The Nova Scotia Highlanders is a reserve
infantryInfantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of the Combat Arms they are the backbone of armies...
regimentA regiment is a military unit, composed of variable numbers of battalions, commanded by a Colonel. A regiment can be broken into two distinct categories, one being an administrative unit which is responsible for non-operational management of battalions , while the other being a deployable combat...
of the
Canadian ForcesThe Canadian Forces , officially the Canadian Armed Forces , are the unified armed forces of Canada, as constituted by the National Defence Act, which states: "The Canadian Forces are the armed forces of Her Majesty raised by Canada and consist of one Service called the Canadian Armed Forces."...
.
The regiment was formed in 1954 by the amalgamation of
The North Nova Scotia HighlandersThe North Nova Scotia Highlanders was an infantry regiment of the Canadian Army. Originally founded in 1936 as The North Nova Scotia Highlanders by the amalgamation of the Cumberland Highlanders, The Colchester and Hants Rifles, and 'C' Company, 6th Machine-Gun Battalion and acquired its present...
, The Cape Breton Highlanders, and
The Pictou HighlandersThe Pictou Highlanders was an infantry regiment of the Canadian Army. Originally founded in 1871 as the Colchester and Hants Provisional Battalion of Infantry it went through several name changes including: 1871 - 78th Colchester and Hants, or Highlanders Battalion of Infantry; 1879 - 78th...
.
The regiment is now composed of two separate units, officially designated as the 1st Battalion, The Nova Scota Highlanders (North), and 2nd Battalion, The Nova Scotia Highlanders (Cape Breton), both of which are part of
Land Force Atlantic AreaLand Force Atlantic Area is responsible for army operations of Canadian Forces Land Force Command in the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island...
's 36 Canadian Brigade Group.
The Nova Scotia Highlanders is a reserve
infantryInfantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of the Combat Arms they are the backbone of armies...
regimentA regiment is a military unit, composed of variable numbers of battalions, commanded by a Colonel. A regiment can be broken into two distinct categories, one being an administrative unit which is responsible for non-operational management of battalions , while the other being a deployable combat...
of the
Canadian ForcesThe Canadian Forces , officially the Canadian Armed Forces , are the unified armed forces of Canada, as constituted by the National Defence Act, which states: "The Canadian Forces are the armed forces of Her Majesty raised by Canada and consist of one Service called the Canadian Armed Forces."...
.
Creation
The regiment was formed in 1954 by the amalgamation of
The North Nova Scotia HighlandersThe North Nova Scotia Highlanders was an infantry regiment of the Canadian Army. Originally founded in 1936 as The North Nova Scotia Highlanders by the amalgamation of the Cumberland Highlanders, The Colchester and Hants Rifles, and 'C' Company, 6th Machine-Gun Battalion and acquired its present...
, The Cape Breton Highlanders, and
The Pictou HighlandersThe Pictou Highlanders was an infantry regiment of the Canadian Army. Originally founded in 1871 as the Colchester and Hants Provisional Battalion of Infantry it went through several name changes including: 1871 - 78th Colchester and Hants, or Highlanders Battalion of Infantry; 1879 - 78th...
.
The regiment is now composed of two separate units, officially designated as the 1st Battalion, The Nova Scota Highlanders (North), and 2nd Battalion, The Nova Scotia Highlanders (Cape Breton), both of which are part of
Land Force Atlantic AreaLand Force Atlantic Area is responsible for army operations of Canadian Forces Land Force Command in the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island...
's 36 Canadian Brigade Group. The 1st Battalion is headquartered in
TruroTruro is a town in central Nova Scotia, Canada...
with individual companies located in
AmherstAmherst is a Canadian town in northwestern Cumberland County, Nova Scotia.Located at the northeast end of the Cumberland Basin, an arm of the Bay of Fundy, Amherst is strategically situated on the eastern boundary of the Tantramar Marshes 3 kilometres east of the interprovincial border with New...
, Pictou,
New GlasgowNew Glasgow is the largest town in Pictou County, Nova Scotia, Canada. It is situated on the banks of the East River, which flows into Pictou Harbour and the Northumberland Strait, and which was once a commercial trade route....
,
SpringhillSpringhill is a Canadian town in central Cumberland County, Nova Scotia.In early records, the town was called "Springhill Mines." Coal mining lead to the establishment and growth of the town, and until the 1960s, it was the town's only significant economic activity. Springhill was incorporated...
, and Truro. The 2nd Battalion is headquartered in
SydneySydney is a Canadian urban community in the province of Nova Scotia. It is situated on the east coast of Cape Breton Island and is administratively part of the Cape Breton Regional Municipality....
.
Headdress
Although the 2nd Battalion of the Nova Scotia Highlanders continues the proud tradition of wearing Balmorals, the traditional headdress of the regiment, the 1st Battalion does not. There is a strong movement within the unit by the majority of the troops to replace the beret with the Balmoral once again as it marks out the highland unit as distinctive and shows the ties with the unit's heritage that contribute to its
ésprit de corps.
History of predecessor regiments
The regiment's original constituents participated in many operations, including the South African War (1899-1902);
VimyThe 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. The main combatants were the Canadian Corps against three divisions of the German Sixth Army...
, the
Hindenburg LineThe Hindenburg Line was a vast system of defences in northeastern France during World War I. It was constructed by the Germans during the winter of 1916–17...
in
World War IWorld War I , also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Wars, was a global military conflict which involved most of the world's great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances: the Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance...
and the Normandy landing, Boulogne, and the
Gothic LineThe Gothic Line formed Field Marshal Albert Kesselring's last major line of defence in the final stages of World War II along the summits of the Apennines during the fighting retreat of Nazi Germany's forces in Italy against the Allied Armies in Italy commanded by General Sir Harold...
in
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
85th Nova Scotia Highlanders
The Nova Scotia Highlanders perpetuate the
85th (Nova Scotia Highlanders) Battalion, CEFThe 85th Canadian Infantry Battalion, C.E.F. was a unit of the First World War Canadian Expeditionary Force. It was authorized on September 14 1915 by the appointment of Lieutenant-Colonel A.H. Borden as its commanding officer...
.
Battle honours
The Nova Scotia Highlanders have received 56 battle honours since the unit's inception.
They are:
Early History
World War One
- YPRES, 1915,'17
- Hill 70
- Festubert, 1915
- PASSCHENDAELE
- MOUNT SORREL
- AMIENS
- Somme, 1916,'18
- DROCOURT-QUEANT
- Flers-Courcelette
- HINDENBURG LINE
- Thiepval
- CANAL DU NORD
- Ancre Heights
- Cambrai, 1918
- ARRAS, 1917,'18
- Valenciennes
- VIMY, 1917
- Sambre
- Arleux
- FRANCE AND FLANDERS, 1915-1918
- Scarpe, 1917,'18
World War Two
- LIRI VALLEY
- Falaise
- Melfa Crossing
- The Laison
- Ceprano
- CHAMBOIS
- GOTHIC LINE
- BOULOGNE, 1944
- Montecchio
- Calais, 1944
- CORIANO
- The Scheldt
- LAMONE CROSSING
- Savojaards Plaat
- Fosso Munio
- BRESKENS POCKET
- Conventello-Comacchio
- The Rhineland
- ITALY, 1944-1945
- Waal Flats
- Normandy Landing
- The Hochwald
- AUTHIE
- THE RHINE
- Caen
- Zutphen
- The Orne
- Ijsselmeer
- Bourguebus Ridge
- Leer
- Faubourg de Vaucelles
- Delfzijl Pocket
- Verrieres Ridge -- Tilly-la-Campagne
- North-West Europe, 1944-1945
NOTE: The honors in CAPITALS represent the honors that currently appear on the Nova Scotia Highlanders Regimental Colors.
Order of precedence