1st Canadian Armoured Brigade formation sign

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 and saw service in the Italian campaign and later in north-west Europe. It was one of only two independent Canadian armoured brigades in combat, the other being

2nd Canadian Armoured Brigade The 2nd Canadian Armoured Brigade was an armoured brigade of the Canadian Army that saw active service during World War II. The brigade was composed of the 6th, 10th and 27th Canadian Armoured regiments and saw service in northwest Europe, landin ...

History

The 1st Canadian Tank Brigade was formed on 4 February 1941. The Ontario Regiment and The Three Rivers Regiment were transferred from the incomplete 1st Canadian Armoured Division to provide the nucleus of the 1st Canadian Tank Brigade in February 1941. In March,

The Calgary Regiment The King's Own Calgary Regiment (RCAC), (''The King's Own'' or ''The KOCR''), is a Canadian Army armoured reconnaissance regiment of the Canadian Armed Forces Primary Reserve. Headquartered at the Mewata Armoury in Calgary, Alberta, the KOCR i ...

joined the new brigade from 2nd Division. The Fort Garry Horse were also originally part of the brigade, but transferred to the 5th Canadian (Armoured) Division in May 1941. The Campaign in Sicily 1943 NA5141

The 1st Tank Brigade moved to the United Kingdom in the summer of 1941; personnel arrived in the Clyde on 30 June and were promptly moved to

Salisbury Plain Salisbury Plain is a chalk plateau in the south western part of central southern England covering . It is part of a system of chalk downlands throughout eastern and southern England formed by the rocks of the Chalk Group and largely lies wi ...

where they were issued sufficient Churchill tanks for training. The Calgary Regiment participated in the disastrous Dieppe landing in 1942. Issued brand new M4 "Sherman" tanks, the entire brigade moved to the Mediterranean, with The Three Rivers Regiment participating in the assault landing at Pachino. The remainder of the brigade landed with the follow-up convoy of 13 July and served alongside the Three Rivers Regiment for the final weeks of the Allied invasion of Sicily. The 1st Tank Brigade's role in the latter operations was largely one of fire support, the rugged terrain limiting the role of the armoured corps. The fight for Sicily ended with 1st Tank in reserve. Preparing for Operation Baytown, the Allied invasion of Italy, it was redesignated 1st Canadian Armoured Brigade in August 1943. Although reorganized as an armoured brigade, no motor battalion served under command. Having established a reputation for both courage and skill, the Canadian tankers were in constant demand by senior British commanders. The brigade took part in the landings of the Eighth Army on the toe of Italy in Operation Baytown in September 1943. Its regiments participated in the Battles of Potenza, Termoli,

Ortona Ortona (Neapolitan language, Abruzzese: '; grc, Ὄρτων, Órtōn) is a coastal town and municipality of the Province of Chieti in the Italy, Italian region of Abruzzo, with some 23,000 inhabitants. In 1943 Ortona was the site of a Battle o ...

. During the fourth and final

Battle of Monte Cassino The Battle of Monte Cassino, also known as the Battle for Rome and the Battle for Cassino, was a series of four assaults made by the Allies against German forces in Italy during the Italian Campaign of World War II. The ultimate objective was ...

in May 1944, the brigade helped break the Winter Line (Gustav Line), crossing the Gari River in support of the

8th Indian Division The 8th Mountain Division was raised as the 8th Indian Infantry division of the British Indian Army. It is now part of the Indian Army and specialises in mountain warfare. The 8th Indian Infantry Division was formed as an infantry division in ...

. Its regiments helped the

1st Canadian 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 ...

and the 78th Division in breaking the

Hitler Line The Hitler Line was a German defensive line in central Italy during the Second World War. The strong points of the line were at Piedmonte, Pontecorvo and Aquino. In May 1944, the line was renamed the Senger Line, after General von Senger und E ...

. It cooperated with the XIII Corps in the

Battle of Lake Trasimeno The Battle of Lake Trasimene was fought when a Carthaginian force under Hannibal ambushed a Roman army commanded by Gaius Flaminius on 21 June 217 BC, during the Second Punic War. It took place on the north shore of Lake Trasimene, to the eas ...

. It was active in the crossing of the Arno River and later fought on the

Gothic Line The Gothic Line (german: Gotenstellung; it, Linea Gotica) was a German Defense line, defensive line of the Italian Campaign (World War II), Italian Campaign of World War II. It formed Generalfeldmarschall, Field Marshal Albert Kesselring's la ...

. Combined with the 1st Canadian Infantry Division and 5th Canadian Armoured Division as part of I Canadian Corps, the 1st Canadian Armoured Brigade was moved from the Italian Front and joined the

First Canadian Army The First Canadian Army (french: 1reArmée canadienne) was a field army and a formation of the Canadian Army in World War II in which most Canadian elements serving in North-West Europe were assigned. It served on the Western Front from July 1944 ...

in Northern Europe at the beginning of 1945. Here it participated in the crossing of the IJssel River. In its two incarnations as 1st Tank and 1st Armoured, the brigade's service at Dieppe, France, in Sicily, Italy and Northwest Europe earned it the distinction of the longest and widest service of any brigade of the Canadian Army during the Second World War.

Organization

The battle order starting 4 February 1941: * 1st Canadian Armoured Brigade Headquarters Squadron ( The Prince Edward Island Light Horse) *

11th Armoured Regiment (The Ontario Regiment) 11 (eleven) is the natural number following 10 and preceding 12. It is the first repdigit. In English, it is the smallest positive integer whose name has three syllables. Name "Eleven" derives from the Old English ', which is first attested i ...

* 12th Armoured Regiment (Three Rivers Regiment) * 14th Armoured Regiment (Calgary Regiment) * "A" Squadron,

25th Armoured Delivery Regiment (The Elgin Regiment) Fifth is the Ordinal number (linguistics), ordinal form of the number 5, 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 ...

(later "B" Squadron) * 1st Canadian Armoured Brigade Signals, Royal Canadian Corps of Signals * 1st Canadian Armoured Brigade 83 Company ( RCASC) * 1st Canadian Light Field Ambulance(No. 2 CLFA) ( RCAMC) * 1st Canadian Armoured Brigade Workshop,

RCEME The Corps of Royal Canadian Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (RCEME) (french: links=no, Corps du génie électrique et mécanique royal canadien) is a personnel branch of the Canadian Armed Forces (CF) that provides army engineering maintenanc ...

) * 1st Canadian Armoured Brigade Ordnance, PG PK ( RCOC) * 1st Canadian Heavy Recovery (RCEME) * 1st Canadian Army Tank Troops Workshop (RCEME) * 1st Canadian Assault Troop (

CAC CAC may refer to: Arts * California Arts Council, an agency for advancing California through the arts and creativity * Campbelltown Arts Centre, multidisciplinary contemporary arts centre south-west of Sydney, Australia * Comics Arts Conference ...

)

Commanding officers

:Major General

F. F. Worthington Major-General Frederic Franklin Worthington MC, MM, CD (September 17, 1889 – December 8, 1967), nicknamed "Worthy" and "Fighting Frank", was a senior Canadian Army officer. He is considered the father of the Royal Canadian Armoured Corp ...

(5 March 1941- 28 January 1942) :Brigadier General R.A Wyman (28 January 1942- 27 February 1944) :Brigadier General W. Murphy (27 February 1944 - )Marteinson, J.K. and Michael McNorgan. The Royal Canadian Armoured Corps: An Illustrated History (Kitchener: Robin Brass, 2000),173.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1st Canadian Armoured Brigade Canadian World War II brigades Armoured units and formations of Canada in World War II Military units and formations disestablished in the 1940s