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'Land Force Command' ('LFC') is responsible for army operations within the Canadian Forces. LFC maintains bases across Canada and is responsible for the largest component of the Canadian Forces Primary Reserve — the Army Reserve, often referred to as the "militia". The Chief of Land Staff is Lieutenant-General Andrew Leslie.
LFC is the descendant of the Canadian Army which was the name of Canada's land forces from 1940 until February 1, 1968. At the time of unification all army units were placed under Mobile Command (MC), later changed to Force Mobile Command (FMC) in 1975 when tactical air units were assigned to newly-created Air Command. The name was changed from FMC to Land Force Command in a 1997 reorganization of the Canadian Forces.

Contents

History

Army bases and training centres

Regiments

Armoured

Artillery

Combat Engineers

Infantry

Structure

Equipment

Vehicles

Weapons

Rank structure

Battles involving the Canadian army

External links

Publications

Notes

References

See also

History

Main articles: History of the Canadian Army

Following unification of the three armed services in 1968, Mobile Command became in effect the "Canadian Army" though the term "army" did not find favour until the 1980s when it became once again unofficially used to refer to Canada's land forces, both Regular and Reserve. The early organization of Mobile Command included tactical ground attack fixed and rotary wing aircraft, in addition to ground forces, and was akin to the integrated warfare approach of the United States Marine Corps. In a 1975 reorganization of the Canadian Forces, Air Command was created and all air assets were reassigned to that organization. Mobile Command was renamed Force Mobile Command and became an exclusive ground force. In 1997, Force Mobile Command was officially redesignated Land Force Command of the Canadian Forces.

Army bases and training centres

★ CFB Edmonton, Alberta (1 CMBG, CTR Wainwright)

★ CFB Suffield, Alberta

★ CFB-TC Shilo, Manitoba

★ LFWA TC Wainwright, Alberta

★ CFB Kingston, Ontario

★ CFB Petawawa, Ontario (2 CMBG)

★ LFCATC Meaford, Ontario

★ CFB Montreal, Quebec

★ CFB Valcartier, Quebec (5 CMBG)

★ CFB Gagetown, New Brunswick (CTC)

★ LFAATC Det Aldershot, Kentville Nova Scotia

★ CFB Trenton, Ontario, Canadian Forces Land Advanced Warfare Centre (formerly CPC)

Regiments

Canadian infantry and armoured regimental traditions are strongly rooted in the traditions and history of the British Army. Many regiments were patterned after regiments of the British Army, and a system of official "alliances", or affiliations, was created to perpetuate a sense of shared history. Other regiments developed independently, resulting in a mixture of both colourful and historically familiar names. Other traditions such as Battle Honours and Colours have been maintained by Canadian regiments as well. Approximately two thirds of the Regular Force is comprised of anglophone units, while one third is francophone.

Armoured

Regular Force units include:

★ The Royal Canadian Dragoons

★ Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians)

★ 12^e Régiment blindé du Canada

Artillery

Canada's regular field artillery has traditionally been called the Royal Canadian Horse Artillery. Canada currently has four Regular Force regiments:

★ 1st Regiment, Royal Canadian Horse Artillery

★ 2nd Regiment, Royal Canadian Horse Artillery

★ 5^e Régiment d'artillerie légère du Canada

★ 4th Air Defence Regiment, Royal Canadian Artillery

Combat Engineers

★ 1 Combat Engineer Regiment

★ 2 Combat Engineer Regiment

★ 4 Engineer Support Regiment

★ 5e Régiment du génie de combat

Infantry

Regular Force infantry regiments and battalions of the Canadian Army are:

★ 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Battalions, The Royal Canadian Regiment

★ 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Battalions, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry

★ 1^er, 2^e, et 3^e Bataillons, Royal 22^e Régiment

Structure

Main articles: Structure of the Canadian Forces Land Force Command

Equipment

Vehicles

[1]

Builder	Model	Type	Number	Dates	Details
Mercedes-Benz	G-Wagen 4 × 4	light utility vehicle	1,159	2004-	replaced the Iltis light trucks in Afghanistan
BAE Systems Land Systems /	Mamba/Nyala	landmine-resistant 4×4 armoured personnel carrier	75	2006
General Motors Corporation/Bombardier /	MLVW	medium logistic vehicle, wheeled	2,769	1982	based on M35/M36 series trucks
Western Star	LSVW	light support vehicle, wheeled	2,879	1993-1997	based on Iveco model 40.10
Urban Transportation Development Corporation	HLVW	heavy lift vehicle	1,212	1992	based on Austrian Steyr Percheron truck chassis
ZENON Environmental Inc	ROWPU	reverse-osmosis water purification unit	N/A	1990s
General Dynamics Canada/General Motors Diesel Division	Cougar AVGP	6 × 6 armoured vehicle (general purpose)	100	1976	Armoured fire support variant armed with 76-mm gun; being retired from reserve units and replaced with G-Wagon
General Dynamics Canada/General Motors Diesel Division	Grizzly AVGP	armoured personnel carrier	274	1976	Life-extended & relegated to support roles after 2000; 100 loaned to African Union troops in Sudan.
General Dynamics Canada/General Motors Diesel Division	Husky AVGP	armoured recovery	27	1976	5 loaned to African Union troops in Sudan.
FMC Corp.	Lynx reconnaissance vehicle	armoured reconnaissance	174	1968–early 1990s	replaced by Coyote Reconnaissance Vehicle
General Dynamics Canada/General Motors Diesel Division /	Coyote Reconnaissance Vehicle (8×8)	armoured reconnaissance	203	1996
General Dynamics Canada/General Motors Diesel Division /	Bison (8×8)	armoured personnel carrier	199	1990	TRILS (Tactical Radar Identification and Location System) uses Bison chassis
FMC Corp.	M113A3/MTVL	tracked armoured personnel carrier	289	2001-2006	289 of original 1,143 M113's delivered mid-1960s to early 1990s upgraded to A3/MTVL; remainder declared surplus
General Motors Diesel Division /	LAV III	8 × 8 light armoured vehicle	651	1999-	313 LAV Infantry Section Carriers, 181 LAV Command Post variants, 33 LAV TOW Under Armour (TUA) variants (Turret equipped with 2 TOW launchers), 47 LAV Forward Observation Officer (FOO) variants, 44 LAV Engineer variants, 33 Multi-Mission Effects Vehicle (MMEV)
Oerlikon Contraves	ADATS	air-defence, antitank system	34	1989
Krauss-Maffei/MaK	Leopard C2	main battle tank	66	1978–	114 Leopard C1 tanks were upgraded to Leopard C2 in 2000–2001.
Krauss-Maffei/MaK	Leopard 2A6M	main battle tank	(40)	2007–	A squadron of 20 Leopard 2A6M tanks "for deployed operations" were borrowed from the German Bundeswehr for use in Afghanistan for interim use (starting August 2007)[1] until they are replaced by 40 to be purchased from the Netherlands.[2]
Krauss-Maffei/MaK	Leopard 2A4	main battle tank	(40)	2007–	40 Leopard 2A4 tanks "for collective and individual training" are planned to be purchased from the Netherlands in the summer of 2007.2
Krauss-Maffei/MaK	Leopard 2	key support vehicles	(20)	2007–	20 Leopard 2 support variants (armoured recovery vehicles, armoured bridge-laying vehicles and armoured engineering vehicles) are planned to be purchased from the Netherlands in the summer of 2007.2
United Defense Limited Partnership	M109	self-propelled howitzer	76	1960s-1980s	Retired mid-2000s
BAE Systems Land Systems	Bv206	tracked vehicle	78	1983
Bell Helicopter Textron /	CH-146 Griffon	tactical utility helicopter	98	1995-1997
Ford	M151A2	light truck	935	1974-1975	replaced by the Volkswagen Iltis truck in 1984
Krupp	KMK 2025	crane	N/A	N/A
Daewoo	Solar 220LC-III	Track Excavator	N/A	N/A
General Dynamics Canada/General Motors Diesel Division	TRILS	Tactical Radar Identification and Location System	4	1997	based on Bison (8×8)
Bowen_McLaughlin-York	M109A4	Self Propelled Howitzer	76	N/A	all retired
Galion	850 series	Grader	N/A	N/A
AARDVARK	JSFU	Mine clearing system	N/A	N/A

Weapons

★ C9 machine-gun

★ C7A1 rifle/C8A1 carbine/C-7A2 rifle

★ C6 machine-gun

★ Browning .50 calibre heavy machine-gun

★ Browning-HP 9 mm pistol c. 1944

★ Long Range Sniper Weapon (LRSW)

★ C3A1 sniper rifle

★ C13 fragmentation grenade

★ M203A1 grenade launcher

★ TOW anti-tank missile

★ M3 Carl Gustav 84mm SRAAW(M) anti-armour platoon gun

★ M72 anti-tank weapon

★ 81 mm mortar

★ 60 mm mortar

★ ERYX short-range anti-armour weapon (heavy)

★ Javelin short-range air defence missile

★ LG1 Mark II 105 mm towed howitzer

★ M777 lightweight 155mm howitzer

★ Skyguard / 35 mm twin-gun low-level air defence

★ C1 close support howitzer

★ C3 close support howitzer

★ P225, 226 pistol

★ Remington 870 shotgun c. 1950

Rank structure

Main articles: Canadian Forces ranks and insignia

Comparison of ranking structure available at Ranks and insignia of NATO. Not shown are the various appointment badges for specialist positions such as master gunner, drum major, etc. Many ranks are associated with specific appointments; for example a regimental sergeant major is usually a chief warrant officer. The title of master corporal also, technically, refers to an appointment and not a rank. Some ranks may have different names depending on the customary tradition of certain army corps, and may not appear here.

★ 1 Honorary/War time rank.

Battles involving the Canadian army

The Canadian Army has participated in the following campaigns as a combatant:

★ Second Boer War

★ First World War

★
★ Vimy Ridge

★
★ Passchendaele

★
★ Second Battle of Ypres

★
★ Western Front

★
★ Siberian Expedition
Main articles: Military history of Canada during the Second World War


★ Second World War

★
★ Battle of Hong Kong

★
★ Dieppe Raid

★
★ Sicily and Italy

★
★ Battle of Ortona

★
★ Northwest Europe

★
★
★ Juno Beach

★
★
★ Operation Market Garden

★
★
★ Battle of Normandy

★
★
★ Battle of the Scheldt

★
★
★ Rhineland

★
★
★ Battle of Groningen

★ Korean War

★ Gulf War

★ War in Afghanistan (2001–present)

★
★ Operation Apollo

★
★ Operation Mountain Thrust

★
★ Operation Medusa

★
★ Battle of Panjwaii

★
★ Operation Falcon's Summit

External links

★ Canadian Army Website - Official website of the Canadian Army

★ Land Force Command (Defence page)

★ army.ca - Army.ca a web forum and interactive wiki dealing with both current and historical issues related to the Canadian Army.

★ Battle Honours in the Canadian Army by J.R. Grodzinski

★ Battle Honours of the Royal Canadian Armoured Corps

★ Battle Honours of the Royal Canadian Infantry Corps

★ Canadiansoldiers.com

★ Canadian Soldier Training Blog

★ Battle Honours in the Canadian Army

Publications

★ Canadian Military Journal: http://www.journal.forces.gc.ca

★ Canadian Army Journal: http://www.army.forces.gc.ca/caj/

Notes

1. Background — CF Leased & Purchased Leopard 2A6M/2A4 Tanks, at CASR
2. DND backgrounder, Renewing the Canadian Forces' Tank Capability, April 12, 2007

References

★ Faces of War: The Canadian Army at Library and Archives Canada

See also

★ History of the Canadian Army

★ Canadian Forces

★ Regimental nicknames of the Canadian Forces

★ army.ca

★ Intelligence Branch (Canadian Forces)