First Canadian Army

First Canadian Army
The First Canadian Army was a field army and a formation of the Canadian Army in World War II in which most Canadian elements serving in North-West Europe were assigned. It served on the Western Front from July 1944 until May 1945.
The army was formed in early 1942, replacing the existing unnumbered Canadian Corps, as the growing contribution of Canadian forces to serve with the British Army in the United Kingdom necessitated an expansion to two corps. By the end of 1943 Canadian formations consisted of three infantry divisions, two armoured divisions and two independent armoured brigades. The first commander was Lieutenant-General A. G. L. "Andy" McNaughton, who was replaced in 1944 by General H. D. G. "Harry" Crerar. Both had been senior Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery officers in the Canadian Corps in World War I. Allied formations of other nationalities were added to the First Canadian Army to keep it at full strength.
The First Canadian Army's strength was 177,000 all ranks at the end of 1942. One year later it had grown to 242,000. On 31 May 1944, shortly before the Normandy landings, Canadian troops in Europe numbered 251,000 of which 75,000 had left First Canadian Army to serve on the Italian Front.
History
When the First Canadian Army was formed overseas in 1942, Lieutenant-General Andrew McNaughton's aim was to keep Canada's contributions to the British Army together to lead the cross-channel assault on northwest Europe. Two brigades of the 2nd Canadian Division led the ill-fated Dieppe Raid in 1942. Aside from this endeavour, the Army did not see combat until July 1943. In 1943, because the Canadian government wanted Canadian troops to see action immediately, the 1st Canadian Infantry Division, 1st Canadian Armoured Brigade, and 5th Canadian Armoured Division were detached from the Army for participation in the Italian Campaign.
In early 1944, the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division and 2nd Canadian Armoured Brigade were also detached to British I Corps to participate in the assault phase of the Normandy landings. II Canadian Corps became operational in Normandy in early July 1944, as the 2nd Canadian Infantry Division landed. The First Canadian Army headquarters did not itself arrive in Normandy until mid-July, becoming operational on 23 July 1944 just before 4th Canadian Armoured Division arriving on the Continent.
The Army proper first went into action in the Battle of Normandy and conducted operations at Falaise (e.g. Operation Totalize, Operation Tractable) and helping close the Falaise pocket. After reaching the Seine, the objective of the first phase of Operation Overlord, the Army moved along the coast towards Belgium, with the Canadian 2nd Division entering Dieppe at the beginning of September. The First Army, under acting command of Lieutenant-General Guy Simonds (from 28 September 1944 to 7 November 1944), fought the critical Battle of the Scheldt along with the supporting Operation Pheasant in October and early November, opening Antwerp for Allied shipping.
The First Canadian Army held a static line along the river Meuse (Maas) from December through February, then launched Operation Veritable in early February. By this point, the Army, besides the II Canadian Corps, contained nine British divisions. The Siegfried Line was broken and the Army reached the banks of the Rhine in early March.
In the final weeks of the war in Europe, the First Army cleared the Netherlands of German forces. By this time the First Division and Fifth (Armoured) Division as well as First Armoured Brigade and the 1st Cdn AGRA had returned to the Army during Operation Goldflake and for the first time, both the I Canadian Corps and II Canadian Corps fought under the same Army commander.
Makeup
The First Canadian Army was international in character. The size of Canada's military contribution on its own would likely not have justified the creation of a separate army-level command in North-West Europe, especially over the period when I Canadian Corps was away gaining valuable combat experience in Italy. However, both McNaughton and Crerar, backed up by the Canadian government, were successful in their lobbying for the British Army to create a Canadian-led army enlarged with contributions from other Allied countries. In addition to II Canadian Corps (which included the Canadian formations under command described above), other formations under command included the British I Corps, and the 1st Polish Armoured Division, as well as, at various times, the American 104th Infantry Division (Timberwolf), 1st Belgian Infantry Brigade, Royal Netherlands Motorized Infantry Brigade and 1st Czechoslovak Armoured Brigade. The First Canadian Army in North-West Europe during the final phases of the war comprised the largest field army ever under the control of a Canadian general. Ration strength of the army ranged from approximately 105,000 to 175,000 Canadian soldiers to anywhere from 200,000 to over 450,000 when including the soldiers from other nations.
The 'Maple Leaf Route' was the designation of the army's main supply route. The route was usually divided into Maple Leaf Up and Maple Leaf Down, designating traffic to and away from the front, respectively.
Order of battle
Second World War 1939–1945
First Canadian Army
Headquarters
First Canadian Army Defence Battalion - Lorne Scots (until April 1944) & Royal Montreal Regiment
No. 1 Army Headquarters Car Company, Royal Canadian Army Service Corps (RCASC)
Royal Canadian Artillery
No. 1 Army Group, R.C.A.(1st Cdn AGRA)
11th Army Field Regiment
1st Medium Regiment, Royal Canadian Artillery
2nd Medium Regiment, Royal Canadian Artillery
5th Medium Regiment, Royal Canadian Artillery
56th Heavy Regiment, Royal Artillery (from Mar 1945)
No. 2 Army Group, R.C.A.(2nd Cdn AGRA)
19th Army Field Regiment
3rd Medium Regiment, Royal Canadian Artillery
4th Medium Regiment, Royal Canadian Artillery
7th Medium Regiment, Royal Canadian Artillery
10th Medium Regiment, Royal Artillery
15th Medium Regiment, Royal Artillery, (disb Dec 44)
1st Heavy Regiment, Royal Artillery
2nd Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment (Mobile)
1st Rocket Battery
1st Radar Battery
"F" Squadron, 25th Armoured Delivery Regiment (The Elgin Regiment), Canadian Armoured Corps (CAC)
1st Armoured Personnel Carrier Regiment, CAC
No. 6 Casualty Clearing Station, Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps (RCAMC)
Nos. 4, 5, 6 & 7 Field Transfusion Units, RCAMC
Nos. 9, 10 & 11 Field Dressing Stations, RCAMC
No. 14 Field Hygiene Section, RCAMC
units of the Canadian Dental Corps (CDC)
Nos. 81 & 82 Artillery Companies, RCASC
Nos. 35 & 36 Army Troops Composite Companies, RCASC
Nos. 41, 45, 47, 63 & 64 Army Transport Companies, RCASC
Nos. 1 & 2 Motor Ambulance Convoys, RCASC
Royal Canadian Engineers
First Canadian Army Troops Engineers
10th Field Park Company
5th, 20th & 23rd Field Companies
2nd Canadian Army Troops Engineers
11th Field Park Company
32nd, 33rd & 34th Field Companies
No. 1 Workshop and Park Company
1st Field (Air) Survey Company
2nd Field Survey Company
3rd Field (Reproduction) Company
First Army Signals, Royal Canadian Corps of Signals (RCCS)
1st Air Support Signals Unit
Nos. 1, 2 & 3 Special Wireless Sections
First Army Troops Workshop, Royal Canadian Electrical and Mechanical Engineers
No. 11 Provost Company, Canadian Provost Corps
No. 1 Canadian Forestry Group, Canadian Forestry Corps
No. 1 Army Base Post Office, Canadian Postal Corps
I Canadian Corps (April 1942 to November 1943; February to July 1945)
(attached to the British Eighth Army in Italy from November 1943 to February 1945)
1st Canadian Infantry Division (in Italy from July 1943 to February 1945)
5th Canadian Armoured Division
1st Canadian Armoured Brigade
1st Corps Defence Company (Lorne Scots)
Other Corps Troops
II Canadian Corps (January 15, 1943, to June 25, 1945)
2nd Canadian Infantry Division
3rd Canadian Infantry Division
4th Canadian Armoured Division
2nd Canadian Armoured Brigade
Polish 1st Armoured Division
15th (Scottish) Infantry Division (January to March, 1945)
2nd Corps Defence Company (The Prince Edward Island Light Horse)
Other Corps Troops
I British Corps (August 1, 1944, to April 1, 1945)
6th Airborne Division (to 3 September 1944)
1st Belgian Infantry Brigade (August 10 to September 10, 1944)
49th (West Riding) Infantry Division
51st (Highland) Infantry Division (to 19 December 1944)
33rd Armoured Brigade (to September 1944)
104th Infantry Division (United States) (mid October to early November, 1944)
XXX British Corps (January to March, 1945 for Operation Veritable)
Guards Armoured Division
43rd (Wessex) Infantry Division
52nd (Lowland) Infantry Division
53rd (Welsh) Infantry Division
elements of 79th Armoured Division
4th Armoured Brigade
6th Guards Armoured Brigade
8th Armoured Brigade
34th Armoured Brigade
Commanders
Andrew McNaughton (Commander, early 1942 – 21 December 1943)
Kenneth Stuart (Acting Commander, 21 December 1943 – 20 March 1944)
Harry Crerar (Commander, 20 March 1944 – summer 1945)
Guy Simonds (Acting Commander from 28 September to 7 November 1944)
References
Further reading
Robin Dickers (2012). The History of the 2nd Canadian Army Group Royal Artillery. London: Lonsdale. .
Official accounts – National Defence and the Canadian Forces
Stacey, C P. (1955) Volume I Six Years of War: The Army in Canada, Britain and the Pacific, Official History of the Canadian Army in the Second World War. Queen's Printer, Ottawa
Stacey, C P. (1960) , Volume III The Victory Campaign: The Operations in Northwest Europe, 1944–45 Official History of the Canadian Army in the Second World War, Queen's Printer, Ottawa
External links
canadiansoldiers.com page
The First Canadian Army – Veterans Affairs Canada
First Canadian Army, 8 May 1945 – Juno Beach Centre
01 Army
Military units and formations of the Canadian Army
1942 establishments in Canada
1946 disestablishments in Canada
Canadian Army 01
Canadian Army 01