3rd Canadian Division The 3rd Canadian Division was first created as a formation of the Canadian Corps during the First World War . It was stood down following the war only to be reactivated as the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division during the Second World War . In both wars the division was recognized by the distinctive French grey patch worn on the sleeve of its soldiers . First World War . The 3rd Canadian Division was formed in France in December 1915 under the command of Major - General Malcolm Mercer . Its members served in both France and Flanders until Armistice Day . While with 3rd Division at Ypres , Mercer became the highest - ranking Canadian officer killed in action in World War I . On the same day , Brigadier V . A . Williams , commanding the 8th Infantry Brigade , became the highest - ranking Canadian officer captured in World War I , also at the Battle of Mount Sorrel . Mercer was replaced by Louis Lipsett , who commanded the division until September 1918 shortly before he too was killed in action . Infantry units . 7th Infantry Brigade : 8th Infantry Brigade : 9th Infantry Brigade : ( Joined the Division in January 1916 ) Pioneers : Battles and engagements on the Western Front . 1916 : 1917 : 1918 : Second World War . The formation of the division was authorized on 17 May 1940 . There was then a considerable delay until the brigade and divisional headquarters were formed on 5 September , and the first divisional commander was appointed on 26 October . While the division ’ s components were forming , The Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa were detached and transferred to Iceland as part of Z Force . The battalion spent the winter of 1940 – 41 there before moving to the UK . The division ' s 8th Canadian Infantry Brigade and 9th Canadian Infantry Brigade s began embarking as early as 1 July 1941 and arrived in the UK at the end of that month . The 7th Canadian Infantry Brigade embarked in August and arrived at the beginning of September . After its arrival , the division spent three uneventful years in garrison and training duties prior to the assault landing on Juno Beach in Normandy , as part of the British 2nd Army , later joining the newly formed 1st Canadian Army . Battle honours include Caen , Falaise , capturing the Channel ports , the Breskens pocket , and the final offensives of 1945 . During the Battle of the Scheldt , the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division had the nickname of " Water Rats " bestowed upon them by General Bernard Montgomery , in recognition of the poor conditions of terrain through which they fought , first in the Normandy landings , and then in the flooded Breskens Pocket . Juno Beach , D Day . Juno beach was five miles wide and stretched on either side of Courseulles - sur - Mer . The 3rd Canadian Infantry Division with the 2nd Canadian Armoured Brigade under command landed in two brigade groups , the 7th Canadian Infantry Brigade and the 8th Canadian Infantry Brigade , Each Brigade had three Infantry Battalions and an armoured regiment in support , 2 artillery field regiments , combat engineer companies and extra units from the 79th Armoured Division . The Fort Garry Horse tanks ( 10th Armoured Regiment ) supported the 7th brigade landing on the left and the 1st Hussars tanks ( 6th Armoured Regiment ) supported the landing on the right . The 9th Canadian Infantry Brigade was kept in reserve and landed later that day and advanced through the lead brigades . The Sherbrooke Fusiliers tanks ( 27th Armoured Regiment ) provided tank support . The initial assault was carried out by : In the first hour of the assault on Juno Beach , the Canadian forces suffered approximately 50 % casualty rates , comparable to those suffered by the Americans at Omaha Beach . Once the Canadians cleared the seawall ( about an hour after leaving the transports ) they started to advance quickly inland and had a much easier time subduing the German defences than the Americans at Omaha had . By noon , the entire 3rd Canadian Division was ashore and leading elements had pushed several kilometres inland to seize bridges over the Seulles River . By 6 : 00 pm they had captured the town of Saint - Aubin - sur - Mer . A 1st Hussars armoured troop reached its objective along with men of The Queen ' s Own Rifles of Canada before nightfall , when both units moved 15 km inland and crossed the Caen - Bayeux highway . However , this troop was forced to pull back because they had passed the supporting infantry . By the end of D - Day the 3rd Canadian Division had penetrated farther into France than any other Allied force , though counter - attacks by elements of two German armoured divisions would stop any further movement for several weeks . " None of the assault divisions , including 3rd Canadian Division , had managed to secure their D - Day objectives , which lay inland , although the Canadians came closer than any other Allied formation . " By the end of the next day , the Canadian forces had linked up with the British forces that had landed at Sword Beach . Time line Juno Beach . Juno Beach : 21 , 400 troops landed , with fewer than 1 , 000 casualties . Aim of capturing Carpiquet airfield not achieved . No link yet with Sword forces . Fighting in Normandy . The 3rd Division later contributed greatly in the Battle of Normandy , forming the extreme left flank of the British Second Army facing Caen . On D + 1 they advanced and captured their D - Day objectives , the first Allied unit to achieve that in Operation Overlord . The objectives were the villages of Authie and Carpiquet both of which saw heavy fighting , seesawing between the Canadians and the German defenders of the 12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend . Over the course of five days the 12th SS launched a series of counter - attacks in an attempt to crush the Canadian bridgehead and throw them back on the sea . The Canadians stubbornly held on , supported by the Allied Fleet and the RAF . At the end of the fifth day the 12th SS had lost a third of their armoured strength and were forced to stop the attacks and fall back . On 4 July the 3rd Canadian Division , along with the British 3rd and 59th Divisions supported by the 79th Armoured Division launched Operation Windsor , and captured the Carpiquet Airfield and the surrounding areas from the 12th SS after several hours of confused and hard fighting . On 8 July the Division participated in Operation Charnwood , the Second Army ' s final advance on the northern parts of Caen . Once again the Canadians excelled and captured all their objectives after suffering , once again , heavy casualties . On 18 July Operation Atlantic was launched , the Canadian advance which would coincide with Operation Goodwood , happening further east by British forces in the area south of Caen . The 2nd and 3rd Canadian Divisions supported by integral armour support advanced towards Caen , one of the objectives being the village of Colombelles and the surrounding hills . This village and the surrounding area was defended by the battle - proven 21st Panzer Division . After several hours of confused fighting on the 18th and the 19th the Germans were forced back from the outskirts of the town and pushed back over the river Orne . The 3rd Canadian Division continued the advance on the 20th and the lead units came under heavy machine - gun and small arms fire from a chateau close to Colombelles . The Queen ' s Own Rifles of Canada , with support from the 17th Duke of York ' s Royal Canadian Hussars , despite suffering heavy casualties pushed forward once again and captured the heavily fortified village of Gibberville . The rest of the Division captured Colombelles through the course of the day . The Canadians were then faced with the formidable German defensive positions on the Verrières Ridge , were the German SS troops had created excellent field fortifications and deployed hundreds of field artillery , Nebelwerfers and dug numbers of trenches and foxholes for defence . The 2nd Canadian Division ' s 4th and 6th Brigades assaulted the ridge , but suffered heavy losses and were forced to fall back . The attack went in during heavy rain which turned the ground to mud and bogged down the Canadian armoured support and kept the Hawker Typhoon fighter - bomber support from the RAF from showing up . After the failed attack , troops from both the 2nd and 12th SS Panzer Division counter - attacked , and only with support from the 3rd Canadian Division ' s 8th Brigade did they manage to beat the Germans back . Meanwhile the British 3rd Division faced considerable resistance and advanced only with great cost of life . Tiger tanks from the 503rd Scwhere Panzer Abteilung ( 503rd Heavy Armour Battalion ) caused ferocious losses among the British armour support . The British 7th Armoured Division , 11th Armoured Division and Guards Armoured Division faced opposition from the 1st and 12th SS Panzer Divisions and suffered heavy losses . Still the German casualties was not replaceable , and the losses inflicted by the Canadians and British was sorely felt . The German tanks could not easily be replaced as was the case with the Allied tank losses . The offensive continued for two more days before the Allied offensive ground to a halt in face of stiffening German resistance . The German Panzer Divisions in the area had been bled completely dry , losing a staggering amount of tanks and men , which could not be easily replaced . Two days later , on 25 July , the American First Army launched Operation Cobra , since there were no German panzer divisions to stop them , all of the available panzer units being sent to stop the British / Canadian advance . The 3rd Canadian Division and the other units involved in the offensive were allowed to catch their breath and they dug in , expecting a German counter - attack which never came . 1945 in Germany . In 1945 , the Canadian Army Occupation Force ( CAOF ) was formed , based on the organization of the 3rd Infantry Division , and named after the units of the 3rd Infantry Division . It was created as part of Canada ' s commitment to postwar Europe . The formation was formed on the organizational structure of a standard infantry division . It appears that the CAOF was disbanded later in 1945 . Among the units of the CAOF were the : Land Forces Western Area and 2013 reactivation . LFWA was created on 1 September 1991 , taking command of what was previously Prairie Militia Area , Pacific Militia Area , and the Regular Force Army units and formations in western Canada from the northern lakehead region of Ontario to the Pacific Ocean . At that point in time , the Militia Areas ceased to exist , and the seven subordinate Militia Districts were reorganised into four : British Columbia District , Alberta District , Saskatchewan District , and Manitoba - Lakehead District . Later that decade , the four reserve force districts were again reorganized into three Canadian Brigade Groups . In 2013 , LFWA was renamed 3rd Canadian Division . With this change of name , the formation was also granted the identifying patch and historical lineage of the division that fought in the two world wars .