The Royal Canadian Horse Artillery is the name given to the regular field artillery units of the

Canadian Army The Canadian Army (french: Armée canadienne) is the command responsible for the operational readiness of the conventional ground forces of the Canadian Armed Forces. It maintains regular forces units at bases across Canada, and is also respo ...

Organization

The Regular Force has three RCHA regiments: ; 1st Regiment, Royal Canadian Horse Artillery: this is the descendant of the original batteries of artillery formed in 1871, and is thus the senior Regular unit in the Canadian army. 1 RCHA was forward deployed in Germany as part of Canadian Forces Europe for 25 years between 1967, and the final Canadian withdrawal from Europe in 1993. Currently, this regiment is part of

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 t ...

's 1 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group. ; 2nd Regiment, Royal Canadian Horse Artillery: 2 RCHA was formed in 1950 for service in the

Korean War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Korean War , partof = the Cold War and the Korean conflict , image = Korean War Montage 2.png , image_size = 300px , caption = Clockwise from top:{ ...

. 2 RCHA is part of

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 ...

2 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group 2 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group (2CMBG; french: 2e Groupe-brigade mécanisé du Canada, 2GBMC) is a Canadian Forces brigade group that is part of 4th Canadian Division of the Canadian Army. It is currently based in CFB Petawawa. One of its thre ...

and is located in

Garrison Petawawa Garrison Petawawa is located in Petawawa, Ontario. It is operated as an army base by the Canadian Army. Garrison facts The Garrison is located in the Ottawa Valley in Renfrew County, northwest of Ottawa along the western bank of the Ottawa ...

. It is composed of two Gun Batteries (D and E), one

Surveillance and Target Acquisition Surveillance and target acquisition is a military role assigned to units and/or their equipment. It involves watching an area to see what changes (surveillance) and then the acquisition of targets based on that information. Artillery STA The ro ...

Battery (F), a Forward Observation Battery (Y), and its Headquarters Battery (HQ). ; 5^e Régiment d'artillerie légère du Canada: 5 RALC is the

francophone French became an international language in the Middle Ages, when the power of the Kingdom of France made it the second international language, alongside Latin. This status continued to grow into the 18th century, by which time French was the l ...

element of the regular artillery, and was formed in 1968. 5 RALC is part of 2nd Canadian Division's 5 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group. It is composed of two Gun Batteries (X and R), one

Battery (Q), a Forward Observation Battery (V), and its Headquarters Battery (C/S).

History

RCHA units are the senior units of the Canadian land field force, with a history dating back to the birth of

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

as a nation. 'A' and 'B' Batteries of

Garrison Artillery A garrison (from the French ''garnison'', itself from the verb ''garnir'', "to equip") is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a mili ...

were formed as the first units of Canada's permanent military force in 1871 in Kingston and

Quebec City Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Communauté métrop ...

respectively, with a third ('C' Battery) authorized in 1883 and formed in 1887 in

Esquimalt The Township of Esquimalt is a municipality at the southern tip of Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. It is bordered to the east by the provincial capital, Victoria, British Columbia, Victoria, to the south by the Strait of Juan de ...

. These bore the name of the Regiment of Canadian Artillery, with the

Royal Canadian Artillery , colors = The guns of the RCA themselves , colors_label = Colours , march = * Slow march: "Royal Artillery Slow March" * Quick march (dismounted parades): "British Grenadiers/The ...

being formed as the

militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

element in 1895. In 1905, to distinguish between the regular force and militia, the regulars were given the title Royal Canadian Horse Artillery. In addition to the three regiments currently serving, two further regiments have served in the past prior to being disbanded: ; 3rd Regiment, RCHA: originally formed as 79th Field Regiment, RCA, this regiment received its name in 1953 during the reorganization of the Canadian Army as a result of Canada's NATO commitments. 3 RCHA was reduced to nil strength in 1992 following the downsizing of the Land Force, and was replaced at

CFB Shilo Canadian Forces Base Shilo (CFB Shilo; french: Base des Forces canadiennes Shilo — BFC Shilo) is an operations and training base of the Canadian Armed Forces, located east of Brandon, Manitoba and adjacent to Sprucewoods. During the 1990s, C ...

by 1 RCHA on its return from Germany. ; 4th Regiment, RCHA: originally 81st Field Regiment, RCA, this regiment became part of the Royal Canadian Horse Artillery at the same time as 3 RCHA in 1953. 4 RCHA was primarily stationed at

CFB Petawawa Garrison Petawawa is located in Petawawa, Ontario. It is operated as an army base by the Canadian Army. Garrison facts The Garrison is located in the Ottawa Valley in Renfrew County, northwest of Ottawa along the western bank of the Ottawa ...

until 1970 when, following the formation of 5 RALC, it was reduced to nil strength and replaced by 2 RCHA. The

Freedom of the City The Freedom of the City (or Borough in some parts of the UK) is an honour bestowed by a municipality upon a valued member of the community, or upon a visiting celebrity or dignitary. Arising from the medieval practice of granting respected ...

was exercised by the 2nd Regiment, Royal Canadian Horse Artillery in Kingston in 1983; 1996 and May 26, 2012.

Lineage of Royal Canadian Horse Artillery units

, - , style="text-align: left;", class="wikitable" + Abbreviations used in the chart - ! Abbreviation !! Phrase - Bde Brigade - Bn Battalion - Btys Batteries - CASF

Canadian Active Service Force Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

- CEF

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 ...

- CFA Canadian Field Artillery - Div. Division - RCA

- RCFA Royal Canadian Field Artillery - RCHA Royal Canadian Horse Artillery - Regt Regiment - Rég^t Régiment

Commemorations

The Royal Canadian Horse Artillery badge (1968) by Robert McCausland Limited is a stained glass memorial to 2517 Colonel E. Geoffrey Brooks DSO OBE CD (RMC 1952), who served as the Royal Military College of Canada's staff adjutant 1948–1950 and as Director of Artillery, Royal Canadian Artillery in August 1960. He is remembered in the Geoffrey Brooks Memorial Essay Competition – 2,000 to 3,000 words on any topic of military history or specific military interest that pertains to The Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery. The contest (1st Prize -$500; 2nd Prize -$300; and 3rd Prize – $200) is open to all DND military (Regular and Reserve) and civilian personnel and students attending post-secondary educational institutes.Geoffrey Brooks Memorial Essay
/ref>

Affiliations

* :

Royal Horse Artillery The Royal Horse Artillery (RHA) was formed in 1793 as a distinct arm of the Royal Regiment of Artillery (commonly termed Royal Artillery) to provide horse artillery support to the cavalry units of the British Army. (Although the cavalry link ...

Media

* ''RCHA—Right of the Line: An Anecdotal History of the Royal Canadian Horse Artillery from 1871'' by B.A.; Simcock, W.; Goski, Joseph G. Mitchell G.D.; Reid (1986) * ''Ataliumasta: Cyprus, August 1985 – March 1986: Second Regiment, Royal Canadian Horse Artillery, 3 Commando Canadian'' by unknown (9999)

References

Order of precedence

External links

History and Uniform of the Royal Canadian Horse Artillery, 1871 to 1970

1st Regiment, Royal Canadian Horse Artillery
(Official website)
2nd Regiment, Royal Canadian Horse Artillery
(Official website)
2nd Regiment, Royal Canadian Horse Artillery
(Unofficial website)
5^e Régiment d'artillerie légère du Canada
(Unofficial site) {{Authority control Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery Army units and formations of Canada in World War I Regiments of Canada in World War II Military units and formations of Canada in the Korean War Artillery administrative corps