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emblem or field patch |
Canadian Expeditionary
Force Study Group
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Cap Badge Logo |
| Location of War Diaries: |
 | Library and Archives Canada (WD Link) |
| CEFSG War Diary Transcription
(in progress = IP) |
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Background:
Major-General Garnet Hughes and 5th Canadian Division Staff at Witley
For an excellent description of the development
and eventual disbanding of the 5th Canadian Division, please
refer to the text by D. W. Love, entitled "A Call to
Arms", as noted in the references to this section and
others. On page 85 of that works, Love describes the
mobilization of the 5th Division in January 1917, through to its
final breakup in February 1918. Some of the key
components, which have been summarized in list format here, are
as follows:
| The 5th Division initially developed to provide a defence
force in England, with the thought of them forming part of
the anticipated "2nd Canadian Corps" along with
the 6th Division, which would be built on the release of
existing Battalions in a reorganization of the existing
Divisions and the new Battalions now in place in England.
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| Canadian's in this period did not go along with the
British plan to reduce the number of Battalions from 4 to 3,
rather the Canadians wanted to keep the strong and more
powerful Brigades capable of meeting its objectives in the
field. Reinforcements were in high demand due to the
high casualty rate at the Front, and new draftees and
volunteers still needed to be trained and transported to
England.
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| The ultimate decision had to be to break up the 5th
Division for reinforcements, except for the 5th Divisional
Artillery that was sent to France intact. In total
4,800 infantry from the 5th Division, along with their
engineer and machine gun companies, were dispatched to
France to bring the existing units to the new increased
"establishment" levels.
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Sub-Components:
| The initial composition of the 5th
Division, prior to break up is recorded below. The 13th
and 14th Brigades CFA later served as Corps Troops, so you will
find their details under that section in the "5th
Divisional Artillery". The 13th, 14th and
15th Infantry Brigades were broken up to provide Army Corps
reinforcements through Reserve Battalions. The Trench
Mortar Batteries, Engineers and CMGC also served as Corps
reinforcements.
The origins of the Infantry Battalions and their final
destination after being disbanded and absorbed for reserves
detailed on the separate page for the "Original
5th" under the section of "Reorganized
Units". You will also find their war diary
links at this location, as well as in the Summary Table (see
link in footer).
We have not created a separate folder here for each of the
13th and 14th Brigades Canadian Field Artillery, as after the
disbandment of the 5th Division the artillery units were kept
intact and moved to the "Army
Troops" as the "5th
Divisional Artillery". Therefore these
Brigades are detailed at those pages.
| 13th Brigade Canadian Field Artillery (WD
Link)
 | 52nd Field Battery |
| 53rd Field Battery |
| 55th Field Battery |
| 51st Howitzer Battery |
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| 14th Brigade Canadian Field Artillery (WD
Link)
| 60th Field Battery |
| 61st Field Battery |
| 66th Field Battery |
| 58th Howitzer Battery |
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Unlike the Artillery Brigades, the Infantry Brigades were
broken up for reinforcements and thus these brigades ceased to
exist in February 1918. We have kept them here, not as a
record of military history, but for the purpose of researchers
tracking a soldier who may not be aware that their relative was
in the newly formed Canadian Army Corps 5th Division. This
explains why these particular battalions have war diaries on the
Library and Archives Canada site, but most other battalions
broken up for reinforcements do not.
| 13th Canadian Infantry Brigade
| 128th Battalion |
| 134th Battalion |
| 160th Battalion |
| 202nd Battalion |
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| 14th Canadian Infantry Brigade
| 125th Battalion |
| 156th Battalion |
| 161st Battalion |
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| 15th Canadian Infantry Brigade
| 104th Battalion |
| 119th Battalion |
| 185th Battalion |
| 199th Battalion |
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| Divisional Trench Mortar Batteries |
| Canadian Machine Gun Corps
| Nos. 17, 18, 19 Companies |
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| Canadian Engineers
| Nos. 13, 14, 15 Companies |
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War Diary Entries:
Library and Archives Canada Search Link:
see notations above (WD Link)
GrandsonMichael War Diary Post:
5TH
CANADIAN DIVISION
General Staff
1917/01/01-1918/02/28 No Entries !
Administrative Branches of the
staff
1917/01/01-1918/02/28 No Entries !
5th Canadian Division Artillery
- Mechanical Transport Detachment
1918/06/01-1919/04/30 |
Primary References:
| Love, D. W. 1999. "A Call to Arms"
The Organization and Administration of Canada's Military in World
War One. Bunker to Bunker Books, Winnipeg & Calgary,
Canada. (Chapter 1 - Elements of Military Organization) |
Secondary References:
Internet References:
| This Page Last
Updated On: |
Saturday March 08, 2008 05:02:40 PM -0500
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