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Royal Canadian Infantry Corps
Badge of the Royal Canadian Infantry Corps
Active1942–present
CountryCanada
BranchCanadian Army
TypePersonnel branch
RoleInfantry
Size9 Regular Force battalions, 51 Reserve Force battalions
Motto(s)Ducimus (Latin for 'We lead')
ColoursRed and white
March"The Canadian Infantryman"
AnniversariesFounded 2 September 1942
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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.

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.[1]

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 (French: Ecole d'infanterie), which runs officer classification courses as well as NCO and Warrant Officer trades training at CFB Gagetown.

Tasks

The camp flag of the Infantry Corps.

Regular Force

The 3rd Battalion Royal Canadian Regiment is the sole airmobile battalion of the Regular Force. The two other regular force regiments both retain a parachute company in their respective 3rd battalions.

Order of precedence Regiment Subunits Headquarters Role
1 The Royal Canadian Regiment 1st Battalion CFB Petawawa mechanized infantry
2nd Battalion CFB Gagetown mechanized infantry
3rd Battalion CFB Petawawa light infantry/airmobile (two parachute companies, air assault company, mountain operations company)
2 Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry 1st Battalion CFB Edmonton mechanized infantry
2nd Battalion CFB Shilo mechanized infantry
3rd Battalion CFB Edmonton light infantry (parachute company, air assault company, mountain operations company)
3 Royal 22e Régiment 1st Battalion CFB Valcartier mechanized infantry
2nd Battalion Quebec City mechanized infantry
3rd Battalion CFB Valcartier light infantry (parachute company, air assault company, mountain operations 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:

Battalion Formed Disbanded
1st Canadian Infantry Battalion 1951 1953
2nd Canadian Infantry Battalion 1952 1953
1st Canadian Rifle Battalion 1951 1953
2nd Canadian Rifle Battalion 1952 1953
1st Canadian Highland Battalion 1951 1953
2nd Canadian Highland Battalion 1952 1953

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.

A further infantry regiment, the Canadian Airborne Regiment, was formed in 1968 as a new airmobile rapid-reaction unit. Although a new formation, its soldiers were primarily recruited from the then existing infantry regiments of the Canadian Army.

Regiment Subunits Formed Disbanded Former unit
The Canadian Guards 1st Battalion 1953 1968 3rd Battalion, The Royal Canadian Regiment[note 1]
2nd Battalion 1953 1970 3rd Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry[note 1]
3rd Battalion 1953 1957 1st Canadian Infantry Battalion[note 2]
4th Battalion 1953 1957 2nd Canadian Infantry Battalion[note 2]
The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada 1st Battalion 1953 1970 1st Canadian Rifle Battalion[note 2]
2nd Battalion 1953 1968 2nd Canadian Rifle Battalion[note 2]
The Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) of Canada 1st Battalion 1953 1970 1st Canadian Highland Battalion[note 2]
2nd Battalion 1953 1970 2nd Canadian Highland Battalion[note 2]
The Canadian Airborne Regiment 1st Commando 1968 1995 N/A
2nd Commando 1968 1995
3rd Commando[note 3] 1979 1995

Reserve

Order of precedence Regiment Headquarters Role
1 The Governor General's Foot Guards Ottawa, ON Light Infantry
2 The Canadian Grenadier Guards Montreal, QC Light Infantry
3 The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada Toronto, ON Light Infantry
4 The Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) of Canada Montreal, QC Light Infantry
5 Les Voltigeurs de Québec Quebec City, QC Light Infantry
6 The Royal Regiment of Canada Toronto, ON Light Infantry
7 The Royal Hamilton Light Infantry (Wentworth Regiment) Hamilton, ON Light Infantry
8 The Princess of Wales' Own Regiment Kingston, ON Light Infantry
9 The Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment Belleville, ON Light Infantry
10 The Lincoln and Welland Regiment St. Catharines, ON Light Infantry
11 4th Battalion, The Royal Canadian Regiment London, ON Light Infantry
12 The Royal Highland Fusiliers of Canada Cambridge and Kitchener, ON Light Infantry
13 The Grey and Simcoe Foresters Barrie, ON Light Infantry
14 The Lorne Scots (Peel, Dufferin and Halton Regiment) Brampton, ON Light Infantry
15 The Brockville Rifles Brockville, ON Light Infantry
16 The Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Highlanders Cornwall, ON Light Infantry
17 Les Fusiliers du St-Laurent Rimouski, QC Light Infantry
18 Le Régiment de la Chaudière Lévis, QC Light Infantry
19 4th Battalion, Royal 22e Régiment (Châteauguay) Laval, QC Light Infantry
6th Battalion, Royal 22e Régiment Saint-Hyacinthe, QC Light Infantry
20 Les Fusiliers Mont-Royal Montreal, QC Light Infantry
21 The Princess Louise Fusiliers Halifax, NS Light Infantry
22 1st Battalion, The Royal New Brunswick Regiment Fredericton, NB Light Infantry
23 The West Nova Scotia Regiment Aldershot, NS Light Infantry
24 The North Shore (New Brunswick) Regiment Bathurst, NB Light Infantry
25 1st Battalion, The Nova Scotia Highlanders (North) Truro, NS Light Infantry
26 Le Régiment de Maisonneuve Montreal, Quebec Light Infantry
27 The Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa (Duke of Edinburgh's Own) Ottawa, ON Light Infantry
28 The Royal Winnipeg Rifles Winnipeg, MB Light Infantry
29 The Essex and Kent Scottish Windsor, ON Light Infantry
30 48th Highlanders of Canada Toronto, ON Light Infantry
31 Le Régiment du Saguenay Saguenay, QC Light Infantry
32 The Cape Breton Highlanders Sydney, NS Light Infantry
33 The Algonquin Regiment (Northern Pioneers) North Bay, ON Light Infantry
34 The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada (Princess Louise's) Hamilton, ON Light Infantry
35 The Lake Superior Scottish Regiment Thunder Bay, ON Light Infantry
36 The North Saskatchewan Regiment Saskatoon, SK Light Infantry
37 The Royal Regina Rifles Regina, SK Light Infantry
38 The Rocky Mountain Rangers Kamloops, BC Light Infantry
39 The Loyal Edmonton Regiment (4th Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry) Edmonton, AB Light Infantry
40 The Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders of Canada Winnipeg, MB Light Infantry
41 The Royal Westminster Regiment New Westminster, BC Light Infantry
42 The Calgary Highlanders Calgary, AB Light Infantry
43 Les Fusiliers de Sherbrooke Sherbrooke, QC Light Infantry
44 The Seaforth Highlanders of Canada Vancouver, BC Light Infantry
45 The Canadian Scottish Regiment (Princess Mary's) Victoria, BC Light Infantry
46 The Royal Montreal Regiment Westmount, Quebec Light Infantry
47 2nd Battalion, The Irish Regiment of Canada[2] Sudbury, ON Light Infantry
48 The Toronto Scottish Regiment (Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother's Own) Toronto, ON Light Infantry
49 1st Battalion, The Royal Newfoundland Regiment St. John's, NL Light Infantry
2nd Battalion, The Royal Newfoundland Regiment Corner Brook, NL

Supplementary Order of Battle

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

Regiment Formed To SOB Headquarters
The Canadian Guards 1951 1970 Camp Petawawa
Victoria Rifles of Canada 1862 1965 Montreal, QC
The Royal Rifles of Canada 1862 1966 Quebec City, QC
Le Régiment de Joliette 1871 1964 Joliette, QC
The Perth Regiment 1886 1965 Stratford, ON
The South Saskatchewan Regiment 1905 1968 Estevan, SK
The Winnipeg Grenadiers 1908 1965 Winnipeg, MB
1st Battalion, The Irish Regiment of Canada 1915 1965 Toronto, ON
The Yukon Regiment 1962 1968 Whitehorse, YT

Order of precedence

Preceded byCommunications and Electronics Branch Royal Canadian Infantry Corps Succeeded byAir Operations Branch

See also

External links

Notes

  1. ^ a b Personnel and equipment were transferred from a disbanded unit to a newly formed unit
  2. ^ a b c d e f The unit was redesignated
  3. ^ 3rd Commando, Canadian Airborne Regiment, was actually a mechanized infantry battalion formed to serve as part of Canada's resident forces in Germany

References

  1. ^ The Regiments and Corps of the Canadian Army. Ottawa: Queen's Printer. 1964.[page needed]
  2. ^ The 1st Battalion was disbanded and added to the Supplementary Order of Battle on 31 March 1965; the 2nd Battalion was formed the same year by the conversion of the 58th Field Regiment, RCA, to infantry. The 1st Battalion has never been reformed.(canadiansoldiers.com 1965 Unit Listing)
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