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Field Force Formations

Field Force units generated for the Second World War were originally mobilized as the Canadian Active Service Force (CASF), later renamed as part of the Canadian Army. In addition to the activation of field force units based on prewar regiments and units (a complete change from the way in which the Canadian Expeditionary Force was created for the First World War), some units were created from scratch based on necessity. Some units also served in foreign formations, such the 1st Canadian Armoured Carrier Regiment and the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion.

A Formation was a high-level military organization, in Canadian usage referring to (in ascending order of importance) a Brigade, Division, Corps, Army or Army Group. Lower level organizations were generally referred to as units, such as infantry battalions, armoured regiments, etc., which were made up of sub-units (generally company or squadron sized.

The word "formation" could also loosely refer to a tactical placement of military forces, such as a formation of aircraft or section formations of infantry.