The 2nd Canadian Mounted Rifles Battalion, (known colloquially as the 2nd Battalion, CMR or simply 2 CMR) was authorized on 7 November 1914 as the 2nd Regiment,

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. The battalion recruited in

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

and

Vernon, British Columbia Vernon is a city in the Okanagan region of the Southern Interior of British Columbia, Canada. It is northeast of Vancouver. Named after Forbes George Vernon, a former MLA of British Columbia who helped establish the Coldstream Ranch in nearby ...

and was mobilized in Victoria.Meek, John F. ''Over the Top! The Canadian Infantry in the First World War.'' Orangeville, Ont.: The Author, 1971. An earlier incarnation was raised for

Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sou ...

Boer War

In November 1901, the British government requested from the Canadian government a four-squadron regiment of mounted rifles for the

.Canada & The South African War, 1899-1902, Canadian War Museum Canadian Department of Militia and Defence equipped and trained the unit, while the British paid its costs. The majority of the officers and at least a quarter of the men had previously served in South Africa, including its commander Lieutenant-Colonel T.D.B. Evans. On 31 March the unit fought as part of an outnumbered British force at the Battle of

Harts River The Harts River ( af, Hartsrivier) is a northern tributary of the Vaal River, which in turn is the largest tributary of the Orange River (also known as the Gariep River, the largest river in South Africa). Its source is in the North West Province, ...

, or Boschbult. The unit participated in a number of other drives to round up Boers before the war ended on 31 May 1902.

World War I

The 2nd Regiment, Canadian Mounted Rifles was mobilized on 15 March, 1915, at Willows Camp, Victoria. Most of their recruits would come from the local militia cavalry units: the 30th British Columbia Horse and the Victoria Squadron of Horse. The regiment embarked for Great Britain on 12 June 1915. It disembarked in France on 22 September 1915 as part of the 1st Canadian Mounted Rifles Brigade. On 1 January 1916 it was converted to infantry, amalgamated with 'B Squadron' and the headquarters staff of the 3rd Regiment, Canadian Mounted Rifles, CEF and re-designated the 2nd Canadian Mounted Rifles Battalion, CEF. It fought as part of the 8th Canadian Infantry Brigade,

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 ...

in France and Flanders until the end of the war. The battalion was disbanded on 6 November 1920.Canadian Forces Publication A-DH-267-003 Insignia and Lineages of the Canadian Forces. Volume 3: Combat Arms Regiments.

Commanding officers

*Lieutenant-Colonel J.C. Bott, 12 June 1915–27 November 1916 *Lieutenant-Colonel G.C. Johnston, 27 November 1916–demobilization

Battle honours

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 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 Events Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix. January * January 9 – WWI – Battle of Rafa: The last substantial Ottoman Army garrison on the Sinai Peninsula is captured by the Egyptian Expeditionary Force's ...

, '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 of ...

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 The Third Battle of Ypres (german: link=no, Dritte Flandernschlacht; french: link=no, Troisième Bataille des Flandres; nl, Derde Slag om Ieper), also known as the Battle of Passchendaele (), was a campaign of the First World War, fought by t ...

* 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 too ...

Pursuit to Mons Pursuit may refer to: Arts and entertainment Films * ''Pursuit'' (1935 film), a 1935 American action film * ''Pursuit'' (1972 American film), a made-for-TV film directed by Michael Crichton * ''Pursuit'' (1972 Hong Kong film), a Shaw Brot ...

France and Flanders, 1915–18 The Western Front was one of the main theatres of war during the First World War. Following the outbreak of war in August 1914, the German Army opened the Western Front by invading Luxembourg and Belgium, then gaining military control of import ...

Awards

Capt. John MacGregor was awarded the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

for his actions during the

Battle of the Canal du Nord The Battle of Canal du Nord was part of the Hundred Days Offensive of the First World War by the Allies against German positions on the Western Front. The battle took place in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France, along an incomplete portion of ...

from 29 September to 3 October 1918.

Perpetuation

The 2nd Canadian Mounted Rifles Battalion is perpetuated by

The British Columbia Dragoons The British Columbia Dragoons (BCD) is a Primary Reserve armoured warfare, armoured reconnaissance regiment of the Canadian Army. It is based in Kelowna and Vernon, British Columbia, and is part of 3rd Canadian Division's 39 Canadian Brigade Group ...

References

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Sources

*Canadian Expeditionary Force 1914-1919 by Col. G.W.L. Nicholson, CD, Queen's Printer, Ottawa, Ontario, 1962 Battalions of the Canadian Expeditionary Force Military units and formations of British Columbia Military units and formations disestablished in 1920