Le Régiment de la Chaudière
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In common with the majority of Francophone units in Quebec, the Régiment de la Chaudière has its origins in the Canadian Militia during the French Regime. In fact, in 1736, Lord Taschereau, whose land was situated along the banks of the Chaudière River, formed the first organized military unit in that region. It was this local militia which ultimately evolved into what is known today as the Régiment de la Chaudière.
During that era, it was common practice for each landowner to assume responsibility for the defence of his land. Lord Taschereau was no exception. His military organization was rudimentary; it was composed of the locals who lived in and around the Seignory. After countless hours of hard labour in the fields and woods, these men would gather in the evening to practise weapons handling in order to defend themselves against potential enemies, such as certain tribes of the indigenous populations and/or the British. It is reported that Charles-Antoine Taschereau served under Montcalm in 1758 and Gabriel-Elzéar Taschereau fought against Wolfe in 1759. Many men of the Seignory fought with the French troops who were serving in the Canadian colony. Very few Canadian soldiers are mentioned in the history books before 1760, but it should be noted that most of the French who came to New France did not come as warriors or conquerors, but rather as colonists and farmers. However, from those days down to our own time, whenever their country needed them, these proud men answered the call to arms.
When the fleur-de-lys flag “folded its wings and returned across the sea,” there was still a need for the arms of those who had suffered the glorious defeat at Quebec City and gained the victories at Ste-Foy and elsewhere. The seignorial system was to survive for many years under British rule.
During the American invasion of 1775, Gabriel-Elzéar Taschereau was appointed Colonel of his militia battalion by Governor Carleton, a position that he held until his death in 1809. The population of the Seignory fired on Arnold's troops going down the Chaudière River in 1775; alas, to no avail. Taschereau Manor was ultimately looted by American soldiers. In 1812, Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas-Pierre-Joseph Taschereau was commanding the district of Quebec’s 4th Battalion, and he continued to command his unit throughout the 1812-1813 campaign.
As a result of the implementation of the First Militia Act, the provisional Dorchester Battalion and the provisional Beauce Battalion were created on 9 April 1869: this constitutes the legal birth of the Régiment de la Chaudière. In 1871, the provisional Dorchester Battalion became the 92nd Dorchester Battalion, and the Provisional Battalion of Beauce became the 23rd (Beauce) Battalion of Infantry. In 1900, the 23rd Battalion was amalgamated with the 92nd to form one battalion, and the resulting unit, after changing its name several times, finally became the Régiment de la Chaudière.
During the First World War, the 92nd (Dorchester) Battalion provided reinforcements on an individual basis in the form of young officers and men to the 12th, 41st, 69th, 169th and 171st Battalions of the Canadian Expeditionary Force. Although the 92nd Battalion never actually fought as a unit, it performed its duty by providing the troops necessary to reinforce those units which contributed to the overall victory. In 1921, the Regiment took the name of the Régiment de Beauce, and in 1932 the name changed again to the Régiment de Dorchester et Beauce. The 92nd Battalion finally took the name of the Régiment de la Chaudière (mitrailleuses), meaning “machine gun” in English) in 1936 after being merged with the 5th Machine Gun Battalion.
During the years 1937 to 1939, the unit ranked first out of 87 regiments in marksmanship and communication skills. As well, in 1939, the Regiment was ranked sixth among all the Canadian militia units in overall military efficiency. It is not surprising that in 1939, when certain militia units were called to active service, the Régiment de la Chaudière (Machine Gun), a rural unit that was consistently ranked among the best, was chosen to serve its country at war.
The Régiment de la Chaudière (Machine Gun) was mobilized on 1 September 1939 and its headquarters was established at Lake Mégantic. The Regiment spent the winter in the Immigration Buildings at the Louise Basin (Quebec City) and the Citadel. It moved to the camp at Valcartier in spring 1940. On 24 May 1940 it was re-designated “Régiment de la Chaudière” and became an infantry unit (Rifle). In the Fall, the Regiment left for Sussex camp (New Brunswick), where it became part of 8 Brigade until shipping out for the United Kingdom on 21 July 1941. During its time in Britain, the Battalion took all phases of the training required for the Normandy landings. It was stationed in southern England and in Scotland and took part in all the major manœuvres of the Canadian Army and in many British Army manœuvres. The Regiment was always noted for its endurance, resourcefulness and esprit de corps. In the meantime, the Battalion was sent to Inveraray in the north of Scotland, where it underwent extremely rigorous training. Then came the immediate preparations for D‑Day, the beginning of the final victory, the invasion that landed on the coast of Normandy in the early morning of 6 June 1944.
On 1 June 1944, the first troops of the Régiment de la Chaudière embarked at Southampton to join the invasion fleet that would destroy “Hitler’s Fortress.” On 6 June 1944, the Régiment de la Chaudière landed on the beaches of Bernières sur Mer and started its victorious march across France, continuing across Germany, encountering an enemy that begged for mercy. As a result, it can today claim the honour of having taken part in the largest military operation in history, an honour it shares with no other Quebec unit.
By the evening of D-Day, the Regiment had achieved all its objectives, and it is no exaggeration to say that it was the only unit in the beachhead of the invasion forces to succeed in doing so. Losses had been serious, but fewer than predicted, and the sacrifice of those who fell, while crowning their courage, enabled their comrades to continue the job. In the days that followed, the Regiment would pause only to reform, replenish its ranks and prepare for new victories. Colomby-sur-Thaon, Rots, Carpiquet, Les Jumeaux, Colombelles, Vaucelle: names that evoke in all veterans hours of danger and sacrifice and days of glory. On 31 July, after 55 days in the line, the Regiment was given some rest at Basly, a village it had liberated on 6 June.
This was the drive across France and the pursuit of a fleeing enemy, followed by Mandeville, Rouvres and the defeat of German forces in France. On 17 September, the Regiment laid siege to Boulogne, which fell on the 22nd. On the 25th, it was the turn of Cap-Blanc-Nez to be visited by the boys from the Chaudière, and Calais welcomed them the same day. Then came the Scheldt campaign, which kept them busy throughout October. During the months of November to January, the Regiment held defensive positions at Nijmegen, Kapel, Beck, Driehuizen, Groesbeek, Wyler and Althorst. This was a period of waiting, of cold, and at times poignant calm. There were patrols on all sides, keeping watch. The troops trained for the final onslaught.
The Battle of Leuth was fought on 8 January 1945, in an area that had been flooded by the enemy; on the 26th, after fierce fighting which took a heavy toll, Hollen fell into our hands. March also saw fighting that constituted days of glory for the unit: one need only remember the names of the Hochwald Forest, Emmerich, Hoch and Elten. During the final month of fighting, the Régiment de la Chaudière was engaged in several noteworthy battles, the outcome of which was the destruction of the last German resistance. The unit cleaned up northern Holland (Zutphen, Zwolle, Sneek, Lemmer, Bunde) and pushed into Germany as far as Grossefehn, towards Aurich with the intention of attacking Emden from the rear. The Regiment covered itself in glory at all these places.
“Jerry” at this point had had enough and decided to surrender unconditionally. The “Chauds” fought from D-Day to VE Day. They were happy to have helped defeat the nation that had made the world tremble and had intended to dominate it, and the boys of the Chaudière, after covering themselves with glory, continued the job with their 3rd Battalion and became part of the army of occupation. The numerous battles in which it took part from June 1944 to the final victory in May 1945 earned it the respect of Allied and German troops alike. In the eyes of many observers, the “Chauds” as they were familiarly called, were some of the world's finest soldiers. History records that, once hostilities had ended, Canada participated in the occupation of Germany. The Régiment de la Chaudière can thus claim the honour of having been the only unit raised in Quebec to participate in this important mission. It then played a leading role in the Emden-Wilhelmshaven peninsula on the North Sea coast.
While the 1st Battalion was fighting in Europe, a second Reserve battalion had been formed and was preparing on the sidelines for the reinforcement’s return and reorganization of the 1st Battalion. The 1st Battalion returned to Canada on 30 December 1945; its members were welcomed at Quebec City as conquerors with all the honours due to the Regiment. The Reserve battalion was reorganized and was quartered at Cove Fields until 1949, after which it moved to St-Romuald. In the meantime, the 3rd Battalion returned to Canada in spring 1946, having completed its occupation duties.
The Regiment fell back into peacetime routine, training two or three evenings a week at the headquarters in St-Romuald, and at the company headquarters in St-Georges, St-Joseph, Lac-Mégantic and Plessisville. In September 1954, National Defence Headquarters announced that the Régiment de Lévis would be amalgamated with the Régiment de la Chaudière and that the latter would have its headquarters at the Lévis Armoury, where it remains to this day. Since then, the Regiment has resumed its training and tries with all the means at its disposal to train good soldiers and competent young officers.
On 1 December 1947, Princess Elizabeth became Colonel-in-Chief of the Regiment. On 6 June 1964, a monument was unveiled at Bernières-sur-Mer to mark the 20th anniversary of the landing of the Régiment de la Chaudière in Normandy and in memory of the members of the unit killed in the course of hostilities. The following 22 August, the Regiment received its flags at CFB Valcartier. The Queen's flag and the regimental flag were handed over by His Excellency Paul Comptois, then Lieutenant-Governor of Quebec. The following year, on 6 June 1965, at Lévis, General Ailleret, who was then Chief of Staff of the French Armed Forces, presented to the Regiment the flag of the 41st Infantry Regiment. In May 1967, the museum of the Régiment de la Chaudière was inaugurated, and that same summer the Regiment took part in the festivities surrounding the celebration of the Centennial of Confederation, visiting a dozen communities in the region to perform precision drill and give concerts. Then, in the autumn, the Regiment was visited by its sponsor, Countess Geneviève Hettier de Boislambert. In 1968 the Queen's flag was changed for the Canadian Maple Leaf. On 10 June 1979, the Beauce finally got its armoury. This building, which houses the Regiment’s A Company, was baptised “Caserne Paul-Mathieu” in a ceremony presided over by Lieutenant-General Jean-Jacques Paradis, commanding Mobile Command and assisted by Mrs Mathieu. In November 1981, National Defence Headquarters’ ceremonial division approved the Regiment's request that a mountain of CFB Valcartier be named after Colonel Paul Mathieu.
In June 1983 the regimental history was officially launched at the Lévis Armoury—an imposing 600-page volume, of which we are proud.
Following the proposal by Major Fernand Dion, who took part in the European campaign with the Regiment, a memorial was erected in memory of the 241 officers, NCOs and soldiers who lost their lives so that world peace might be re-established. The memorial, which was unveiled in Beauceville on 3 June 1990, consisted of three separate blocks that are combined into a single granite base. It is cut with angles that are visually superposed. It symbolizes the gaps caused by the sacrifice of their lives, but also the union of remembrance in a single place. It was erected in the region where the Regiment originated and thus also recalls the attachment to the subsequent units, the Beauce and Dorchester Regiments.
In May 1995, the city of Lévis named a park in the city “Régiment de la Chaudière Park,” to mark the 50th anniversary of the Normandy Landings and the 125th anniversary of the Regiment.
In recent years, many members of the Régiment de la Chaudière have taken part and are still involved in United Nations missions in Cyprus, Egypt, the former Yugoslavia and Haiti.
In January 1998, Quebec and Ontario were struck by an ice storm that ranks as one of the greatest natural disasters ever to befall those provinces. To help the population, the Regiment deployed 87 volunteer members in the Eastern Townships for over two weeks as part of Opération Récupération.
Proud of the glorious name given to it by those who have had the honour of fighting in its ranks, all the members are united in their desire to perpetuate the name of the RÉGIMENT DE LA CHAUDIÈRE in Canadian history.
