Régiment de la Chaudière

The Régiment de la Chaudière is a Primary Reserve infantry regiment of the Canadian Forces.

Insignia
The regimental insignia consists of two crossed Vickers machine guns, surmounted by a beaver supporting a fleur-de-lys. Under this is a scroll inscribed with the device Aere perennius meaning 'Stronger than bronze', with a small maple leaf on each end.

History
Le Régiment de la Chaudière was formed following the amalgamation of the regiments of "Dorchester et Beauce" and the "Megantic Machine Guns" on 15 December 1936.

The regiment mobilized a battalion for the Canadian Active Service Force in 1939. Initially organized as a machine gun battalion, the battalion was sent to England in August 1941. The unit was assigned to the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division as a standard rifle battalion and was designated as a reserve battalion during the D-Day landings in June 1944. Le Régiment de la Chaudière came ashore at Bernières-sur-Mer along with The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada, surprising the locals who hadn't expected to find francophone troops in the liberating forces. It was the only French-Canadian regiment to participate in Operation Overlord, and the only French speaking unit that day along with the Free-French Commando Kieffer.

The regiment participated in the Battle for Caen, suffering several casualties in the fight at Carpiquet airfield on 4 July 1944. With the rest of the division, the regiment fought in the Battle of the Scheldt, notably in actions in the Breskens Pocket between 6 October and 3 November 1944.

The unit wintered in the Nijmegen Salient and was again active in the Rhineland fighting in February 1945, and finished the war on German soil in May.

A 2nd Battalion served in the Reserve Army. A 3rd Battalion was raised for the Canadian Army Occupation Force.

Name
Citizens in Normandy were surprised to find that soldiers of the Chaudière spoke a type of French very close to that spoken in Normandy, but were puzzled by the regiment's name. In French, chaudière is the word for a water heater or boiler. The regiment was named for the Chaudière River, itself named for the "boiling" of a waterfall on the river.

Régiment de la Chaudière museum
The museum researches, collects, preserves and interprets as many artifacts as possible which illustrate the military life, particularly during the war in Europe, 1944-1945. The museum displays and describes arms, uniforms, equipment and customs of Le Régiment de la Chaudière from its founding and that of its antecedents.