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 the city of Thunder Bay. It was first created as a formation of the

Canadian Corps The Canadian Corps was a World War I corps formed from the Canadian Expeditionary Force in September 1915 after the arrival of the 2nd Canadian Division in France. The corps was expanded by the addition of the 3rd Canadian Division in December ...

during the First World War. It was stood down following the war and was later reactivated as the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division during the Second World War. The second iteration served with distinction from 1941 to 1945, taking part in the D-Day landings of 6 June 1944. A duplicate of the 3rd Canadian Division was formed in 1945 to serve on occupation duty in Germany and was disbanded the following year.

History

First World War

The 3rd Canadian Division was formed in France in December 1915 under the command of Major-General Malcolm Mercer. Its members served in

France and Flanders France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

until Armistice Day. While with the 3rd Division at Ypres, Mercer became the highest-ranking Canadian officer killed in action during the First World War. On the same day, Brigadier V. A. Williams, commanding the 8th Infantry Brigade, became the highest-ranking Canadian officer captured in the First World War, also at the Battle of Mount Sorrel. Mercer was replaced by

Louis Lipsett Major-General Louis James Lipsett (14 June 1874 – 14 October 1918), was a senior officer in the British Army and Canadian Expeditionary Force during the First World War. He commanded the 3rd Canadian Division during some of the bitterest ...

, who commanded the division until September 1918, shortly before he too was killed in action on 14 October 1918, while commander of British 4th Division. Major-General Frederick Loomis closed out World War I as the commander.

Battles and engagements on the Western Front

1916: * Battle of Mount Sorrel – 2–13 June *

Battle of Flers-Courcelette 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 ...

– 15–22 September *

Battle of Morval The Battle of Morval, 25–28 September 1916, was an attack during the Battle of the Somme by the British Fourth Army (United Kingdom), Fourth Army on the villages of Morval, Pas-de-Calais, Morval, Gueudecourt and Lesboeufs, Lesbœufs held by th ...

– 25 September *

Battle of Thiepval The Battle of Thiepval Ridge was the first large offensive of the Reserve Army (Lieutenant General Hubert Gough), during the Battle of the Somme on the Western Front during the First World War. The attack was intended to benefit from the Four ...

– 26–28 September * Battle of Le Transloy – 1–18 October *

Battle of the Ancre Heights The Battle of the Ancre Heights (1 October – 11 November 1916), is the name given to the continuation of British attacks after the Battle of Thiepval Ridge from during the Battle of the Somme. The battle was conducted by the Reserve Army (re ...

– 1–11 October3rd Canadian Division
retrieved 20 November 2007 1917: *

Battle of Vimy Ridge 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 ...

– 9–14 April *

Attack on La Coulotte Attack may refer to: Warfare and combat * Offensive (military) * Charge (warfare) * Attack (fencing) * Strike (attack) * Attack (computing) * Attack aircraft Books and publishing * The Attack (novel), ''The Attack'' (novel), a book * ''Attack ...

– 23 April * Third Battle of the Scarpe – 3–4 May * Affairs South of the Souchez River – 3–25 June *

Capture of Avion Capture may refer to: *Asteroid capture, a phenomenon in which an asteroid enters a stable orbit around another body *Capture, a software for lighting design, documentation and visualisation *"Capture" a song by Simon Townshend *Capture (band), an ...

– 26–29 June *

Battle 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 ...

– 15–25 August * Second Battle of Passchendaele 26 October – 10 November 1918: * Battle of Amiens – 8–11 August * Actions round Damery – 15–17 August * Battle of the Scarpe – 26–30 August (including the capture of Monchy-le-Preux) * Battle of the Canal du Nord – 27 September – 1 October (including the capture of

Bourlon Wood The Bourlon Wood Memorial, near Bourlon, France, is a Canadian war memorial that commemorates the actions of the Canadian Corps during the final months of the First World War; a period also known as Canada's Hundred Days, part of the Hundred D ...

) * Battle of Cambrai – 8–9 October (including the Capture of

Cambrai Cambrai (, ; pcd, Kimbré; nl, Kamerijk), formerly Cambray and historically in English Camerick or Camericke, is a city in the Nord (French department), Nord Departments of France, department and in the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, regio ...

) * Battle of Valenciennes – 1–2 November *Pursuit to Mons – 11 November

Second World War

Empire and Dominion Forces in the United Kingdom 1939-45 H12340

The formation of the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division was authorized during the Second World War on 17 May 1940. There was then a considerable delay until the brigade and divisional headquarters were formed on 5 September, and the first divisional commander was appointed on 26 October. While the division's components were forming, The Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa was detached and transferred to Iceland as part of Z Force. The battalion spent the winter of 1940–41 there, then moved to the United Kingdom. The division's 8th and

9th Canadian Infantry Brigade The 9th Canadian Infantry Brigade was an infantry brigade of the Canadian Army that saw active service during World War I and World War II as part of the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division. The brigade fought on the Western Front during World War I ...

s began embarking as early as 1 July 1941 and arrived in the United Kingdom at the end of that month. The

7th Canadian Infantry Brigade The 7th Canadian Infantry Brigade was an infantry brigade of the Canadian Army that fought during World War I and World War II. The brigade, along with the 8th Canadian Infantry Brigade and the 9th Canadian Infantry Brigade, formed the 3rd Can ...

embarked in August and arrived at the beginning of September. After its arrival, the division spent three uneventful years in garrison and training duties prior to the assault landing on

Juno Beach Juno or Juno Beach was one of five beaches of the Allied invasion of German-occupied France in the Normandy landings on 6 June 1944 during the Second World War. The beach spanned from Courseulles, a village just east of the British beach Gold ...

D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as D ...

, 6 June 1944, as part of the British Second Army, later joining the newly formed

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 ...

. Battle honours include

clearing the Channel ports Clearing may refer to: Arts and media * ''Clearing'' (Fred Frith album), 2001 * Clearing (Hyd album), 2022 * ''The Clearing'' (film), a 2004 drama film * The Clearing (EP), a 2006 EP by Weatherbox * ''The Clearing'' (Sleep for Sleepers album), ...

, the Breskens pocket, and the final offensives of 1945. During the Battle of the Scheldt, the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division had the nickname of "Water Rats" bestowed upon them by

Field Marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered as ...

Sir Bernard Montgomery, commanding

21st Army Group The 21st Army Group was a British headquarters formation formed during the Second World War. It controlled two field armies and other supporting units, consisting primarily of the British Second Army and the First Canadian Army. Established in ...

, in recognition of the poor conditions of terrain through which they fought, first in the Normandy landings, and then in the flooded Breskens Pocket.

Juno Beach, D Day

Juno Beach was wide and stretched on either side of Courseulles-sur-Mer. It lay between Sword and Gold beaches which were the responsibility of British Army forces. The 3rd Canadian Infantry Division, with the

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 ...

under command, landed in two brigade groups, the 7th Canadian Infantry Brigade and the 8th Canadian Infantry Brigade. Each brigade had three infantry battalions and an armoured regiment in support, two artillery field regiments, combat engineer companies and specialist units of the British 79th Armoured Division. The

10th Armoured Regiment (The Fort Garry Horse) 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

tanks supported the 7th Brigade landing on the left and the

6th Armoured Regiment (1st Hussars) 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. In mathematics Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second small ...

tanks supported the landing on the right. The division had been assigned extra artillery and anti-tank units doubling its artillery component. The 9th Canadian Infantry Brigade was kept in reserve and landed later that day and advanced through the lead brigades. The 27th Armoured Regiment (The Sherbrooke Fusiliers Regiment) provided tank support. The initial assault was carried out by: * North Shore Regiment on the left at St. Aubin (Nan Red beach) * Queen's Own Rifles in the centre at Bernières (Nan White beach) * Regina Rifles at Courseulles (Nan Green beach) * Royal Winnipeg Rifles on the western edge of Courseulles (Mike Red and Mike Green beaches) Canadian air, land and sea forces suffered approximately 950 casualties on D-Day, the majority being soldiers of the 3rd Canadian Division. By noon, the entire division was ashore and leading elements had pushed several kilometres inland to seize bridges over the Seulles. By 6:00 pm, they had captured the town of Saint-Aubin-sur-Mer. A 1st Hussars armoured troop reached its objective along with men of The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada before nightfall, when both units moved 15 km inland and crossed the

Caen Caen (, ; nrf, Kaem) is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the department of Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inhabitants (), while its functional urban area has 470,000,Bayeux Bayeux () is a Communes of France, commune in the Calvados (department), Calvados Departments of France, department in Normandy (administrative region), Normandy in northwestern France. Bayeux is the home of the Bayeux Tapestry, which depicts ...

highway. However, this troop was forced to pull back because they had passed the supporting infantry. By the end of D-Day, the division had penetrated farther into France than any other Allied force, though counter-attacks by elements of two German armoured divisions prevented further major gains for four weeks. None of the assault divisions, including 3rd Canadian Division, had managed to secure their D-Day objectives, which lay inland, although the Canadians came closer than any other Allied formation. Indeed, The Queen's Own Rifles of the 8th Brigade were the only Allied battalion to capture their D-Day objective. By the end of the next day, the Canadian forces had linked up with the British forces that had landed at Sword Beach. 3rd Canadian Infantry Division formation sign

3rd Canadian Infantry Division formation sign

=Time line Juno Beach

= *6 June 1944 **05:35 German shore batteries open fire; Allied naval forces, now massed along entire Normandy coast, begin bombardment. **06:30 Assault on beaches starts. 3rd Canadian Division landing on Juno made more difficult by strong current. Delay allows Germans to mount strong defence. Objective: advance inland and join troops from British beaches. **07:00 German radio broadcasts first report of landing. **08:30 48 Commando lands at St Aubin, Juno Beach and heads east. Beach clearance difficult due to high tides and rough seas. **09:00 General Eisenhower issues communiqué announcing start of invasion. **09:35 Canadian 8th Brigade liberates Bernières. **11:12 After fierce fire fight, 7th Brigade secures Juno exit at Courseulles. But congestion as Canadian 9th Brigade arrives. **11:20 Canadians capture Tailleville, Banville and St Croix. **12:00 As Winston Churchill reports landings to House of Commons, Further landings on Juno. Langrune captured by Juno troops. **13:35 German 352nd Division wrongly advises HQ that Allied assault repulsed. Message not corrected until 18.00. **14:15 All Canadian 3rd Division now ashore on Juno. Rapid advances start: troops link with those from Gold. **18:00 3rd Canadian Div, North Nova Scotia Highlanders reach inland. 1st Hussar tanks cross Caen-Bayeux railway, inland. Canadian Scottish link with 50th Division at Creully. **20:00 Canadians from Juno Beach reach Villons les Buissons, inland. Attack by 21st Panzers reach coast between Sword and Juno at Luc-sur-Mer. **22:00 Rommel returns to HQ from Germany. Montgomery sails for France. Juno Beach: 21,400 troops landed, with fewer than 1,000 casualties. Aim of capturing Carpiquet airfield not achieved. No link yet with Sword forces. Starving concentration camp prisoner liberated by Canadian 3rd division

Starving concentration camp prisoner liberated by Canadian 3rd division

Fighting in Normandy

The 3rd Canadian Infantry Division served extensively in the Battle of Normandy as a component firstly of I British Corps and later under the command of II Canadian Corps. On

+1, units of the division became the first among the Allies to secure their D-Day objectives. The villages of Authie and Carpiquet both saw heavy fighting between the Canadians and German defenders of the

12th SS Panzer Division The SS Division Hitlerjugend or 12th SS Panzer Division "Hitlerjugend" (german: 12. SS-Panzerdivision "Hitlerjugend") was a German armoured division of the Waffen-SS during World War II. The majority of its junior enlisted men were drawn from me ...

. Over the course of five days, the 12th SS launched a series of counter-attacks in an attempt to crush the Canadian bridgehead and throw them back into the sea. The attacks cost the 12th a third of their armoured strength and they were forced to retire in the face of stubborn resistance, Allied naval gunfire and aerial superiority. On 4 July 1944, the 3rd Canadian Division, along with the British

3rd Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * Second#Sexagesimal divisions of calendar time and day, 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute'' Places * 3rd Street (d ...

and 59th Infantry Divisions and supported by elements of the 79th Armoured Division launched

Operation Windsor Operation Windsor was a Canadian attack, which was part of the Battle of Normandy during the Second World War. The attack was undertaken by the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division to take Carpiquet and the adjacent airfield, from troops of the of . ...

, capturing the Carpiquet Airfield and the surrounding areas from the 12th SS after several hours of confused and hard fighting. On 8 July, the 3rd Canadian Division participated in Operation Charnwood, the British Second Army's final advance on the northern parts of Caen. Once again the Canadians excelled and captured all their objectives after suffering, once again, heavy casualties. On 18 July, Operation Atlantic was launched, the Canadian advance that would coincide with Operation Goodwood, happening further east by British forces in the area south of Caen. The

2nd A second is the base unit of time in the International System of Units (SI). Second, Seconds or 2nd may also refer to: Mathematics * 2 (number), as an ordinal (also written as ''2nd'' or ''2d'') * Second of arc, an angular measurement unit ...

and 3rd Canadian divisions, supported by integral armour support, advanced towards Caen, one of the objectives being the village of Colombelles and the surrounding hills. This village and the surrounding area was defended by the battle-proven

21st Panzer Division The 21st Panzer Division was a German armoured division best known for its role in the battles of the North African Campaign from 1941–1943 during World War II when it was one of the two armoured divisions making up the Deutsches Afrikakorps ...

. After several hours of confused fighting on the 18th and the 19th, the Germans were forced back from the outskirts of the town and pushed back over the river Orne. The 3rd Canadian Division continued the advance on the 20th and the lead units came under heavy machine-gun and small arms fire from a chateau close to Colombelles. The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada, with support from the

17th Duke of York's Royal Canadian Hussars The 17th Duke of York's Royal Canadian Hussars was a light cavalry regiment of the Non-Permanent Active Militia of the Canadian Militia (now the Canadian Army). First organized in 1879 as "A" Squadron of the 6th Duke of Connaught's Royal Can ...

, pushed forward once again despite heavy casualties and captured the heavily fortified village of Gibberville. The rest of the 3rd Division captured Colombelles through the course of the day. The Canadians were then faced with the formidable German defensive positions on the Verrières Ridge, where the SS troops had created excellent field fortifications, deployed hundreds of field artillery pieces, including Nebelwerfers, and dug numerous trenches and foxholes for defence. The 2nd Canadian division's 4th and 6th brigades assaulted the ridge, but suffered heavy losses and were forced to fall back. The attack went in during heavy rain, which turned the ground to mud and bogged down the Canadian armoured support and kept the Hawker Typhoon fighter-bomber support from the Royal Air Force from showing up. After the failed attack, troops from both the 2nd and 12th SS Panzer Division counter-attacked; it was only with support from the 3rd Canadian Division's 8th Brigade that they managed to beat the Germans back. Canadian-Cross-61

Meanwhile, the British 3rd Infantry Division faced considerable resistance and advanced only with great cost of life. Tiger tanks from the ''schwere Panzerabteilung'' 503 ("503rd Heavy Armour Battalion") caused ferocious losses among the British armour support. The 7th Armoured Division,

11th Armoured Division The 11th Armoured Division was an armoured division of the British Army which was created in March 1941 during the Second World War. The division was formed in response to the unanticipated success of the German panzer divisions. The 11th Armou ...

and Guards Armoured Division faced opposition from the 1st and 12th SS Panzer divisions and suffered heavy losses. The offensive continued for two more days before the Allied offensive ground to a halt in face of stiffening German resistance. The German

Panzer division A Panzer division was one of the armored (tank) divisions in the army of Nazi Germany during World War II. Panzer divisions were the key element of German success in the blitzkrieg operations of the early years of World War II. Later the Waffe ...

s in the area had been bled completely dry, losing a staggering number of tanks and men, which could not be easily replaced. Two days later, on 25 July, the United States First Army launched Operation Cobra, since there were no German panzer divisions to stop them as nearly all of the available panzer units had been sent to stop the British/Canadian advance. The 3rd Canadian Division and the other units involved in the offensive were allowed to catch their breath and they dug in, expecting a German counter-attack which never came. On 5 September, 3rd Canadian overran the

Fortress of Mimoyecques The Fortress of Mimoyecques () is the modern name for a Second World War underground military complex built by the forces of Nazi Germany between 1943 and 1944. It was intended to house a battery of V-3 cannons aimed at London, away. Originally c ...

, revealing the infrastructure for the unknown V-3 cannon destroyed by the

Tallboy bombs Tallboy or Bomb, Medium Capacity, 12,000 lb was an earthquake bomb developed by the British aeronautical engineer Barnes Wallis and used by the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the Second World War."Medium capacity" refers to the ratio of bomb ...

in July.. Between 17 and 22 September 1944, 3rd Canadian were intimately involved in the liberation of Boulogne-sur-Mer, during which a French civilian guided the Canadians to a "secret passage" leading into the walled old town and by-passing the German defenders. By 1 October 1944, the Division had also liberated

Calais Calais ( , , traditionally , ) is a port city in the Pas-de-Calais department, of which it is a subprefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's prefecture is its third-largest city of Arras. Th ...

Commanders

*Major-General

Ernest William Sansom Ernest William Sansom, (December 18, 1890 – October 18, 1982) was a Canadian lieutenant-general who was the 3rd ranking commander of Canadian troops in Europe in 1944 during World War II. World War I military career Born in Stanley, New Brun ...

: 1940–1941 *Major-General

Charles Basil Price Major-General Charles Basil Price ("C.B." or "Basil"; 12 December 1889 − 15 February 1975) was a Canadian Army officer who served in both of the world wars. He joined the Victoria Rifles of Canada in 1905 and received an officer's commission in ...

: 1941–1942 *Major-General

Rod Keller Major General Rodney Frederick Leopold Keller CBE (2 October 1900 – 21 June 1954) was a notable Canadian Army officer who rose to divisional-level command in the Second World War. He commanded the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division which was assi ...

: 1942–1944 *Major-General

Daniel Spry Major General Daniel Charles Spry CBE DSO CD (February 4, 1913 – April 2, 1989) was a senior Canadian Army officer who commanded the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division during Operation Veritable in World War II. War service In 1943, Spry comm ...

: 1944–1945 *Major-General Ralph Holley Keefler: 1945

Duplicate division (Canadian Army Occupation Force) 1945–1946

In 1945, the 3rd Canadian Division, Canadian Army Occupation Force (CAOF) was created, based on the organization of the 3rd Infantry Division. The component units of the new division were named after the units of the existing 3rd Infantry Division. The formation was formed on the organizational structure of a standard infantry division and supplied units as part of Canada's commitment to postwar European reconstruction. The occupation force served in Germany until relieved by the 52nd (Lowland) Infantry Division of the British Army on 15 May 1946. Authorization for units to disband came under General Order 162/46 and 201/46, and headquarters was disbanded by General Order 283/46, effective 20 June 1946.

Recent history (1990-present)

In the early 1990s Land Force Western Area (LFWA) was established as one of four area commands of the Canadian Army. LFWA was responsible for all Regular and Reserve Army formations in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia. The line formations of LFWA included

1 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group 1 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group (1 CMBG; French: '')'' is a Canadian Forces brigade group that is part of the 3rd Canadian Division of the Canadian Army. Originally headquartered at CFB Calgary, it is currently based in CFB Edmonton i ...

38 Canadian Brigade Group 38 Canadian Brigade Group (38 CBG) (french: links=no, 38e Groupe-brigade du Canada) is a formation of the Canadian Forces and Canadian Army's 3rd Canadian Division. The brigade group is composed of Primary Reserve units in Manitoba, Saskatchewan an ...

39 Canadian Brigade Group 39 Canadian Brigade Group (39 CBG; french: link=no, 39e Groupe-brigade du Canada) is a Canadian Forces formation of the Canadian Army under the 3rd Canadian Division. The brigade group is composed of Canadian Forces (CF) Primary Reserve units, all ...

, and

41 Canadian Brigade Group 41 Canadian Brigade Group (41 CBG; french: links=no, 41e Groupe-brigade du Canada) is a Canadian Army formation of the 3rd Canadian Division. The formation is composed of Army Reserve units within the province of Alberta and the Northwest Te ...

. In addition to the brigades, LFWA was also composed of 1 Area Support Group and its bases,

4th Canadian Ranger Patrol Group Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * ''The Fourth'' (1972 film), a Sovie ...

of the Canadian Rangers, and the Western Area Training Centre. LFWA contributed extensively to domestic operations at home, and on missions abroad in locales such as the Balkans and Afghanistan for over two decades. On 6 June 2014, on the 70th anniversary of the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division's D-Day landing in Normandy, LFWA became 3rd Canadian Division. On the same day, 3 Cdn Div was permanently bestowed the French Grey designation patch.

Operation REASSURANCE

Structure

Historical

World War I

7th Infantry Brigade: *

The Royal Canadian Regiment , colors = , identification_symbol_2 = Maple Leaf (2nd Bn pipes and drums) , identification_symbol_2_label = Tartan , identification_symbol_4 = The RCR , identification_symbol_4_label = Abbreviation , mar ...

. December 1915 – 11 November 1918; *

Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry (PPCLI, generally referred to as the Patricia's) is one of the three Regular Force infantry regiments of the Canadian Army of the Canadian Armed Forces. Formed in 1914, it is named for Princess Patrici ...

. 24 December 1915 – 11 November 1918; * 42nd (Royal Highlanders) Battalion Canadian Infantry. December 1915 – 11 November 1918; * 49th (Edmonton) Battalion Canadian Infantry. December 1915 – 11 November 1918. 8th Infantry Brigade: *

1st Battalion, Canadian Mounted Rifles, CEF The 1st Battalion, Canadian Mounted Rifles, CEF, was an infantry battalion of the Canadian Army. Raised for service during the First World War as part of the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF), it was formed in November 1914, in Brandon, Manitoba. ...

. December 1915 – 11 November 1918; *

2nd Battalion, Canadian Mounted Rifles, CEF 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, CEF. The battalion recruited in Victoria and Vernon, British C ...

. December 1915 – 11 November 1918; *

4th Battalion, Canadian Mounted Rifles, CEF The Governor General's Horse Guards is an armoured reconnaissance regiment in the Primary Reserve of the Canadian Army. The regiment is part of 4th Canadian Division's 32 Canadian Brigade Group and is based in Toronto, Ontario. It is the most sen ...

. December 1915 – 11 November 1918; *

5th Battalion, Canadian Mounted Rifles, CEF The 5th Battalion Canadian Mounted Rifles were a mounted infantry unit of the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) during World War I. The unit was raised from volunteers of the 7th and XIth (Canadian) Hussars from the Eastern Townships of Queb ...

. December 1915 – 11 November 1918. 9th Infantry Brigade: (Joined the Division in January 1916) * 43rd (Cameron Highlanders) Battalion Canadian Infantry. January 1916 – 11 November 1918; * 52nd (North Ontario) Battalion Canadian Infantry. January 1916 – 11 November 1918; * 58th (Central Ontario) Battalion Canadian Infantry. January 1916 – 11 November 1918; * 60th (Victoria Rifles) Battalion Canadian Infantry. January 1916 – 30 April 1917. (Disbanded) * 116th (Ontario County Infantry) Battalion Canadian Infantry. April 1917 – 11 November 1918. Pioneers: *3rd Canadian Pioneer Battalion. 8 January 1916 – May 1917 (Disbanded); * 123rd Canadian Pioneer Battalion. March 1917 – June 1918. To the 3rd Canadian Engineer Brigade.

World War II

**1st Battalion, The Royal Winnipeg Rifles **1st Battalion, The Regina Rifle Regiment **1st Battalion, The Canadian Scottish Regiment (Princess Mary's) **7th Infantry Brigade Ground Defence Platoon ( Lorne Scots) * 8th Canadian Infantry Brigade **1st Battalion, The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada **1st Battalion, Le Régiment de la Chaudière **1st Battalion, The North Shore (New Brunswick) Regiment **8th Infantry Brigade Ground Defence Platoon (Lorne Scots) *

**1st Battalion,

The Highland Light Infantry of Canada The Highland Light Infantry of Canada was an infantry regiment of the Canadian Army. In 1965, the regiment was amalgamated with The Scots Fusiliers of Canada to form The Highland Fusiliers of Canada (now The Royal Highland Fusiliers of Canada). ...

**1st Battalion,

The Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Highlanders Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Highlanders is a Primary Reserve infantry regiment of the Canadian Army. It is part of 33 Canadian Brigade Group, 4th Canadian Division and is headquartered in Cornwall, Ontario. Regimental badge Superimposed upon a ...

**1st Battalion, The North Nova Scotia Highlanders **9th Infantry Brigade Ground Defence Platoon (Lorne Scots) * Divisional Troops **

7th Reconnaissance Regiment (17th Duke of York's Royal Canadian Hussars) 7 (seven) is the natural number following 6 and preceding 8. It is the only prime number preceding a cube. As an early prime number in the series of positive integers, the number seven has greatly symbolic associations in religion, mythology, s ...

**1st Battalion, The Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa (Machine Gun) **3rd Canadian Divisional Signals, R.C. Sigs **No. 3 Defence and Employment Platoon ( Lorne Scots) **No. 4 Canadian Provost Company, Canadian Provost Corps **No. 14, No. 22, No. 23 Field Ambulance, Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps * Divisional Royal Canadian Artillery **12th Field Artillery Regiment, RCA **13th Field Artillery Regiment, RCA **14th Field Artillery Regiment, RCA **3rd

Anti-Tank Anti-tank warfare originated from the need to develop technology and tactics to destroy tanks during World War I. Since the Triple Entente deployed the first tanks in 1916, the German Empire developed the first anti-tank weapons. The first deve ...

Regiment, RCA **4th Light

Anti-Aircraft Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based, ...

Regiment, RCA *Divisional Royal Canadian Engineers **6th Field Company, RCE **16th Field Company, RCE **18th Field Company, RCE **3rd Canadian Field Park Company, RCE **3rd Canadian Divisional Bridge Platoon, RCE 3rd Canadian Division Structure

Current

The division is headquartered at CFB Edmonton and covers Western Canada. 3rd Canadian Division, at CFB Edmonton *

, at CFB Edmonton, CFB Shilo *

, in Winnipeg (covering Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and

Northwestern Ontario Northwestern Ontario is a secondary region of Northern Ontario in the Canadian province of Ontario which lies north and west of Lake Superior and west of Hudson Bay and James Bay. It includes most of subarctic Ontario. Its western boundary is the ...

) *

, in Vancouver (covering British Columbia) *

, in

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...

(covering Alberta) *3rd Canadian Division Support Group, at CFB Edmonton *1 Military Police Regiment, at CFB Edmonton * 6 Intelligence Company (Reserve), in Edmonton * 1st Canadian Ranger Patrol Group, at CFNA HQ Yellowknife (patrolling

Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories (abbreviated ''NT'' or ''NWT''; french: Territoires du Nord-Ouest, formerly ''North-Western Territory'' and ''North-West Territories'' and namely shortened as ''Northwest Territory'') is a federal territory of Canada. ...

, Yukon, and

Nunavut Nunavut ( , ; iu, ᓄᓇᕗᑦ , ; ) is the largest and northernmost Provinces and territories of Canada#Territories, territory of Canada. It was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the ''Nunavut Act'' ...

) *4th Canadian Ranger Patrol Group, at CFB Esquimalt (patrolling British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba) *3rd Canadian Division Training Centre, at CFB Wainwright, CFB Shilo, CFB Edmonton

Insignia

In August 1916, individual battalions of the

were ordered to wear a distinguishing patch to better provide command and control in battle. Battalions were represented by a series of coloured geometric patches that corresponded to their seniority within the brigades of the overseas divisions of the corps. These shapes were sewn over top of a rectangle wide by tall which was also colour coded by division, and worn on the upper rear of each soldier's uniform jacket and greatcoat, just below the collar. The location was quickly moved from the collar to the sleeve. The 3rd Division was originally ordered to wear white patches, followed ten days later by an order changing the colour to black and the location. In May 1917, the commander of the 3rd Division published a routine order stating that, because the black patches were too difficult to see, French grey was to be worn instead. The patch was revived in 1941. The 3rd Canadian Division, CAOF, wore a French-grey patch with a French-grey bar added horizontally underneath the division patch to distinguish it from the war service 3rd Division. In 2014, the revived 3rd Canadian Division adopted a French-grey formation patch. After much debate, Pantone Grey 535C was adopted. The Pantone colour is actually "Blue Range" and was arrived at by comparison to artifacts in various historical exhibits. The colour was approved by the Directorate of History and Heritage, a sub-group of the Department of National Defence.

Notes

References

External links

*
Memorial of Coudehard-Montormel – 3rd ID in the Falaise pocket
– website of the Coudehard-Montormel Memorial
History of the 3rd Canadian infantry division at memorial-montormel.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Canadian Division 3 Infantry divisions of Canada Divisions of Canada in World War I Canadian World War II divisions Military units and formations established in 1915 Military units and formations established in 2014 1915 establishments in Canada

History

First World War

Battles and engagements on the Western Front

Second World War

Juno Beach, D Day

=Time line Juno Beach

Fighting in Normandy

Commanders

Duplicate division (Canadian Army Occupation Force) 1945–1946

Recent history (1990-present)

Operation REASSURANCE

Structure

Historical

World War I

World War II

Current

Insignia

See also

Notes

References

Further reading

External links