ( pl, wojna obronna 1939 roku, links=no) and known in Germany as the Poland campaign (german: Überfall auf Polen, Polenfeldzug). German forces invaded Poland from the north, south, and west the morning after the Gleiwitz incident. Slovak military forces adv ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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The British Columbia Regiment (Duke Of Connaught's Own)
, colors = , colors_label = , march = "I'm Ninety-Five" , mascot = , equipment = , equipment_label = , battles = Second Boer WarFirst World WarSecond World WarWar in Afghanistan , anniversaries = , decorations = , commander1 = LCol Vincent Virk , commander1_label = Commanding officer , commander2 = MWO Arnold Matibag , commander2_label = Regimental sergeant major , commander3 = , commander3_label = , notable_commanders = , identification_symbol = , identification_symbol_label = NATO Map Symbol , identification_symbol_4 = BCR (DCO) , identification_symbol_4_label = Abbreviation , battle_honours = , website = The Brit ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Canadian Corps
The Canadian Corps was a World War I corps formed from the Canadian Expeditionary Force in September 1915 after the arrival of the 2nd Canadian Division in France. The corps was expanded by the addition of the 3rd Canadian Division in December 1915 and the 4th Canadian Division in August 1916. The organization of a 5th Canadian Division began in February 1917 but it was still not fully formed when it was broken up in February 1918 and its men used to reinforce the other four divisions. The majority of soldiers of the Canadian Corps were British-born Canadians until near the end of the war, when the number of those of Canadian birth who had enlisted rose to 51 percent. They were mostly volunteers, as conscription was not implemented until the end of the war (''see'' Conscription Crisis of 1917). Ultimately, only 24,132 conscripts made it to France before 11 November 1918. In the later stages of the war the Canadian Corps was regarded by friend and foe alike as one of the most e ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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30th Battalion, CEF
The 30th Battalion, CEF was an infantry battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force during the Great War. History The 30th Battalion was authorized on 27 October 1914 and embarked for Britain on 23 February 1915. It was redesignated as the 30th Reserve Battalion, CEF on 18 April 1915 to provide reinforcements for the Canadian Corps in the field. On 4 January 1917 its personnel were absorbed by the 1st Reserve Battalion, CEF. The battalion was subsequently disbanded on 1 September 1917. The 30th Battalion recruited in British Columbia and was mobilized at Victoria. The 30th battalion had three Officers Commanding: *Lt.-Col. J.A. Hall, 26 February 1915 – 9 June 1915 *Lt.-Col. C.F. De Salis, 10 June 1915 – 6 November 1915 *Lt.-Col. S. Booth, 7 November 1915 – 2 January 1917 The 30th Battalion was awarded the battle honour THE GREAT WAR 1915-1917. Perpetuation The 30th Battalion, CEF, is perpetuated by The British Columbia Regiment (Duke of Connaught's Own).Canadian Forc ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously awarded by countries of the Commonwealth of Nations, most of which have established their own honours systems and no longer recommend British honours. It may be awarded to a person of any military rank in any service and to civilians under military command. No civilian has received the award since 1879. Since the first awards were presented by Queen Victoria in 1857, two-thirds of all awards have been personally presented by the British monarch. The investitures are usually held at Buckingham Palace. The VC was introduced on 29 January 1856 by Queen Victoria to honour acts of valour during the Crimean War. Since then, the medal has been awarded 1,358 times to 1,355 individual recipients. Only 15 medals, of which 11 to members of the Britis ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Filip Konowal
Filip Konowal VC ( uk, Пили́п Миронович Конова́л; ''Pylyp Myronovych Konoval''; 25 March 1887 – 3 June 1959) was a highly decorated Ukrainian Canadian soldier. He is the first Canadian Corps member not born in the British Empire (and the only Ukrainian) to be awarded the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy given to British and Commonwealth forces. He was also entitled to the Cross of St George, 4th Class. He is the patron of Royal Canadian Legion Branch 360 (Konowal Branch) in Toronto. First World War Konowal was born to a peasant family on 25 March 1887 in Kutkivtsi, in the Podolia Governorate of the Russian Empire (now Ukraine) near the border with Austria-Hungary. At an early age, he worked as a mason alongside his father. He married Hanna (?-1932/33) in 1908. They had a daughter, Marichka. Soon after his marriage, he decided to join the Imperial Russian Army, where he served as an instructor in hand-to-han ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Western Front (World War I)
The Western Front was one of the main theatres of war during the First World War. Following the outbreak of war in August 1914, the German Army opened the Western Front by invading Luxembourg and Belgium, then gaining military control of important industrial regions in France. The German advance was halted with the Battle of the Marne. Following the Race to the Sea, both sides dug in along a meandering line of fortified trenches, stretching from the North Sea to the Swiss frontier with France, which changed little except during early 1917 and in 1918. Between 1915 and 1917 there were several offensives along this front. The attacks employed massive artillery bombardments and massed infantry advances. Entrenchments, machine gun emplacements, barbed wire and artillery repeatedly inflicted severe casualties during attacks and counter-attacks and no significant advances were made. Among the most costly of these offensives were the Battle of Verdun, in 1916, with a combined 700,000 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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4th Canadian Division
The 4th Canadian Division is a formation of the Canadian Army. The division was first created as a formation of the Canadian Corps during the First World War. During the Second World War the division was reactivated as the 4th Canadian Infantry Division in 1941 and then converted to armour and redesignated as the 4th Canadian (Armoured) Division. Beginning in 1916 the division adopted a distinctive green-coloured formation patch as its insignia. In 2013 it was announced that Land Force Central Area would be redesignated 4th Canadian Division. It is currently responsible for Canadian Army operations in the Canadian province of Ontario and is headquartered at Denison Armoury in Toronto. First World War The 4th Canadian Division was formed in Britain in April 1916 from several existing units and others scheduled to arrive shortly thereafter. Under the command of Major-general David Watson, the Division embarked for France in August of that year where they served both in the West ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |