The 1st Hussars is an armoured Primary Reserve regiment of the Canadian Armed Forces, based in London and Sarnia, Ontario.

Regimental seniority

Despite "1st" in the title, the regiment is not the most senior armoured unit. With the militia reorganization of 1872, the senior or only cavalry regiment within a Militia District adopted the numerical designation of that district. Southwestern Ontario comprised Military District No. 1, hence the original designation as the 1st Regiment of Cavalry. The unit was renamed 1st Hussars in 1892 and because a British hussar unit numbered "1" never existed, it was unnecessary to add a 'Canada' or 'Canadian' modifier. Following the Second World War, because of wartime and earlier conversion to armour of some more senior infantry regiments, the Royal Canadian Armoured Corps decided that seniority would be determined by the date of becoming a regiment, regardless of the corps in which the unit was raised. Regular Force regiments take precedence, and seniority among themselves by the date they became part of the Regular Force. 1st Hussars is placed seventh in the order of seniority of militia armoured regiments. However, 2nd troop had to pull back, as they were too far ahead of the rest of the force and too few to hold the objective. At dusk, the regiment pulled back to the channel to rest. the 1st Hussars suffered 21 killed, 17 wounded during the actions of D-Day. 'A' Squadron was left with 9 tanks at the end of the day and 'B' Squadron was reduced to 4 tanks.

After D-Day, the 1st Hussars continued to support infantry as it advanced and faced German counter-attacks. On 9 June, the Hussars supported the Canadian Scottish as they re-took Putot-en-Bessin and engaged Panthers of the 1st Battalion, SS-Panzer Regiment 12 (of the 12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend), destroying 6.

Battle of Le Mesnil-Patry

On the afternoon of Sunday, 11 June, 'B' Squadron of the 1st Hussars was decimated during an abortive attack with The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada on the hamlet of Le Mesnil Patry, North-West of Caen. Panzergrenadiers, pioneers and tanks of the 12th SS Panzer Division were able to ambush the tanks of 'B' Squadron in part due to intelligence gleaned from the Hussar's own radio traffic after capturing wireless codes from a destroyed Canadian tank on 9 June. Using Panzerfausts, Panzerschrecks and anti-tank guns, the German forces were able destroy 51 Shermans, and inflict 61 killed or missing, 2 wounded and 11 captured on the 1st Hussars. The Queen's Own Rifles suffered 55 killed, 33 wounded and 11 taken prisoner during the attack. The attack is remembered as "The Black Day", "Black Sunday" and the "Black Sabbath" within the Regiment. It accounted for roughly one third of the 1st Hussars' dead over the entire war.

Capture of Caen

After the disaster at Le Mesnil Patry, the 1st Hussars were taken off the front lines to refit and regroup. After a few weeks of rest and training the Hussars were back in action on 8 July 1944 as part of Operation Charnwood, with the objectives of capturing the village of Cussy and the Ardenne Abbey. 'A' Squadron supported the Canadian Scottish in its attack on Cussy, 'C' squadron was assigned to support the Regina Rifles in their attack on the Abby while 'B' Squadron and The Royal Winnipeg Rifles were held in reserve. When the attack started at 18:30, the Hussars again found themselves opposing the 12th SS, including Panther tanks, anti-tank guns and infantry. 'A' Squadron and the Reginas had to first fight to secure their start line before proceeding to the Abbey. At around 23:45, the Abbey, which had been the headquarters of Kurt 'Panzer' Meyer and the site of the execution of 20 Canadian POWs who were captured a month before, was captured. By 9 July, portions of Caen north and east of the Orne River had been captured.

The 1st Hussars were again in action on 18 July during Goodwood which aimed to capture the portions of Caen South and East of the Orne. The Canadian portion of Goodwood was code-named Operation Atlantic, which aimed to secure a bridgehead over the Orne east of Caen. The Hussar's objectives during Atlantic included the capture of the steelworks at Colombelles on the east bank of the river, the eastern suburbs of Giberville and Faubourg de Vaucelles. By end of 19 July, all the Hussars' objectives were captured and the bridgehead was secure.

As Atlantic wound down, planning for an attack against Verrières Ridge began, known as Operation Spring. As the Canadian's pushed south towards the Start Line on 20 July, 'A' Squadron of the 1st Hussars was tasked with supporting the attack on Saint-André-sur-Orne and the Beauvoir and Troteval farms by Les Fusiliers Mont-Royal. Les Fusiliers Mont-Royal initially captured the village and the farms, but were pushed back by the counter-attacks of the 1SS Panzerdivision and 272nd Infantry Division. The Beauvoir and Troteval farms would be retaken later in the evening with the assistance of the Hussar's 'A' Sqn. Sporadic fighting continued for a few days as the lines stabilized below Verrières Ridge. During this time, the Germans reinforced their positions on the ridge under the cover of storms that kept allied attack aircraft grounded.

Operation Spring began on 25 July. 'C' Sqn of the 1st Hussars were to support the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry in their attack against the village of Verrières and then continue to Rocquancourt with the Royal Regiment of Canada. 'B' Sqn was to support the Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders, the Calgary Highlanders and the Black Watch as they attacked the villages of Saint-André-sur-Orne, Saint-Martin-de-Fontenay, May-sur-Orne and Fontenay-le-Marmion. Most of the attacks against the ridge met heavy resistance and were fought to a standstill by the Germans, with only the Village of Verrières being captured and held. The attack cost 'C' Squadron 14 of its 19 tanks and 27 casualties. These losses paled in comparison to those of the Black Watch who lost 310 of the 325 men who left the start line.

Lineage

1st Hussars

  • Originated on 31 May 1872, in London, Ontario, as the 1st Regiment of Cavalry
  • Redesignated on 1 January 1893, as the 1st Hussars
  • Redesignated on 11 February 1941, as the 2nd (Reserve) Regiment, 1st Hussars
  • Redesignated on 1 April 1941, as the 6th (Reserve) Armoured Regiment, (1st Hussars)
  • Redesignated on 4 February 1949, as the 1st Hussars (6th Armoured Regiment)
  • Redesignated on 19 May 1958, as the 1st Hussars
  • Redesignated on 19 September 1985, as the 1st Hussars (RCAC)
  • Redesignated on 14 August 1997, as the 1st Hussars

Notable members

First World War flying ace, recipient of the Victoria Cross and Distinguished Flying Cross, William Avery (Billy) Bishop, was a lieutenant in the regiment before transferring to the Royal Flying Corps.

On D-Day, 2 Troop 'C' Sqn commanded by Lieutenant W. F. (Bill) McCormick failed to contact the infantry but kept going, returning an hour and a half later after a 10-mile ramble inland through Bretteville and almost into Carpiquet. By crossing the Caen-Bayeux railway line the troop became somewhat fortuitously "the only unit of the allied invasion forces known to reach its final objective on D-Day."

Order of precedence

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1st Hussars in G-Wagon at St.Thomas Airshow 2011.jpg | 1st Hussars in G-Wagen at St. Thomas Airshow, 2011

1st_Hussars_brass_and_bage_at_Trenton_Air_Museum.jpg | 1st Hussars brass badges at Trenton Air Museum

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The 2010 docudrama Storming Juno follows a tank crew of the 1st Hussars led by Sergeant Leo Gariepy (played by Philippe Martin) during the initial landings and immediate aftermath.

See also

  • List of regiments of cavalry of the Canadian Militia (1900–1920)
  • Holy Roller (tank)

Notes and references

Further reading

  • McNorgan, Michael R. (2004). The Gallant Hussars: a history of the 1st Hussars Regiment. The First Hussars Cavalry Fund.
  • Graves, Donald E. (2000). Fighting for Canada: Seven Battles, 1758–1945. Robin Brass Studio inc. Toronto.
  • Zuehlke, Mark. (2005). Holding Juno: Canada's heroic defense of the D-Day beaches, June 7–12, 1944. Douglas & McIntyre Ltd. Vancouver.
  • 1st Hussars Regimental Association page