The 19th Battalion (Central Ontario), CEF was an infantry battalion of the First World War

Canadian Expeditionary Force The Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) was the expeditionary field force of Canada during the First World War. It was formed following Britain’s declaration of war on Germany on 15 August 1914, with an initial strength of one infantry division ...

History

The battalion was originally raised at Exhibition Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on 6 November 1914. As part of the

4th Canadian Brigade The 4th Canadian Infantry Brigade was an infantry brigade of the Canadian Army active during World War I and World War II. Raised in 1915, the brigade formed part of the 2nd Canadian Division and fought on the Western Front (World War I), Weste ...

2nd Canadian Division The 2nd Canadian Division (2 Cdn Div; french: 2e Division du Canada) is a formation of the Canadian Army in the province of Quebec, Canada. The present command was created 2013 when Land Force Quebec Area was re-designated. The main unit housed ...

, the 19th went from its station in Toronto to West Sandling Camp, Shorncliffe, England, 23 May 1915 and then to France on 14 September 1915 where it served from 1915 to 1919.

1916 World War Service

Battle of Thiepval

CANADIAN FORCES IN THE FIRST WORLD WAR CO2680

The 19th moved out at 6:45 p.m. on 25 September 1916, following the

20th 20 (twenty; Roman numeral XX) is the natural number following 19 and preceding 21. A group of twenty units may also be referred to as a score. In mathematics *20 is a pronic number. *20 is a tetrahedral number as 1, 4, 10, 20. *20 is the ba ...

18th 18 (eighteen) is the natural number following 17 and preceding 19. In mathematics * Eighteen is a composite number, its divisors being 1, 2, 3, 6 and 9. Three of these divisors (3, 6 and 9) add up to 18, hence 18 is a semiperfect number. ...

, and

21st 21 (twenty-one) is the natural number following 20 and preceding 22. The current century is the 21st century AD, under the Gregorian calendar. In mathematics 21 is: * a composite number, its proper divisors being 1, 3 and 7, and a defici ...

Canadian battalions on the Albert-Bapaume road toward Courcelette. They were instructed to be at the ready for any movement as they staged themselves at the road with G.F. Morrison commanding. On the 26th, the 19th was instructed to move to Sausage Valley and be ready, and they arrived on the 27th. On the 28th, the 19th was instructed to push forward towards

Le Sars Le Sars is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France. Geography Le Sars is situated south of Arras, at the junction of the D11 and the D929 roads. Population Places of interest * The church of St.Pi ...

where the enemy line was. On the 29th, heavy artillery fire rained down on their position, resulting in heavy casualties. Reports came in that the British had taken the Destremont farm southwest of Le Sars while snipers fired on their position. With a fair amount of shelling coming from

Pys Pys is a commune in the Somme ''département'' in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Geography Pys is situated on the D929 road, some north of Amiens Amiens (English: or ; ; pcd, Anmien, or ) is a city and commune in northern France, ...

, orders came from Rennie to push forward. In his diary of the action at Thiepval, Private John Mould of the 19th expressed the intensity of the advance: On 15 October 1916, Major General

R.E.W. Turner Lieutenant General Sir Richard Ernest William Turner, (25 July 1871 – 19 June 1961) was a senior Canadian Army officer who served during the Second Boer War and the First World War, and was a recipient of the Victoria Cross. While Turner alwa ...

, V.C.,

K.C.B. The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved bathing (as a symbol of purification) as o ...

K.C.M.G. The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III. It is named in honou ...

, D.S.O., commander of the 2nd Canadian Division, decorated the men who were honoured for their recent service in battle.

Battle of Le Transloy

The 19th, without its D-Company, who had joined the 20th Battalion, joined with the 18th and 20th Canadian Infantry Battalions, the 4th and 5th Canadian Infantry Brigades, and the 23rd British Division on 1 October 1916 in a concentrated attack of the German lines near

Le Transloy Le Transloy () is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France. Geography Le Transloy is situated south of Arras, at the junction of the N17 and the D19 roads. Population Places of interest * The churc ...

. On 3 October, D-Company rejoined the 19th, and were relieved by th
21st Canadian Infantry Battalion
Total losses were 13 killed, 87 wounded, 29 sick, and 3 missing.

Battle of the Ancre Heights

1917 World War Service

* Vimy Ridge * Hill 70 * Passchendaele

1918 World War Service

* First Battle of the Somme (1918) * Battle of Amiens * Second Battle of the Somme (1918) * Drocourt-Quéant *

Battle of the Hindenburg Line A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

* Battle of the Canal du Nord * Pursuit to Mons

Perpetuation

The 19th Battalion (Central Ontario), CEF is perpetuated by

The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada (Princess Louise's) (Scotland forever) , colors = , identification_symbol_2 Sutherland, identification_symbol_2_label = Tartan , march = Quick: "The Campbells Are Coming" , mascot = , ...

References

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019 Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number), the natural number following 18 and preceding 20 * one of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (film), a 1987 science fiction film Music ...

Military units and formations established in 1914 Military units and formations disestablished in 1919 1914 establishments in Ontario Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada (Princess Louise's)