During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, the Canadian Army authorized the formation of 260 infantry battalions to serve in 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 divisi ...

. Only fifty-three of these battalions ever reached the front lines. The remaining battalions, most often upon arrival in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

, were broken up and primarily absorbed into a reserve battalion. In addition to the numbered battalions, there were two named battalions. Several regiments of Canadian Mounted Rifles (

mounted infantry Mounted infantry were infantry who rode horses instead of marching. The original dragoons were essentially mounted infantry. According to the 1911 ''Encyclopædia Britannica'', "Mounted rifles are half cavalry, mounted infantry merely speciall ...

) were converted to regular infantry battalions and served in 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 ...

. Besides the infantry, there were other Canadian combat units in the CEF, including cavalry and mounted infantry regiments (in particular the

Canadian Cavalry Brigade The Canadian Cavalry Brigade was raised in December 1914, under its first commanding officer Brigadier-General J.E.B. Seely. It was originally composed of two Canadian and one British regiments and an attached artillery battery. The Canadian uni ...

), artillery brigades and machine gun battalions. The infantry battalions in bold type served in the field.

Sources

* Chartrand, René, ''The Canadian Corps in World War I''. Oxford: Osprey Publishing, 2007 * ''Canadian Expeditionary Force, 1914–1919'' by

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, whe ...

. Ottawa, Dept. of National Defence, 1962. * {{cite web , url=https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/military-heritage/first-world-war/Documents/infantry%20battalions.pdf , title=Infantry , serie
Guide to Sources Relating to Units of the Canadian Expeditionary Force
, website=

Library and Archives Canada Library and Archives Canada (LAC; french: Bibliothèque et Archives Canada) is the federal institution, tasked with acquiring, preserving, and providing accessibility to the documentary heritage of Canada. The national archive and library is t ...

, date=22 September 2020 , access-date=24 December 2020 * Meek, John F. ''Over the Top! The Canadian Infantry in the First World War.'' Orangeville, Ont: The Author, 1971. Infantry units and formations of Canada Canadian Militia