The 19th Canadian Army Field Regiment (Self Propelled) Royal Canadian Artillery (RCA) was a

Field Artillery Field artillery is a category of mobile artillery used to support armies in the field. These weapons are specialized for mobility, tactical proficiency, short range, long range, and extremely long range target engagement. Until the early 20t ...

regiment in the

Canadian Armed Forces } The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; french: Forces armées canadiennes, ''FAC'') are the unified military forces of Canada, including sea, land, and air elements referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army, and Royal Canadian Air Force. ...

during 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 opposin ...

. They would see action in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

, and the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, before ending the war in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. It was commonly referred to as The 19th Field Regiment, The 19th Army Field Regiment, The 19th Field or by the men of the regiment, Hell on Wheels.

Canada

The 19th Field received its mobilizing orders in August 1941, for three batteries to be formed from the three Reserve Brigade areas in Military District No. 1. The batteries were the 55th Field Battery (

London, Ontario London (pronounced ) is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, along the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. The city had a population of 422,324 according to the 2021 Canadian census. London is at the confluence of the Thames River, approximate ...

), the 63rd Field Battery ( Guelph, Ontario), and the 99th Field Battery (

Wingham, Ontario Wingham (2016 census population 2,934) is a community located in the municipality of North Huron, Ontario, Canada, which is located in Huron County. Wingham became part of North Huron in 2001 when the Ontario government imposed amalgamation on th ...

). From September 1941 to July 1943, the 19th Field was brought up to full strength and received training at

Camp Borden, Ontario Canadian Forces Base Borden (also CFB Borden, French: Base des Forces canadiennes Borden or BFC Borden), formerly RCAF Station Borden, is a large Canadian Forces base located in Ontario. The historic birthplace of the Royal Canadian Air Force, CF ...

; Shilo, Manitoba;

Prince Rupert, British Columbia Prince Rupert is a port city in the province of British Columbia, Canada. Its location is on Kaien Island near the Alaskan panhandle. It is the land, air, and water transportation hub of British Columbia's North Coast, and has a population of 12, ...

; and Petawawa, Ontario. During this time, they trained first with

18-pounder The Ordnance QF 18-pounder,British military traditionally denoted smaller ordnance by the weight of its standard projectile, in this case approximately or simply 18-pounder gun, was the standard British Empire field gun of the First World War ...

s, 4.5" howitzers, and finally, what would become their main armament in Europe, the 25-pounder RAM, better known as the Sexton.

England

On 5 July 1943, the 19th Field received orders to move overseas. They left Halifax on 21 July on board the RMS Queen Elizabeth and arrived in Greenock 27 July 1943 and fell under the command of the

II Canadian Corps II Canadian Corps was a corps-level formation that, along with I Corps (United Kingdom), I (British) Corps (August 1, 1944 to April 1, 1945) and I Canadian Corps (April 6, 1943 to November 1943, and April 1, 1945 until the end of hostilities), ...

. On 19 October 1943, the 19th Field was briefly transferred to the command of the

5th Canadian Armoured Division Fifth is the ordinal form of the number five. Fifth or The Fifth may refer to: * Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, as in the expression "pleading the Fifth" * Fifth column, a political term * Fifth disease, a contagious rash that ...

before once again being transferred to the

3rd Canadian Infantry Division The 3rd Canadian Division is a formation of the Canadian Army responsible for the command and mobilization of all army units in the provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia, as well as all units extending westwards from th ...

when the 5th was moved to the Italian Campaign. Between July 1943 and May 1944, the 19th Field would begin training for the coming invasion of mainland Europe and exchanged their Sextons for American M7 Priests, which were self-propelled 25-pounders, similar to the Sexton that had an armament of 105mm and could fire a distance of 11,500 yards. While in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, the 19th took part in several training operations, but specifically "Exercise Savvy". It was the first divisional training exercise the regiment took part in, which focused on the firing of artillery on ships towards coastal targets and landing on beaches under fire. While in

, the 19th Field was also inspected by General Bernard Montgomery on 28 February 1944, and

King George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of Ind ...

on 25 April 1944, in the prelude to the invasion of Europe. On 23 May 1944, the 19th Field's camp was sealed for security reasons and plans were finalized for

Operation Overlord Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allies of World War II, Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Front (World War II), Western Europe during World War II. The operat ...

: the long-awaited invasion of German occupied France. The final preparations were made as all vehicles were waterproofed and ammunition was brought up. On 1 June 1944, the 19th Field moved to its marshalling areas in

Gosport Gosport ( ) is a town and non-metropolitan borough on the south coast of Hampshire, South East England. At the 2011 Census, its population was 82,662. Gosport is situated on a peninsula on the western side of Portsmouth Harbour, opposite t ...

and

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

before embarking on the longest day. On June 3, 1944, Forward Observation Officers (FOOs) went to their respective units with the

North Shore Regiment The North Shore (New Brunswick) Regiment is a Primary Reserve infantry regiment of the Canadian Army, and is part of the 5th Canadian Division's 37 Canadian Brigade Group. The regiment is headquartered in Bathurst, New Brunswick, with sub-units ...

Landing Craft Landing craft are small and medium seagoing watercraft, such as boats and barges, used to convey a landing force (infantry and vehicles) from the sea to the shore during an amphibious assault. The term excludes landing ships, which are larger. Pr ...

were prepared to be filled with infantry units.

D-Day: 6 June 1944

The Canadian assault on

Juno Beach Juno or Juno Beach was one of five beaches of the Allied invasion of German-occupied France in the Normandy landings on 6 June 1944 during the Second World War. The beach spanned from Courseulles, a village just east of the British beach Gold ...

had three infantry brigades – the

7th 7 (seven) is the natural number following 6 and preceding 8. It is the only prime number preceding a cube (algebra), cube. As an early prime number in the series of positive integers, the number seven has greatly symbolic associations in religion ...

, 8th and 9th – of the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division with the

landing at Courseulles-sur-Mer, the 8th at Bernieres-sur-Mer and St. Aubin-sur-Mer with the 9th landing after the initial assault passing through the 8th's sector and advancing on Authie and

Carpiquet Carpiquet () is a commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France. Caen – Carpiquet Airport is located in Carpiquet. Geography Carpiquet is on the western side of the Caen metropolitan area. The town is divided ...

airfield before capturing the high ground above

Caen Caen (, ; nrf, Kaem) is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the department of Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inhabitants (), while its functional urban area has 470,000,M7 Priest guns into action. Specifically, the 19th was part of the 14th Canadian Field Regiment Artillery Group led by Lt.-Col. H.S. Griffin with each regiment firing towards the beaches from four Landing Craft towards their target of Nan Red beach. The

carrying the 19th and the other three Field Regiments advanced at about 6:30 a.m. with the 22nd and 30th LCT Flotilla carrying the 24 M7 Priests of the 19th. At 7:39 a.m., Major Peene the Fire Control Officer, gave the order to commence firing when they were 9,000 yards out. The guns of the 19th were the first Canadian to go into action and began firing towards

northern France Northern France may refer to: *the north of France, especially: **the region of Hauts-de-France **the former region of Nord-Pas-de-Calais **Nord (French department) Nord (; officially french: département du Nord; pcd, départémint dech Nord ...

to signal the imminent invasion of German occupied Europe. Each gun launched 100 to 150 rounds over the course of about 30 minutes further saturating the German held territory. One gun from each of the six troops were firing phosphorus shells with seven fires being started on the Nan Red beach The commander of the

, General Rod Keller, said the SP's "put on the best shoot they ever did." The Field Regiments had their M7 Priests strapped to the deck of the

landing craft Landing craft are small and medium seagoing watercraft, such as boats and barges, used to convey a landing force (infantry and vehicles) from the sea to the shore during an amphibious assault. The term excludes landing ships, which are larger. Pr ...

and went in firing towards the beaches as planes and naval vessels pounded the beaches. After they reached a 2,000 yards from shore they turned around and passed the inbound

infantry of the first wave. Once the beachhead had been secured they came around again and landed with the second wave of infantry to provide close artillery support against any German counterattack. Artillery is often a feared weapon of war, but studies conducted by the 21st Army Group's 2nd Operational Research Section found the gunners were highly inaccurate thanks to the intense waves of the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...

. The report said the 19th missed their targets by up to 1,000 yards since they were sent on the wrong course inland by the navy. Once it was corrected, the inaccuracy prevailed with the unpredictable

wreaking havoc on the sights of the gunners. They were still about 700 yards wide and 300 yards deep from their intended target. Also causing difficulty was that the concrete fortifications were between three and seven feet in thickness. At 9:10 a.m. 'D' Troop of the 63rd Battery landed west of St. Aubin-sur-Mer under mortar and rifle fire on Nan Red beach and within 10 minutes they had their first gun 200 yards inland and in action providing fire support. 'C' Troop followed shortly after with 'E' and 'F' Troop also landing and in action by 10 a.m. with the 55th Battery and Q Battery being delayed due to a rudder being damaged and massive traffic trying to land on the beaches. Shortly after landing, the 19th took their first casualties of the war with Lt. Malcolm, the regimental survey officer, being wounded and Gunner B.T. McHughen being killed. A further two men were killed and 17 more wounded on the first day. The regiment had its vehicle damaged when a M7 Priest of 'E' Troop hitting a mine and a track was blown off with it taking two hours to repair. The 55th Battery also faced its first difficulty when an ammunition explosion had two M7 Priests and a

Bren Carrier The Bren gun was a series of light machine guns (LMG) made by Britain in the 1930s and used in various roles until 1992. While best known for its role as the British and British Empire, Commonwealth forces' primary infantry LMG in World War II, ...

catch fire quickly spreading to other vehicles and threatening to become larger as it moved towards live ammunition. Gunner H.R. Chaplin, already wounded from shrapnel, jumped in the

that had the ammunition and moved it safety to prevent further casualties or damage. Chaplin received the

Military Medal The Military Medal (MM) was a military decoration awarded to personnel of the British Army and other arms of the armed forces, and to personnel of other Commonwealth countries, below commissioned rank, for bravery in battle on land. The award ...

for this act. They ran into the German 716th Infantry Division that was primarily used as an occupation division and primarily made up of Polish, Russians, Ukrainians and other nationalities from the Soviet Union who were pressed into service. They had mostly obsolete Czechoslovakian equipment from the late-1930s, but also had a small cadre of non-commissioned officers that had combat experience on the Eastern Front giving the green troops veteran leadership. The 19th ended D-Day in positions just outside St. Aubin-sur-Mer with them being called for close fire support multiple times throughout the day as German tanks and infantry counterattacked the positions gained by Canadian infantry. With night falling over northern France and the

Allied An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

beachhead secured the 19th had three soldiers killed and another 18 wounded in the first 24 hours of

Route Followed in Action

Normandy

* June 6, 1944 – St. Aubin-sur-Mer (Juno Beach, Nan Red sector) * June 8, 1944 – Basly * July 3, 1944 – Bretteville L'Org-Euilleuse * July 5, 1944 – Bouanville * July 8, 1944 – Rosel * July 10, 1944 – St. Germaine * July 17, 1944 – Le Landel * July 19, 1944 – North of Caen * July 21, 1944 – Cormelles * July 31, 1944 – Villons les Buissons * August 9, 1944 – Roquancourt Cintheaux * August 11, 1944 – St. Aignan de Cramesnil * August 14, 1944 – Northeast Bretteville le Robert * August 15, 1944 – Bout du Haut, north of Olenden * August 17, 1944 – Southeast of Perrieres * August 19, 1944 – Northeast of Trun * August 23, 1944 – Bayeux * August 31, 1944 – Le Gros la Thiel

France

* September 1, 1944 – Crossing the Seine River near Mesnil Raoul * September 5, 1944 – Biencourt * September 6, 1944 – Cross the Somme River * September 7, 1944 – St. Omer * September 8, 1944 – Entered Belgium

Belgium

* September 8, 1944 – Hoogstde * September 10, 1944 – Den Daelo * September 12, 1944 – Syssaele * September 13, 1944 – Maele * September 16, 1944 – Eeklo * September 17, 1944 – Ertvelde * September 19, 1944 – Fonteine * September 21, 1944 – West of Saas v. Gent * September 22, 1944 – Caprycke

Netherlands

* October 8, 1944 – Sluiskil * October 9, 1944 – West of Hoek * October 18, 1944 – Fort d'Ertbrand * October 21, 1944 – Calmpthout * October 23, 1944 – De Lonik * October 27, 1944 – Vleet * October 30, 1944 – West of Zoomvliet * October 31, 1944 – Vrederust * November 5, 1944 – North of Steenbergen * November 7, 1944 – Vrederust * November 8, 1944 – Northeast of Tilburg * November 10, 1944 – Drunen * November 12, 1944 – Molenhoek (Horssen) * December 9, 1944 – Vlijmen * January 13, 1945 – Waalwijk * January 14, 1945 – Vlijmen * January 25, 1945 – Waalwijk * February 1, 1945 – Vlijmen * February 3, 1945 – Groesbeek

Germany

* February 11, 1945 – Reichswald Forest * February 20, 1945 – Louisendorf * February 27, 1945 – Northeast of Uedem * March 2, 1945 – Hochwald Forest * March 5, 1945 – Xanten Forest * March 9, 1945 – Boomenhof * March 12, 1945 – Tilburg * March 22, 1945 – Huisberden * March 31, 1945 – Cleve * April 1, 1945 – Bienen, near Rhine River * April 2, 1945 – Barchem (Netherlands) * April 3, 1945 – Gegdam * April 5, 1945 – North of Borne (Netherlands) * April 6, 1945 – Neuenhaus * April 8, 1945 – Meppen, west canal * April 9, 1945 – Meppen, east canal * April 10, 1945 – Sogel * April 11, 1945 – Werhlt * April 12, 1945 – South of Friesoythe * April 15, 1945 – North of Friesoythe * April 25, 1945 – Kusten canal * April 29, 1945 – Burgfelde * May 3, 1945 – Northeast of Bad Zwischenahn * May 4, 1945 – Bake * May 5, 1945 – Near Wilfstede

Regiment's Batteries

* The 55th: Was formed in

and was composed of "A" (Able) and "B" (Baker) Troop. * The 63rd: Was formed in Guelph, Ontario and was composed of "C" (Charlie) and "D" (Dog) Troop. "D" Troop was the first unit in the 19th Field to see combat in the Second World War when they landed on the morning of

June 6, 1944 The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allies of World War II, Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and ...

. * The 99th: Was formed from the area surrounding

and was composed of "E" (Easy) and "F" (Fox) Troop. * Q Battery: Q Battery was the regimental headquarters, which also included logistical troops attached with the 19th Field Regiment. Unlike the other three batteries, there was no central location for organizing Q Battery. This is largely due to many soldiers and officers being transferred and promoted as the war went on.

Casualties in Action

* 38 Killed (3 Officers, 35 Other Ranks) (3 Died of Wounds, 1 Death, 6 Accidentally Killed, 28 Killed in Action) * 118 Wounded (14 Officers, 104 Other Ranks) * 1 Prisoner (1 Officer) Killed in Action # Gunner Arthur Baird # Gunner Arthur William Curphey # Gunner Bernard Thomas McHughen # Lance Bombardier Charles Edward Marshall # Gunner Charles Louis Barron ''(Died of Wounds)'' # Gunner Charles Walter Irwin Traer # Gunner Don Bohdan Rawluk ''(accidentally killed)'' # Gunner Edward James Patterson ''(accidentally killed)'' # Gunner Edwin Palm # Gunner Francis Henry Walden # Signalman George Gadsdon ''(accidentally killed)'' # Gunner Gordon Sinclair Fisher # Gunner Gordon Robert Douglas # Bombardier Harold Chester Wetherup ''(accidentally killed)'' # Gunner Harold Edward Gibbs # Gunner Harold Elmer Warden ''(Died of Wounds)'' # Gunner Harvey Lloyd Walker # Captain Hedley Maurice Harrison # Gunner Henry Bolton Hennings ''(accidentally killed)'' # Captain James McLean McKague # Gunner John Bradley # Gunner John Cameron Samuel Robinson # Captain John Lawrence Murdoch # Bombardier John Owen Gibbons ''(Died of Wounds)'' # Gunner John Vimy Mugford # Gunner Joseph Eccleston # Gunner Kenneth Bruce Childs # Sergeant Murray Oliver Kirby # Gunner Pierre William Foss # Gunner Robert Christopher Thompson # Gunner Robert Fintan Keating # Gunner Robert Orr Douglas Rock # Gunner Steven Stratychuk # Gunner Vincenso Ruggerio # Gunner Walter Carlyle Little # Gunner Walter Gordon Ward # Signalman William Colin Soule # Signalman William Domville Clark # Sergeant William Hubert Graham ''(accidentally killed)''

Honours and awards

* 1 – Order of the British Empire (O.B.E.) (Lt. Col. L.G. Clarke) * 3 –

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC i ...

(Capt. T. Bond, Capt. R.I. Grant, Capt. V.C. Morrison) * 1 – Croix de Guerre with Gilt Star (Major A.B. Peene) * 1 – Croix de Guerre with Bronze Cross (Sjt. L.G. Furniss) * 1 –

(Gnr. H.R. Chaplin) * 6 –

Mentioned in Despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

(Major A.B. Peene, Capt. G.R. Malcolm, Capt. J.L. Murdoch, Capt. J.C. Stewart, Sjt. L.G. Furniss (Twice), Lsjt. W.J. Simon (Twice)) * 1 – Commander-in-Chief's Certificate (Gnr. D. McLaggain)

Commanding officers

*Lt. Col. C.D. Crowe; M.C., E.D. (18 Dec. 1941 – 1 Jan. 1943) *Lt. Col. L.G. Clarke;

O.B.E. The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(1 Jan. 1943 – 10 Dec. 1944) *Lt. Col. R.D. Telford (10 Dec. 1944 – 17 June 1945) :Telford transferred from the 23rd Field Regiment, RCA when he was promoted from Major to Lt. Col. *Lt. Col. A.G. Goldie; D.S.O. (17 June 1945 – Dec. 1945)

References

{{Reflist Field artillery regiments of Canada Regiments of Canada in World War II Military units and formations established in 1941 Military units and formations disestablished in 1946 Military units and formations of Ontario