The 12
e Régiment blindé du Canada (a translation of its former name, the "12th Canadian Armoured Regiment") is a
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 res ...
armoured
Armour (British English) or armor (American English; see spelling differences) is a covering used to protect an object, individual, or vehicle from physical injury or damage, especially direct contact weapons or projectiles during combat, or f ...
regiment
A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation.
In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscript ...
based in
CFB Valcartier
Canadian Forces Base Valcartier (CFB Valcartier), now re-designated 2 Canadian Division Support Base Valcartier (2 CDSB Valcartier), is a Canadian Forces base located in the municipality of Saint-Gabriel-de-Valcartier, north northwest of Quebe ...
, on the outskirts of
Quebec City
Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the metropolitan area had a population of 839,311. It is t ...
. The regiment has both a Regular Force and a Primary Reserve unit. The 12
e Régiment blindé du Canada's abbreviation is 12
e RBC.
In the Regular Force regiment, all three
Squadrons are based on the
LAV family of vehicles and are designated as light armoured cavalry squadrons. Each squadron is currently organized into troops of four vehicles each. C Squadron, 12
e RBC is located at
CFB Gagetown
5th Canadian Division Support Base (5 CDSB) Gagetown, formerly known as and commonly referred to as CFB Gagetown, is a large Canadian Forces Base covering an area over , located in southwestern New Brunswick.
Construction of the base
At the ...
as part of C Squadron, the
Royal Canadian Dragoons
The Royal Canadian Dragoons (RCD) is the senior armoured regiment of the Canadian Army by precedence. It is one of three armoured regiments in the Regular Force and forms part of the Royal Canadian Armoured Corps.
The colonel-in-chief of The ...
.
Lineage
12e Régiment blindé du Canada
*Originated 24 March 1871 in Trois-Rivières, Quebec as the Three Rivers Provisional Battalion of Infantry
*Redesignated 4 June 1880 as the 86th "Three Rivers" Battalion of Infantry
*Redesignated 8 May 1900 as the 86th Three Rivers Regiment
*Redesignated 29 March 1920 as The Three Rivers Regiment
*Converted 15 December 1936 to armour and redesignated as The Three Rivers Regiment (Tank)
*Redesignated 13 August 1940 as the 2nd Regiment, The Three Rivers Regiment (Tank)
*Redesignated 1 April 1941 as the 12th (Reserve) Army Tank Battalion, (The Three Rivers Regiment (Tank))
*Redesignated 15 August 1942 as the 12th (Reserve) Army Tank Regiment (The Three Rivers Regiment (Tank))
*Converted 1 April 1946 to artillery and redesignated as the 46th Anti-Tank Regiment, RCA (Three Rivers Regiment)
*Converted 19 June 1947 to armour and redesignated the 24th Armoured Regiment (Three Rivers Regiment)
*Redesignated 4 February 1949 as Le Régiment de Trois-Rivières (24th Armoured Regiment)
*Redesignated 19 May 1958 as Le Régiment de Trois-Rivières (RCAC)
*Redesignated 2 May 1968 as the 12
e Régiment blindé du Canada
[Canadian Forces Publication A-DH-267-003 Insignia and Lineages of the Canadian Forces. Volume 3: Combat Arms Regiments.]
Lineage Chart
Perpetuations
War of 1812
*8th Battalion, Select Embodied Militia
*Trois-Rivières Division
The Great War
*
178th Battalion (Canadien-Français), CEF
The 178th (Canadien-Français) Battalion, CEF was a unit in the Canadian Expeditionary Force during the First World War.
Based in Victoriaville, Quebec, the unit began recruiting during the winter of 1915/16 in Military Districts 4 and 5, and in e ...
*
259th Battalion, Canadian Rifles, CEF (Siberia)
The 259th Battalion, Canadian Rifles, CEF (Siberia), was an infantry battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force Siberia during the Great War.
History
The 259th Battalion was authorized on 1 November 1918 and embarked for Russia on 22 and 26 ...
Operational history
The Great War
The
178th Battalion (Canadien-Français), CEF
The 178th (Canadien-Français) Battalion, CEF was a unit in the Canadian Expeditionary Force during the First World War.
Based in Victoriaville, Quebec, the unit began recruiting during the winter of 1915/16 in Military Districts 4 and 5, and in e ...
was authorized on 15 July 1916 and embarked for Britain on 3 March 1917, where, on 16 March 1917, its personnel were absorbed by the 10th Reserve Battalion, CEF to provide reinforcements for the Canadian Corps in the field. The battalion disbanded on 21 May 1917.
The
259th Battalion, Canadian Rifles, CEF (Siberia)
The 259th Battalion, Canadian Rifles, CEF (Siberia), was an infantry battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force Siberia during the Great War.
History
The 259th Battalion was authorized on 1 November 1918 and embarked for Russia on 22 and 26 ...
was authorized on 1 November 1918 and embarked for Russia on 22 and 26 December 1918. There, it served with the 16th Infantry Brigade as part of the Allied Forces in eastern Russia until 19 May 1919. The battalion disbanded on 6 November 1920.
The Second World War
The regiment mobilized as The Three Rivers Regiment (Tank), CASF, for active service on 1 September 1939. It was redesignated as The Three Rivers Regiment (Tank), CAC, CASF, on 13 August 1940. It was converted to armour on 23 November 1940, and to an army tank battalion on 11 February 1941, designated as the 12th Army Tank Battalion (The Three Rivers Regiment (Tank)), CAC, CASF. It was redesignated as the 12th Army Tank Regiment (Three Rivers Regiment (Tank)), CAC, CASF, on 15 May 1942; as the 12th Armoured Regiment (Three Rivers Regiment), CAC, CASF, on 26 August 1943; and as the 12th Armoured Regiment (Three Rivers Regiment), RCAC, CASF on 2 August 1945.
On 21 June 1941 it embarked for Britain. The regiment landed in Sicily on 10 July 1943 and in Italy on 12 September 1943 as part of the 1st Canadian Armoured Brigade. On 8 March 1945 the regiment moved with the I Canadian Corps to North-West Europe as part of OPERATION GOLDFLAKE. There it fought until the end of the war. The overseas regiment disbanded on 30 November 1945.
Post-war
The Regular Force regiment served on peacekeeping duty in CYPRUS as part of OPERATION SNOWGOOSE from August 1990 to March 1991.
Afghanistan
The Regular regiment provided several reconnaissance squadrons and troops and tank crews to the Canadian Task Forces that served in Afghanistan from 2002 to 2014.
History
Its origins are in The Three Rivers Regiment, a militia (Reserve Force) regiment based in
Trois-Rivières
Trois-Rivières (, – 'Three Rivers') is a city in the Mauricie administrative region of Quebec, Canada, at the confluence of the Saint-Maurice and Saint Lawrence rivers, on the north shore of the Saint Lawrence River across from the city of ...
, a town halfway between
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...
and Quebec City. It originally formed in 1871 as the Three Rivers Provisional Battalion of Infantry. This was a new battalion headquarters that united four previously independent infantry companies that had been formed in 1869 at Trois-Rivières,
Rivière-du-Loup-en-Haut
Louiseville is a town in the Mauricie region of the province of Quebec in Canada. It is located near the mouth of the 'Rivière-du-Loup', on the north shore of Lac Saint-Pierre.
Louiseville is twinned with Soissons in France and Cerfontaine in ...
,
Berthier-en-Haut and
Saint-Gabriel-de-Brandon
Saint-Gabriel-de-Brandon is a municipality (Quebec), municipality in the D'Autray Regional County Municipality in the Lanaudière region of Quebec, Canada.
History
The first settlers, mostly Irish and Scottish Loyalists, came around 1825 to the ...
. The battalion was given a number in 1880 (86th "Three Rivers" Battalion of Infantry) and raised to regiment status in 1900 (86th Three Rivers Regiment).
In the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, the Canadian militia infantry units were not mobilized, but instead new units were formed from volunteers from the militia and new recruits. The militia units generally became organizations for recruiting, induction and preliminary training. The 86th Regiment recruited the
178th "Overseas" Battalion, CEF, in 1916. The 178th Battalion was broken up in England in 1917, but enough of its former members fought at the
Battle of Amiens (1918) that the battalion qualified for a
battle honour
A battle honour is an award of a right by a government or sovereign to a military unit to emblazon the name of a battle or operation on its flags ("colours"), uniforms or other accessories where ornamentation is possible.
In European military t ...
, which the 12
e RBC perpetuates.
The regiment also perpetuates the 259th Battalion, Canadian Rifles, Canadian Expeditionary Force (Siberia).
In the post-war reorganization of the Militia, the 86th Regiment lost its number, becoming simply The Three Rivers Regiment. In the 1936 reorganization, it became an infantry tank unit, The Three Rivers Regiment (Tank).
In the Second World War, the regiment mobilized an armoured regiment, which sailed to England in 1941. After two years of training, the 12th Armoured Regiment (Three Rivers Regiment) landed in Sicily, where it supported
1st Canadian Infantry Division
The 1st Canadian Division (French: ''1re Division du Canada'' ) is a joint operational command and control formation based at CFB Kingston, and falls under Canadian Joint Operations Command. It is a high-readiness unit, able to move on very short ...
throughout
Operation Husky
Operation or Operations may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media
* ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity
* Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory
* ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Ma ...
almost exclusively and gained a reputation for tenacity and courage. The 12th CAR was the first Canadian armoured regiment to destroy panzers in battle; a
Panzer III
The ''Panzerkampfwagen III'', commonly known as the Panzer III, was a medium tank developed in the 1930s by Germany, and was used extensively in World War II. The official German ordnance designation was Sd.Kfz. 141. It was intended to fight ot ...
and one of the
Mark IV "Specials" were destroyed by its men at
Grammichele
Grammichele ( scn, Grammicheli, Greek: ''Echetle'' (meaning "plowshare"); Latin: ''Echetla'', ''Ochula''; Medieval: ''Occhiolà'') is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Catania in Sicily, southern Italy. It is located at the feet o ...
on July 15. The regiment also took part
Operation Baytown
Operation Baytown was an Allied amphibious landing on the mainland of Italy that took place on 3 September 1943, part of the Allied invasion of Italy, itself part of the Italian Campaign, during the Second World War.
Planning
The attack was ...
, landings on the Italian mainland in September 1943, as well and were often called upon to support British infantry battalions based on their quiet professionalism. Though the formation it was part of was originally known as 1st Tank Brigade, the name was changed to
1st Canadian Armoured Brigade
The 1st Canadian Army Tank Brigade, later known as 1st Canadian Armoured Brigade, was an armoured brigade of the Canadian Army, raised during the Second World War. The brigade was composed of the 11th, 12th and 14th Canadian Armoured regiments ...
later on.
After the war, the regiment was given a (partially) French name: Le Régiment de Trois-Rivières (24th Armoured Regiment).
In 1968 the regiment was renamed and expanded to include a new Regular Force regiment in addition to the original Militia regiment. The Regular Force unit is called 12
e Régiment blindé du Canada, and the Militia unit is named 12
e Régiment blindé du Canada (Militia) (or in French, ''12
e Régiment blindé du Canada (Milice)''). The number in the regimental title commemorates the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
unit, 12th Armoured Regiment (Three Rivers Regiment).
File:12eregimentCoyote.jpg, LAV-25 Coyote du 12e Régiment blindé du Canada.
File:MVC-252F.JPG, 12e Régiment blindé du Canada
Alliances
* –
Royal Tank Regiment
* – 2
e Régiment de hussards
* -
3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion
3d Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion (3D LAR BN) is a fast and mobilized armored terrestrial reconnaissance battalion of the United States Marine Corps. Their primary weapon system is the LAV-25 and they are part of the 1st Marine Divis ...
Battle honours
In the list below, battle honours in capitals were awarded for participation in large operations and campaigns, while those in lowercase indicate honours granted for more specific battles. Those battle honours in bold type are emblazoned on the regimental
guidon.
War of 1812
* Non-emblazonable honorary distinction
Great War
*
*
[CanadianSoldiers.com The Canadian Soldier in the 20th Century]
accessed 6 August 2014
Second World War
War in Afghanistan
*
Notes:
Trois-Rivières Military Museum
The museum collects, preserves, researches, interprets and exhibits artifacts which reflect the military history of Trois-Rivières, the 12th Armoured Regiment (Three Rivers Regiment) story and the history of the Canadian Militia. The museum serves as a training medium to teach regimental history, and to stimulate and foster within the general public an ongoing interest in the regiment, its activities and accomplishments.
[A-AD-266-000/AG-001 Canadian Forces Museums –Operations and Administration 2002-04-03] The Museum is affiliated with:
CMA,
CHIN,
OMMC and
Virtual Museum of Canada
The Digital Museums Canada (DMC; , ''MNC'') is a funding program in Canada "dedicated to online projects by the museum and heritage community," helping organizations to build digital capacity.
Administered by the Canadian Museum of History (CMH) ...
.
Order of precedence
Regular Force
While the regiment is the oldest of the
Regular Force In the Canadian Armed Forces, a Regular Force unit or person is part of the full-time military, as opposed to being part of the Primary Reserve which has more flexibility. There are many bases and wings across Canada, and factors like trade, career ...
armoured regiments, its Regular Force component takes its precedence from its date of entry into the Regular Force (1968). The Reserve Force component continues to take its precedence from 1871 within the Reserve Force.
Reserve Force
Notes and references
External links
Official site of the Reserve Regiment*
Regimental association
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:12e Regiment blinde du Canada
Military units and formations established in 1968
Armoured regiments of Canada
1968 establishments in Quebec
Military units and formations of Quebec
Military units and formations of Canada in World War II
Former infantry regiments of Canada