The Canadian Cavalry Brigade was raised in December 1914, under its first

commanding officer The commanding officer (CO) or commander, or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually give ...

Brigadier-General J.E.B. Seely. It was originally composed of two Canadian and one British

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, military service, service, or administrative corps, specialisation. In Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of l ...

s and an attached

artillery battery In military organizations, an artillery battery is a unit or multiple systems of artillery, mortar systems, rocket artillery, multiple rocket launchers, surface-to-surface missiles, ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, etc., so grouped to f ...

. The Canadian units were the

Royal Canadian Dragoons The Royal Canadian Dragoons (RCD) is the senior armoured regiment of the Canadian Army by precedence. It is one of three armoured regiments in the Regular Force and forms part of the Royal Canadian Armoured Corps. The colonel-in-chief of the ...

Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians) Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians) (LdSH(RC)) is a regular armoured warfare, armoured regiment of the Canadian Army and is Canada’s only tank regiment. Currently based in Edmonton, Alberta, the regiment is part of 3rd Canadian Division' ...

and the

Royal Canadian Horse Artillery The Royal Canadian Horse Artillery is the name given to the regular field artillery units of the Canadian Army. Organization The Regular Force has three RCHA regiments: ; 1st Regiment, Royal Canadian Horse Artillery: this is the descendant of ...

battery. The British regiment was the 2nd King Edward's Horse (The King's Overseas Dominions Regiment). 2KEH was replaced by The Fort Garry Horse in February 1916.

History

The brigade's units arrived in England in 1914, then left as a dismounted formation for France in April 1915. The brigade arrived in France during the

Battle of Festubert The Battle of Festubert (15–25 May 1915) was an attack by the British army in the Artois region of France on the western front during World War I. The offensive formed part of a series of attacks by the French Tenth Army and the British ...

and then served in the trenches during the Battle of Givenchy. The brigade remained serving as

infantry Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...

until the end of January 1916, when it was re-formed as a cavalry force. It became part of the 2nd Indian Cavalry Division (later 5th Cavalry Division) in the British Cavalry Corps. It was held in reserve during the

Battle of the Somme The Battle of the Somme (; ), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and the French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place between 1 July and 18 Nove ...

, its first mounted operation being during the German retreat to the Hindenberg Line. In the final days of the war the brigade, finally able to get into open ground, cleared nine French villages, captured around 400 enemy, with several artillery pieces and about 100 machine guns. The painter

Alfred Munnings Sir Alfred James Munnings, (8 October 1878 – 17 July 1959) is known as having been one of England's finest painters of horses, and as an outspoken critic of Modernism. Engaged by Lord Beaverbrook's Canadian War Memorials Fund after the Gre ...

was assigned as a war artist to the brigade and produced numerous paintings of the unit's men and horses.

Formation

;Commanders : Brigadier-General J.E.B Seely: December 1914 May 1918 :Brigadier-General R.W. Paterson: from May 1918 ;Units :

: 2nd King Edward's Horse (The King's Overseas Dominions Regiment) later replaced by : The Fort Garry Horse :

Notable members

*Lieutenant Harcus Strachan, VC, MC *Lieutenant Frederick Maurice Watson Harvey, VC, CBE, MC *Lieutenant Gordon Flowerdew, VC

References

{{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017 Cavalry brigades Canadian World War I brigades Military units and formations disestablished in 1918