Rahul Sharma (Editor)

Royal Canadian Infantry Corps

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Active
  
1942–present

Branch
  
Canadian Army

Country
  
Canada

Type
  
Personnel branch

Role
  
To close with and destroy the enemy.

Size
  
9 Regular Force battalions, 51 Reserve Force battalions

The Royal Canadian Infantry Corps (French: Corps d'infanterie royal canadien) is the infantry corps of the Canadian Army and includes regular and reserve force regiments.

Contents

Originally formed as the Canadian Infantry Corps on 2 September 1942 to encompass all existing infantry regiments, including regiments of foot guards, in the Canadian Army. The corps was granted its "royal" designation in 1947 and was designated Royal Canadian Infantry Corps 30 April 1947, to be redesignated The Royal Canadian Infantry Corps 22 March 1948, and revert to Royal Canadian Infantry Corps 17 February 1964.

The badge of the Royal Canadian Infantry Corps consists of Argent three maple leaves conjoined on one stem within an annulus Gules fimbriated and inscribed INFANTRY • INFANTERIE in letters Or, the whole ensigned by the Royal Crown proper set above a scroll Or inscribed with the Motto in letters Sable and surmounted by two rifles in saltire Or. The three maple leaves conjoined on one stem, taken from the Royal Arms of Canada, represent service to Canada, and the Crown, service to the Sovereign. The crossed rifles denote infantry and have been used in badges of infantry units as well as of the officer cadet programme. Red and white are the national colours of Canada. "INFANTRY" and "INFANTERIE" are a form of the bilingual branch title and "DUCIMUS“ is the motto of the corps.

In 1968, with the unification of the Canadian Army into the Canadian Armed Forces, the name of the Royal Canadian Infantry Corps was changed to simply the "Infantry Branch". As of April 2013, the traditional designation "Royal Canadian Infantry Corps" has been officially restored. Today, the administration and training of both the regular and reserve infantry that form part of the Canadian Army is the responsibility of the Infantry School, which runs officer classification courses as well as NCO and Warrant Officer trades training at CFB Gagetown.

Role of the Infantry

To close with and destroy the enemy. Well armed individuals with fighting spirit and dogged determination constitute the backbone of the infantry battalion. All the rest - vehicles, stores and equipment - merely exist to assist the infantry soldier to carry out the mission. It is by determination and the skillful use of weapons and ground that the battalion succeeds in battle.

Tasks of the Infantry

To destroy the enemy in close combat
To defend a position by the holding of ground
To fight as covering force troops
To act as all or part of a reserve to counter-attack or block
To participate in airmobile, airborne and amphibioius operations
To establish surveillance and conduct patrols
To conduct security tasks, including rear area security; and
To exploit the effects of NBC weapons

Regular Force

Note: each regular force regiment retains a parachute company in its respective 3rd battalion.

  1. The Royal Canadian Regiment
  2. 1st Battalion (CFB Petawawa) - Mechanized Infantry
  3. 2nd Battalion (CFB Gagetown) - Mechanized Infantry
  4. 3rd Battalion (CFB Petawawa) - Light Infantry (Parachute Company, Air Assault Company, Mountain Ops Company)
  5. Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry
  6. 1st Battalion (CFB Edmonton) - Mechanized Infantry
  7. 2nd Battalion (CFB Shilo) - Mechanized Infantry
  8. 3rd Battalion (CFB Edmonton) - Light Infantry (Parachute Company, Air Assault Company, Mountain Ops Company)
  9. Royal 22e Régiment
  10. 1er Bataillon (CFB Valcartier) - Mechanized Infantry
  11. 2e Bataillon (Quebec City) - Mechanized Infantry
  12. 3e Bataillon (CFB Valcartier) - Light Infantry (Parachute Company, Air Assault Company, Mountain Ops Company)

After the Second World War the infantry was expanded to meet Canada's global responsibilities as part of NATO. Initially, the militia regiments provided men to a number of composite battalions:

  • 1st and 2nd Canadian Infantry Battalions
  • 1st and 2nd Canadian Rifle Battalions
  • 1st and 2nd Canadian Highland Battalions

    • In 1953 it was decided that the composite battalions would be regimented. The two Canadian Infantry battalions were amalgamated with the 3rd Battalions of both The Royal Canadian Regiment and Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry to form a new, four battalion regiment of foot guards, The Canadian Guards. The Rifle and Highland battalions were regimented by forming Regular Force units of the senior rifle and highland regiments of the Militia, The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada and The Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) of Canada.

  • The Canadian Guards
  • 1st Battalion - 1953-1968 (3rd Battalion, The Royal Canadian Regiment)
  • 2nd Battalion - 1953-1970 (3rd Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry)
  • 3rd Battalion - 1953-1957 (1st Canadian Infantry Battalion)
  • 4th Battalion - 1953-1957 (2nd Canadian Infantry Battalion)
  • The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada
  • 1st Battalion - 1953-1970 (1st Canadian Rifle Battalion)
  • 2nd Battalion - 1953-1968 (2nd Canadian Rifles Battalion)
  • The Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) of Canada
  • 1st Battalion - 1953-1970 (1st Canadian Highland Battalion)
  • 2nd Battalion - 1953-1970 (2nd Canadian Highland Battalion)
  • The Canadian Airborne Regiment - 1968-1995

    • Primary Reserve

    1. The Governor General's Foot Guards
    2. The Canadian Grenadier Guards
    3. The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada
    4. The Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) of Canada
    5. Les Voltigeurs de Québec
    6. The Royal Regiment of Canada
    7. The Royal Hamilton Light Infantry (Wentworth Regiment)
    8. The Princess of Wales' Own Regiment
    9. The Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment
    10. The Lincoln and Welland Regiment
    11. The Royal Canadian Regiment
    12. 4th Battalion
    13. The Royal Highland Fusiliers of Canada
    14. The Grey and Simcoe Foresters
    15. The Lorne Scots (Peel, Dufferin and Halton Regiment)
    16. The Brockville Rifles
    17. The Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Highlanders
    18. Les Fusiliers du St-Laurent
    19. Le Régiment de la Chaudière
    20. Royal 22e Régiment
    21. 4th Battalion
    22. 6th Battalion
    23. Les Fusiliers Mont-Royal
    24. The Princess Louise Fusiliers
    25. The Royal New Brunswick Regiment
    26. 1st Battalion
    27. The West Nova Scotia Regiment
    28. The North Shore (New Brunswick) Regiment
    29. The Nova Scotia Highlanders
    30. Le Régiment de Maisonneuve
    31. The Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa (Duke of Edinburgh's Own)
    32. The Royal Winnipeg Rifles
    33. The Essex and Kent Scottish
    34. 48th Highlanders of Canada
    35. Le Régiment du Saguenay
    36. The Cape Breton Highlanders
    37. The Algonquin Regiment
    38. The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada (Princess Louise's)
    39. The Lake Superior Scottish Regiment
    40. The North Saskatchewan Regiment
    41. The Royal Regina Rifles
    42. The Rocky Mountain Rangers
    43. The Loyal Edmonton Regiment (4th Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry)
    44. The Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders of Canada
    45. The Royal Westminster Regiment
    46. The Calgary Highlanders
    47. Les Fusiliers de Sherbrooke
    48. The Seaforth Highlanders of Canada
    49. The Canadian Scottish Regiment (Princess Mary's)
    50. The Royal Montreal Regiment
    51. The Irish Regiment of Canada
    52. 2nd Battalion
    53. The Toronto Scottish Regiment (Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother's Own)
    54. The Royal Newfoundland Regiment
    55. 1st Battalion
    56. 2nd Battalion

    Supplementary Order of Battle

    Regiments on the Supplementary Order of Battle legally exist but have no personnel or materiel.

    1. The Canadian Guards
    2. Victoria Rifles of Canada
    3. The Royal Rifles of Canada
    4. Le Régiment de Joliette
    5. The Perth Regiment
    6. The South Saskatchewan Regiment
    7. The Winnipeg Grenadiers
    8. The Yukon Regiment

    References

    Royal Canadian Infantry Corps Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA