The 1st Battalion,

Canadian Mounted Rifles Canadian Mounted Rifles was part of the designation of several mounted infantry units in Canada in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Units of the Permanent Active Militia Units formed for the Second Boer War Independent squadrons of ...

, CEF, was an

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...

battalion of the

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 respo ...

. Raised for service during 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 ...

as part of the

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 ...

(CEF), it was formed in November 1914, in

Brandon, Manitoba Brandon () is the second-largest city in the province of Manitoba, Canada. It is located in the southwestern corner of the province on the banks of the Assiniboine River, approximately west of the provincial capital, Winnipeg, and east of the ...

. Originally a

mounted infantry Mounted infantry were infantry who rode horses instead of marching. The original dragoons were essentially mounted infantry. According to the 1911 ''Encyclopædia Britannica'', "Mounted rifles are half cavalry, mounted infantry merely specially m ...

unit named the 1st Regiment, Canadian Mounted Rifles, CEF, which was expanded, following its rerolling and dismounting as an infantry unit, by absorbing other units of the Canadian Mounted Rifles (CMR).

History

Following the outbreak of the war, the Canadian Government decided to raise an initially volunteer force for service overseas, with the force to be known as the Canadian Expeditionary Force. As a unit of this force, the 1st Battalion, Canadian Mounted Rifles was formed on 7 November 1914 in Brandon, Manitoba. Part of the 1st Brigade Canadian Mounted Rifles, the unit landed in France on September 22, 1915, where the conditions of the Western Front made its mounted status more of a hindrance than a benefit. On January 1, 1916, both CMR brigades (six regiments) were dismounted, converted to infantry and reorganized as the 8th Infantry Brigade (four battalions). The 1st Regiment, CMR, became the 1st Battalion, CMR, and it absorbed half the personnel of the 3rd Regiment, CMR (the other half going to the 2nd Battalion, CMR). The battalion fought in most of the

3rd Canadian 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 ...

's engagements until the end of the war. The 1st CMR, along with the 4th CMR, was manning the 3rd Division's front on June 2, 1916, when the Germans launched their assault at the outset of the

Battle of Mount Sorrel The Battle of Mont Sorrel (''Battle of Mount Sorrel'', ''Battle of Hill 62'') was a local operation in World War I by three divisions of the British Second Army and three divisions of the German 4th Army in the Ypres Salient, near Ypres, Bel ...

. Its positions were overrun, and 557 of its 692 members (80%) were killed, wounded or captured. The battalion was rebuilt over the summer, and it was one of the first

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 ...

units to attack when the corps shifted to the Somme. On September 15, 1916, the 1st CMR was in the first wave attacking

Mouquet Farm The Battle of Mouquet Farm, also known as the Fighting for Mouquet Farm was part of the Battle of the Somme and began during the Battle of Pozières (23 July – 3 September). The fighting began on 23 July with attacks by the British Reserve A ...

. Although the attack gained ground, the Canadians did not take the strong point, but the assault was considered a successful diversion from the main attack on

Courcelette Courcelette () is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Geography Courcelette is situated on the D929 and D107 crossroads, some northeast of Amiens. History Courcelette was a major tactical objective in the ...

. At Vimy Ridge the 1st CMR took 350 prisoners but suffered 365 killed and wounded. Following the end of the war, and efforts of demobilisation, the battalion was disbanded on November 15, 1920.

Perpetuation

Perpetuation of the 1st Battalion, CMR, was initially assigned to the Manitoba Mounted Rifles and The Saskatchewan Mounted Rifles. The Manitoba Mounted Rifles converted to artillery in 1946 as the 118th Medium Battery, RCA (in

Fort William, Ontario Fort William was a city in Ontario, Canada, located on the Kaministiquia River, at its entrance to Lake Superior. It amalgamated with Port Arthur and the townships of Neebing and McIntyre to form the city of Thunder Bay in January 1970. Since th ...

) and this battery was virtually disbanded (see

Supplementary Order of Battle In the Canadian Army, a regiment is placed on the Supplementary Order of Battle when the need for the regiment's existence is no longer relevant. When placed on the Supplementary Order of Battle, a regiment is considered "virtually disbanded", and ...

) in 1965. The Saskatchewan Mounted Rifles merged with the 16th Canadian Light Horse into the 16th/22nd Saskatchewan Horse in 1936, which converted to infantry in 1941 as the Battleford Light Infantry (16th/22nd Saskatchewan Horse). This regiment merged into the Prince Albert and Battleford Volunteers in 1946, which in turn became part of the North Saskatchewan Regiment (Machine Gun) in 1955. This infantry regiment (now simply "

The North Saskatchewan Regiment , garrison = Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, and Prince Albert, Saskatchewan , battles = North-West RebellionFirst World WarSecond World WarWar in Afghanistan , battle_honours = See #Battle h ...

") continues to perpetuate the battle honours and traditions of the battalion.

Battle Honours

* MOUNT SORREL *

SOMME, 1916 The Battle of the Somme ( French: Bataille de la Somme), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place bet ...

* Flers-Courcelette *

Ancre Heights The Ancre (; ) is a river of Picardy, France. Rising at Miraumont, a hamlet near the town of Albert, it flows into the Somme at Corbie. It is long. For most of its length it flows through the department of Somme. For a short stretch near P ...

ARRAS, 1917 The Battle of Arras (also known as the Second Battle of Arras) was a British offensive on the Western Front during the First World War. From 9 April to 16 May 1917, British troops attacked German defences near the French city of Arras on the W ...

, '18 *

Vimy, 1917 The Battle of Vimy Ridge was part of the Battle of Arras, in the Pas-de-Calais department of France, during the First World War. The main combatants were the four divisions of the Canadian Corps in the First Army, against three divisions o ...

HILL 70 The Battle of Hill 70 took place in the First World War between the Canadian Corps and five divisions of the German 6th Army. The battle took place along the Western Front on the outskirts of Lens in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France b ...

Ypres 1917 Ypres ( , ; nl, Ieper ; vls, Yper; german: Ypern ) is a Belgian city and municipality in the province of West Flanders. Though the Dutch name is the official one, the city's French name is most commonly used in English. The municipality co ...

* Passchendaele *

AMIENS Amiens (English: or ; ; pcd, Anmien, or ) is a city and commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme department in the region of Hauts-de-France. In 2021, the population of ...

* Scarpe, 1918 *

Hindenburg Line The Hindenburg Line (German: , Siegfried Position) was a German defensive position built during the winter of 1916–1917 on the Western Front during the First World War. The line ran from Arras to Laffaux, near Soissons on the Aisne. In 191 ...

Canal du Nord The Canal du Nord (, literally ''Canal of the North'') is a long canal in northern France. The canal connects the Canal latéral à l'Oise at Pont-l'Évêque to the Sensée Canal at Arleux. The French government, in partnership with coal-min ...

Cambrai, 1918 The Battle of Cambrai, 1918 (also known as the Second Battle of Cambrai) was a battle between troops of the British First, Third and Fourth Armies and German Empire forces during the Hundred Days Offensive of the First World War. The battle ...

Valenciennes Valenciennes (, also , , ; nl, label=also Dutch, Valencijn; pcd, Valincyinnes or ; la, Valentianae) is a commune in the Nord department, Hauts-de-France, France. It lies on the Scheldt () river. Although the city and region experienced a s ...

FRANCE AND FLANDERS, 1915-18 The Western Front was one of the main Theatre (warfare), theatres of war during the First World War. Following the outbreak of war in August 1914, the German Army (German Empire), German Army opened the Western Front by invading Luxembourg and B ...

References

{{Reflist 001 Military units and formations of Saskatchewan Military units and formations of Manitoba 16th/22nd Saskatchewan Horse North Saskatchewan Regiment

History

Perpetuation

Battle Honours

See Also

References