The 46th Battalion (South Saskatchewan), 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
A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions are ...
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 ...
during the
Great 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 ...
.
History
The 46th Battalion was authorized on 7 November 1914 and embarked for Britain on 23 October 1915. On 11 August 1916 it disembarked in France, where it fought with the
10th Infantry Brigade,
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 ...
in France and Flanders until the end of the war. The battalion was disbanded on 30 August 1920.
The unit has come to be known as "The Suicide Battalion". The 46th Battalion lost 1,433 killed and 3,484 wounded – a casualty rate of 91.5 percent in 27 months.
The battalion recruited throughout Saskatchewan and was mobilized at
Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan
Moose Jaw is the fourth largest city in Saskatchewan, Canada. Lying on the Moose Jaw River in the south-central part of the province, it is situated on the Trans-Canada Highway, west of Regina, Saskatchewan, Regina. Residents of Moose Jaw are k ...
.
[Meek, John F. ''Over the Top! The Canadian Infantry in the First World War.'' Orangeville, Ont.: The Author, 1971. ]
The 46th Battalion had two officers commanding:
*Lieutenant-Colonel H. Snell, 22 October 1915 – 29 August 1916
*Lieutenant-Colonel H.J. Dawson, CMG, DSO, 29 August 1916-Demobilization
One member of the 46th Battalion 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 ...
. Sergeant
Hugh Cairns was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions at Valenciennes on 1 November 1918.
Battle Honours
The 46th Battalion was awarded the following battle honours:
*
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 ...
*
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 ...
*
Ancre, 1916
The Battle of the Ancre was fought by the British Fifth Army ( Lieutenant-General Hubert Gough), against the German 1st Army (General Fritz von Below). The Reserve Army had been renamed the Fifth Army on 30 October. The battle was the last ...
*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 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
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
*
Drocourt-Quéant
*
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 ...
*
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, 1916-18
Perpetuation
The perpetuation of the 46th Battalion was assigned in 1920 to 2nd Battalion (46th Battalion, CEF),
The South Saskatchewan Regiment
The South Saskatchewan Regiment was an infantry regiment of the Canadian Forces formed in 1936 by the amalgamation of The Weyburn Regiment and The Saskatchewan Border Regiment. It was reduced to nil strength and placed on the Supplementary Ord ...
, and it is now perpetuated by
The Saskatchewan Dragoons
The Saskatchewan Dragoons is a Primary Reserve armoured regiment of the Canadian Army. The unit is based in Moose Jaw. Their primary job is to assist the Regular Force in meeting Canada's military commitments. Their training and equipment closely ...
.
* 2nd Battalion (46th Battalion, CEF), The South Saskatchewan Regiment: 1920–1924
* 1st Battalion (46th Battalion, CEF), The King's Own Rifles of Canada: 1924–1936
* The King's Own Rifles of Canada (MG): 1936–1942
* The King's Own Rifles of Canada: 1942–1946
* 20th (Saskatchewan) Armoured Regiment, RCAC: 1946–1949
* 20th Saskatchewan Armoured Regiment: 1949–1954
* The Saskatchewan Dragoons (20th Armoured Regiment): 1954–1958
* The Saskatchewan Dragoons: 1958–present
See also
*
References
{{reflist
Sources
*Canadian Expeditionary Force 1914-1919 by Col. G.W.L. Nicholson, CD, Queen's Printer, Ottawa, Ontario, 1962
Military units and formations of Saskatchewan
046