5th Medium Regiment , Royal Canadian Artillery The 5th Medium Regiment , Royal Canadian Artillery , was one of six Canadian medium regiments that saw service in Britain and continental Europe in the Second World War , the others being the 1st , 2nd , 3rd , 4th , and 7th Medium Regiments . ( There was no 6th Medium . ) The 5th Medium Regiment was formed in England from two non - permanent batteries , namely the 7th Medium Battery ( Montreal , Quebec ) and the 23rd Medium Battery ( Toronto , Ontario ) , on 22 September 1941 . The regiment at this time was temporarily placed under the command of Major A . Bruce Matthews , who subsequently was promoted to Lt . Colonel . Prior to the creation of the 5th Medium Regiment , the 7th Medium Battery had been paired with the 2nd Medium Battery ( Charlottetown , PEI ) of the 1st Medium Regiment RCA . Similarly , the 23rd Medium Battery also belonged to the 1st Medium Regiment RCA and had been paired with the 3rd Medium Battery ( Kingston , Ontario ) . It was not uncommon for members of each Battery to identify themselves by geographic location instead of by Battery number ( e . g . , as an Islander if 2nd Battery , or from Kingston , if 3rd Battery ) . Throughout the war there was always a friendly rivalry between these Medium batteries . After the completion of the regiment ' s formation in England , in a manner of questionable legality , the 5th Medium became the first fully armed medium regiment in the UK . Paraphrased from the 5th Medium unpublished diary : in an “ alcoholic orgy of bargaining , ” two Battery captains , Reiner and Hogarth , ‘ bought ’ eight new 5 . 5 inch guns from an officer in charge of the supply gun park for the bargain price of 300 cigarettes . All the guns arrived by the end of September 1941 making the 5th Medium the first regiment to be fully outfitted with armaments . Similarly , Lt . General AGL McNaughton was interested in conducting user trials of this new weapon . The 5th Medium conducted the user trials of the new artillery piece in January 1942 at Larkhill , England . By October 1942 , Lt . Colonel Matthews left the unit and was replaced by Lt Colonel Suttie . In this time before Christmas , the 5th Medium conducted a live fire demonstration for Lt . General AGL McNaughton and continued further training at Sennybridge . After two lively Christmas parties , the 5th Medium settled down for more training in the New Year . At 0830 on 24 October 1943 , Major Reiner informed the regiment of their anticipated movement towards a theater of action . The 23rd Battery , along with the Regimental HQ and the Signals section entrained at Leatherhead Station , while the rest of the 7th Battery at Woking station bound for Glasgow . According to the official orders outlining the operation ( Code named “ Timberwolf ” ) , it was stated that all “ units will be on 12 . 00 notice to entrain , from 0001 21 October 1943 . ” On the afternoon of 26 October 1943 the 5th Medium boarded the Dutch liner , Sloterdijk ( or Sloterdyk ) in Glasgow along with elements of the 5th Canadian Armoured Division , HQ 1st AGRA , 2nd Medium RCA , and 11th Field Regiment RCA . On the evening of the 27th , the ship set sail in its convey in a northerly direction . The troop ship continued into the North Atlantic causing a great deal of sea sickness . By estimates , it was documented that the waves and swells were 15 - 20 + feet in height . To keep the men occupied , pamphlets were given out detailing hygiene in tropical countries and notes for troops heading to North Africa . The convey traveled unmolested by aircraft or U - boat attack through the Atlantic and reached the straits of Gibraltar early in the evening of 4 November 1943 . On 6 November 1943 , at 18 : 07 , while north of Philippevile , North Africa ( now known as Skikda ) , the men had just completed a treasure hunt for 100 playing cards hidden throughout the ship when the convey was attacked by German aircraft . The predetermined Bren gun defenses were effective at creating a wall of tracers around the ship . The convey shot down two bombers and the all clear was called at 20 : 00 . The only casualty aboard the Sloterdijk was an American sailor who was shot ( by accident ) in the leg by Grn Greenshields . Later , it was found that No . 14 Hospital Ship had been damaged and disabled in the attack , and two other ships were lost , none carrying Canadians . The No . 14 Hospital Ship was towed towards Philippevile but sunk en route without loss of life on board . By 8 November 1943 , the Sloterdijk docked outside of Palermo Harbour , Sicily at 02 : 10 . An advanced party left the ship at about 08 : 30 and the rest of the 5th Medium disembarked at 11 : 00 and marched outside the city to the staging point in a swampy field . As American trucks began to bring up supplies , the 5th Medium moved to a rock quarry as it was dryer than the swamp . A rock slide , caused by heavy rains , killed Grn . Chiasson when he was struck by a falling boulder . Two others required hospitalization , one of which required the amputation of a leg . The 5th Medium spent the rest of the night without cover , tents or food in torrential downpours of rain . After boarding box cars , the 5th Medium left Lolli Station , Palermo , on 10 November 1943 towards their more permanent area in Zafferana . Traveling by train , the entire 5th Medium reached the Villa Angela on the slope of Mount Etna by 11 November 1943 . The next few days in Zafferana consisted of continued training and inspections ( and numerous swims in the Mediterranean Sea ) . On the 16 – 17 November 1943 , the 7th and 23rd Batteries moved to Ionia . The training and checking of equipment continued , with events like mail arriving from Canada and even a minor earthquake occurring . The discipline was very strict , although it was noted that members of the 5th Medium were able to send a few parties into the city of Catania to gather wine . Also the amount of dysentery from men trading cigarettes for contaminated figs , oranges , dates and nuts were numerous because of the unsanitary handling of the food by the peasants . As the winter approached the 5th Medium moved to Altamura on 11 January 1944 . On 24 February , eight new 4 . 5 inch guns arrived . Now complete with armament and equipment , the 5th Medium moved forward along the Adriatic coast to the river Sangro towards the Ortona line . The night of the 24 February 1944 , the 5th Medium remained behind the line in outside of Lanciano awaiting the movement into the front . The 5th Medium found action in the Adriatic front held by the 5 British Corps . At this point , the 5th Medium had little to do but the odd counter - battery and in support of the 8th Indian Division ' s attempt at capturing German soldiers in the houses across the Moro . By mid - April , the 5th Medium received its orders to move again for a spring offensive on Cassino in the Liri Valley . On 27 April 1944 , the 5th Medium began moving under the cover of darkness , stopping during the day in order to conceal their movements . By 11 May 1944 , everything was in order for the assault on the German held Gustav line . At 23 : 00 on 11 May 1944 ( Operation Honker ) , almost 2 , 000 Allied artillery pieces began firing on Cassino and the Gustav line . The 5th Medium ' s task during the attack was predetermined fire plans , shoots on hostile batteries , nebelwerfer s and other targets of opportunity . By 3 June 1944 , the regiment came out of action and began its move towards Pofi . By 11 June 1944 , the regiment had returned to its old concentration area in Guardia . Training continued and by 3 August 1944 , the regiment began to move again to an area near Spolatto . On 15 August 1944 , Brigadier Huckvale , Commander of 1st Army Group Royal Artillery informed the regiment that it was going back into action north of Jesi , close to the Gothic Line . The 5th Medium found the Germans dug in along the Metauro and moved into a forward position on 24 August 1944 . On 25 August 1944 at 24 : 00 , the regiment participated in a large artillery barrage , but nowhere near the size conducted at Cassino . The fighting in this area continued for another week and the 5th Medium went out of action again on 2 September 1944 and took up a position outside of San Giovanni . They remained in this position for 13 days , in part due to the stiff resistance the 5 British Corps were facing from the Germans . Movement again occurred on 16 September 1944 to Coraino . On the night of 21 September 1944 , the rain reduced the hillside the regiment was located into a “ mass of mud ” . The Germans also were laying accurate fire on the roads leading from the area , thus restricting the regiment ' s movement . Equally , all equipment was “ stuck at all possible angles and places ” in the mud necessitating a postponement of movement until the next day . Eventually , after much winching and digging , the equipment was freed from the mud and the regiment made its way to a position south of Rimini . The regiment spent four days at the position in Rimini suffering many counter - battery attacks from German artillery . They then moved through the ruins of Rimini on the north side . The regiment remained in this position until 12 October 1944 when the advance on the front was again slowed at Savio . The regiment remained in action , doing little firing until 11 November 1944 when it moved into a rest area at Cesenatico . After spending two weeks at Cesenatico , Operation “ Chuckle ” began with intentions to capture Bologna and contain the 28 German Divisions in Italy . Bagnacavallo and Ravenna were eventually taken and the 5th Medium halted its advance along the Senio River which was decided would be the winter front line . The 5th Medium was eventually shifted to a new location near Godo . By 19 February 1945 , the regiment came out of action and moved back to Cesenatico for movement to a new theater of action . On 23 February 1945 the 5th Medium learned that it was leaving Italy for North - West Europe . The regiment spent a week and a half in a camp outside of Naples ( Camp Lammie ) before boarding the ship , Ville D ’ Oran , on 12 March 1945 in Naples harbour . On 13 March 1945 , at 10 : 30 , the 5th Medium disembarked in Marseilles and was transported to a camp outside the city . The next day , in convoy , the 5th Medium moved through the Rhone Valley of France , into Belgium . On 19 March 1945 , the regiment settled in the town of Waregam . After numerous cancelled movement orders , the 5th Medium eventually received orders to move into the Netherlands , outside of Nijmegen , firing on 1 April 1945 at 23 : 00 on targets along the Rhine and IJssel . By 15 April 1944 , the 5th Medium moved to a new position north of Valberg , remaining there until 19 April 1945 when the regiment took up its last offensive position near Barneveld . On 26 April 1945 , the 5th Medium received orders that it would not fire again , unless in retaliation . By 2 May 1945 a local truce had been declared to allow food conveys through to the Dutch citizens . On the evening of 4 May 1945 , the regiment received word that the cessation of hostilities would occur on the following day and subsequently , a double issue of rum was authorized within the regiment to all personnel . After VE Day on 8 May 1945 , the regiment moved towards Hippo and eventually to Doorn . The last day of the regiment ' s official existence was 30 June 1945 . The final notation in the 5th Medium ' s war diary ends : “ This is the last entry of the war diary of the 5th Cdn . Med . Regt . , RCA . FINTO - - KAPUT ”