Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians)

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Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians) (LdSH [RC]) is a regular armoured regiment of the Canadian Forces. Currently based in Edmonton, Alberta, the regiment is part of Land Force Western Area's 1 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group. When deployed overseas, however, the regiment is placed in ad hoc formations that report directly to National Defence Headquarters and not to 1 CMBG. Members of the regiment are commonly called Strathconas or Strats as a short form. The regiment is currently composed of a regimental headquarters, three primary squadrons (A,B and D or RECCE, with RECCE bearing the name "Prince of Wales Squadron"), E Company (composed of a company of Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry members trained in an anti-armour role), and Family Support (not a combat unit). In addition, there are seven affiliated cadet corps in Alberta and British Columbia.

Some of the salaried members of the regiment volunteer to form the Mounted Troop, a ceremonial cavalry troop equipped with scarlet tunics, brass helmets, lances, and swords. The regiment has the honour of being the only unit other than the British Household Cavalry, the King's Troop, Royal Horse Artillery, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and Australia's Federation Guard to mount the Queen's Life Guard at Horse Guards in London.

The main vehicles operated by Lord Strathcona's Horse are the Leopard tank and the Coyote Reconnaissance Vehicle, though the regiment may soon be undergoing a transition to a lighter main combat vehicle.

The regimental motto is Perseverance. The current commanding officer is Lieutenant Colonel Fleury and the regimental sergeant major is Chief Warrant Officer Ells. The colonel-in-chief of the regiment is His Royal Highness Charles, Prince of Wales.

1 History
2 Battle honours
3 Victoria Crosses
4 Order of precedence
5 Regimental Museum
6 External links

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History

The regiment was one of the last in the British Empire to be created and raised by a private individual. During the Boer War, Donald Alexander Smith, 1st Baron Strathcona and Mount Royal, recruited and equipped the cavalry regiment at his own expense for service in South Africa. Many skilled horsemen (cowboys and North West Mounted Police members) enlisted, allowing for a short training period and rapid deployment to Africa. The 537 officers and men, as well as 599 horses, of the new regiment sailed from Halifax on 18 March 1900 and arrived in Cape Town on 10 April. Along with The Royal Canadian Dragoons, the regiment won renown for their scouting skills.

Supposedly General Kitchener was astonished at the size of the newly arrived Canadian soldiers. Their commander, Sam Steele, is said to have replied "My apologies, sir. I combed all of Canada and these are the smallest I could find."

After the war, the regiment boarded ship at Cape Town on 20 January 1901 and arrived in London on 14 February. Here they met Lord Strathcona for the first time and were presented their medals by King Edward VII personally. On its return to Canada on 9 March 1901, the Regiment was disbanded. The regiment was recreated as regiment of the Permanent Force in 1909.

In the First World War, the regiment served dismounted during the long static portion of the war, but when the front lines began to move back and forth in 1918, it fought as cavalry again and was one of key units involved in halting Germany's Operation Michael in late March.

One of the many dramatic changes World War 1 introduced into military organization and technology was the introduction of the tank, and in the 1930s the regiment followed suit with the rest of the world's modern militaries and was converted from cavalry to armoured.

Image:Ldshformationpatch.gifDuring the Second World War, the regiment mobilized an armoured regiment for overseas service, which joined the First Canadian Armoured Division (renamed the 5th Canadian Armoured Division). During an inspection in England, King George VI noticed that the divisional patches on the sleeves of the troopers bore the legend "LSH". He remarked to a Strathcona's officer that he had always thought the proper abbreviation of "Lord" was "Ld". The regiment promptly changed its formation patches and have used the correct designation ever since. The regiment fought first in Italy in 1944, and then later in the Netherlands and Germany after the division moved to NW Europe in early 1945.

During the Cold War, the regiment was deployed on several rotations to West Germany, and three squadrons fought in rotation in the Korean War as part of the 1st Commonwealth Division. Originally intended to be equipped with M-10 tank destroyers, the Strathconas in Korea went into action with M4A2E8 Sherman tanks.

Recent deployments include two six-month missions in Bosnia: 1994 with the United Nations and 1997 with NATO. In 2002 the Reconnaissance Squadron fought as part of the Canadian battle group during the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan. The squadron returned to Afghanistan for a six-month rotation in 2004 as part of Canada's ongoing commitment to the International Security Assistance Force.

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