? The Second World War When Hitler marched into Poland on 1 September, 1939, the Canadian Government immediately authorized the mobilization of the Canadian Active Service Force, which included a new 1st Canadian Division. Following the precedent of 1914, the Infantry Brigades represented all parts of Canada: the 1st from Ontario, the 2nd from Western Canada and the 3rd from Quebec and the Maritime Provinces. Each of the Brigades contained one of the existing Permanent Force Battalions, and the Royal Canadian Horse Artillery formed one of the three artillery "Brigades" (later "Regiments") of the Division. By the time the Division was ready to be despatched overseas its strength stood at 12,543. (At the end of the war, as a result of successive reorganizations, the "authorized composition" totalled 18,093.) On 5 October, 1939, a distinguished Canadian officer, Major-General A.G.L. McNaughton, became "Inspector-General of Units of the 1st Canadian Division." He had held senior artillery staff appointments in the Canadian Corps during the First World War, thereafter rising to be Chief of the General Staff (1929-35) before becoming President of the National Research Council (1935-39). An outstanding soldier-scientist, he immediately plunged into the work of preparing the Division for overseas duty. On 17 October he formally took command. The "Long Wait" 1940-43 Shortly after the outbreak of war, preparations were made in Canada to despatch the 1st Division to the United Kingdom. When the convoy carrying the first draft sailed up the Clyde on 17 December, 1939, few soldiers would have believed that most of them were destined to spend the next three and a half years in the British Isles. At the outset there seemed to be small justification for expecting a static future. In the spring of 1940 Hitler began the BLITZ-KRIEG which, in short order, led to the capitulation of Denmark, Norway, Belgium, the Netherlands and finally, almost inconceivably, France. In June, during the last throes of French resistance, the 1st Brigade Group landed in Brittany but had to withdraw immediately without being committed to active operations. Then began what might be termed the "Long Wait" -- the protracted period during which the defence of Great Britain and preparations for future invasions of German-held Europe were uppermost in the minds of all. A minor exception to this static role occurred in the late summer of 1941, when the Division supplied certain troops for a Canadian-British-Norwegian expedition to Spitsbergen. Although the Division was stationed in the United Kingdom for such a long period the troopswere not idle. During and after the initial crisis of 1940 the men trained incessantly with ever-improving equipment. There was much to learn. From the infantryman's point of view the "battle drill" idea, with its emphasis on realism, was a highlight of the training. The Division also participated in numerous large scale exercises which, after the formation of the Canadian Corps (1940) and First Canadian Army (1942), became more and more significant. Thus, in a practical way, the men who wore the Red Patch began to re-build an esprit de corps which later served them well on the battlefields of the Continent. One aspect of this preparatory period deserves special mention. Throughout their long months of training, mainly in south-eastern England, the Canadians came to know and admire the British people. The goodly fellowship of the "pubs," contacts with the "Home Guard" and the common danger of German air raids, engendered a strong feeling of mutual respect and affection in soldiers and civilians. This feeling was not confined to southern England, and Scotland was a favourite objective of many men on leave. It was not surprising that many members of the 1st Division married in the United Kingdom and afterwards brought their wives and families to Canada. When Lieutenant-General McNaughton took over the Canadian Corps he was succeeded at the Headquarters of the 1st Division by Major-General G.R. Pearkes, who had won the V.C. in the First World War. General Pearkes retained the Command for over two years until, in September 1942, he was succeeded by Major-General H.L.N. Salmon. Sicily As Allied strategy developed in the Mediterranean, an opportunity appeared for the active employment of the Division in that theatre. In the spring of 1943 the Division was selected to participate in the invasion of Sicily. It was while preparing for this active role that General Salmon was killed in an air accident. He was succeed by Major-General G.G. Simonds, who was later to become Chief of the General Staff. He was, at the age of 39, the youngest Canadian General Officer. Sailing secretly down the Clyde at the end of June, the Division took its place on the left flank of General Sir Bernard Montgomery's famed Eighth Army for the Sicilian landings. The amphibious attack against Pachino peninsula was an unqualified success: the defenders were surprised and overrun with very few casualties to our troops. Thus began a 38-day campaign which was to bring new laurels to the 1st Division. General Simonds' troops advanced inland under difficulties: The weather was extremely hot, the roads extremely dusty, and there was little transport; the troops were fresh from a temperate climate and a long voyage in crowded ships; and even though for a time there was scarcely any opposition, mere marching was a very exhausting experience under these conditions. Continuing over the rocky terrain, they had their first fight with the Germans at Grammichele on 15 July. Three days later they captured Valguarnera. Indianerkrieg The Division scored brilliant successes at Assoro and Leonforte between the 20th and the 22nd. At Assoro the 1st Brigade launched a surprise attack at night against an ancient Norman stronghold on the summit of a lofty peak. They seized and held their place in the face of fierce counter attacks, the records for the 15th Panzer Grenadier Division afterwards revealing generous tributes to the fieldcraft (Indianerkrieg) of the Canadians. Leonforte, an equally difficult nut to crack, was captured by the 2nd Brigade after a bitter fight. These three days cost the Division about 275 casualties. The advance then took a sharp turn to the east with General Simonds' troops directed against Adrano, at the base of Mount Etna. In their path stood Agira, "one of the most imposing of Sicily's innumerable hill-towns," and in the neighbouring hills the enemy put up a stubborn resistance. Both the 1st and 2nd Brigades were heavily engaged during the last week of July. The operations were, however, effectively supported by Canadian Tanks and by the Divisional Artillery, reinforced by units of the Royal Artillery. General Simonds also had temporarily under his command the 231st British Infantry Brigade (the Malta Brigade), which threatened Germany communications from the south. After a bitter struggle Agira was captured on the 28th. Between Agira and Adrano the Hermann Goering Division made a stand at Regalbuto, using tanks as pillboxes in the debris of the town. While part of the 1st Division loosened the enemy's grip on this town, the 3rd Brigade, temporarily under the command of the 78th British Infantry Division, assisted that formation in the Dittaino Valley. The Sicilian campaign ended for the 1st Division on 6 August after its patrols ascertained that the enemy had evacuated Adrano. American encircling operations in the western and northern districts of the island, combined with steady British pressure north of the Catania Plain, forced the enemy out of the defences based on Etna, and the campaign ended when the Allies entered Messina on 16-17 August. The 1st Division had performed all of its allotted tasks and had acquired valuable battle experience at a total cost of 2,155 casualties. The measure of the achievement was contained in General Montgomery's forthright statement: "I now consider you one of my veteran Divisions." Italian Mainland On 3 September, 1943, the 1st Canadian and 5th British Divisions stormed across the Strait of Messina in the vanguard of the Eighth Army. The operations against the "toe" of Italy met little opposition and, moving to assist Allied forces that had landed at Salerno, the 1st Division advanced steadily to Potenza, which fell on 20 September. The main feature of these operations was the delay imposed by the enemy's skillful demolitions along narrow, twisting roads over exceedingly difficult country. There was much work for the armoured cars of the Divisional Reconnaissance regiment, the 4th Reconnaissance Regiment (4th Princess Louise Dragoon Guards); the following extract from their regimental history describes a typical incident and illustrates the cooperation of all arms: A large railway bridge had had one span blown (near Bianco), although the whole bridge had been prepared for demolition. The engineer recce officer removed 300 pounds of explosive from the bridge, and as the area of the riverbed had also been mined, the Squadron moved forward across the bridge, while a patrol of infantry went ahead to try to contact the enemy, and the tank commander brought up a scissors bridge to take his tanks over the weak place, where the span had been blown. Motta Montecorvino At the beginning of October the Division had its first serious engagement with the Germans on the mainland, at Motta Montecorvino. There the enemy put in picked troops (the 1st Parachute Division) to delay our advance, and there was fierce fighting before they were dislodged. Supported by tanks of the 1st Canadian Armoured Brigade, General Simonds' troops pressed forward to Campobasso (soon developed into a fine leave centre), crossed the turbulent Biferno and forced the Germans out of Castel di Sangro in mid-November. Winter rains and indescribable mud combined with naturallly difficult terrain and stiffening resistance to give a taste of what was to come. In the meantime, General Simonds left the Division to take command of the recently-arrived 5th Canadian Armoured Division. At the beginning of November he was succeeded, at the 1st Division, by Major General Chris Vokes. The Moro and "the Gully" Those who wore the Red Patch will always identify winter of 1943-44 with two focal points of action - the Moro and Ortona. General Montgomery was determined to allow the enemy no respite and, at the end of November, he lauched a powerful attack which carried him forn the Sangro to the Moro River. General Vokes was then given the task, under the 5th British Corps, of forcing the Moro and capturing Ortona. Making feints on both flanks, his Division threw itself across the Moro on the evening of 5 December. Opposition was heavy, and it took the Canadians four days to consolidate their bridgehead. The engineers did notable work in constructing a vehicle-crossing over the swollen river ? ? Captain Paul Triquet Beyond the Moro was "the Gully" - a minor water-course which, under the enemy's skilful attention, became a major obstacle. The 1st Division made repeated attacks against this position. In one of these Captain Paul Triquet of the Royal 22e Régiment won the V.C. Even after the Canadians secured a foothold beyond the Gully, the Germans resisted desperately. Finallly, on 18 December, the infantry advanced under the cover of a heavy barrage and, by the following morning, they had evicted the stubborn enemy form this bitterly contested feature. Ortona Operations began immediately against Ortona. This fighting was of a very different nature -hand-to-hand struggles in built-up-areas - but no less fierce. The enemy was the famous 1st German Parachute Division. "Hight explosive was the master weapon in this battle. Not only did it open the way from house to house, but it was used repeatedly to destroy whole buildings and their occupants." Christmas came and went while the grim struggle continued. General Vokes said afterwards, "Everything before Ortona was a nursery tale." At last, on 27 December, after suffering heavy losses, the paratroopers grudgingly withdrew. The 1st Division had again accomplished its task, but had paid dearly: one month of operations, beginning on the Moro, had resulted in 2,339 casualties, and the Division was more than 1,000 below strength. The Liri Valley The year 1944 opened with a lengthy static period in the Ortona Salient. At the end of January the 1st Canadian Corps took over operational control of the 1st Division and, shortly afterwards, the 5th Canadian Armoured Division joined the Corps. In the spring the Allies prepared to resume the offensive in Italy. The objective was Rome. The 1st Division took part in an elaborate "cover plan" conveying the impression that this highly-trained formation would make a third amphibious assault -- north of Rome. But when the big offensive began on the night of 11 May the Canadians were concentrated in the Liri Valley, near Cassino. After British, French and Polish troops, with the help of Canadian Armour, had breached the Gustav Line -- the first of three fortified belts guarding the approach to Rome -- the 1st Canadian Corps advanced on 17 May against the next major obstacle, the Hitler Line. The 1st Division relieved the 8th Indian Division and attacked across the Cassino-Pignataro road. At the end of the first day General Vokes' men had reached the Forme d'Aquino, a deep gully running directly across their axis and forming a natural anti-tank defence. Fortunately, Allied pressure on its flanks compelled the enemy to abandon this position and, on the 18th, the 1st Division was probing the outer defences of the Hitler Line. Typical teutonic ingenuity had been lavished on this formidable Line. The positions had been constructed under the supervision of the Organization Todt, which had already built the much-vaunted West Wall defences. Shell-proof shelters and subterranean bunkers, anti-tank ditches, minefields and strongpoints had been carefully integrated although not, in all instances, completed. Eighteen armoured pillboxes mounted 75mm guns in revolving turrets, all carefully camouflaged. 23 May 1944 Early on 23 May -- a day to be long remembered in the annals of the Red Patch -- the Division assaulted the Hitler Line. The attack was supported by a tremendous bombardment fired by 810 Allied guns, more than 300 being employed on the barrage in front of our Infantry. Nevertheless, the 90th Panzer Grenadier and 1st Parachute Divisions reacted quickly and brought down heavy fire on the Canadians. Unexpected minefields slowed the advance and the deadly 75mm guns took heavy toll of supporting British armour. The 2nd Brigade suffered severely, but the 3rd Brigade succeeded in penetrating the Line and, by noon, General Vokes was able to commit his reserve in that sector. Although the Panzer Grenadiers resisted fiercely, they were overcome and the Line was broken. On the left flank the following morning, the 1st Brigade had captured Pontecorvo -- "a heap of stone and mortar, with the mangled corpses of its defenders lying everywhere in the streets." The divisional casualties (879) were very high, but the enemy's were higher and the way was open for the 5th Armoured Division to force the Melfa River in the direction of Ceprano. General Vokes' troops took part in the pursuit along Highway No. 6, but were not again heavily engaged in the battle for Rome. With spearheads halted less than 30 miles from the capital, the Division passed into reserve with the remainder of the Corps on 4 June, the day that Rome fell. Within 48 hours of this victory the long-awaited Allied invasion of North West Europe began in Normandy. ? The Gothic Line After recuperating in the Volturno Valley, the Division again played an active role in deceptive manoeuvres at Florence. Then the Red Patch moved secretly to the Adriatic, where the Eighth Army was preparing a massive assault (Operation "Olive") to smash through the Gothic Line to the Lombard Plain. On the evening of 25 August the 1st Division sent four battalions across the historic Metauro River. "It was the first of a score of river crossing for the Canadians in their fight up the northern Adriatic coast, and the ease of it gave little warning of the grim actions ahead." At the end of the month the Division assaulted the Gothic Line proper. This, too, had received the careful attention of the Todt organization and there was heavy fighting before the Canadians forced their way through strong fortifications and established bridgeheads over the Conca. Once again the weather came to the aid of the enemy: the autumn rains made rough roads almost impassable, while the Germans enjoyed the advantage of good lateral communications. In mid-September the Division had heavy fighting during the Battle of Rimini, on the San Fortunato ridge. The defenders were well supplied with automatic weapons, mortars and anti-tank guns. They resisted fiercely, but after our troops closed in "dozens of badly shaken German infantry scrambled out of the ground, tossing off their helmets and equipment and trotting obediently down towards the Ausa with hands clasped behind their heads." The neighbouring village of San Martino held out for three days against persistent, resolute attacks, but by the 20th the 1st Division had subdued the enemy and was preparing to cross the virtually undefended Marecchia. The Rivers: Savio, Lomone, Senio After a short rest the Division returned to the line on 11 October. By that time the rainy weather had ended Allied hopes of "quickly debouching into the valley of the Po", and another difficult winter lay ahead. The immediate problem was to get across the treacherous Savio River in the face of a prepared enemy. The attack was launched on the 20th and succeeded in carving out a narrow bridgehead. Then the Savio suddenly rose and only the superhuman efforts of the engineers saved the bridgehead. The enemy counter-attacked strongly and, before the crisis passed, Pte E.A. "Smokey" Smith of the Seaforth Highlanders of Canada won the Division's second V.C. of the campaign. ? ? Pte E.A. "Smokey" Smith In November the troops had another rest from painful operations and, shortly afterwards, Major General H.W. Foster (who had previously commanded the 4th Canadian Armoured Division in North-West Europe) succeeded Major General Vokes as Commander of the 1st Division. The Red Patch then entered the last phase of its active operations in Italy. At the beginning of December the Division mounted an assault across the River Lamone with the help of the Desert Air Force and Artillery, but the enemy replied with vicious counter-attacks and our troops were repulsed with heavy losses. Later in the month the Division secured the bridgehead, pressing forward against fierce resistance to capture crossings over the Canale Naviglio. The advance ended at the turn of the year with the occupation of the winter line along the Senio River. The Division remained on this line, "with all its discomforts and inconveniences, in some places only ten yards from the enemy, until the end of February." Reunion with First Canadian Army For a long time the Canadian authorities had nursed hopes of reuniting the 1st Canadian Army in North-West Europe. Early in 1945 these aspirations were realized when the Corps, including the 1st Division, began a long journey from Italy, through France, Belgium and the Netherlands to join General H.D.G. Crerar's Army in North-West Europe. General Foster's troops reached the northern theatre in the final stages of the war against Germany. Committed in the Western Netherlands, they attacked across the Ijssel in mid-April and speedily cleared the enemy out of Apeldoorn. In the last days of the war the Division was halted on the Grebbe Line, some miles east of Utrecht, to facilitate Allied arrangements with the Germans for feeding the starving Dutch population. When the end of the war came, amid wildly excited civilians, the soldiers received the news quietly -- "they had performed their tasks and this was the end." The different tempo of warfare in 1939-45 was reflected in the casualties: the infantry Battalions suffered a total of 13,909 casualties of which 3,131 were fatal. These were much lower than the corresponding figures for the First World War. Yet, regarded in the cold light of efficiency in battle, the divisional achievements at the Moro, in Ortona and against the Hitler and Gothic Lines are worthy to stand beside of Ypres, the Somme, Vimy Ridge and Passchendaele. After the War The Post-War Division The Headquarters of the 1st Canadian Infantry Division was officially disbanded on 15 September, 1945. In the post-war reorganization of Reserve Units, a "Headquarters 1st Infantry Division" (later redesignated "Headquarters 1st Division") was authorized on 1 April, 1946. It remained dormant, however, and was formally disbanded on 21 July, 1954. In the meantime a new "Headquarters, 1st Canadian Infantry Division" had been authorized as part of the Canadian Army Active Force on 16 October, 1953, and this Headquarters was organized in the following December. Thus came into existence the first peacetime regular division in our history. Major-General J.M. Rockingham, C.B., C.B.E., D.S.O., E.D., took command of the 1st Division on 1 September, 1954. His Division contained the 1st Canadian Infantry Brigade, stationed in Germany, the 2nd at Edmonton and the 3rd at Valcartier, with normal supporting arms and services. The tour of this Division was shortlived and on 5 December 1957 the Minister of National Defence announced in the House of Commons that the Divisional Headquarters would be reduced to nil strength. Shortly thereafter General Rockingham was transferred to command the Quebec Region and on 30 April 1958 the Headquarters of 1st Canadian Infantry Division and its subordinate Headquarters were disbanded. In 1988 a new era for the Division began when the Government of Canada announced its intention to consolidate its military commitments to Europe in the central region. Thus the Division was reactivated with its Headquarters in Kingston, Ontario and a forward element in CFE, its primary area of operation. It consisted of 4 Canadian Mechanized Brigade in Lahr, 5e Brigade du Canada in Canada and supporting elements from across Canada, of which the principal was 1st Canadian Division Headquarters and Signals Regiment. In this structure the Division carried on in the best traditions of the Old Red Patch. The New Division With the end of the cold war a new orientation evolved for the Division. The NATO task ceased and on 1 April 1992 the Task Force Headquarters role was assumed. The responsibility to exercise tactical command and control of several brigade groups remains but this responsibility has now been extended to Joint Task Force scenarios as well. Subsequently, the December 1992 deployment of the Division Headquarters to Somalia in this role confirmed the appropriateness of this task. Clearly The Division Headquarters continues to have an important role to play in Canada's defence policy. In doing so it will continue to wear the Old Red Patch and represent the proud traditions established by its predecessors.