The 15th Battalion (48th Highlanders of Canada), CEF was an
infantry battalion 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. The 15th Battalion was authorized on 1 September 1914, embarked for Britain on 26 September 1914 and arrived in France on 15 February 1915. The battalion fought as part of the
3rd Canadian Brigade
The 3rd Canadian Infantry Brigade was a formation of the Canadian Army in both World War I and World War II. The brigade fought on the Western Front during the First World War, and in Sicily and Italy during the Second World War.
History Worl ...
,
1st Canadian Division
The 1st Canadian Division (French: ''1re Division du Canada'' ) is a joint operational command and control formation based at CFB Kingston, and falls under Canadian Joint Operations Command. It is a high-readiness unit, able to move on very short ...
in France and Flanders throughout the war. The battalion was disbanded on 30 August 1920.
[Canadian Forces Publication A-DH-267-003 Insignia and Lineages of the Canadian Forces. Volume 3: Combat Arms Regiments.]
History
The 15th Battalion recruited in
Toronto,
Sudbury Sudbury may refer to:
Places Australia
* Sudbury Reef, Queensland
Canada
* Greater Sudbury, Ontario (official name; the city continues to be known simply as Sudbury for most purposes)
** Sudbury (electoral district), one of the city's federal e ...
,
Owen Sound and
St. Catharines
St. Catharines is the largest city in Canada's Niagara Region and the sixth largest urban area in the province of Ontario. As of 2016, it has an area of , 136,803 residents, and a metropolitan population of 406,074. It lies in Southern Ontario ...
, Ontario and
Waterloo
Waterloo most commonly refers to:
* Battle of Waterloo, a battle on 18 June 1815 in which Napoleon met his final defeat
* Waterloo, Belgium, where the battle took place.
Waterloo may also refer to:
Other places
Antarctica
*King George Island (S ...
and
Coaticook
Coaticook () is a town on the Coaticook River in southeastern Quebec, Canada. It is the seat of the Coaticook Regional County Municipality, and its southern border is also the Canada–United States border.
In addition to the primary community ...
, Quebec and was mobilized at
Camp Valcartier, Quebec.
[Meek, John F. ''Over the Top! The Canadian Infantry in the First World War.'' Orangeville, Ont.: The Author, 1971. ]
The battalion fought on the southern flank of the 3rd Brigade during the attack on Vimy Ridge. They met little resistance from the Germans and reached their objectives within a few hours. The battalion suffered around 20% casualties with nine officers and over a hundred other ranks being killed or wounded.
Brock Chisholm
George Brock Chisholm (18 May 1896 – 4 February 1971) was a Canadian psychiatrist, medical practitioner, World War I veteran, and the first director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO). He was the 13th Canadian Surgeon General and t ...
served with this battalion during the war.
The 15th Battalion had seven officers commanding:
*Lt.-Col. A.J. Currie, 22 September 1914 – 28 June 1915
*Lt.-Col. W.B. Marshall, DSO, 28 June 1915 – 19 May 1916
*Lt.-Col. C.E. Bent, DSO, 20 May 1916 – 29 December 1917
*Lt.-Col. J.W. Forbes, DSO, 29 December 1917 – 15 April 1918
*Lt.-Col. C.E. Bent, CMG, DSO, 15 April 1918 – 10 August 1918
*Lt.-Col. J.P. Girvan, DSO, MC, 10 August 1918 – 3 October 1918
*Lt.-Col. C.E. Bent, CMG, DSO, 3 October 1918 – Demobilization
Perpetuations
The 15th Battalion (48th Highlanders of Canada), CEF, is perpetuated by the
48th Highlanders of Canada
, colors =
, march = " 48th Highlanders Slow March"; Quick – "Highland Laddie"
, mascot =
, battles = Second Boer WarFirst World WarSecond World ...
.
Battle Honours
The 15th Battalion was awarded the following battle honours:
*
YPRES, 1915, '17
*
GRAVENSTAFEL
*
St. Julien
*
FESTUBERT, 1915
The Battle of Festubert (15–25 May 1915) was an attack by the British army in the Artois region of France on the western front during World War I. The offensive formed part of a series of attacks by the French Tenth Army and the British ...
*
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
*
Pozières
*
Thiepval
*
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,
'18
*
VIMY, 1917
*
Arleux
*
Scarpe, 1917 Scarpe 1917 was a battle honour awarded to units of the British and Imperial Armies that took part in one or more of the following engagements in the Great War:T.F. MillFrance and Flanders(archive of Regiments.org page)
*First Battle of the Scarpe, ...
,
'18
*
HILL 70
*
Passchendaele
*
AMIENS
*
Drocourt-Quéant
*
HINDENBURG LINE
*
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 ...
*
PURSUIT TO MONS
*
FRANCE AND FLANDERS, 1915–18
See also
*
List of infantry battalions in the Canadian Expeditionary Force
References
{{reflist
Sources
*''Canadian Expeditionary Force 1914–1919'' by Col.
G. W. L. Nicholson
Colonel Gerald William Lingen Nicholson (6 January 1902 – 28 February 1980) was a British-Canadian soldier, historian, author, and teacher. From 1943 until his retirement in 1961, Nicholson served in the Historical Section, Canadian Army, wher ...
, CD, Queen's Printer, Ottawa, Ontario, 1962
015
Fifteen or 15 may refer to:
*15 (number), the natural number following 14 and preceding 16
*one of the years 15 BC, AD 15, 1915, 2015
Music
*Fifteen (band), a punk rock band
Albums
* ''15'' (Buckcherry album), 2005
* ''15'' (Ani Lorak album ...
Military units and formations of Ontario
Military units and formations of Quebec
48th Highlanders of Canada