The South Alberta Regiment (SAR) was a

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscript ...

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 ...

that existed from 1924 to 1954. Originally infantry, in February 1942 it became an armoured unit. During

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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

the Regiment fought from July 1944 to May 1945 in France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany.

History

Early History

The regiment was created in 1924 as

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and mar ...

after

The Alberta Regiment The Alberta Regiment was a short-lived infantry regiment of the Non-Permanent Active Militia of the Canadian Militia (now the Canadian Army). The regiment was formed by the reorganization of the 103rd Calgary Rifles into two separate regiments ...

was split into two separate regiments: ''

The North Alberta Regiment The North Alberta Regiment was an infantry regiment of the Non-Permanent Active Militia of the Canadian Militia (now the Canadian Army). In 1936, the regiment was disbanded as a result of a country-wide reorganization of the Canadian Militia. L ...

'' (disbanded in 1936) and ''The South Alberta Regiment''.

Second World War

The South Alberta Regiment mobilized in 1940 as part of the 4th Canadian Infantry Division. When the division was reorganized as an armoured formation to satisfy demand for a second Canadian

armoured division A division is a large military unit or formation, usually consisting of between 6,000 and 25,000 soldiers. In most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades; in turn, several divisions typically make up a corps. Historic ...

, the South Alberta Regiment was named ''29th Armoured Regiment (The South Alberta Regiment)'' and received

Ram tank The Tank, Cruiser, Ram was a cruiser tank designed and built by Canada in the Second World War, based on the U.S. M3 Medium tank chassis. Due to standardization on the American Sherman tank for frontline units, it was used exclusively for tra ...

s in February 1942. The unit was again renamed as ''29th Armoured Reconnaissance Regiment (The South Alberta Regiment)'' in January 1943. The SAR was deployed to northern France in mid-June 1944 (

Normandy landings 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-Day was 6 June 1944), replacing their Ram tanks to be equipped with Stuart and Sherman tanks. They participated in the later battles of the

Invasion of Normandy Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 (D-Day) with the Norm ...

, taking part in

Operation Totalize Operation Totalize (also spelled Operation Totalise in recent British sources) was an offensive launched by Allied troops in the First Canadian Army during the later stages of Operation Overlord, from 8 to 9 August 1944. The intention was to bre ...

and finally closing the Falaise pocket in

Operation Tractable Operation Tractable was the final attack conducted by Canadian and Polish troops, supported by a British tank brigade, during the Battle of Normandy during World War II. The operation was to capture the tactically important French town of Fala ...

. The South Albertas went on to participate in the liberation of the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

and the

Battle of the Scheldt The Battle of the Scheldt in World War II was a series of military operations led by the First Canadian Army, with Polish and British units attached, to open up the shipping route to Antwerp so that its port could be used to supply the Alli ...

In January 1945, they took part in the

Battle for the Kapelsche Veer The Battle for the Kapelsche Veer, also known as Operation Elephant took place between 26–31 January 1945. It was fought between the German Wehrmacht and allied troops at the Kapelsche Veer – a ferry crossing of the River Meuse near the vil ...

. They spent the last weeks of the war fighting in northern

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

. Major David Vivian Currie of the SAR received the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previousl ...

for his actions near Saint-Lambert-sur-Dives, as the allies attempted to seal off the Falaise pocket. Currie was one of only 16 Canadians to receive the Victoria Cross during World War II. It was the only Victoria Cross awarded to a Canadian soldier during the Normandy campaign, and the only Victoria Cross ever awarded to a member of the

Royal Canadian Armoured Corps The Royal Canadian Armoured Corps (RCAC; french: links=no, Corps blindé royal canadien) is the armoured corps within the Canadian Army, including 3 Regular and 18 Reserve Force regimentsThe Regiments and Corps of the Canadian Army (Queen's Prin ...

. Lieutenant Donald I. Grant took a photograph of the event that would become one of the most famous images of the War (see at right). Historian

C. P. Stacey Colonel (Canada), Colonel Charles Perry Stacey (30 July 1906 – 17 November 1989) was a Canadian historian and university professor. He served as the official historian of the Canadian Army in the Second World War and published extensively o ...

called it "as close as we are ever likely to come to a photograph of a man winning the Victoria Cross." The Freedom of the City was exercised by the South Alberta Regiment in

Nanaimo, British Columbia Nanaimo ( ) is a city on the east coast of Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. As of the 2021 census, it had a population of 99,863, and it is known as "The Harbour City." The city was previously known as the "Hub City," which was ...

, in April, 1941.Freedom of the City
The SAR is now incorporated by amalgamation in the reserve reconnaissance regiment the

South Alberta Light Horse , colours = , march = "A Southerly Wind and a Cloudy Sky" , mascot = Heine the Pony , battles = North-West RebellionFirst World WarSecond World WarAfgha ...

Perpetuations

The Great War

31st Battalion (Alberta), CEF The 31st Battalion (Alberta), CEF, was an infantry battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force during the World War I, Great War. The battalion recruited in Alberta and was mobilized at Calgary. The battalion was authorized in November 1914 and ...

113th Battalion (Lethbridge Highlanders), CEF The 113th Battalion (Lethbridge Highlanders), CEF, was an infantry battalion of the Great War Canadian Expeditionary Force. The 113th Battalion was authorized on 22 December 1915 as part of a recruiting drive in which men from the same region could ...

175th (Medicine Hat) Battalion, CEF The 175th Battalion, CEF, was a unit in the Canadian Expeditionary Force during the First World War. History Based in Medicine Hat, Alberta Medicine Hat is a city in southeast Alberta, Canada. It is located along the South Saskatchewan ...

187th (Central Alberta) Battalion, CEF The 187th (Central Alberta) Battalion, CEF, was a unit in the Canadian Expeditionary Force during the First World War. Based in Red Deer, Alberta, the unit began recruiting during the winter of 1915/16 in that city and the surrounding district. ...

Lineage

The South Alberta Regiment descended from the Calgary Rifles, which had been raised in 1910. In 1920 the Rifles split into two new regiments, the

Calgary Regiment The King's Own Calgary Regiment (RCAC), (''The King's Own'' or ''The KOCR''), is a Canadian Army armoured reconnaissance regiment of the Canadian Armed Forces Primary Reserve. Headquartered at the Mewata Armoury in Calgary, Alberta, the KOCR is a ...

and the Alberta Regiment. In 1924 the Alberta Regiment again divided, forming the South Alberta Regiment and the

North Alberta Regiment The North Alberta Regiment was an infantry regiment of the Non-Permanent Active Militia of the Canadian Militia (now the Canadian Army). In 1936, the regiment was disbanded as a result of a country-wide reorganization of the Canadian Militia. L ...

. The North Albertas disbanded in 1936 while the South Albertas continued through World War II.

Battle Honours

Great War

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 The Battle of the Somme ( French: Bataille de la Somme), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place b ...

, '18 * Flers–Courcelette *

Thiepval Thiepval (; pcd, Tièbvo) is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Thiepval is located north of Albert at the crossroads of the D73 and D151 and approximately northeast of Amiens. Population First Wo ...

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 Pu ...

Ancre, 1916 The Battle of the Ancre was fought by the British Fifth Army (Lieutenant-General Hubert Gough), against the German 1st Army (General Fritz von Below). The Reserve Army had been renamed the Fifth Army on 30 October. The battle was the last ...

Arras, 1917 The Battle of Arras (also known as the Second Battle of Arras) was a British offensive on the Western Front during the First World War. From 9 April to 16 May 1917, British troops attacked German defences near the French city of Arras on the We ...

, '18 * Vimy, 1917 *

Arleux Arleux () is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. Geography The river Sensée joins the Canal du Nord at Arleux. Population Heraldry See also *Communes of the Nord department The following is a list of the 648 communes of ...

* Scarpe, 1917, '18 * Hill 70 *

Ypres, 1917 The Third Battle of Ypres (german: link=no, Dritte Flandernschlacht; french: link=no, Troisième Bataille des Flandres; nl, Derde Slag om Ieper), also known as the Battle of Passchendaele (), was a campaign of the First World War, fought by t ...

* Passchendaele *

Amiens Amiens (English: or ; ; pcd, Anmien, or ) is a city and commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme department in the region of Hauts-de-France. In 2021, the population of ...

* Drocourt–Quéant *

Hindenburg Line The Hindenburg Line (German: , Siegfried Position) was a German defensive position built during the winter of 1916–1917 on the Western Front during the First World War. The line ran from Arras to Laffaux, near Soissons on the Aisne. In 1916 ...

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 ...

Cambrai, 1918 The Battle of Cambrai, 1918 (also known as the Second Battle of Cambrai) was a battle between troops of the British First, Third and Fourth Armies and German Empire forces during the Hundred Days Offensive of the First World War. The battle t ...

Pursuit to Mons Pursuit may refer to: Arts and entertainment Films * ''Pursuit'' (1935 film), a 1935 American action film * ''Pursuit'' (1972 American film), a made-for-TV film directed by Michael Crichton * ''Pursuit'' (1972 Hong Kong film), a Shaw Brot ...

France and Flanders, 1915–18 The Western Front was one of the main theatres of war during the First World War. Following the outbreak of war in August 1914, the German Army opened the Western Front by invading Luxembourg and Belgium, then gaining military control of imp ...

Second World War

Falaise Falaise may refer to: Places * Falaise, Ardennes, France * Falaise, Calvados, France ** The Falaise pocket was the site of a battle in the Second World War * La Falaise, in the Yvelines ''département'', France * The Falaise escarpment in Quebec ...

* Falaise Road * The Laison * St Lambert-sur-Dives * Moerbrugge * The Scheldt *

Woensdrecht Woensdrecht () is a municipality (named after the village) in the southern Netherlands. Woensdrecht is the home of the Woensdrecht Air Base, which is located to the north-east of the village of Woensdrecht and to the north-west of Huijbergen. ...

* The Lower Maas * Kapelsche Veer * The Rhineland * The Hochwald *

Veen Veen may refer to: Surname * Hans-Joachim Veen (born 1944), German political scientist * Hendrik Veen (1823–1905), Dutch photographer in the Dutch East Indies * (born 1937), Dutch ballet dancer and actress * Stephan Veen (born 1970), Dutch fi ...

* Twente Canal *

Bad Zwischenahn Bad Zwischenahn ( Low German: ''Twüschenahn'') is a town and a municipality in the low-lying Ammerland district, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is on Zwischenahner Meer, approximately 15 km northwest of Oldenburg and about 70 km south ...

* North-West Europe, 1944–1945

External links

South Alberta Regiment Veterans Association

Notes and references

{{Reflist, 30em Infantry regiments of Canada Armoured regiments of Canada Regiments of Canada in World War II Military units and formations of Alberta South Alberta Light Horse South Alberta Regiment