The 10th Canadian Infantry Brigade was a formation of the Canadian Army in both World War I and World War II. The brigade fought on the Western Front during World War I, and in Normandy and north-west Europe during World War II. It formed part of the

4th Canadian Division The 4th Canadian Division is a formation of the Canadian Army. The division was first created as a formation of the Canadian Corps during the First World War. During the Second World War the division was reactivated as the 4th Canadian Infantr ...

History

World War I

The 10th Brigade was part of the Canadian Expeditionary Force raised during the First World War. It participated in every major Canadian engagement from the Somme (from August 1916) to the last 100 days (1918). The 10th Canadian Infantry Brigade consisted of four battalions, and formed part of the 4th Division. The battalions were the 44th Battalion, the 46th Battalion, the 47th Battalion and the 50th Battalion.

World War II

The 10th Canadian Infantry Brigade was first assembled at Nanaimo, British Columbia in October 1940, although Nanaimo was not established as its headquarters until February 1941. In April 1941 it was moved east to the Niagara area, exchanging places with the

13th Canadian Infantry Brigade The 13th Canadian Infantry Brigade was a formation of the Canadian Army that served in both World Wars. During World War I, the brigade formed part of the 5th Canadian Division. However, the 13th Brigade never saw combat as the brigade along w ...

. During World War II, it was part of the

Canadian 4th Armoured Division The 4th Canadian Division is a formation of the Canadian Army. The division was first created as a formation of the Canadian Corps during the First World War. During the Second World War the division was reactivated as the 4th Canadian Infant ...

, alongside the

4th Canadian Armoured Brigade The 4th Canadian Armoured Brigade was an armoured brigade of the Canadian Army during World War II. It was part of the 4th Canadian (Armoured) Division. Organization As of 1942 the 4th Canadian Armoured Brigade comprised: * 21st Armoured Reg ...

. The brigade consisted of the following units: *1st Battalion, The Lincoln and Welland Regiment *1st Battalion,

The Algonquin Regiment The Algonquin Regiment (Northern Pioneers) is a primary reserve infantry regiment of the Canadian Army comprising two companies. A Company is located in North Bay, Ontario, and B Company is located in Timmins, Ontario. The regiment fall ...

*1st Battalion,

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 = , ...

*10th Infantry Brigade Ground Defence Platoon ( Lorne Scots) * 10th Canadian Infantry Brigade Support Group (

The New Brunswick Rangers The New Brunswick Rangers was an infantry regiment of the Non-Permanent Active Militia of the Canadian Militia (now the Canadian Army). In 1946, the regiment was amalgamated with The Saint John Fusiliers to form The South New Brunswick Regiment whi ...

) (November 1943–February 1944) *

10th Independent Machine Gun Company (The New Brunswick Rangers) The New Brunswick Rangers was an infantry regiment of the Non-Permanent Active Militia of the Canadian Militia (now the Canadian Army). In 1946, the regiment was amalgamated with The Saint John Fusiliers to form The South New Brunswick Regiment whi ...

(February 1944–February 1946)

Normandy

As part of the 4th Armoured Division, the 10th Brigade arrived in Normandy at the end of July 1944. It was present for

Operation Totalize Operation Totalize (also spelled Operation Totalise in recent British sources) was an offensive launched by Allied troops in the First Canadian Army during the later stages of Operation Overlord, from 8 to 9 August 1944. The intention was to bre ...

Operation Tractable Operation Tractable was the final attack conducted by Canadian and Polish troops, supported by a British tank brigade, during the Battle of Normandy during World War II. The operation was to capture the tactically important French town of Falai ...

, and the Battle of Falaise. After reaching the River

Seine ) , mouth_location = Le Havre/Honfleur , mouth_coordinates = , mouth_elevation = , progression = , river_system = Seine basin , basin_size = , tributaries_left = Yonne, Loing, Eure, Risle , tributarie ...

, they advanced along the French coast to Belgium.

Northwest Europe

After France and Belgium the brigade, still part of 4th Armoured, was involved in the critical Battle of the Scheldt, to open the port of

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

, to Allied shipping. Next came Operation Veritable clearing the land between the Rhine and Roer rivers and their last major operation of the war the

Battle of the Reichswald 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 Moerbrugge

The 10th Infantry Brigade was tasked to cross the

Ghent Canal Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded in ...

about five kilometres south of Bruges at a small village called Oostkamp in early September 1944. Directly across the canal from Oostkamp was another small village named

Moerbrugge Moerbrugge is a village in the Belgian province of West Flanders, in the municipality of Oostkamp. It was the site of a bridgehead that the Canadian 4th Armoured Division used to cross the Ghent-Bruges Canal during the Battle of the Scheldt ...

. The canal is about 20 metres wide and very deep. Opposition was not expected so only one battalion was chosen for the crossing: The

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

. Two batteries of the 15th Field Regiment, RCA, were placed in support and The South Alberta Regiment placed its tanks on the friendly side of the canal at either side of the crossing point and hold the flanks of the crossing with their fire along with the Vickers machine guns of

. The mortars of the Argylls and the mortars of the Rangers were in support.

References

External links

{{Commons
Lieutenant Charles Pearson: The Lincoln and Welland Regiment's World War II Campaign
* A first-hand account of the battle written by a member of "C" Company of the Argylls is available a

Infantry brigades of the Canadian Army Canadian World War I brigades Canadian World War II brigades Military units and formations established in 1940 Military units and formations disestablished in the 1940s