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Canadian Expeditionary Force
The Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF; French: Corps expéditionnaire canadien) was the expeditionary field force of Canada during the First World War. It was formed on August 15, 1914, following Britain’s declaration of war on the German Empire, with an initial strength of one infantry division. The division subsequently fought at Ypres on the Western Front, with a newly raised second division reinforcing the committed units to form the Canadian Corps. The CEF and corps was eventually expanded to four infantry divisions, which were all committed to the fighting in France and Belgium along the Western Front. A fifth division was partially raised in 1917, but was broken up in 1918 and used as reinforcements following heavy casualties.
The CEF was mostly volunteers; a bill allowing conscription was passed in August 1917, but not enforced until call-ups began in January 1918 (see Conscription Crisis of 1917); only 24,132 conscripts ended up being sent to France to take part in the final Hundred Days campaign.
As a Dominion in the British Empire, Canada was automatically at war with Germany upon the British declaration. Popular support for the war was found mainly in English Canada, especially among those born in the United Kingdom who had recently emigrated. Of the first contingent trained at Valcartier in 1914, about two-thirds were men born in the United Kingdom. More Canadian-born recruits would join the ranks throughout the war, but at least half of CEF soldiers were still British-born at the war's end in 1918. Recruiting was difficult among the French-Canadian population, many of whom did not agree with Canada's participation in the war; one battalion, the 22nd, who came to be known as the 'Van Doos', was French-speaking ("Van Doos" is a caricatured Anglophone mispronunciation of the French for "22nd" - vingt-deuxième).
To a lesser extent, several other cultural groups within the Dominion enlisted and made a significant contribution to the Force including Indigenous people of the First Nations, Black Canadians as well as Black Americans. Many British nationals from the United Kingdom or other territories who were resident in Canada and the United States also joined the CEF.
Some units of the Permanent Active Militia were mobilized into the CEF, including the Royal Canadian Dragoons, Lord Strathcona's Horse and the Royal Canadian Regiment (RCR). But the bulk of the CEF's units were newly raised, including a privately raised and equipped battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry (PPCLI). The CEF came to include 260 numbered infantry battalions, two named infantry battalions (RCR and PPCLI), 17 mounted regiments, 13 railway troop battalions, five pioneer battalions, four divisional supply trains, four divisional signals companies, a dozen engineering companies, over 80 field and heavy artillery batteries, fifteen field ambulance units, 23 general and stationary hospitals, and many other medical, dental, forestry, labour, tunnelling, cyclist, and service units. Two tank battalions were raised in 1918 but did not see service. Most of the infantry battalions were broken up and used as reinforcements, with a total of fifty being used in the field, including the mounted rifle units, which were re-organized as infantry. The artillery and engineering units underwent significant re-organization as the war progressed, in keeping with rapidly changing technological and tactical requirements.
Another entity within the CEF was the Canadian Machine Gun Corps. It consisted of several motor machine gun battalions, the Eatons, Yukon, and Borden Motor Machine Gun Batteries, and nineteen machine gun companies. During the summer of 1918, these units were consolidated into four machine gun battalions, one being attached to each of the four divisions in the Canadian Corps.
The Canadian Corps with its four infantry divisions comprised the main fighting force of the CEF. The Canadian Cavalry Brigade also served in France. Support units of the CEF included the Canadian Railway Troops, which served on the Western Front and provided a bridging unit for the Middle East; the Canadian Forestry Corps, which felled timber in Britain and France, and special units which operated around the Caspian Sea, in northern Russia and eastern Siberia.
When it was deployed in 1914, the Canadian Expeditionary Force included only infantry battalions, but it became clear by 1915 that support and administrative units needed to be included on the Western Front. After September 1915 it expanded to include supporting combat corps and what were considered administrative corps:
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Canadian Expeditionary Force
The Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF; French: Corps expéditionnaire canadien) was the expeditionary field force of Canada during the First World War. It was formed on August 15, 1914, following Britain’s declaration of war on the German Empire, with an initial strength of one infantry division. The division subsequently fought at Ypres on the Western Front, with a newly raised second division reinforcing the committed units to form the Canadian Corps. The CEF and corps was eventually expanded to four infantry divisions, which were all committed to the fighting in France and Belgium along the Western Front. A fifth division was partially raised in 1917, but was broken up in 1918 and used as reinforcements following heavy casualties.
The CEF was mostly volunteers; a bill allowing conscription was passed in August 1917, but not enforced until call-ups began in January 1918 (see Conscription Crisis of 1917); only 24,132 conscripts ended up being sent to France to take part in the final Hundred Days campaign.
As a Dominion in the British Empire, Canada was automatically at war with Germany upon the British declaration. Popular support for the war was found mainly in English Canada, especially among those born in the United Kingdom who had recently emigrated. Of the first contingent trained at Valcartier in 1914, about two-thirds were men born in the United Kingdom. More Canadian-born recruits would join the ranks throughout the war, but at least half of CEF soldiers were still British-born at the war's end in 1918. Recruiting was difficult among the French-Canadian population, many of whom did not agree with Canada's participation in the war; one battalion, the 22nd, who came to be known as the 'Van Doos', was French-speaking ("Van Doos" is a caricatured Anglophone mispronunciation of the French for "22nd" - vingt-deuxième).
To a lesser extent, several other cultural groups within the Dominion enlisted and made a significant contribution to the Force including Indigenous people of the First Nations, Black Canadians as well as Black Americans. Many British nationals from the United Kingdom or other territories who were resident in Canada and the United States also joined the CEF.
Some units of the Permanent Active Militia were mobilized into the CEF, including the Royal Canadian Dragoons, Lord Strathcona's Horse and the Royal Canadian Regiment (RCR). But the bulk of the CEF's units were newly raised, including a privately raised and equipped battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry (PPCLI). The CEF came to include 260 numbered infantry battalions, two named infantry battalions (RCR and PPCLI), 17 mounted regiments, 13 railway troop battalions, five pioneer battalions, four divisional supply trains, four divisional signals companies, a dozen engineering companies, over 80 field and heavy artillery batteries, fifteen field ambulance units, 23 general and stationary hospitals, and many other medical, dental, forestry, labour, tunnelling, cyclist, and service units. Two tank battalions were raised in 1918 but did not see service. Most of the infantry battalions were broken up and used as reinforcements, with a total of fifty being used in the field, including the mounted rifle units, which were re-organized as infantry. The artillery and engineering units underwent significant re-organization as the war progressed, in keeping with rapidly changing technological and tactical requirements.
Another entity within the CEF was the Canadian Machine Gun Corps. It consisted of several motor machine gun battalions, the Eatons, Yukon, and Borden Motor Machine Gun Batteries, and nineteen machine gun companies. During the summer of 1918, these units were consolidated into four machine gun battalions, one being attached to each of the four divisions in the Canadian Corps.
The Canadian Corps with its four infantry divisions comprised the main fighting force of the CEF. The Canadian Cavalry Brigade also served in France. Support units of the CEF included the Canadian Railway Troops, which served on the Western Front and provided a bridging unit for the Middle East; the Canadian Forestry Corps, which felled timber in Britain and France, and special units which operated around the Caspian Sea, in northern Russia and eastern Siberia.
When it was deployed in 1914, the Canadian Expeditionary Force included only infantry battalions, but it became clear by 1915 that support and administrative units needed to be included on the Western Front. After September 1915 it expanded to include supporting combat corps and what were considered administrative corps: