The Special Service Force was a designation used by two army units: a
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
Canadian-American formation, and a
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 ...
formation from 1977 to 1995.
Motto - OSONS (We Dare)
World War II: 1st Special Service Force
![1st Special Service Force SSI](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d8/1st_Special_Service_Force_SSI.svg)
In 1942 a highly specialized joint Canadian-American force was created to undertake special operations in Europe. In order that 500 "all ranks" could be recruited without undue publicity being directed towards their future role, the 2nd Canadian Parachute battalion was raised at the same time as the 1st, coming into order on 10 July 1942. On 25 May 1943 it became the 1st Canadian Special Force Battalion, with its officers and men distributed with the Americans throughout the multi-national unit.
The
1st Special Service Force
The 1st Special Service Force was an elite American–Canadian commando unit in World War II, under the command of the United States Fifth Army. The unit was organized in 1942 and trained at Fort William Henry Harrison near Helena, Montana i ...
was trained in
Helena, Montana
Helena (; ) is the capital city of Montana, United States, and the county seat of Lewis and Clark County.
Helena was founded as a gold camp during the Montana gold rush, and established on October 30, 1864. Due to the gold rush, Helena would ...
before being deployed in the
Aleutian Islands
The Aleutian Islands (; ; ale, Unangam Tanangin,”Land of the Aleuts", possibly from Chukchi language, Chukchi ''aliat'', "island"), also called the Aleut Islands or Aleutic Islands and known before 1867 as the Catherine Archipelago, are a cha ...
in 1943, where it had valuable training experience. By November it had gone into action in Italy, where it distinguished itself in the successful assaults on Monte Le Difensa and Monte La Remetanea. It also fought at Anzio and in the drive to Rome, where it was the first Allied formation to enter the city. The 1st Special Service Force then advanced as far as the Tiber before being deployed for the invasion of southern France, where it spearheaded the landing force. After seeing action on the Franco-Italian border, the joint force was disbanded and the Canadian element was separated. It, too, was disbanded in December 1944, having fought well, earning ten
battle honour
A battle honour is an award of a right by a government or sovereign to a military unit to emblazon the name of a battle or operation on its flags ("colours"), uniforms or other accessories where ornamentation is possible.
In European military t ...
s and been given the nickname "the Devil's Brigade".
Post World War II: Canadian Army Special Service Force
In 1977, 2 Combat Group combined with the
Canadian Airborne Regiment
The Canadian Airborne Regiment (french: links=, Régiment aéroporté canadien) was a Canadian Forces formation created on April 8, 1968. It was not an administrative regiment in the commonly accepted British Commonwealth sense, but rather a tactic ...
to form the Special Service Force, a formation 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 ...
. This latter-day Special Service Force represented a compromise between the general-purpose combat capabilities of a normal brigade and the strategic and tactical flexibility that derived from the lighter and more mobile capabilities of the Canadian Airborne Regiment.
The Force was a
brigade
A brigade is a major tactical military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute a division.
Br ...
-sized command with a strength of 3,500, created to provide a small, highly mobile, general-purpose force that could be inserted quickly into any national or international theatre of operations. To this end most units in the Force had a parachute sub-unit that would be used to support the Canadian Airborne Regiment as the Airborne Battle Group. All but one unit were located in
Petawawa
Petawawa is a town located in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario. Situated in the Ottawa Valley, with a population of 18,160 (2021 Census), Petawawa is the most populous municipality in Renfrew County.
Geography
The town lies on the west ...
, Ontario (1st Battalion The Royal Canadian Regiment was based in
London, Ontario
London (pronounced ) is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, along the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. The city had a population of 422,324 according to the 2021 Canadian census. London is at the confluence of the Thames River, approximate ...
). The
8th Canadian Hussars
, colors =
, colors_label =
, march = "The 8th Hussars"
, mascot =
, equipment =
, equipment_label =
, battles ...
armoured regiment had three squadrons: A, B and D. A and B were equipped with
Cougar
The cougar (''Puma concolor'') is a large Felidae, cat native to the Americas. Its Species distribution, range spans from the Canadian Yukon to the southern Andes in South America and is the most widespread of any large wild terrestrial mamm ...
armoured vehicles, while D Squadron, an armoured reconnaissance squadron, was equipped with
Lynx
A lynx is a type of wild cat.
Lynx may also refer to:
Astronomy
* Lynx (constellation)
* Lynx (Chinese astronomy)
* Lynx X-ray Observatory, a NASA-funded mission concept for a next-generation X-ray space observatory
Places Canada
* Lynx, Ontar ...
vehicles (D Squadron eventually developed an airborne capability and a two-car Lynx patrol was airdropped in
Goose Bay, Labrador
Happy Valley-Goose Bay (Inuit: ''Vâli'') is a town in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.
Located in the central part of Labrador on the coast of Lake Melville and the Churchill River, Happy Valley-Goose Bay is the largest popul ...
, in January 1986 during Exercise Lightning Strike 86. In 1987, the 8th Canadian Hussars deployed to
Canadian Forces Base Lahr
Canadian Forces Base Lahr (IATA:LHA, ICAO: EDTL, former code EDAN) was a military operated commercial airport located in Lahr, Germany. It was operated primarily as a French air force base, and later as a Canadian army base, beginning in the late ...
in the former West Germany, while the
Royal Canadian Dragoons
The Royal Canadian Dragoons (RCD) is the senior armoured regiment of the Canadian Army by precedence. It is one of three armoured regiments in the Regular Force and forms part of the Royal Canadian Armoured Corps.
The colonel-in-chief of The RC ...
replaced them in the Special Service Force at Petawawa after redeploying from Lahr. The 2nd Regiment,
Royal Canadian Horse Artillery
The Royal Canadian Horse Artillery is the name given to the regular field artillery units of the Canadian Army.
Organization
The Regular Force has three RCHA regiments:
; 1st Regiment, Royal Canadian Horse Artillery: this is the descendant of ...
, had a parachute battery (E Battery) with 105 mm
L5 Pack Howitzers and from 1991, an airborne air defence troop. 2 Combat Engineer Regiment provided an airborne engineer troop. Command and supporting elements of the SSF Headquarters and Signals Squadron were airborne, as were a platoon provided from 2 Field Ambulance and a Tactical Air Movements Section from
2 Service Battalion.
In keeping with the Total Force concept that evolved in the late 1980s a number of combat arms units of the Army Reserve were assigned operational taskings to provide subordinate units in order to augment the Special Service Force when required. These sub-units were provided by units from the Central Militia Area (later re-designated as Land Forces Central Area and now known as the
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 ...
). Units tasked included the
Queen's Own Rifles
The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada is a Primary Reserve regiment of the Canadian Armed Forces, based in Toronto. The regiment is part of 4th Canadian Division's 32 Canadian Brigade Group. It is the only reserve regiment in Canada to currently have a ...
, elements of the 2nd Field Engineer Regiment, and a composite battery of Royal Canadian Artillery militia units. The Special Service Force's readiness and deployability were never tested as a formation, but its units and soldiers served in operations both at home and around the world. They served in Cyprus, Somalia, the former Yugoslavia, Rwanda, Namibia and internally at the protests in
Ipperwash and southeastern Ontario.
![Special Service Force Brigade Patch](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dc/Special_Service_Force_Brigade_Patch.jpg)
The following units were serving in the SSF on disbandment in 1995:
* Special Service Force Headquarters and Signals Squadron
* 2nd Regiment,
Royal Canadian Horse Artillery
The Royal Canadian Horse Artillery is the name given to the regular field artillery units of the Canadian Army.
Organization
The Regular Force has three RCHA regiments:
; 1st Regiment, Royal Canadian Horse Artillery: this is the descendant of ...
*
Royal Canadian Dragoons
The Royal Canadian Dragoons (RCD) is the senior armoured regiment of the Canadian Army by precedence. It is one of three armoured regiments in the Regular Force and forms part of the Royal Canadian Armoured Corps.
The colonel-in-chief of The RC ...
* 2 Combat Engineer Regiment
* 1st Battalion,
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 ...
*
Canadian Airborne Regiment
The Canadian Airborne Regiment (french: links=, Régiment aéroporté canadien) was a Canadian Forces formation created on April 8, 1968. It was not an administrative regiment in the commonly accepted British Commonwealth sense, but rather a tactic ...
(now disbanded)
* 2 Field Ambulance
* 2 Military Police Platoon
* 2 Service Battalion
*
2 Intelligence Platoon
*
427 Tactical Helicopter Squadron
427 Special Operations Aviation Squadron (427 SOAS) (french: link=no, 427e Escadron d'opérations spéciales d'aviation, 427 EOSA) is a tactical helicopter unit that provides aviation support to Canadian Special Operations Forces Command. The squad ...
With the addition of Leopard tanks for the RCD, M109 howitzers for 2 RCHA and the addition of the 2nd Battalion, the Royal Canadian Regiment, and the disbandment of the Canadian Airborne Regiment and the resulting reduction in the parachute capability, the Special Service Force was redesignated as
2 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group (CMBG) by a ministerial order signed on 24 April 1995. This decision and the associated reorganizing and re-equipping of the formation are a reflection of the current emphasis in Canadian defence policy on general purpose capabilities. With a smaller force structure, a smaller defence budget and more frequent operational taskings, it became clear that general purpose capabilities provide the best return on investment in defence. Accordingly, 2 CMBG was designed to be a mirror image reflection of its two sister formations, 1 CMBG in Western Canada, and 5 CMBG in Quebec. In completing this transformation, 2 CMBG maintained the spirit and traditions of the Special Service Force, while mastering the equipment and tactical doctrine that give it wide employability in a range of possible taskings.
See also
*
Devil's Brigade
The 1st Special Service Force was an elite American–Canadian commando unit in World War II, under the command of the United States Fifth Army. The unit was organized in 1942 and trained at Fort William Henry Harrison near Helena, Montana ...
References
{{Reflist
Brigades of the Canadian Army
Military units and formations established in 1942
Canadian Airborne Regiment