General George Kitching (above) commanded the Fourth Canadian Armoured Division when it landed in Normandy in late July, 1944. He then led the division during two of the Canadian army's largest military undertakings, Operation Totalize and Operation Tractable, and held the crucial funnel of land near which hundreds of thousands of Germans of the Seventh Army tried to escape in and around Falaise.
Fourth Canadian Armoured Division, 1944–1945
Commanding Officers
Major-General George Kitching (March 1, 1944 to August 21, 1944)
Major-General Harold W. Foster (August 22, 1944 to November 30, 1944)
Major-General Christopher Vokes (December 1, 1944 to June 5, 1945)
Headquarter Units
Headquarters Squadron**
No. 4 Armoured Divisional Ordnance Field Park
4th Canadian (Armoured) Divisional Signals, Royal Canadian Corps of Signals
The Elgin Regiment "D" Squadron (25th Armoured Delivery Regiment)
No. 4 Defence and Employment Platoon (Lorne Scots)
No. 8 Provost Company, Canadian Provost Corps
(**The Headquarters Squadron, Fourth Canadian Armoured Division, commanding
officer Major Clarence S. Campbell. Lieutenant Russ Colombo commanded one
squadron of Sherman tanks that formed half the defensive force for headquarters.)
4th Canadian Armoured Brigade
Initial fighting strength - Each of the division's three armoured regiments had 3 squadrons totalling 45 Sherman 75 mm tanks plus 16 "Firefly" tanks, plus a regimental headquarters of 4 Sherman (75 mm), 6 Crusader anti-aircraft tanks, and 11 Stuart reconnaissance tanks.
Commanding Officers: Brigadier E. Leslie Booth (February 2, 1944 to August 14, 1944) and Brigadier Robert W. Moncell (August 19, 1944 to July 9, 1945)
Governor General's Foot Guards (21st Armoured Regiment)
Garrison - Ottawa
Canadian Grenadier Guards (22nd Armoured Regiment)
Garrison - Montreal
British Columbia Regiment (28th Armoured Regiment)
Garrison - Vancouver
Lake Superior Regiment (Motor)
Garrison - Fort William/Port Arthur (now Thunder Bay)
10th Canadian Infantry Brigade
Commanding Officer: Brigadier James C. Jefferson (February 27, 1944 to May 5, 1945)
Lincoln and Welland Regiment
Garrison - St. Catharines
Algonquin Regiment
Garrisons - A Company - North Bay, B Company - Timmins, C Company - Petawawa
Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada (Princess Louise's)
Garrison - Hamilton
South Alberta Regiment (29th Armoured Reconnaissance Regiment)
New Brunswick Rangers (10th Independent Machine Gun Company)
Canadian Infantry Brigade Ground Defence Platoon (Lorne Scots)
Garrisions - A Company - Oakville, B Company - Brampton, C Company - Georgetown
Royal Canadian Artillery
Commanding Officers: Brigadier John N. Lane (March 1, 1944 to November 9, 1944) and Brigadier Charles M. Drury (November 10, 1944 to June 26, 1945)
15th Field Regiment
Garrison
23rd Field Regiment (Self Propelled)
Garrisons - 31st Battery - Toronto, 36th Battery - Cobourg/Port Hope/Peterborough, 83rd Battery - Hamilton/Brantford/St. Catharines
5th Anti-Tank Regiment
Garrison
8th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment
Garrison
Corps of Royal Canadian Engineers
Commanding Officer: Lieutenant-Colonel J. R. B. Jones (February 22, 1944 to November 5, 1945)
6th Field Park Squadron
8th Field Squadron
9th Field Squadron
Royal Canadian Army Service Corps
Commanding Officers: Lieutenant-Colonel Michael L. Brennan (December 1942 to ) and Lieutenant-Colonel Harry E. Miller (February 1945 to )
4th Armoured Divisional Troops Company
4th Armoured Divisional Transport Company
4th Armoured Brigade Company
10th Infantry Brigade Company
Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps
Commanding Officer:
No. 12 Light Field Ambulance
No. 15 Field Ambulance
Royal Canadian Electrical and Mechanical Engineers
Commanding Officer:
4th Armoured Brigade Workshop
10th Infantry Brigade Workshop
No. 4 Armoured Troops Workshop
