Badge of Le Royal 22^e Régiment

The Royal 22^e Régiment is an infantry regiment and the most famous francophone organization of the Canadian Forces. The regiment comprises three regular battalions, two reserve battalions, and a band, making it the largest regiment in the army. The ceremonial home of the regiment is La Citadelle in Quebec City, where the regimental museum is housed. The regiment is nicknamed the Van Doos, a corruption of vingt-deux, French for "twenty-two". Badge of Le Royal 22e Regiment. ... Badge of Le Royal 22e Regiment. ... Infantry in the First World War Infantry (or Infantrymen) are soldiers who fight primarily on foot, using personal weapons. ... A regiment is a military unit, larger than a company and smaller than a division. ... A Francophone is a person who speaks French natively or by adoption (i. ... Canadian Forces Flag The Canadian Armed Forces (Fr. ... In military terminology, a battalion consists of two to six companies typically commanded by a lieutenant colonel. ... A nations army is its military, or more specifically, all of its land forces. ... The Citadel (fr: Citadelle) is a military fort atop Cape Diamant, adjoining the Plains of Abraham in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. ... Motto: Don de Dieu feray valoir (Gift of God shall make prosper) Area: 547. ...

History

The ancestor of the regiment was formed in the early days of the First World War, when volunteers from all over Canada were being massed for training at Valcartier, Quebec, just outside of Quebec City. The first contingent of 30,000 volunteers, which became the 1st Canadian Division of the Canadian Expeditionary Force, were grouped into numbered battalions, regardless of origin. The existing reserve regiments were not mobilized, due to the belief of the Defence Minister, Sam Hughes, that a new "efficient" structure was required. In the process, the new structure failed to create French-speaking units, such as those that had existed in the reserves. Over 1000 French-Canadian volunteers were scattered into different English-speaking units. This was not an oversight. Ontario (Hughes's political base) was in the process of forbidding teaching in French, or of French, in the school system (Regulation 17), causing outrage in French Canada and a lack of support for the war of the "king and country" that was perceived as seeking to destroy the Francophone community in Canada. Missing image Ypres, 1917, in the vicinity of the Battle of Passchendaele. ... Canadian Forces Base Valcartier is located 25 km west of Quebec City. ... The Canadian Corps - 1st Canadian Division – World War I Formed in August of 1914, the 1st Canadian Division was initially made up from Provisional Battalions that were named after their Province of origin but these Provisional titles were dropped before the Division arrived in Britain on October 14, 1914. ... The Canadian Corps was a World War I Canadas soldiers in September of 1915 after the arrival of the 2nd Canadian Division in France. ... Sir Samuel Hughes (January 8, 1853 – August 23, 1921) was the Canadian Minister of Militia and Defence during World War I. Sam Hughes Samuel Hughes was born January 8, 1853, at Solina near Bowmanville in what was then Canada West. ...

The second contingent was based, more logically, on battalions raised and trained in the various military districts in which they had been recruited, but still on an impersonal numbered basis (with the exception of some with a Highland or Irish identity). Considerable political pressure in Quebec, along with public rallies, demanded the creation of French-speaking units to fight a war that many viewed as being right and necessary, despite the infamous Regulation 17 in Ontario. When the government relented, the first such unit was the 22nd (French Canadian) Infantry Battalion, CEF. The 22nd went to France as part of the 5th Canadian Brigade and the 2nd Canadian Division in September 1915, and fought with distinction in every major Canadian engagement until the end of the war. While other French-speaking units were also created, they were all broken up upon arrival in France to provide reinforcements for the 22nd, which suffered close to 4000 wounded and killed in the course of the war. Two members of the 22nd were awarded the Victoria Cross in that war, Lieutenant Jean Brillant and Corporal Joseph Kaeble. The Canadian Corps - 2nd Canadian Division – World War I The formation of the 2nd Canadian Division began in May of 1915 in France in September of 1915. ... Victoria Cross, Source: Veterans Affairs Canada The Victoria Cross (official post-nominal letters VC) is the highest award for valour that can be awarded to members of the British and Commonwealth armed forces of any rank in any service and civilians under military command. ... Photo by Terry Macdonald Jean Brillant (VC, MC) was a Canadian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. ... Photo by Terry Macdonald Joseph Kaeble (VC, MM) was a Canadian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. ...

After the war, the 22nd Battalion was disbanded on May 20, 1919, sharing the fate of the other numbered battalions of the Canadian Expeditionary Force. However, in the post-war reorganizations of the army, public pressure, such as a resolution by the City Council of Quebec City, demanded that a permanent French-language unit be created in the peace-time Regular Force, and accordingly a new regiment was created, made up of veterans of the 22nd Batallion, on April 1, 1921. Initially the regiment was simply the 22nd Regiment, but in June King George V approved renaming it The Royal 22nd Regiment. In 1928 the anomaly of a French-language unit with an English name was resolved, and the regiment became the Royal 22^e Régiment. King George V King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Emperor of India His Majesty King George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert) (3 June 1865–20 January 1936) was the last British monarch of the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, changing the name to the House...

In 1940, the regiment became the first Francophone Canadian unit to mount the King's Guard in London, and was the first of the three current Regular Force regiments to do so. 1940 was a leap year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Queens Guard The guard being changed. ... Greater London and the Regions of England. ...

In the Second World War the regiment was part of the 3rd Canadian Infantry Brigade and the 1st Canadian Infantry Division and was involved in intense combat in Italy, (where Paul Triquet earned the Victoria Cross) and later in the Netherlands and northwest Germany. Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km into the air. ... List of military divisions — List of Canadian divisions in WWII The Canadian 1st Infantry Division was formed at the outbreak of World War I in August 1914. ... Photo by Terry Macdonald - May 1996 Paul Triquet was a Canadian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. ...

During the Korean War, 1951-1953, the regiment expanded to three battalions, each serving in turn as part of the Canadian brigade in the 1st Commonwealth Division. The Korean War (Korean: 한국전쟁), from June 25, 1950 to July 27, 1953, was a conflict between North Korea and South Korea. ... The 1st Commonwealth Division was a multinational unit that took part in the Korean War, as part of British Commonwealth Forces Korea. ...

During the Cold War the regular battalions of the regiment served, in turn, in West Germany for most of the period. A cold war is a state of conflict between nations that does not involve direct military action but is pursued primarily through economic and political actions, acts of espionage or conflict through surrogates. ...

During the life of the Canadian Airborne Regiment (1968-1995) The 1^er Commando was manned as a French-speaking sub-unit by soldiers of the Royal 22^e Régiment. The Canadian Airborne Regiment was a Canadian Forces formation created on April 8, 1968. ...

In the 1950s, the Canadian Army promoted a scheme of administratively associating reserve infantry regiments with a regular one. Although this project did not make much progress in most of the army, three reserve regiments did join the Van Doos, becoming battalions of the Royal 22^e Régiment: A regiment is a military unit, larger than a company and smaller than a division. ...

In the case of Les Fusiliers du Saint-Laurent, the battalion designation was in a subsidiary title, but it became nevertheless, administratively, part of the Royal 22e Régiment. However, in 1968 the Les Fusiliers du Saint-Laurent dropped the subsidiary title, and ended their administrative association with the R22^eR.

Battle honours

First World War

• Mount Sorrel
• Somme, 1916, including Flers-Courcelette
• Arras, 1917, including Vimy, 1917
• Ypres, 1917, including Passchendaele
• Somme, 1918
• Amiens
• Arras, 1918
• Cambrai, 1918
• France and Flanders, 1915-1918

Battle of the Somme Conflict First World War Date 1 July 1916 – 18 November 1916 Place Somme, Picardy, France Result Stalemate The 1916 Battle of the Somme was one of the largest battles of the First World War, with more than one million casualties. ... The Battle of Arras took place from 9 April to 16 May 1917. ... The Battle of Vimy Ridge was one of the opening battles in a larger British campaign known as the Battle of Arras. ... Passchendaele village, before and after the Battle of Passchendaele The Battle of Passchendaele, otherwise known as the Third Battle of Ypres, was one of the major battles of World War I, fought by British, ANZAC, and Canadian soldiers against the German army near Ypres (Ieper in Flemish) in West Flanders... Passchendaele village, before and after the Battle of Passchendaele The Battle of Passchendaele, otherwise known as the Third Battle of Ypres, was one of the major battles of World War I, fought by British, ANZAC, and Canadian soldiers against the German army near Ypres (Ieper in Flemish) in West Flanders... There were a number of Battles of the Somme during World War I: Battle of the Somme (1916) (1 July–18 November 1916) - major Anglo-French offensive of 1916. ... Battle of Amiens Conflict First World War Date 8-11 August 1918 Place East of Amiens, Picardy, France Result Major Allied victory The Battle of Amiens, which began on 8 August 1918, was the opening phase of the Allied offensive, later known as the Hundred Days, that led ultimately to... The Battle of Cambrai ( November 20 - December 3, 1917) was a British campaign of World War I. Noted for the first successful use of tanks, the British attack ended as another failure. ... This article is in need of attention. ...

Second World War

• Sicily, 1943
• Catenanuova
• Italy, 1943-1945
• Casa Berardi
• Hitler Line
• Gothic Line
• Lamone Crossing
• San Fortunato
• Apeldoorn
• North-West Europe, 1945

Husky was also the codename of Australian military support to Sierra Leone ending in February 2003. ... Gothic Line also known as Linea Gotica was Field Marshall Albert Kesselrings last line of defence along the top of the Apennines during the retreat of Nazi Germanys forces from Italy near the end of World War II. After the fall of Rome on June 4, 1944, the... Apeldoorn is a municipality and a town in the central Netherlands. ...

United Nations Operations

• Korea, 1951-1953

The Korean War (Korean: 한국전쟁), from June 25, 1950 to July 27, 1953, was a conflict between North Korea and South Korea. ...

A note on the name

Most units of the Canadian Forces have official names in English and in French, but the historic regiments are exceptions, having monolingual names for the sake of tradition. The English name "Royal 22nd Regiment" is often seen, but strictly speaking is incorrect: only the French form is official.

External links

• Comprehensive Regimental Web site (http://www.r22er.com) (in French)
• List of links to battalions and other Regimental web sites  (http://www.r22er.com/fr/liens/Liensfr.html)
• Canadaian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) Archives on "Royal 22nd Regiment" (sic) (http://archives.cbc.ca/300c.asp?IDCat=71&IDDos=579&IDLan=1&IDMenu=0)
• Société Radio-Canada (SRC) Archives on "Royal 22e Régiment" (in French) (http://archives.radio-canada.ca/300c.asp?IDCat=9&IDDos=534&IDLan=0&IDMenu=9)