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5th Canadian (Armoured) Division
The 5th Canadian Division refers to two organizations raised during the 20th Century. This article refers to the division raised as a formation in the Second World War.
The 5th Canadian (Armoured) Division was an armoured division raised during the Second World War. Originally known as the 1st Canadian Armoured Division, this formation saw combat in Italy and NW Europe. 1st Canadian Armoured DivisionThe 1st Canadian Armoured Division was mobilized on 27 February 1941, as experience in the Western Desert saw an increased understanding of the capabilities of armour in modern warfare. By June 1941, the division had been renamed the 5th Canadian (Armoured) Division, and was organized along British lines, with two armoured brigades. The division moved to the UK at the end of 1941, and in 1943 was heavily reorganized, moving to a new organization calling for one brigade of infantry and one of armour. The 1st Canadian Armoured Division was composed as follows in February 1941:
5th Canadian (Armoured) DivisionIn June 1941, the Division was renamed "5th Canadian (Armoured) Division". Many of the units forming this unit had come from the 4th Canadian Infantry Division, still forming in Canada. 
Ram tank showing the vehicle markings of the 5th Division, England,
Sep 1942, based on a watercolour by W.A. Ogilvie. In January 1943, there were major changes to the order of battle.
In late 1943, the division moved to the Mediterranean as part of Operation TIMBERWOLF, the relocation of I Canadian Corps to the Mediterranean. The division's equipment did not move to the Mediterranean, and instead only personnel made the move in late 1943, due to shipping concerns, taking over the equipment of the British 7th Armoured Division in Italy. The first General Officer Commanding the division, Major-General E.W. Sansom, had been replaced by Major-General C.R.S. Stein in January 1943, but in mid-October 1943 a medical board found him unfit for employment overseas, and he was replaced by Major-General Guy Simonds. During the move to Italy, the division was commanded temporarily by Brigadier R.O.G. Morton, the Commander, Royal Artillery of the division.2 In January 1944 infantry units of the division saw their first combat action at the Arielli River. As the Canadian Corps became operational, the division's gun supported the assault on the Gustav Line, and the division followed through the breach in the Hitler Line created in May by 1st Canadian Infantry Division, followed by stiff fighting at the Melfa River. On 1 July 1944, the 11th Brigade Support Group was redesignated the 11th Independent Machine Gun Company (Princess Louise Fusiliers) on 1 July 1944. 12th Canadian Infantry Brigade The 5th Canadian (Armoured) Division underwent a major reorganization in July 1944. Recognizing the rugged nature of the Italian terrain that favoured the German's style of defensive fighting, delaying tactics and effectiveness at fighting withdrawals, an additional brigade of infantry was created for the division. The 11th Brigade had been especially overworked during the pursuit from the Hitler Line in May, operating in difficult terrain west of the Melfa. On 3 June the commander of I Canadian Corps suggested to Canadian Military Headquarters that it was important for two infantry brigades to work in concert with the armoured brigade. It was further pointed out that 8th Army was able to provide additional infantry brigades for two of its infantry divisions in theatre. (These were the 61st Infantry Brigade, organized from battalions of the Rifle Brigade, and the 24th Independent Guards Brigade, were added to the British 6th Armoured Division and the 6th South African Armoured Division respectively.) The Chief of the Imperial General Staff in the United Kingdom initially refused the request for an additional infantry brigade, fearing it would be a diversion from Operation OVERLORD, the invasion of Northwest Europe, despite the theatre commander, General Alexander's, support of the recommendation. The commander of the 8th Army, General Leese, suggested using existing Canadian units.
Burns submitted a recommendation to CMHQ, though instead of the RCD he proposed using the 1st Division's reconnaissance regiment (4th Princess Louise Dragoon Guards) as it had more experience fighting dismounted (i.e. as infantry). Canadian military officials were wary of the project due to the probably increase of infantry reinforcements that would be required to keep the unit up to strength, but the project was nonetheless approved on 12 July, after discussions with Generals Alexander and Leese who assured the Canadians that the new brigade was an "operational necessity."
The 4th Canadian Reconnaissance Regiment (4th Princess Louise Dragoon Guards) deleted the reconnaissance title and became simply 4th Princess Louise Dragoon Guards, replaced in the 1st Division by The Royal Canadian Dragoons. The 1st Canadian Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment temporarily used the title 89th/109th Battalion, then 1st Canadian Light Anti-Aircraft Battalion, and in October after much discussion, The Lanark and Renfrew Scottish Regiment after a unit of the Canadian Army (Reserve) in eastern Ontario that had not yet mobilized an active service battalion. The Westminster Regiment (Motor) remained unchanged in name and establishment, serving as an infantry battalion that would also be available as a motor battalion for the division.
Assault Troop The 1st Canadian Assault Troop was created in Italy on 1 June 1944 to provide the 1st Canadian Armoured brigade with its own engineers. Its strength was 2 officers and 84 other ranks, all from the Canadian Armoured Corps. They were given special training in methods of keeping tank routes open, which included using demolitions and removing enemy mines and booby-traps. One section from the Troop joined each of the three armoured regiments on 18 July 1944. Concurrently, a 5th Canadian Assault Troop was organized for the 5th Canadian Armoured Brigade.6 Gothic Line In August 1944, the division returned to action north of Rome, and were the first formation to punch through the Gothic Line. The Rimini Line followed afterwards, and several water barriers were crossed as the division battled north. By January 1945, the division had reached the Senio River, and the Winter Line. The Division was moved out of the theatre at the end of February, to join the First Canadian Army in Holland. When the division moved to North-West Europe in early 1945, the 12th Infantry Brigade (including the 12th Independent MG Company) was deleted from the order of battle and the division reverted to its former organization, having only existed for 8 months.
Order of Battle 1944-1945
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| Name | Dates in Command | Bio and Destination on Leaving Appointment |
| Major General E.W. Sansom, DSO | 14 Mar 1941 - 14 Jan 1943 |
Major General
Ernest W. Sansom was born in 1890, and when he couldn't
afford to go to Royal Military College instead worked on
farms and surveyed land in Western Canada. He joined the
Militia upon his return to New Brunswick, and in 1914 he was
a lieutenant. He went overseas as a machine gun instructor,
but did not get to France until August 1916. By war's end he
was a lieutenant colonel who had won the Distinguished
Service Order. |
| Major General C.R.S. Stein | 15 Jan 1943 - 18 Oct 1943 |
Major General Charles Ramsay Stirling Stein was born in 1897 and served as Assistant Adjutant General at Canadian Military Headquarters in the UK, as well as AA&QMG of 5th Canadian Armoured Division and Brigadier General Staff of the 1st Canadian Army before assuming command of the 5th Division. |
| Major General G.G. Simonds, CBE, DSO | 1 Nov 1943 - 29 Jan 1944 |
Major General Guy Granville Simonds was born to a Major of the Royal Artillery in 1903, and upon graduation from Royal Military College elected to join the Royal Canadian Horse Artillery. After he left the Second Division, he went to Italy to command the Fifth Division and gain battle experience with an armoured division. He later returned to NW Europe to command II Canadian Corps for the rest of the war, including some periods as acting commander of First Canadian Army. Simonds would be regarded, by British officers, Canadian officers, and historians alike, as the greatest commander Canada produced in the Second World War. |
| Major General E.L.M. Burns, OBE, MC | 30 Jan 1944 - 19 Mar 1944 |
Major General Edson Louis Millard "Tommy" Burns was a veteran of the Great War who had served in signals units, being decorated for bravery under fire. In 1939 he assumed the first of a string of senior staff positions, but was reduced from Brigadier to Colonel in 1941 when a letter to a married woman in Montreal - with whom he was having an affair - was found to contain many frank opinions of senior war leadership in Britain. He assumed an administrative post with the new Canadian Armoured Corps, commanded a brigade in the 4th Division (which he helped create), and eventually was given command of the 2nd Canadian Division. He would leave the division for a brief period commanding the Fifth Armoured Division after which we was promotoed to command I Canadian Corps. |
| Major General B.M. Hoffmeister, CB, CBE, DSO, ED | 20 Mar 1944 - 6 Jun 1945 |
Major General Bertram Meryl Hoffmeister was born in 1907 and arrived in England with the Seaforth Highlanders of Canada, where he became a company commander before assuming command of the battalion. He led the 2nd Brigade in action in Italy before assuming command of the 5th Division, where he was rated as among the best of the Canadian divisional commanders, and probably the best general to come from the prewar Non-Permanent Active Militia. He went on to command the Canadian Army Pacific Force and retired from military life in 1945. He passed away in 1999. |
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At the
start of the Second World War, it was felt that
colourful unit and Formation Patches would be too easily
seen, and a very austere set of insignia was designed
for the new Battle Dress uniform, consisting solely of
rank badges and drab worsted Slip-on Shoulder Titles. In
1941, however, the trend was reversed, and a new system
of Formation Patches, based on the battle patches of the
First World War, was introduced. However, the use of
lettered unit titles (at first won as Slip-on Shoulder
Titles and later, as more colourful designs worn
directly above the divisional patches) was also
introduced - a privilege previously extended only to the
Brigade of Guards in England, and in the Canadian Army
to just four units: Governor General's Foot Guards,
Canadian Grenadier Guards, Princess Patricia's Canadian
Light Infantry and the Canadian Provost Corps. The new formation patches were made from three materials mainly; felt and wool being most common, and canvas patches were adopted in the late war period as an economy measure. Members of various corps serving in support units originally wore formation patches with letters added directly to the patch (or in some cases a plain coloured shape, such as the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps (RCAMC)) The hexagonal patch of the Canadian Army Pacific Force applied overtop of the formation patch indicated a volunteer for the CAPF. The 5th Canadian (Armoured) Division readopted the divisional battle patch that had been worn in the First World War, being of a colour known as "maroon." Shoulder patches were made from three materials mainly (canvas, felt and wool) and were first issued in 1941. The Division adopted divisional titles for all units that incorporated the initials of their names ("battle patches"); while other divisions wore these types of patches for units of the supporting arms only, the 5th Division extended this practice to its armoured and infantry battalions as well. This practice appears to have been in use throughout the Italian campaign. All units eventually moved away from the distinctive unit insignia on the formation patch (most likely after the move to Northwest Europe in the spring of 1945), adopting their own shoulder titles worn in conjunction with the "plain" division patch. Both styles of unit/formation identification were in use by the end of the war. |
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Below - artifacts and scans courtesy Bill Alexander
Notes
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Divisional Headquarters
17th Field Regiment
8th Field Regiment (Self Propelled)
4th Anti-Tank Regiment
5th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment
Corps of Royal Canadian Engineers
Royal Canadian Corps of Signals
Royal Canadian Army Service Corps
Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps
Royal Canadian Ordnance Corps
Canadian Postal Corps
