The 4th Canadian Armoured Brigade was an

armoured Armour (Commonwealth English) or armor (American English; see spelling differences) is a covering used to protect an object, individual, or vehicle from physical injury or damage, especially direct contact weapons or projectiles during combat ...

brigade A brigade is a major tactical military unit, military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute ...

of the

Canadian Army The Canadian Army () is the command (military formation), command responsible for the operational readiness of the conventional ground forces of the Canadian Armed Forces. It maintains regular forces units at bases across Canada, and is also re ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. It was part of the 4th Canadian (Armoured) Division.

Organization

As of 1942 the 4th Canadian Armoured Brigade comprised: *

21st Armoured Regiment (The Governor General's Foot Guards) First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

* 22nd Armoured Regiment (The Canadian Grenadier Guards) * 28th Armoured Regiment (The British Columbia Regiment) * 1st Battalion, The Lake Superior Regiment (Motor) And their supporting units, including: * 4th Canadian Brigade Company, Royal Canadian Army Service Corps; * 12 Canadian Field Ambulance Arriving in

Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...

in July 1944, the brigade saw service in the battles that took the Canadians from

Caen Caen (; ; ) is a Communes of France, commune inland from the northwestern coast of France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Calvados (department), Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inha ...

to Falaise (and the

Falaise Pocket The Falaise pocket or battle of the Falaise pocket (; 12–21 August 1944) was the decisive engagement of the Battle of Normandy in the Second World War. Allied forces formed a pocket around Falaise, Calvados, in which German Army Group B, c ...

). Unlike their peers in the

2nd Canadian Armoured Brigade The 2nd Canadian Armoured Brigade was an Armoured warfare, armoured brigade of the Canadian Army that saw active service during World War II. The brigade was composed of the 6th, 10th and 27th Canadian Armoured regiments and saw service in north ...

, the 4th Armoured Brigade almost always fought in support of its affiliated 10th Canadian Infantry Brigade. Following the

Normandy campaign Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful liberation of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 (D-Day) with the N ...

the brigade saw service in

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

, the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, and

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

before being disbanded in the Netherlands in 1946.

Commanders

* E. L. M. Burns (1942–1943) * Desmond Smith (1943–1944) * Eric Leslie Booth (1944) *

Robert Moncel Lieutenant General Robert William Moncel (9 April 1917 – 10 December 2007) was a senior officer in the Canadian Army. Moncel was Lieutenant-General of the Canadian Army and former Vice Chief of the Defence Staff. He was the youngest gener ...

(1944–1946)

References

Armoured brigades of Canada Canadian World War II brigades Military units and formations disestablished in 1946 {{Canada-mil-hist-stub