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The 2nd Canadian Division was an infantry formation that saw service in the First World War. A 2nd Canadian Infantry Division
2nd Canadian Infantry Division

The 2nd Canadian Infantry Division was an infantry Division of the First Canadian Army, mobilized on 1 September 1939 during the Second World War....
 was raised for the Second World War.

formation of the 2nd Canadian Division began in May 1915 in Britain
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
 following the arrival of a large contingent of soldiers from Canada. The Division remained in Great Britain only a short time before embarking for France
France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
 in September 1915.






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The 2nd Canadian Division was an infantry formation that saw service in the First World War. A 2nd Canadian Infantry Division
2nd Canadian Infantry Division

The 2nd Canadian Infantry Division was an infantry Division of the First Canadian Army, mobilized on 1 September 1939 during the Second World War....
 was raised for the Second World War.

History

The formation of the 2nd Canadian Division began in May 1915 in Britain
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
 following the arrival of a large contingent of soldiers from Canada. The Division remained in Great Britain only a short time before embarking for France
France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
 in September 1915. It joined the 1st Canadian Division
1st Canadian Division

This article refers to the division raised in the First World War. For divisions raised afterwards, see 1st Canadian Infantry DivisionFormed in August 1914, the 1st Canadian Division was a formation of the Canadian Expeditionary Force....
 to form the Canadian Corps
Canadian Corps

For other uses of Canadian Corps, see Canadian Corps The Canadian Corps was a World War I corps formed from the Canadian Expeditionary Force in September 1915 after the arrival of the 2nd Canadian Division in France....
. The division was under the command of Major-General R.E.W. Turner
Richard Ernest William Turner

Lieutenant General Sir Richard Ernest William Turner Victoria Cross, Order of the Bath, Order of St Michael and St George, Distinguished Service Order was a Canada army officer during the Boer War and World War I, and a recipient of the Victoria Cross....
, and its members spent a long and bitterly cold winter in a Belgian
Belgium

* A small German-speaking Community of Belgium exists in eastern Wallonia. Belgium's linguistic diversity and related political and cultural conflicts are reflected in the history of Belgium and a complex Communities and regions of Belgium....
 section of the front between Ploegsteert Wood
Ploegsteert

Ploegsteert is a Municipalities in Belgium in Belgium located in Hainaut province. It is approximately 2 kilometres north of the French border....
 and Saint-Eloi
Saint-Éloi

Saint-?loi is the name or part of the name of several places:...
, south of Ypres
Ypres

Ypres , Ieper , or Ypern is a Belgium Municipalities in Belgium located in the Flemish Region Provinces of Belgium of West Flanders....
. Infantry units as well as artillery units of the 2nd Canadian Division served in both France and Flanders
Flanders

Flanders is a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France, and the Netherlands. Over the course of history, the geographical territory that was called "Flanders" has varied....
 until Armistice Day
Armistice Day

Armistice Day is the anniversary of the symbolic end of World War I on 11 November 1918. It commemorates the Armistice with Germany signed between the Allies of World War I and Germany at Rethondes, France, for the cessation of hostilities on the Western Front , which took effect at eleven o'clock in the morning — the "eleventh hour...
.

Infantry Units

4th Canadian Brigade: (Formed after the original 4th Brigade was dispersed)
  • 18th (Western Ontario) Battalion Canadian Infantry. October 1, 1914 - November 11, 1918;
  • 19th (Central Ontario) Battalion Canadian Infantry
    19th (Central Ontario) Battalion, CEF

    HistoryThe 19th Battalion, CEF, or Canadian Expeditionary Force, was originally raised at Exhibition Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on 6 November, 1914....
    . October 19, 1914 - November 11, 1918;
  • 20th (Central Ontario) Battalion Canadian Infantry
    20th Battalion, CEF

    The 20th Canadian Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force was composed of volunteers from militias in central Ontario. The unit participated in the Battle of Flanders, Battle of the Somme, Battle of Vimy Ridge, Battle of Hill 70, Battle of Passchendaele, and the Hundred Days Offensive....
    . October 1914 - November 11, 1918;
  • 21st (Eastern Ontario) Battalion Canadian Infantry. October 19, 1914 - November 11, 1918.


5th Canadian Brigade:
  • 22nd (Canadien Francais) Battalion Canadian Infantry. October 21, 1914 - November 11, 1918;
  • 24th (Victoria Rifles) Battalion Canadian Infantry. October 22, 1914 - November 11, 1918;
  • 25th (Nova Scotia) Battalion Canadian Infantry. October 28, 1914 - November 11, 1918;
  • 26th (New Brunswick) Battalion Canadian Infantry. November 2, 1914 - November 11, 1918.


6th Canadian Brigade
  • 27th (City of Winnipeg) Battalion Canadian Infantry. October 21, 1914 - November 11, 1918;
  • 28th (North West) Battalion Canadian Infantry. October 19, 1914 - November 11, 1918;
  • 29th (Vancouver) Battalion Canadian Infantry
    29th Battalion, CEF

    The 29th Battalion, CEF was an infantry battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force which actively served on the Western Front during the First World War from 1915 until the signing of the Armistice on 11 November 1918....
    . October 24, 1914 - November 11, 1918;
  • 31st (Alberta) Battalion Canadian Infantry
    31st Battalion, CEF

    The 31st Battalion, CEF was raised as one of the four fighting battalions destined for the 6th Brigade, 2nd Division Canadian Expeditionary Force, on 15 March, 1915....
    . November 16, 1914 - November 11, 1918.


Pioneers:
  • 2nd Canadian Pioneer Battalion. March 1916 - June 1917. To the 2nd Canadian Engineer Brigade.


Battles and Engagements on the Western Front
Western Front

Western Front was a term used during the World War I and World War II world war to describe the "contested armed frontier" between lands controlled by Germany to the East and the Allies to the West....
:


1916:
  • Actions of the St. Eloi Craters - March 27 - 16 Apr
  • Battle of Mount Sorrel - June 2-13
  • Battle of Flers - Courcelette - September 15-22
  • Battle of Thiepval - September 26-28
  • Battle of Le Transloy
    Battle of Le Transloy

    The Battle of Le Transloy was the final offensive mounted by the British Fourth Army during the 1916 Battle of the Somme ....
      - October 1-18
  • Battle of the Ancre Heights
    Battle of the Ancre Heights

    The Battle of the Ancre Heights was a prolonged battle of attrition in October 1916 during the Battle of the Somme . Lieutenant General Hubert Gough's British Reserve Army had finally managed to break out of the positions it had occupied since the start of the Somme fighting and Gough intended to maintain the pressure on the Germany forces...
      - October 1 - November 11


1917:
  • Battle of Vimy Ridge
    Battle of Vimy Ridge

    The Battle of Vimy Ridge was a military engagement fought as part of the Battle of Arras , in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France, during the First World War....
     - April 9-14
  • Attack on La Coulotte - April 23
  • Battle of Arleux - April 28-29
  • Third Battle of the Scarpe - May 3-4
  • Battle of Hill 70
    Battle of Hill 70

    The Battle of Hill 70 was a localized battle of World War I between the Canadian Corps and five divisions of the 6th Army . The battle took place along the Western Front on the outskirts of Lens, Pas-de-Calais in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France between 15 August 1917 and 25 August 1917....
      - August 15-25
  • Second Battle of Passchendaele - October 26 - November 10
  • Battle of Cambrai (1917) - November 20 - December 3


1918:
  • First Battle of Arras - March 28
  • Battle of Amiens
    Battle of Amiens

    The Battle of Amiens, which began on 8 August 1918, was the opening phase of the Allies of World War I offensive later known as the Hundred Days Offensive that ultimately led to the end of World War I....
      - August 8-11
  • Actions round Damery - August 15-17
  • Battle of the Scarpe - August 26-30
  • The Pursuit to the Selle - October 9-12
  • Passage of the Grande Honelle - November 5-7


External references