- Le Régiment de la Chaudière
Le Régiment de la Chaudière is a
Primary Reserve infantry regiment of theCanadian Forces .Insignia
The regimental insignia consists of two crossed machine guns, surmounted by a beaver supporting a fleur-de-lys. Under this is a scroll inscribed with the device 'Aere perennis', with a small maple leaf on each end.
History
Le Régiment de la Chaudière was formed following the amalgamation of the Regiments of Dorchester and Beauce on
15 December ,1936 .The regiment mobilized a battalion for the Canadian Active Service Force in 1939. Initially organized as a machine gun battalion, the battalion was sent to
England in August 1941. The unit was assigned to the3rd Canadian Infantry Division as a standard rifle battalion and was designated as a reserve battalion during theD-Day landings in June 1944. Le Régiment de la Chaudière came ashore atBernières-sur-Mer afterThe Queen's Own Rifles of Canada , surprising the locals who hadn't expected to find francophone troops in the liberating forces. It was one of only two francophones unit to participate inOperation Overlord , along with theCommando Kieffer .The regiment participated in the
Battle for Caen , suffering several casualties in the fight at Carpiquet airfield on4 July ,1944 .With the rest of the division, the regiment fought in the
Battle of the Scheldt , notably in actions in the Breskens pocket between6 October and3 November 1944 .The unit wintered in the Nijmegen Salient and was again active in the Rhineland fighting in February 1945, and finished the war on German soil in May.
A 2nd Battalion served in the Reserve Army. A 3rd Battalion was raised for the
Canadian Army Occupation Force .Name
Citizens in Normandy were surprised to find that soldiers of the Chaudière spoke a dialect of French very close to that spoken in Normandy, but were puzzled by the regiment's name. In French, "chaudière" is the word for a hot water heater. In Quebec,
Chaudière is a common place name from which the name of the Regiment was drawn. ["Canada in the Second World War" (Reader's Digest, 1958)]Order of precedence
External links
* [http://www.army.dnd.ca/rdechaud/qg-hq/index-eng.asp Web site of Le Régiment de la Chaudière]
* [http://www.members.shaw.ca/junobeach/juno-4-3.htm Juno Beach - Le Régiment de la Chaudière on D-Day]
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