The South Alberta Regiment (SAR) was a regiment of the Canadian Army that existed from 1924 to 1954. Originally infantry, in February 1942 it became an armoured unit. During World War II the Regiment fought from July 1944 to May 1945 in France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany.

History

Early History

The regiment was created in 1924 as infantry after The Alberta Regiment was split into two separate regiments: '' The North Alberta Regiment'' (disbanded in 1936) and ''The South Alberta Regiment''.

Second World War

The South Alberta Regiment mobilized in 1940 as part of the 4th Canadian Infantry Division. When the division was reorganized as an armoured formation to satisfy demand for a second Canadian

armoured division A division is a large military unit or formation, usually consisting of between 6,000 and 25,000 soldiers. In most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades; in turn, several divisions typically make up a corps. Historic ...

, the South Alberta Regiment was named ''29th Armoured Regiment (The South Alberta Regiment)'' and received Ram tanks in February 1942. The unit was again renamed as ''29th Armoured Reconnaissance Regiment (The South Alberta Regiment)'' in January 1943. The SAR was deployed to northern France in mid-June 1944 ( Normandy landings, D-Day was 6 June 1944), replacing their Ram tanks to be equipped with

Stuart Stuart may refer to: Names * Stuart (name), a given name and surname (and list of people with the name) Automobile *Stuart (automobile) Places Australia Generally *Stuart Highway, connecting South Australia and the Northern Territory Northe ...

and Sherman tanks. They participated in the later battles of the

Invasion of Normandy Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 (D-Day) with the Norm ...

, taking part in Operation Totalize and finally closing the Falaise pocket in Operation Tractable. The South Albertas went on to participate in the liberation of the Netherlands and the Battle of the Scheldt. Major david currie vc

In January 1945, they took part in the Battle for the Kapelsche Veer. They spent the last weeks of the war fighting in northern Germany. Major David Vivian Currie of the SAR received the Victoria Cross for his actions near Saint-Lambert-sur-Dives, as the allies attempted to seal off the Falaise pocket. Currie was one of only 16 Canadians to receive the Victoria Cross during World War II. It was the only Victoria Cross awarded to a Canadian soldier during the Normandy campaign, and the only Victoria Cross ever awarded to a member of the Royal Canadian Armoured Corps. Lieutenant

Donald I. Grant Donald is a masculine given name derived from the Gaelic name ''Dòmhnall''.. This comes from the Proto-Celtic *''Dumno-ualos'' ("world-ruler" or "world-wielder"). The final -''d'' in ''Donald'' is partly derived from a misinterpretation of the ...

took a photograph of the event that would become one of the most famous images of the War (see at right). Historian

C. P. Stacey Colonel Charles Perry Stacey (30 July 1906 – 17 November 1989) was a Canadian historian and university professor. He served as the official historian of the Canadian Army in the Second World War and published extensively on military and pol ...

called it "as close as we are ever likely to come to a photograph of a man winning the Victoria Cross." The Freedom of the City was exercised by the South Alberta Regiment in Nanaimo, British Columbia, in April, 1941.Freedom of the City
The SAR is now incorporated by amalgamation in the reserve reconnaissance regiment the South Alberta Light Horse.

Perpetuations

The Great War

31st Battalion (Alberta), CEF The 31st Battalion (Alberta), CEF, was an infantry battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force during the Great War. The battalion recruited in Alberta and was mobilized at Calgary. The battalion was authorized in November 1914 and embarked for ...

113th Battalion (Lethbridge Highlanders), CEF The 113th Battalion (Lethbridge Highlanders), CEF, was an infantry battalion of the Great War Canadian Expeditionary Force. The 113th Battalion was authorized on 22 December 1915 as part of a recruiting drive in which men from the same region coul ...

175th (Medicine Hat) Battalion, CEF The 175th Battalion, CEF, was a unit in the Canadian Expeditionary Force during the First World War. History Based in Medicine Hat, Alberta Medicine Hat is a city in southeast Alberta, Canada. It is located along the South Saskatchewan ...

187th (Central Alberta) Battalion, CEF The 187th (Central Alberta) Battalion, CEF, was a unit in the Canadian Expeditionary Force during the First World War. Based in Red Deer, Alberta, the unit began recruiting during the winter of 1915/16 in that city and the surrounding district. ...

Lineage

The South Alberta Regiment descended from the Calgary Rifles, which had been raised in 1910. In 1920 the Rifles split into two new regiments, the Calgary Regiment and the Alberta Regiment. In 1924 the Alberta Regiment again divided, forming the South Alberta Regiment and the North Alberta Regiment. The North Albertas disbanded in 1936 while the South Albertas continued through World War II.

Battle Honours

Great War

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 ...

* Somme, 1916, '18 * Flers–Courcelette * Thiepval *

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 Pui ...

* Ancre, 1916 * Arras, 1917, '18 * Vimy, 1917 * Arleux *

Scarpe, 1917 Scarpe 1917 was a battle honour awarded to units of the British and Imperial Armies that took part in one or more of the following engagements in the Great War:T.F. MillFrance and Flanders(archive of Regiments.org page) *First Battle of the Scarpe, ...

, '18 * Hill 70 * Ypres, 1917 * Passchendaele * Amiens * Drocourt–Quéant * Hindenburg Line *

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 * Pursuit to Mons * France and Flanders, 1915–18

Second World War

* Falaise *

Falaise Road 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 ...

* The Laison *

St Lambert-sur-Dives Saint-Lambert () is a commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France. History World War II The full name Saint-Lambert-sur-Dives recognises the river Dives that runs along the south edge of the village, loca ...

* Moerbrugge *

The Scheldt The Scheldt (french: Escaut ; nl, Schelde ) is a river that flows through northern France, western Belgium, and the southwestern part of the Netherlands, with its mouth at the North Sea. Its name is derived from an adjective corresponding ...

* Woensdrecht * The Lower Maas *

Kapelsche Veer Despite Dutch neutrality, Nazi Germany invaded the Netherlands on 10 May 1940 as part of Fall Gelb (Case Yellow). On 15 May 1940, one day after the bombing of Rotterdam, the Dutch forces surrendered. The Dutch government and the royal family r ...

* The Rhineland * The Hochwald * Veen *

Twente Canal Twente ( nl, Twente , Tweants dialect: ''Tweante'') is a region in the eastern Netherlands. It encompasses the most urbanised and easternmost part of the province of Overijssel. Twente is most likely named after the Tuihanti or Tvihanti, a Germa ...

* Bad Zwischenahn * North-West Europe, 1944–1945

External links

South Alberta Regiment Veterans Association

Notes and references

{{Reflist, 30em Infantry regiments of Canada Armoured regiments of Canada Regiments of Canada in World War II Military units and formations of Alberta South Alberta Light Horse South Alberta Regiment