lordroel
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Post by lordroel on Jul 3, 2019 3:55:39 GMT
As an FYI to everyone, here's a modification to a map of Canada that I did through Paint 3D, which allowed me to put the locations of all Regular Force units of the Royal Canadian Armoured Corps, the Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery and the Royal Canadian Infantry Corps as they would be after the war.
That was my first time ever doing something like this. I hope people can read what I noted there. This is a great map pyeknu, nice job.
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pyeknu
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Post by pyeknu on Jul 3, 2019 16:36:50 GMT
»Admin Note: Edited it so that image is visible.«
Appreciated.
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lordroel
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Post by lordroel on Jul 3, 2019 16:40:10 GMT
» Admin Note: Edited it so that image is visible.« Appreciated. Well did not know if you aprove of what i have done, but i think that is the best way to show everybody the great map you have made.
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pyeknu
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Post by pyeknu on Jul 3, 2019 17:35:11 GMT
Thanks again.
Anyhow...
This is a list of all units that were displayed on the map above and the proposed post-war formations they would fall under:
1 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians) - Steele Barracks, EDMONTON, Alberta 3rd Regiment, Royal Canadian Horse Artillery - Griesbach Barracks, SUFFIELD, Alberta 1st Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry - Steele Barracks, STURGEON COUNTY (NAMAO), Alberta 2nd Battalion, The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada - Barron Barracks, CYPRESS COUNTY (SUFFIELD), Alberta 3rd Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry - Mullin Barracks, CHILLIWACK, British Columbia 1 Combat Engineer Regiment - Saint John Barracks, CHILLIWACK, British Columbia 742 Signal Squadron - Steele Barracks, STURGEON COUNTY (NAMAO), Alberta 1 Service Battalion - Steele Barracks, STURGEON COUNTY (NAMAO), Alberta
2 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group/2e Groupe-Brigade Méchanisé du Canada The Royal Canadian Dragoons - Worthington Barracks, PETAWAWA, Ontario 2nd Regiment, Royal Canadian Horse Artillery - Strange Barracks, PETAWAWA, Ontario 1st Battalion, The Royal Canadian Regiment - Victoria Barracks, PETAWAWA, Ontario 1st Battalion, The Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) of Canada - Garnison Longue-Pointe, MONTRÉAL, Québec 3e Bataillon, Le Royal 22e Régiment - Garnison Saint-Jean, SAINT-JEAN-SUR-RICHELIEU, Québec 2 Combat Engineer Regiment - Hutchinson Barracks, PETAWAWA, Ontario 702 Signal Squadron - Victoria Barracks, PETAWAWA, Ontario 2 Service Battalion - Worthington Barracks, PETAWAWA, Ontario
3 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group/3e Groupe-Brigade Méchanisé du Canada 8th Canadian Hussars (Princess Louise's) - James Barracks/Caserne James, OROMOCTO (GAGETOWN), New Brunswick 6th Training Regiment, Royal Canadian Horse Artillery - Brownfield Barracks/Caserne Brownfield, OROMOCTO (GAGETOWN), New Brunswick 2nd Battalion, The Royal Canadian Regiment - Gregg Barracks, HALIFAX, Nova Scotia 2nd Battalion, The Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) of Canada - Fisher Barracks/Caserne Fisher, OROMOCTO (GAGETOWN), New Brunswick 3rd Battalion, The Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) of Canada - Croak Barracks, GANDER, Newfoundland and Labrador 3 Combat Engineer Regiment - Mellick Barracks/Caserne Mellick, OROMOCTO (GAGETOWN), New Brunswick 724 Signal Squadron - Mellick Barracks/Caserne Mellick, OROMOCTO (GAGETOWN), New Brunswick 3 Service Battalion - Mellick Barracks/Caserne Mellick, OROMOCTO (GAGETOWN), New Brunswick
4 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group The Governor General's Horse Guards - Kennedy Barracks, KINGSTON, Ontario 4th Regiment, Royal Canadian Horse Artillery - French Barracks, KINGSTON, Ontario 1st Battalion, The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada - De Wind Barracks, ESSA (BORDEN), Ontario 2nd Battalion, The Canadian Guards - Simonds Barracks, KINGSTON, Ontario 3rd Battalion, The Royal Canadian Regiment - Foulkes Barracks, PRINCE EDWARD COUNTY (MOUNTAIN VIEW), Ontario 4 Combat Engineer Regiment - McNaughton Barracks, KINGSTON, Ontario 704 Signal Squadron - McNaughton Barracks, KINGSTON, Ontario 4 Service Battalion - McNaughton Barracks, KINGSTON, Ontario
5e Groupe-Brigade Méchanisé du Canada 12e Régiment Blindé du Canada - Caserne Allard, SAINT-GABRIEL-DE-VALCARTIER, Québec 5e Régiment d'Artillerie à Cheval Royal du Canada - Caserne Dallaire, SAINT-GABRIEL-DE-VALCARTIER, Québec 1re Bataillon, Le Royal 22e Régiment - La Citadelle, VILLE DE QUÉBEC, Québec 1re Bataillon, Le Régiment des Gardes Canadiennes - Garnison Farnham, FARNHAM, Québec 2e Bataillon, Le Royal 22e Régiment - Caserne Triquet, SAINT-GABRIEL-DE-VALCARTIER, Québec 5e Régiment du Génie de Campagne - Caserne Boudreau, SAINT-GABRIEL-DE-VALCARTIER, Québec 711e Escadron des Transmissions - Caserne Boudreau, SAINT-GABRIEL-DE-VALCARTIER, Québec 5e Bataillon des Services - Caserne Boudreau, SAINT-GABRIEL-DE-VALCARTIER, Québec
6 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group The Fort Garry Horse - Martin Barracks/Caserne Martin, GLENBORO-SOUTH CYPRESS (SHILO), Manitoba 1st Regiment, Royal Canadian Horse Artillery - Montizambert Barracks, GLENBORO-SOUTH CYPRESS (SHILO), Manitoba 2nd Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry - Kap'yŏng Barracks, GLENBORO-SOUTH CYPRESS (SHILO), Manitoba 3rd Battalion, The Canadian Guards - Galloway Barracks, WAINWRIGHT, Alberta 3rd Battalion, The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada - Cosens Barracks, DUNDURN RURAL MUNICIPALITY NO. 314, Saskatchewan 6 Combat Engineer Regiment - Parker Barracks, GLENBORO-SOUTH CYPRESS (SHILO), Manitoba 731 Signal Squadron - Kap'yŏng Barracks, GLENBORO-SOUTH CYPRESS (SHILO), Manitoba 6 Service Battalion - Kap'yŏng Barracks, GLENBORO-SOUTH CYPRESS (SHILO), Manitoba
First Canadian Division (directly responding units) 4th (Black Forest) General Support Artillery Regiment, RCA - Dickson Barracks, COLD LAKE, Alberta 4 Engineer Support Regiment - Mellick Barracks/Caserne Mellick, OROMOCTO (GAGETOWN), New Brunswick 1 Canadian Signal Regiment - McNaughton Barracks, KINGSTON, Ontario 1 Joint Operations Support Group - De Wind Barracks, ESSA (BORDEN), Ontario
Notes:
The regiments, squadrons and battalions of the Corps of Royal Canadian Engineers, the Royal Canadian Corps of Signals, the Royal Canadian Logistics Service and the Corps of Royal Canadian Electrical and Mechanical Engineers are not marked on the map due to lack of room on said map for those symbols.
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pyeknu
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Post by pyeknu on Jul 7, 2019 14:49:24 GMT
After discussing issues with redrobin65 , there are actually going to be twelve brigades (six mechanized, three armoured, three light airmobile/airborne) retained in the Regular Force of the Canadian Army post-World War Two "round two"). Here's a revised map of where everyone will be based:
A breakdown of the order of battle will be forthcoming.
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lordroel
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Post by lordroel on Jul 7, 2019 14:52:43 GMT
After discussing issues with redrobin65 , there are actually going to be twelve brigades (six mechanized, three armoured, three light airmobile/airborne) retained in the Regular Force of the Canadian Army post-World War Two "round two"). Here's a revised map of where everyone will be based:
A breakdown of the order of battle will be forthcoming. Now that is what i call a Orbat map.
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pyeknu
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Post by pyeknu on Jul 7, 2019 15:04:12 GMT
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lordroel
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Post by lordroel on Jul 7, 2019 15:07:55 GMT
Has been posted in your post.
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pyeknu
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Post by pyeknu on Jul 7, 2019 16:16:54 GMT
Has been posted in your post. Appreciated
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pyeknu
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Post by pyeknu on Jul 7, 2019 21:25:22 GMT
Breaking down the post-war ORBAT of the Canadian Army, starting with the Regular Force:
1 CANADIAN MECHANIZED BRIGADE GROUP
1 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group Headquarters (1 CMBG HQ) Brigade Group Headquarters - Steele Barracks, STURGEON COUNTY (NAMAO), Alberta Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians) (LdSH[RC]) Regiment Headquarters - Flowerdew Barracks, STURGEON COUNTY (NAMAO), Alberta "A" Squadron "B" Squadron "C" Squadron "D" Squadron Support Squadron 1st Regiment, Royal Canadian Horse Artillery (1 RCHA) Regiment Headquarters - Montizambert Barracks, GLENBORO-SOUTH CYPRESS (SHILO), Manitoba "A" Battery "B" Battery "C" Battery "Z" Battery 291 Headquarters and Services Battery 1st Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry (1 PPCLI) Battalion Headquarters - Spall Barracks, STURGEON COUNTY (NAMAO), Alberta "A" Company "B" Company "C" Company "D" Company "E" Company (Weapons) "F" Company (Support) 1st Battalion, The Loyal Edmonton Regiment (1 LER) Battalion Headquarters - Kinross Barracks, EDMONTON, Alberta "A" Company "B" Company "C" Company "D" Company "E" Company (Weapons) "F" Company (Support) 1st Battalion, The South Alberta Regiment (1 SAR) Battalion Headquarters - Currie Barracks, CYPRESS COUNTY (SUFFIELD), Alberta "A" Company "B" Company "C" Company "D" Company "E" Company (Weapons) "F" Company (Support) 1 Combat Engineer Regiment (1 CER) Regiment Headquarters - Weind Barracks, STURGEON COUNTY (NAMAO), Alberta 111 Field Squadron 112 Field Squadron 113 Armoured Squadron 114 Field Squadron 115 Combat Support Squadron 110 Administration Squadron 742 Signal Squadron (742 SIG SQN) Squadron Headquarters - Steele Barracks, STURGEON COUNTY (NAMAO), Alberta 1 Service Battalion (1 SVC BN) Battalion Headquarters - Steele Barracks, STURGEON COUNTY (NAMAO), Alberta Transport Company Supply Company Maintenance Company Administration Company
Attached to the formation from other elements of the Canadian Forces:
101 "City of Saint Albert" (Swift) Tactical Helicopter Squadron (101 THS) (detached from 11 Canadian Air Group, Royal Canadian Air Force) Squadron Headquarters - Steele Barracks, STURGEON COUNTY (NAMAO), Alberta 1 Field Ambulance (1 FD AMB) (detached from 2 Canadian Forces Health Services Group, Military Personnel Command) Battalion Headquarters - Eykelenboom Barracks, EDMONTON, Alberta Ambulance Company Surgical Company Medical Support Company Administration Company 1 Military Police Company (1 MP COY) (detached from 1 Military Police Regiment, Vice Chief of the Defence Staff Group) Company Headquarters - Steele Barracks, STURGEON COUNTY (NAMAO), Alberta
The brigade group in its modern format has been in existence since 1953 and perpetuates the Great War and World War Two IOTL 1st Canadian Infantry Brigade that always served at the "right of the line" within the First Canadian Division. After the Shift, the brigade group mobilized to help form the First Canadian Mechanized Division for service overseas, fighting from the French frontier through the Low Countries and into Germany.
After the conclusion of hostilities, the brigade group was repatriated to Canada, but found a lot of changes awaiting its members once back on home soil. It had been decided to expand the peacetime Regular Force element of the Army to an unprecedented TWELVE separate brigades, each effectively forming the core of a fighting division that could be mobilized in a much more rapid manner than what happened after the Shift. To that end, it was decided to make the brigade group one of the two mechanized arms of I Canadian Corps' active elements, which would take up the old catchment territory of Third Canadian Division as its area of responsibility. Two battalions of the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry were detached to other formations while the mobilized elements of the South Alberta Regiment and the North Alberta Regiment (the latter taking the designation of the First Battalion of the now-fully independent Loyal Edmonton Regiment) would step into their places. Save for the brigade group's internal artillery force, all elements of the formation would be based in or close to Edmonton, with just one infantry battalion detached to CFB Suffield to help cover the international border between the White Rose Province and Big Sky Country. Save for the removal of 408 Squadron of the Royal Canadian Air Force to other duties and the proper commissioning of 101 Squadron as the brigade group's tactical aviation asset as well as the increasing in size of the military police presence in Edmonton to a company from a platoon, there were no changes in the support forces assigned to the formation from other commands.
There were an expansion of base properties to accommodate the brigade group, though. After the Shift, Canadian Forces Base Edmonton regained the use of the grounds of Griesbach Barracks in the north-central part of Edmonton itself, which was used as a training ground for new troops reinforcing Third Canadian Mechanized Division and other elements of the Canadian Army overseas. It was decided to allow the grounds to remain part of the base property after hostilities to serve as headquarters of the peacetime I Canadian Corps as well as two of its directly answering units. Also, 1 Field Ambulance was transferred down from the Namao site to Griesbach, taking up newly-constructed quarters at Eykelenboom Barracks; this was named in honour of one of the battalion's casualties in the War on Terror before the Shift, Cpl Andrew James Eykelenboom. This would allow the group to serve as the primary health care facility for all military forces in the Edmonton region.
At the Namao site, it was decided to name certain precincts in honour of famous service personnel from the Great War and World War Two IOTL. The part of old Steele Barracks being used by Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians) was christened in honour of Lt Gordon Muriel Flowerdew, posthumous winner of the Victoria Cross in the Great War. The first battalion of Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry had their section of the grounds named after Sgt Robert Spall, another winner of the Commonwealth's highest award of valour from the "war to end all wars". The brigade group's engineers had their section of the Namao grounds named after Spr William Weind, a member of the Corps of Royal Canadian Engineers' 4th Field Company in World War Two IOTL who was awarded the Military Medal for his actions during the Gothic Line campaign in the late summer of 1944. All other elements of the brigade based on the grounds of the old RCAF Station Namao would be seen as still being part of Steele Barracks.
Beyond Namao was a unique story...
As "round two" of the Second World War was closing, it was decided by personnel at Canadian Army headquarters in Ottawa that the peacetime Regular Force element of the service would expand to nearly FIVE TIMES its pre-Shift numbers. Because of that, the need to get more regiments brought up from the ranks of the Militia was paramount. However, to not offend the sensibilities of those who were veterans of the Royal Canadian Regiment, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry or le Royal 22e Régiment, it was decided that save for the Canadian Guards, the Queen's Own Rifles of Canada and the Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) of Canada, only ONE full-time battalion of selected units would be kept on active service. For those units, regional titles would be kept so as to not prevent a rash of unnecessary renaming that would just cause morale to drop and confusion to reign in a still-dark time for the country. For 1 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group, it was decided to bring up two Alberta-based regiments to make the formation the effective "home army" of the Wild Rose Province. Nominated to the rôle for the formation's two other infantry battalions would be the South Alberta Regiment and the Loyal Edmonton Regiment; the latter unit would be formally acknowledged as being its own regiment instead of the fourth battalion of the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, the rôle being taken up by a newly-formed fourth battalion to be based in Winnipeg.
While the Loyal Edmonton Regiment had NOT participated actively in "round two" of the Second World War as its own unit, it had served as both a manning replacement depot for the overseas battalions of its then-parent regiment as well as the place where the North Alberta Regiment was formed for service overseas. Because of that, it was decided that the Loyal Edmonton Regiment would receive the battle honours earned by both Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry and the North Alberta Regiment as well as bear both regiments' crests on its new regimental colour after hostilities concluded. The first battalion of the Loyal Edmonton Regiment was administratively formed on 1 April 1942 from the still-active staff of the first battalion of the North Alberta Regiment, which was returning to Canada after serving as airfield air defence for 34 Wing of 3 Canadian Air Division. The new battalion would take up quarters at the Griesbach grounds; its new barracks was named in tribute to Pte Cecil John Kinross, winner of the Victoria Cross while serving with the regiment's Great War incarnation at Passchendaele in the late fall of 1917.
The South Alberta Regiment was a mobilized element of the South Alberta Light Horse from Medicine Hat which had converted to infantry and were called to form part of 30 Canadian Brigade Group (Light) in Eighth Canadian Division, the famous "Ghost Brigade" of regiments that hadn't existed before the Shift for DECADES in all cases which later came to help fuse the front lines of the First Canadian Army and other allied forces as they advanced into Germany itself. After service with the division, the first battalion of the South Alberta Regiment was maintained as a Regular Force unit and was assigned to 1 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group, converting from air assault infantry to mechanized infantry along the way. The unit was given a new home at CFB Suffield, which would keep it close to the location of the regiment's Militia wing in Lethbridge. The new barracks built for the battalion was named in tribute to the regiment's most famous soldier, LCol David Vivian Currie, who won the Victoria Cross while leading a battle group of his regiment and other elements of Fourth Canadian Armoured Division through the Falaise Gap battles in 1944 IOTL.
The only non-Alberta based element of the brigade group was the formation's artillery force. While it had been suggested that 1 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group take back the 3rd Regiment of the Royal Canadian Horse Artillery as its in-house group of gunners (they were taking up quarters at Suffield), it was elected eventually to maintain the 1st Regiment of the Royal Canadian Horse Artillery on strength while the 3rd Regiment would join the new 11 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group based at Chilliwack and Vernon; this was done since it was seen by members of the Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery as only proper that the premier field unit and its composite batteries had to remain at CFB Shilo (the traditional home station of the Royal Regiment) where they had been based since repatriation from Germany in the wake of the Cold War. Like what happened at the Namao grounds, the specific regimental lines and quarters for the 1st Regiment were named Montizambert Barracks in tribute to LCol C.E. Montizambert, who commanded both "A" and "B" Batteries when they were deployed in the region during the Northwest Rebellion of 1885.
Next: The senior of Ontario's Regular Force brigades...
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stevep
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Post by stevep on Jul 8, 2019 8:01:36 GMT
Breaking down the post-war ORBAT of the Canadian Army, starting with the Regular Force:
1 CANADIAN MECHANIZED BRIGADE GROUP
1 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group Headquarters (1 CMBG HQ) Brigade Group Headquarters - Steele Barracks, STURGEON COUNTY (NAMAO), Alberta Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians) (LdSH[RC]) Regiment Headquarters - Flowerdew Barracks, STURGEON COUNTY (NAMAO), Alberta "A" Squadron "B" Squadron "C" Squadron "D" Squadron Support Squadron 1st Regiment, Royal Canadian Horse Artillery (1 RCHA) Regiment Headquarters - Montizambert Barracks, GLENBORO-SOUTH CYPRESS (SHILO), Manitoba "A" Battery "B" Battery "C" Battery "Z" Battery 291 Headquarters and Services Battery 1st Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry (1 PPCLI) Battalion Headquarters - Spall Barracks, STURGEON COUNTY (NAMAO), Alberta "A" Company "B" Company "C" Company "D" Company "E" Company (Weapons) "F" Company (Support) 1st Battalion, The Loyal Edmonton Regiment (1 LER) Battalion Headquarters - Kinross Barracks, EDMONTON, Alberta "A" Company "B" Company "C" Company "D" Company "E" Company (Weapons) "F" Company (Support) 1st Battalion, The South Alberta Regiment (1 SAR) Battalion Headquarters - Currie Barracks, CYPRESS COUNTY (SUFFIELD), Alberta "A" Company "B" Company "C" Company "D" Company "E" Company (Weapons) "F" Company (Support) 1 Combat Engineer Regiment (1 CER) Regiment Headquarters - Weind Barracks, STURGEON COUNTY (NAMAO), Alberta 111 Field Squadron 112 Field Squadron 113 Armoured Squadron 114 Field Squadron 115 Combat Support Squadron 110 Administration Squadron 742 Signal Squadron (742 SIG SQN) Squadron Headquarters - Steele Barracks, STURGEON COUNTY (NAMAO), Alberta 1 Service Battalion (1 SVC BN) Battalion Headquarters - Steele Barracks, STURGEON COUNTY (NAMAO), Alberta Transport Company Supply Company Maintenance Company Administration Company
Attached to the formation from other elements of the Canadian Forces:
101 "City of Saint Albert" (Swift) Tactical Helicopter Squadron (101 THS) (detached from 11 Canadian Air Group, Royal Canadian Air Force) Squadron Headquarters - Steele Barracks, STURGEON COUNTY (NAMAO), Alberta 1 Field Ambulance (1 FD AMB) (detached from 2 Canadian Forces Health Services Group, Military Personnel Command) Battalion Headquarters - Eykelenboom Barracks, EDMONTON, Alberta Ambulance Company Surgical Company Medical Support Company Administration Company 1 Military Police Company (1 MP COY) (detached from 1 Military Police Regiment, Vice Chief of the Defence Staff Group) Company Headquarters - Steele Barracks, STURGEON COUNTY (NAMAO), Alberta
The brigade group in its modern format has been in existence since 1953 and perpetuates the Great War and World War Two IOTL 1st Canadian Infantry Brigade that always served at the "right of the line" within the First Canadian Division. After the Shift, the brigade group mobilized to help form the First Canadian Mechanized Division for service overseas, fighting from the French frontier through the Low Countries and into Germany.
After the conclusion of hostilities, the brigade group was repatriated to Canada, but found a lot of changes awaiting its members once back on home soil. It had been decided to expand the peacetime Regular Force element of the Army to an unprecedented TWELVE separate brigades, each effectively forming the core of a fighting division that could be mobilized in a much more rapid manner than what happened after the Shift. To that end, it was decided to make the brigade group one of the two mechanized arms of I Canadian Corps' active elements, which would take up the old catchment territory of Third Canadian Division as its area of responsibility. Two battalions of the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry were detached to other formations while the mobilized elements of the South Alberta Regiment and the North Alberta Regiment (the latter taking the designation of the First Battalion of the now-fully independent Loyal Edmonton Regiment) would step into their places. Save for the brigade group's internal artillery force, all elements of the formation would be based in or close to Edmonton, with just one infantry battalion detached to CFB Suffield to help cover the international border between the White Rose Province and Big Sky Country. Save for the removal of 408 Squadron of the Royal Canadian Air Force to other duties and the proper commissioning of 101 Squadron as the brigade group's tactical aviation asset, there were no changes in the support forces assigned to the formation from other commands.
There were an expansion of base properties to accommodate the brigade group, though. After the Shift, Canadian Forces Base Edmonton regained the use of the grounds of Griesbach Barracks in the north-central part of Edmonton itself, which was used as a training ground for new troops reinforcing Third Canadian Mechanized Division and other elements of the Canadian Army overseas. It was decided to allow the grounds to remain part of the base property after hostilities to serve as headquarters of the peacetime I Canadian Corps as well as two of its directly answering units. Also, 1 Field Ambulance was transferred down from the Namao site to Griesbach, taking up newly-constructed quarters at Eykelenboom Barracks; this was named in honour of one of the battalion's casualties in the War on Terror before the Shift, Cpl Andrew James Eykelenboom. This would allow the group to serve as the primary health care facility for all military forces in the Edmonton region.
At the Namao site, it was decided to name certain precincts in honour of famous service personnel from the Great War and World War Two IOTL. The part of old Steele Barracks being used by Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians) was christened in honour of Lt Gordon Muriel Flowerdew, posthumous winner of the Victoria Cross in the Great War. The first battalion of Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry had their section of the grounds named after Sgt Robert Spall, another winner of the Commonwealth's highest award of valour from the "war to end all wars". The brigade group's engineers had their section of the Namao grounds named after Spr William Weind, a member of the Corps of Royal Canadian Engineers' 4th Field Company in World War Two IOTL who was awarded the Military Medal for his actions during the Gothic Line campaign in the late summer of 1944. All other elements of the brigade based on the grounds of the old RCAF Station Namao would be seen as still being part of Steele Barracks.
Beyond Namao was a unique story...
As "round two" of the Second World War was closing, it was decided by personnel at Canadian Army headquarters in Ottawa that the peacetime Regular Force element of the service would expand to nearly FIVE TIMES its pre-Shift numbers. Because of that, the need to get more regiments brought up from the ranks of the Militia was paramount. However, to not offend the sensibilities of those who were veterans of the Royal Canadian Regiment, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry or le Royal 22e Régiment, it was decided that save for the Canadian Guards, the Queen's Own Rifles of Canada and the Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) of Canada, only ONE full-time battalion of selected units would be kept on active service. For those units, regional titles would be kept so as to not prevent a rash of unnecessary renaming that would just cause morale to drop and confusion to reign in a still-dark time for the country. For 1 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group, it was decided to bring up two Alberta-based regiments to make the formation the effective "home army" of the Wild Rose Province. Nominated to the rôle for the formation's two other infantry battalions would be the South Alberta Regiment and the Loyal Edmonton Regiment; the latter unit would be formally acknowledged as being its own regiment instead of the fourth battalion of the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, the rôle being taken up by a newly-formed fourth battalion to be based in Winnipeg.
While the Loyal Edmonton Regiment had NOT participated actively in "round two" of the Second World War as its own unit, it had served as both a manning replacement depot for the overseas battalions of its then-parent regiment as well as the place where the North Alberta Regiment was formed for service overseas. Because of that, it was decided that the Loyal Edmonton Regiment would receive the battle honours earned by both Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry and the North Alberta Regiment as well as bear both regiments' crests on its new regimental colour after hostilities concluded. The first battalion of the Loyal Edmonton Regiment was administratively formed on 1 April 1942 from the still-active staff of the first battalion of the North Alberta Regiment, which was returning to Canada after serving as airfield air defence for 34 Wing of 3 Canadian Air Division. The new battalion would take up quarters at the Griesbach grounds; its new barracks was named in tribute to Pte Cecil John Kinross, winner of the Victoria Cross while serving with the regiment's Great War incarnation at Passchendaele in the late fall of 1917.
The South Alberta Regiment was a mobilized element of the South Alberta Light Horse from Medicine Hat which had converted to infantry and were called to form part of 30 Canadian Brigade Group (Light) in Eighth Canadian Division, the famous "Ghost Brigade" of regiments that hadn't existed before the Shift for DECADES in all cases which later came to help fuse the front lines of the First Canadian Army and other allied forces as they advanced into Germany itself. After service with the division, the first battalion of the South Alberta Regiment was maintained as a Regular Force unit and was assigned to 1 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group, converting from air assault infantry to mechanized infantry along the way. The unit was given a new home at CFB Suffield, which would keep it close to the location of the regiment's Militia wing in Lethbridge. The new barracks built for the battalion was named in tribute to the regiment's most famous soldier, LCol David Vivian Currie, who won the Victoria Cross while leading a battle group of his regiment and other elements of Fourth Canadian Armoured Division through the Falaise Gap battles in 1944 IOTL.
The only non-Alberta based element of the brigade group was the formation's artillery force. While it had been suggested that 1 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group take back the 3rd Regiment of the Royal Canadian Horse Artillery as its in-house group of gunners (they were taking up quarters at Suffield), it was elected eventually to maintain the 1st Regiment of the Royal Canadian Horse Artillery on strength while the 3rd Regiment would join the new 11 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group based at Chilliwack and Vernon; this was done since it was seen by members of the Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery as only proper that the premier field unit and its composite batteries had to remain at CFB Shilo (the traditional home station of the Royal Regiment) where they had been based since repatriation from Germany in the wake of the Cold War. Like what happened at the Namao grounds, the specific regimental lines and quarters for the 1st Regiment were named Montizambert Barracks in tribute to LCol C.E. Montizambert, who commanded both "A" and "B" Batteries when they were deployed in the region during the Northwest Rebellion of 1885.
Next: The senior of Ontario's Regular Force brigades...
pyeknu
I notice you say "post-war ORBAT " so does this presume your already aware of how the war ends and what Canadian forces are deployed where, including in occupied areas such as Germany and possibly elsewhere? Thinking this could leak info as to how things actually go before RedRobin gets there in the story.
Steve
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pyeknu
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Post by pyeknu on Jul 8, 2019 8:34:56 GMT
pyeknu
I notice you say "post-war ORBAT " so does this presume your already aware of how the war ends and what Canadian forces are deployed where, including in occupied areas such as Germany and possibly elsewhere? Thinking this could leak info as to how things actually go before RedRobin gets there in the story.
Steve
No, I'm not aware of how the war actually ends; redrobin65 hasn't told me a thing. All he's said after I asked is how large the Canadian Army would be and I worked from there. As to deployments overseas, that's up in the air, but the brigades I've postulated will be permanently based where I indicated in the map. If they're sent out for occupation duties in Germany or elsewhere, that's to be determined in the future.
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stevep
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Post by stevep on Jul 8, 2019 14:31:59 GMT
pyeknu
I notice you say "post-war ORBAT " so does this presume your already aware of how the war ends and what Canadian forces are deployed where, including in occupied areas such as Germany and possibly elsewhere? Thinking this could leak info as to how things actually go before RedRobin gets there in the story.
Steve
No, I'm not aware of how the war actually ends; redrobin65 hasn't told me a thing. All he's said after I asked is how large the Canadian Army would be and I worked from there. As to deployments overseas, that's up in the air, but the brigades I've postulated will be permanently based where I indicated in the map. If they're sent out for occupation duties in Germany or elsewhere, that's to be determined in the future.
pyeknu
OK thanks for clarifying.
Steve
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pyeknu
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Post by pyeknu on Jul 8, 2019 19:26:33 GMT
And now, the first of II Canadian Corps' active brigade groups...
2 CANADIAN MECHANIZED BRIGADE GROUP
2 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group Headquarters (2 CMBG HQ) Brigade Group Headquarters - Menin Barracks, PETAWAWA, Ontario The Royal Canadian Dragoons (RCD) Regiment Headquarters - Worthington Barracks, PETAWAWA, Ontario "A" Squadron "D" Squadron Support Squadron "B" Squadron - Turner House, Learmonth Barracks, OTTAWA (ORLÉANS), Ontario "C" Squadron - Holland House, McBride Barracks, KINGSTON, Ontario 2nd Regiment, Royal Canadian Horse Artillery (2 RCHA) Regiment Headquarters - Strange Barracks, PETAWAWA, Ontario "D" Battery "Y" Battery 292 Headquarters and Support Battery "E" Battery - Calnan House, Learmonth Barracks, OTTAWA (ORLÉANS), Ontario "F" Battery - Drew House, McBride Barracks, KINGSTON, Ontario 1st Battalion, The Governor General's Foot Guards (1 GGFG)/1re Bataillon, Le Régiment des Gardes à Pied du Gouverneur Général (1re GPGG) Battalion Headquarters/Quartier-Général de Bataillon - Learmonth Barracks/Caserne Learmonth, OTTAWA (ORLÉANS), Ontario 1 Company/1re Compagnie 2 Company/2e Compagnie 3 Company/3e Compagnie 4 Company/4e Compagnie 5 Company (Weapons)/5e Compagnie (Armes) 6 Company (Support)/6e Compagnie (Appui) 1st Battalion, The Royal Canadian Regiment (1 RCR) Battalion Headquarters - Victoria Barracks, PETAWAWA, Ontario "A" Company "B" Company "C" Company "D" Company "E" Company (Weapons) "F" Company (Support) 1st Battalion, The Princess of Wales' Own Regiment (1 PWOR) Battalion Headquarters - McBride Barracks, KINGSTON, Ontario "A" Company "B" Company "C" Company "D" Company "E" Company (Weapons) "F" Company (Support) 2 Combat Engineer Regiment (2 CER) Regiment Headquarters - Barnes Barracks, PETAWAWA, Ontario 122 Armoured Squadron 125 Support Squadron 126 Explosive Ordnance Disposal Squadron 128 Administration Squadron 123 Field Squadron - Bockus House, Learmonth Barracks, OTTAWA (ORLÉANS), Ontario 124 Field Squadron - Bisset House, McBride Barracks, KINGSTON, Ontario 702 Signal Squadron (702 SIG SQN) Squadron Headquarters - Menin Barracks, PETAWAWA, Ontario 2 Service Battalion (2 SVC BN) Battalion Headquarters - Menin Barracks, PETAWAWA, Ontario Transport Company Supply Company Maintenance Company Administration Company
Attached to the formation from other elements of the Canadian Forces:
102 "Town of Laurentian Hills" (Needletail) Tactical Helicopter Squadron (102 THS) (detached from 11 Canadian Air Group, Royal Canadian Air Force) Squadron Headquarters - Passchendaele House, PETAWAWA, Ontario 2 Field Ambulance (2 FD AMB) (detached from 2 Canadian Forces Health Services Group, Military Personnel Command) Battalion Headquarters - Arnold Barracks, PETAWAWA, Ontario Ambulance Company Surgical Company Medical Support Company Administration Company 2 Military Police Company (2 MP COY) (detached from 2 Military Police Regiment, Vice Chief of the Defence Staff Group) Company Headquarters - Menin Barracks, PETAWAWA, Ontario
Like its counterparts in Edmonton and Valcartier, 2 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group had been mobilized right away after the Shift to serve as one of the main fighting elements of Canada's first contingent to Europe to engage in "round two" of the Second World War. Performing as well as its sister brigades within the First Canadian Mechanized Division, the formation would eventually return to Canada after hostilities ended with many changes awaiting it upon its return to barracks.
Chief of which was the maintenance of 3 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group as a Regular Force formation of the Canadian Army to serve as one of the two mechanized brigades assigned to III Canadian Corps' territory and based out of Gagetown.
That decision saw the second and third battalions of the Royal Canadian Regiment detached from 2 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group to be assigned elsewhere, the second battalion to 3 CMBG and the third battalion to the new 12 Canadian Brigade Group (Light) assigned to watch over the other Atlantic provinces; in doing so, the "light" battalion of Canada's senior line infantry unit would become a fully-dedicated parachute infantry force and return to Halifax after decades away from the Atlantic coast. To take the place of those battalions would be the active service elements of two Ontario-based regiments, the Governor General's Foot Guards (which had served in Fourth Canadian Division) and the Princess of Wales' Own Regiment (who had served as air assault/airmobile infantry in Seventh Canadian Division). This would take some getting used to for the Royal Canadians remaining in Petawawa; as a member of Canada's Household Division, the Foot Guards would automatically have precedence over the other regiment due to their being the traditional guardians of the Sovereign and his vice-regal representative in Ottawa. To ease matters, it was decided to base the Foot Guards at a new barracks in Ottawa on the reclaimed grounds of the old Land Engineering Test Establishment vehicle range in the Orléans section of city; before the Shift, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police had made use of the three square kilometre patch of woods and roadways as a special technical and protective operations facility. This would allow the Foot Guards to continue to mount Ceremonial Guard duties year-round with the assistance of the other elements of the Household Division (the Governor General's Hose Guards, the Canadian Grenadier Guards and the Canadian Guards). To mark that, the newly-built military section of the Orléans Range was designated Learmonth Barracks in honour of Acting Maj Okill Massey Learmonth, who earned the Victoria Cross posthumously in 1917 during the Great War.
Fortunately, relations between the Royal Canadians and the newly "ennobled" - such became the term used by old-time Regular Force personnel when it came to referring to the newly-activated battalions/regiments raised from the Militia after "round two" of the war against the Nazis - wing of the Princess of Wales' Own Regiment were much better since the veterans of the latter unit still held onto their air assault skills even if they switched full-time to mechanized infantry. Even more so, the third battalion in 2 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group would be quartered close to its traditional home at CFB Kingston, taking over newly-acquired land north of the pre-Shift base property to see their new barracks constructed. Like with the Foot Guards in Ottawa, the Princess' Own would have their new home named in honour of a famous personality who had served with their unit's Great War incarnation, Capt Herbert McBride, author of two books about his experiences in the trenches when he served with the 21st Battalion (Eastern Ontario) of the Canadian Expeditionary Force, A Rifleman Went To War and The Emma Gees. Even better, the first battalion of the Princess' Own would end up neighbours with another of the Household Division's newly-ennobled elements, the Regular Force wing of the Governor General's Horse Guards (assigned as part of the 10th Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group based in Kingston).
To better assist the two detached battalions of the brigade group when it came to things such as aide to the civilian power missions as well as field exercises, detached batteries and squadrons of the Royal Canadian Dragoons, the 2nd Regiment of the Royal Canadian Horse Artillery and 2 Combat Engineer Regiment were dispatched to Ottawa and Kingston to ensure close working cooperation between them and both the Foot Guards and the Princess' Own. This would enable the detachments to parade as part of the Ceremonial Guard (which was allowed to remain open for personnel from all elements of the Canadian Forces to participate in after they were trained in public duties by the experts in the Foot Guards and the Grenadier Guards) as well as keep watch over the Saint Lawrence Seaway separating Ontario from New York state since immigration of Americans and other people into Canada hadn't stopped because the war was over and there was understandable fear on both sides of the frontier about potential incidents concerning a wide plethora of potential agitators.
To make soldiers of the detached squadrons and batteries of the units sent to Ottawa and Kingston feel more comfortable, their own sections of both Learmonth Barracks and McBride Barracks were specially named after famous personalities from the parent regiments or corps. Both Turner House and Holland House were named after members of the Dragoons who won the Victoria Cross, LGen Richard Ernest William Turner and Maj Edward James Gibson Holland respectively. Calnan House and Drew House got their names from a pair of interesting artillerymen, Col Michael David Calnan (who had the honour of serving as a township councillor in the Ottawa region in the 1970s while still in active service) and Col the Hon George Alexander Drew (a veteran of the Great War who later entered into Ontario provincial politics, rising to the post of premier of Canada's most populous province). And the houses set aside for the detached squadrons of 2 CER in Ottawa were named after two of the fallen sappers who died in Operation Jubilee at Dieppe during World War Two IOTL, Spr Leslie Ernest Bockus and Spr William Nichol Bisset respectively.
Of course, as with CFB Edmonton, CFB Petawawa's various precincts got individual names to mark the units that were based there...but in the latter base's case, this was beyond what was already in existence since Garrison Petawawa had been an Army base through and through since its foundation before the Great War while Garrison Edmonton was a converted Royal Canadian Air Force base. Beyond what was already marked aside for the Royal Canadian Dragoons and the first battalion of the Royal Canadian Regiment, there was Strange Barracks for the 2nd Regiment of the RCHA (named after MGen Thomas Bland Strange, one of the first members of what became the Royal Canadian Horse Artillery in the 1870s), Barnes Barracks for 2 CER (named after another Dieppe casuality in World War Two IOTL, Spr Harold Edward Barnes) and Arnold Barracks for 2 Field Ambulance (named after one of Canada's casualties in the War on Terror before the Shift, Cpl Glen Arnold). Even more so, the newly-commissioned 102 Tactical Helicopter Squadron (who took over part of the Petawawa Heliport to serve as the brigade group's tactical aviation asset) set up their home and operations on Passchendaele Road that led to the base grounds, hence they named their new headquarters "Passchendaele House". And the remainder of the brigade group declared their section of the base Menin Barracks after the famous Menin Gate in Ypres in Belgium.
Next: New Brunswick gets its brigade back as the Black Watch returns to full active duty!
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pyeknu
Chief petty officer
Seeking a fresh start here
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Post by pyeknu on Jul 12, 2019 13:21:49 GMT
Moving on to the first of IIIe Corps Canadien's mechanized brigades...
3 CANADIAN MECHANIZED BRIGADE GROUP/3e GROUPE-BRIGADE MÉCHANISÉ DU CANADA
3 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group Headquarters (3 CMBG HQ)/Quartier-Général de la 3e Groupe-Brigade Méchanisé du Canada (QG 3e GBMC) Brigade Group Headquarters/Quartier-Général de la Groupe-Brigade - La Tour Barracks/Caserne La Tour, OROMOCTO (GAGETOWN), New Brunswick 8th Canadian Hussars (Princess Louise's) (8 CH[PL])/8e Régiment de Hussards Canadiens de la Princesse Louise (8e RHCPL) Regiment Headquarters/Quartier-Général du Régiment - James Barracks/Caserne James, OROMOCTO (GAGETOWN), New Brunswick "A" Squadron/Escadron "A" "B" Squadron/Escadron "B" "C" Squadron/Escadron "C" "D" Squadron/Escadron "D" Support Squadron/Escadron d'Appui 6th Regiment, Royal Canadian Horse Artillery (6 RCHA)/6e Régiment d'Artillerie à Cheval Royal du Canada (6e ACRC) Regiment Headquarters/Quartier-Général du Régiment - Brownfield Barracks/Caserne Brownfield, OROMOCTO (GAGETOWN), New Brunswick "P" Battery/Batterie "P" "S" Battery/Batterie "S" "T" Battery/Batterie "T" "W" Battery/Batterie "W" 296 Headquarters and Services Battery/296e Batterie de Commandement et Services 2nd Battalion, The Royal Canadian Regiment (2 RCR) Battalion Headquarters - Gregg Barracks, OROMOCTO (GAGETOWN), New Brunswick "G" Company "H" Company "I" Company "J" Company "K" Company (Weapons) "L" Company (Support) 2nd Battalion, The Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) of Canada (2 RHC)/2e Bataillon, La Garde Noire (Régiment Royal d'Haute-Terre) du Canada (2e RRHTC) Battalion Headquarters/Quartier-Général de Bataillon - Fisher Barracks/Caserne Fisher, OROMOCTO (GAGETOWN), New Brunswick "A" Company/Compagnie "A" "B" Company/Compagnie "B" "C" Company/Compagnie "C" "D" Company/Compagnie "D" "E" Company (Weapons)/Compagnie "E" (Armes) "F" Company (Support)/Compagnie "F" (Appui) 1st Battalion, The Royal New Brunswick Regiment (1 RNBR)/1re Bataillon, Le Régiment Royal de Nouveau-Brunswick (1re RRNB) Battalion Headquarters/Quartier-Général de Bataillon - McKenzie Barracks/Caserne McKenzie, OROMOCTO (GAGETOWN), New Brunswick "A" Company/Compagnie "A" "B" Company/Compagnie "B" "C" Company/Compagnie "C" "D" Company/Compagnie "D" "E" Company (Weapons)/Compagnie "E" (Armes) "F" Company (Support)/Compagnie "F" (Appui) 3 Combat Engineer Regiment (3 CER)/3e Régiment du Génie de Combat (3e RGC) Regiment Headquarters/Quartier-Général du Régiment - Mitchell Barracks/Caserne Mitchell, OROMOCTO (GAGETOWN), New Brunswick 131 Field Squadron/131e Escadron de Campagne 132 Field Squadron/132e Escadron de Campagne 133 Bridge Layer Squadron/133e Escadron de Pont 134 Armoured Squadron/134e Escadron Blindé 135 Support Squadron/135e Escadron d'Appui 138 Administration Squadron/138e Escadron d'Administration 724 Signal Squadron (724 SIG SQN)/724e Escadron des Transmissions (724e ESC TRANS) Squadron Headquarters/Quartier-Général du Escadron - La Tour Barracks/Caserne La Tour, OROMOCTO (GAGETOWN), New Brunswick 3 Service Battalion (3 SVC BN)/3e Bataillon des Services (3e BON SVC) Battalion Headquarters/Quartier-Général de Bataillon - La Tour Barracks/Caserne La Tour, OROMOCTO (GAGETOWN), New Brunswick Transport Company/Compagnie de Transport Supply Company/Compagnie d'Approvisionnement Maintenance Company/Compagnie de Maintenance Administration Company/Compagnie d'Administration
Attached to the formation from other elements of the Canadian Forces:
103 "County of Sunbury" (Coquette) Tactical Helicopter Squadron (103 THS)/103e (Coquette) Escadron Tactique d'Hélicoptères "Comté de Sunbury" (103e ETH) (detached from 11 Canadian Air Group, Royal Canadian Air Force) Squadron Headquarters/Quartier-Général d'Escadron - Burton House/Maison Burton, OROMOCTO (GAGETOWN), New Brunswick 3 Field Ambulance (3 FD AMB)/3e Ambulance de Campagne (3e AMB C) (detached from 2 Canadian Forces Health Services Group, Military Personnel Command) Battalion Headquarters/Quartier-Général de Bataillon - La Tour Barracks/Caserne La Tour, OROMOCTO (GAGETOWN), New Brunswick Ambulance Company/Compagnie d'Ambulance Surgical Company/Compagnie de Chirurgie Medical Support Company/Compagnie d'Appui Médicale Administration Company/Compagnie d'Administration 3 Military Police Company (3 MP COY)/3e Compagnie de Police Militaire (3e CPM) (detached from 3 Military Police Regiment, Vice Chief of the Defence Staff Group) Company Headquarters/Quartier-Général de la Compagnie - La Tour Barracks/Caserne La Tour, OROMOCTO (GAGETOWN), New Brunswick
The history of 3 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group is full of ups and downs. Formed originally in the 1950s as the Atlantic wing of the Canadian Army for the Cold War, it only lasted until 1970, when it was reduced to nil strength and its fighting duties taken over by the then-formed 5e Groupe-Brigade du Canada in Valcartier; in effect, said formation had been a victim of the increased need for French-language units and formations in the Canadian military at the time. Reformed after the Shift as the English-language brigade of the Second Canadian Mechanized Division, it was deployed to Europe and fought through France, the Low Countries and Germany for the remainder of "round two" of the Second World War. Once hostilities were ended and the post-war Canadian Army levels decided upon, the formation was returned to its traditional home in Gagetown, shedding the battalions and regiments that had been risen from the Militia units in and around Montréal and once more becoming Atlantic Canada's primary Regular Force Army formation.
Helping the brigade group re-establish itself as a peacetime fighting formation was the second battalion of the Royal Canadian Regiment, which returned to Gregg Barracks after its time in Europe fighting as part of 2 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group. There was no real change with this particular battalion of Canada's senior line infantry regiment, not even in the naming of its component companies; such had been inherited from the Canadian Guards when that regiment was reduced to nil strength in 1970, with its equipment shifting over to the Royal Canadians as the late Cold War organization of then-Force Mobile Command was set into place. And while its new post-hostilities brigade would be a functionally bilingual one - necessitated since New Brunswick was Canada's only officially bilingual province - the second battalion of the Royal Canadians would remain an English-only element of the formation.
Such wouldn't be true of the two new battalions joining 3 CMBG post-hostilities. The first of said battalions was the reformed second battalion of the famous Black Watch, once more returning to its traditional home station from the early days of the Cold War and forming the second of the three infantry elements of the formation. Said battalion was raised originally as the active battalion of the reborn New Brunswick Scottish, itself formed from a detached company of the Royal New Brunswick Regiment; said battalion would fight as an air assault element of Eighth Canadian Division near the end of "round two" with the Nazis. Maintained as a bilingual unit - the active element of the New Brunswick Scottish had served in a mostly French-speaking brigade - it would take up new quarters at Fisher Barracks, erected shortly after the Shift and named in honour of LCpl Frederick Fisher, who won the Victoria Cross posthumously in the Great War. However, unlike the situation of the Cold War, Gagetown would not be seen as the "home station" of the reborn Black Watch; given that the regiment hails originally from Montréal, the home station was seen as the expanded Army base rising up at the site of BFC Montréal's Saint-Hubert grounds at what later became Montreal Saint-Hubert Longueuil Airport.
The third infantry element of the post-hostilities brigade group would be the first battalion of the Royal New Brunswick Regiment, one of fifteen Militia units that were allowed to maintain one Regular Force battalion on active duty for the Army to flesh out the new brigade groups being set up from Chilliwack to Aldershot. While originally meant to serve as part of 12 Canadian Brigade Group (Light) as the Atlantic Provinces' effective "home army", it was decided to allow the full-time Royal New Brunswickers the chance to serve in its home province as part of 3 CMBG; to ensure there were no issues, the third battalion of the Royal Canadian Regiment made its return to Halifax and became 12 CBG(L)'s internal parachute infantry unit. Of course, the first battalion of the Royal New Brunswick Regiment would be as bilingual as its namesake province as well as bringing in a considerable amount of experience in mechanized warfare; during "round two" of World War Two, the battalion had served as part of the Fifth Canadian Division in the Low Countries and Germany. To make them feel at home, the battalion was located at the newly-constructed McKenzie Barracks, which was named in tribute to RSM Thomas McKenzie, a veteran of the North Staffordshire Regiment in the Nineteenth Century who would move to Fredericton, serving as regimental sergeant-major of the 62nd Battalion of the New Brunswick Militia (which later evolved into the Saint John Fusiliers, one of the ancestor units of the Royal New Brunswick Regiment) and would later become the Atlantic Provinces' first full-time soldier; he would actually be the regimental sergeant-major of the Infantry School Corps (precursor unit to the Royal Canadian Regiment) from 1884-95.
To form the armoured punch for the brigade group would be a regiment that had also done time throughout the Cold War as the "spare" tank regiment of the Canadian Army, the 8th Canadian Hussars (Princess Louise's). Formed as a separate tank unit from its Militia counterpart back in 1957, the regiment would serve in Germany as well as Gagetown and Petawawa throughout the Cold War until it was effectively merged with its reserve wing in 1993 as a "total force regiment" with a hard core of Regular Force personnel and the remainder being Militia soldiers. Of course, that didn't work out well, so the regiment went fully Militia in 1998, where it would remain until after the Shift, where it mobilized an active regiment for service with the Mighty Maroon Machine of the Fifth Canadian Division. Allowed to remain on strength after hostilities concluded, the Regular Force Hussars would take up new quarters at James Barracks in Gagetown; said quarters were named after Maj Robert James, the first commanding officer of the Hussars' ancestral unit, the New Brunswick Yeomanry Cavalry, in 1848.
The artillery element of the brigade group would be established by shedding the Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery School of its four lettered batteries and seeing it transformed into the sixth field regiment of the Royal Canadian Horse Artillery. Said regiment would be co-quartered with the Royal Regiment's main training establishment at Brownfield Barracks; the home quarters for the school and the regiment was named after one of Canada's great gunners, MGen Harold Oswald Neville Brownfield. Such was also replicated with the formation's engineering element. Formed as one of the field engineer units of the active Second Canadian Division after the Shift to serve overseas, 3 Combat Engineer Regiment would take up quarters alongside the Canadian Forces School of Military Engineering at Mitchell Barracks; that particular quarter of Garrison Gagetown was named in tribute to LCol Coulson Norman Mitchell, who served in the Great War as part of the First Tunnelling Company of the then-Canadian Engineers, where he was awarded the Victoria Cross in the last year of that conflict. Both 6 RCHA and 3 CER would be dual-purposed with both operational and training rôles, supporting both their parent formation and the Combat Training Centre with field training support to both the RCAS and CFSME.
To house the remainder of the brigade group's active formations (including the attached field ambulance battalion and military police company), the main part of CFB Gagetown was designated La Tour Barracks in tribute to Charles de Saint-Étienne de La Tour, the man who established the first military fortification near the site of present day Saint John at Fort La Tour in the Seventeenth Century. The place where the brigade group's attached tactical helicopter squadron would be based at the Gagetown Heliport would be designated Burton House in tribute to the like-named parish where the urban part of CFB Gagetown is located.
Next: Canada's old European brigade returns as the senior armoured brigade group of II Corps, returning the Army full-strength to Camp Borden!
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