Канада армиясының бронеттанқ полкі: Лорд Страткона атты әскері

Armoured regiment of the Canadian Army

Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians) (LdSH[RC]) is a regular armoured regiment of the Canadian Army and is Canada’s only tank regiment. Currently based in Edmonton, Alberta, the regiment is part of 3rd Canadian Division's 1 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group. Members of the regiment are commonly called Strathconas or Strats as a short form. It was one of the last regiments in the British Empire to be created and raised by a private individual, Donald Alexander Smith, 1st Baron Strathcona and Mount Royal. 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 name "Strathcona's Horse" was revived in 1909 when the Royal Canadian Mounted Rifles (which had been created in the Permanent Force in 1901) was renamed "Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians)". The word Lord was prepended to the regimental title in 1911.

The regiment was placed on active service at the start of the Great War on 6 August 1914 for instructional and camp administration duties. On 14 September 1914 the regiment mobilized Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians), CEF, which embarked for England on 3 October 1914. On 5 May 1915 it disembarked in France, where it fought dismounted in an infantry role with Seeley's Detachment (really the Canadian Cavalry Brigade, part of the 2nd Indian Cavalry Division), 1st Canadian Division. On 27 January 1916, the regiment remounted and resumed its cavalry role as part of the 1st Canadian Cavalry Brigade, with whom it continued to fight in France and Flanders until the end of the war. The overseas regiment disbanded on 6 November 1920. On 31 March 1918, in what is known as "the last great cavalry charge" at the Battle of Moreuil Wood, Lieutenant Gordon Flowerdew was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross for leading the charge in a successful engagement with entrenched German forces. Nearly three quarters of the Canadian cavalry involved in the attack against German machine gun positions were killed or wounded. Unable to break the trench deadlock and of little use at the front, cavalry remained behind the lines for much of the war. During the German offensives of March and April 1918, however, the cavalry played an essential role in the open warfare that temporarily confronted the retreating British forces.

On 24 May 1940, Regimental Headquarters and one squadron were mobilized together with the Regimental Headquarters and one squadron of The Royal Canadian Dragoons to form the 1st Canadian Motorcycle Regiment, CASF (RCD/LSH(RC)). It was redesignated as Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians), CASF, on 21 September 1940; as the 2nd Armoured Regiment (Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians)), CASF, on 11 February 1941; as the 2nd Armoured Regiment (Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians)), CAC, CASF, on 15 October 1943; and as the 2nd Armoured Regiment (Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians)), RCAC, CASF, on 2 August 1945. The regiment embarked for Britain on 13 November 1941 and landed in Italy on 8 November 1943, where it fought as part of the 5th Armoured Brigade, 5th Canadian Armoured Division. On 16 February 1945 the regiment moved with the I Canadian Corps to North West Europe as part of Operation Goldflake, where it fought until the end of the war. During the Second World War, the regiment mobilised 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. One of the many dramatic changes World War I introduced into military organisation and technology was the introduction of the tank, however, Canada would persist with horse cavalry until the Summer of 1940. The regiment did have a Ford and a Chevrolet armoured car, representing 50% of Canada's entire armoured strength at the start of the Second World War. In July 1940, LdSH(RC) along with The Royal Canadian Dragoons, were mobilized as the 1st Canadian Motorcycle Regiment. Later that year, the Strathcona's became 2nd Armoured Regiment, Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians). The Regiment trained in England for two years with Canadian built Ram tanks and saw its first action in an armoured role in Italy. One of the regiment's most noteworthy battles in Italy was the Melfa River Crossing. During this desperate battle the Strathcona RHQ reconnaissance troop established a bridgehead in conjunction with "A" Company, The Westminster Regiment (Motor) on the Melfa River and held it against determined German tank and infantry attacks until reinforcements could arrive. The action resulted in a Victoria Cross being awarded to the OC "A" Company, Major Jack Mahony and forged a long standing association between the two regiments. Two members of 56 Reconnaissance Squadron died: Lieutenant Charles C. Van Straubenzee on 10 May 1957 and Trooper George E. McDavid on 29 Nov 1957. Other squadrons of the regiment served there and in Cyprus. Trooper Reginald J. Wiley died on UN duty in the Sinai on 7 September 1961. The Strathconas' last deployment to Cyprus took place from August 1988 to March 1989. The regiment served two tours of duty in Germany as part of Canada's contribution to NATO, equipped with Centurion tanks. During the 1990s, the regiment deployed to the Former Republic of Yugoslavia twice as part of the United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR) and once as part of NATO's Stabilization Force in Bosnia and Herzegovina (SFOR), largely equipped with the AVGP Cougar armoured car. Other deployments include two six month missions in Bosnia: 1994 with the United Nations and 1997 with NATO. The Strathconas contributed several tank squadrons as well as reconnaissance personnel to the various Canadian task forces that served in Afghanistan from 2002 to 2014. Trooper Michael Yuki Hayakaze was killed in action in Afghanistan on 2 March 2008. In 2002 the Reconnaissance Squadron participated as part of the Canadian battle group during the U. S. led invasion of Afghanistan. The squadron returned to Kabul, Afghanistan for a six month rotation in 2004 as part of Canada's ongoing commitment to the International Security Assistance Force. Since September 2006, various squadrons of Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians) served continuously in Afghanistan, forming the basis of every tank squadron to serve as part of Task Force Kandahar. In 2000, to commemorate the centenary of its original foundation, a mounted detachment of eighteen members from Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians) was invited to London, where, in ceremonial full dress, they mounted the Queen's Life Guard at the Horse Guards on seven days between 8 and 23 September. This was a very great honour, as they were the first overseas unit to mount the Queen's Life Guard at the Horse Guards. Freedom of the city was exercised by Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians) in St. Albert, Alberta, on June 11, 2011. This was followed by the Freedom of the City being offered by Strathcona County in Sherwood Park, Alberta, on August 24, 2013.

In the list below, battle honours in capitals were awarded for participation in large operations and campaigns, while those in lowercase indicate honours granted for more specific battles. Those battle honours in bold type are emblazoned on the regimental guidon.

One of the predecessors of the pipe band was the regimental brass and reed military band consisting of approximately 50 to 70 professional musicians during its 12 year existence from 1956 to 1968. The band was one of seventeen joint service bands to take part in the 1967 Canadian Armed Forces Tattoo celebrating the Canadian Centennial of that year. Allan Rae, a Canadian composer who was known most notably for being a former board member of the Canadian League of Composers, was a member of the band in the 70s. Derek Stannard, who later became the director of the Central Band of the Canadian Armed Forces, also was a member of this band. In the wake of its disbandment, a voluntary drum and bugle corps was established by Warrant Officer Mucker Langan in 1971, whose volunteers primary duties were with the regiment's Assault Troop. Both of these bands performed in the regimental full dress uniform, all of which were transferred to the Ceremonial Mounted Troop in 1974.