PCap badge Royal Regiment of Canada, 2th Canadian Division
The regiment mobilised the Royal Regiment of Canada, CASF, for active service on 1 September 1939. It embarked for garrison duty in Iceland with "Z" Force on 10 June 1940, and on 31 October 1940 it was transferred to Great Britain. It was redesignated the 1st Battalion, the Royal Regiment of Canada, CASF, on 7 November 1940 when a 2nd Battalion was formed to provide reinforcements to the Regiment in Europe. The 1st battalion took part in the raid on Dieppe on 19 August 1942. It landed again in France on 7 July 1944, as part of the 4th Infantry Brigade, 2nd Canadian Infantry Division, and continued to fight in North-West Europe until the end of the war. The 1st battalion was disbanded on 31 December 1945 when it amalgamated with the 2nd Battalion back home.
Raid on Dieppe - Blue Beach
The naval engagement between the small German convoy and the craft carrying No. 3 Commando had alerted the German defenders at Blue Beach. The Royal Regiment of Canada landed near Puys along with three platoons from the Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) of Canada and an artillery detachment who were tasked to neutralize machine gun and artillery batteries protecting the Dieppe beach. They were delayed by 20 minutes and the smoke screens that should have hidden their assault had lifted, eliminating the advantage of surprise and darkness lost. The Germans manned their defensive positions in preparation for the landings. The well emplaced German forces stopped the Canadian forces that did land on the beach. As soon as they reached the shore, the Canadians found themselves pinned against the seawall, unable to advance and having murderous rifle and machine-gun fire rain down from the cliffs above. The Royals suffered severe casualties: of the 556 men in the regiment 200 were killed and 264 captured.
The regiment evolved from the 10th Royal Grenadiers and thus inherited British traditions. The regiment was authorized to wear the distinctive scarlet uniform of the "Guards" on all ceremonial occasions by decree of Queen Victoria. It is also sixth in the order of precedence.
