History

Soon after 3rd Canadian Tank Brigade assumed the designation in summer 1943 of the original 2nd Canadian Tank Brigade, the new 2nd Tank was redesignated and reorganized as 2nd Canadian Armoured Brigade. Although reorganized as an armoured brigade, no motor battalion served under its command. The brigade was assigned to the British 2nd Army in January 1944 to train for the upcoming amphibious assault in Normandy

Normandy

Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...

.

This formation rarely fought as an entity. Its primary role was infantry support and thus its regiments were usually individually tasked out to infantry units to participate in particular operations. One of the occasions when the Brigade did undertake an operation on its own, Le Mesnil-Patry

Le Mesnil-Patry

-References:*...

 / Rots on 11 June 1944, ended with only a partial success and severe losses to the Canadians. .

Following the landing in Normandy, the brigade fought at Caen

Caen

Caen is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the Calvados department and the capital of the Basse-Normandie region. It is located inland from the English Channel....

, advanced across France and Belgium, and took part in operations in the Netherlands and Germany while supporting operations of the Canadian 1st Army and the British 2nd Army.

Formation

• 6th Armoured Regiment (1st Hussars)
• 10th Armoured Regiment (The Fort Garry Horse)
• 27th Armoured Regiment (The Sherbrooke Fusiliers Regiment)
• "C" Squadron, 25th Armoured Delivery Regiment (The Elgin Regiment)

Formed as the 2nd Canadian Army Tank Brigade on 26 January 1942, this formation consisted of the 24th Army Tank Battalion (Les Voltigeurs de Québec) (replaced in June 1942 by the 20th Army Tank Regiment (16/22 Saskatchewan Horse))), 23rd Army Tank Battalion (The Halifax Rifles), and the 26th Army Tank Battalion (The Grey and Simcoe Foresters). Equipped with Ram II tank

Ram tank

The Tank Cruiser, Ram was a cruiser tank designed and built by Canada in the Second World War, based on the U.S. M3 Medium tank. Due to the entrance of the United States into the war and the superior design of the American Sherman, it was used exclusively for training purposes and was never used in...

s, in the autumn of 1942 the brigade trained at the newly opened Meaford AFV range on Georgian Bay

Georgian Bay

Georgian Bay is a large bay of Lake Huron, located entirely within Ontario, Canada...

 where the Halifax Rifles had the honour of conducting the first field exercise.

United Kingdom

In June 1943 the brigade was dispatched to the United Kingdom. The following month came an intensive inspection of the units of this brigade and of the 3rd Canadian Army Tank Brigade by Lieutenant-General Harry Crerar, the commander of I Canadian Corps

I Canadian Corps

I Canadian Corps was one of the two corps fielded by the Canadian Army during World War II. From December 24, 1940 until the formation of the First Canadian Army in April 1942, there was a single unnumbered Canadian Corps...

. The purpose of the inspection was to determine which of the two brigades would remain on the order of battle since there was only room for one such formation. The brigade chosen was the 3rd: The 1st Hussars

1st Hussars

The 1st Hussars is an armoured Primary Reserve regiment of the Canadian Forces, currently based in London, Ontario and Sarnia, Ontario.-Foundation and organisation:...

, The Fort Garry Horse

The Fort Garry Horse

The Fort Garry Horse is a Canadian Army Reserve Armoured Regiment based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. It is currently part of Land Force Western Area's 38 Canadian Brigade Group.- History :...

, and The Sherbrooke Fusiliers Regiment.

The 3rd Canadian Army Tank Brigade was raised on 1 January 1943 following a reorganization of the Canadian Armoured Corps in Britain. It adopted the designation 2nd Canadian Armoured Brigade (2 CAB) after it was selected by Lieutenant-General Crerar to remain on the order of battle. In August 1943 it was selected to be part of the D-Day invasion force in support of the units of the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division

3rd Canadian Infantry Division

The Canadian 3rd Infantry Division was an infantry division of the Canadian Army from 1940 to c.1945.- History :The formation of the division was authorized on 17 May 1940...

.

D-Day

The brigade's three regiments landed in Normandy

Normandy

Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...

 on D-Day

Operation Overlord

Operation Overlord was the code name for the Battle of Normandy, the operation that launched the invasion of German-occupied western Europe during World War II by Allied forces. The operation commenced on 6 June 1944 with the Normandy landings...

. Unlike their peers in the 4th Canadian Armoured Brigade

4th Canadian Armoured Brigade

As of 1942 the 4th Canadian Armoured Brigade comprised:* 21st Armoured Regiment * 22nd Armoured Regiment * 28th Armoured Regiment...

, who were usually paired with their division's 10th Canadian Infantry Brigade, the 2nd was paired with any infantry who were in need of armour support.

This formation rarely fought as an entity. Its primary role was infantry support and thus its regiments were usually individually tasked out to infantry units to participate in particular operations. One of the occasions when the Brigade did undertake an operation on its own, Le Mesnil-Patry

Le Mesnil-Patry

-References:*...

 / Rots on 11 June 1944, ended with only a partial success and severe losses to the Canadians. 2 CAB fought in the North West Europe Campaign

North West Europe Campaign

The North West Europe Campaign was the name given by the British and Commonwealth armed forces to the two land campaigns they fought on the Western Front during World War II....

longer than any other armoured formation, from D-Day to VE Day, suffering 435 fatal casualties in total.