Régiment de la Chaudière | |
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Active | 1869–present |
Country | Canada |
Branch | Canadian Army |
Type | Primary Reserve infantry regiment |
Role | Infantry |
Garrison/HQ | Lévis, Quebec |
Motto(s) | Aere perennius (Stronger than bronze) |
Battle honours | Châteauguay;[1] Defence of Canada – 1812–1815;[2] Normandy Landing; Caen; Carpiquet; Bourguébus Ridge; Faubourg de Vaucelles; Falaise; The Laison; Chambois; Boulogne, 1944; Calais, 1944; The Scheldt; Breskens Pocket; The Rhineland; Waal Flats; The Hochwald; The Rhine; Emmerich-Hoch Elten; Zutphen; North-West Europe, 1944–1945[3] |
Insignia | |
Regimental Insignia | Two crossed 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. |
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.[4]
Régiment de la Chaudière museum[]
Régiment de la Chaudière museum | |
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Location | Lévis Armoury, 10 Arsenal Street, Lévis, QC G6V 4P7 Canada |
Type | Regimental 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.[5]
Order of precedence[]
References[]
- ↑ "War of 1812 Battle Honours". Department of National Defence. September 14, 2012. http://www.forces.gc.ca/site/news-nouvelles/news-nouvelles-eng.asp?id=4389. Retrieved September 17, 2012.
- ↑ "The Creation of the Commemorative Theatre Honour and Honorary Distinction "Defence of Canada – 1812-1815 – Défense du Canada"". Department of National Defence. September 14, 2012. http://www.forces.gc.ca/site/news-nouvelles/news-nouvelles-eng.asp?id=4378. Retrieved September 17, 2012.
- ↑ "Le Régiment de la Chaudière". Official Lineages Volume 3, Part 2: Infantry Regiments. Directorate of History and Heritage. October 2010. http://www.cmp-cpm.forces.gc.ca/dhh-dhp/his/ol-lo/vol-tom-3/par2/rc-eng.asp. Retrieved September 17, 2012.
- ↑ Canada in the Second World War (Reader's Digest, 1958)
- ↑ A-AD-266-000/AG-001 Canadian Forces Museums –Operations and Administration 2002-04-03
External links[]
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Coordinates: 46°48′13″N 71°11′02″W / 46.80361°N 71.18389°W
The original article can be found at Régiment de la Chaudière and the edit history here.