The 23rd Field Regiment (SP), RCA, was part of the 4th Canadian Armoured Division of the II Canadian Corps, of the First Canadian Army in World War II. Formed in Canada in 1942, the regiment consisted of three batteries that were recruited mainly from Ontario. After a period of training in Canada the unit deployed to the United Kingdom in July 1943. The month after D-Day, the regiment landed in France and subsequently participated in the breakout campaign from Normandy into Belgium and the Netherlands, before seeing their final actions of the war in Germany.

Formation and sub-units

The 23rd Field Regiment (SP) was part of the Royal Canadian Artillery (RCA) and an order was issued in April 1942 to mobilize an HQ Battery and three separate gun batteries. From May to July 1942, the three batteries formed up at the Canadian Artillery Training Centre A2 (CATC A2) in Petawawa, Ontario. The (SP) in the regiment's name denotes that it was a self-propelled artillery regiment. The regiment trained in Canada from May 1942 to July 1943 and in England from July 1943 to July 1944, then went into action in France on 26 July 1944, seven weeks after D-Day. The regiment participated in the breakout campaign, on the "Green Up – Maple Leaf Up" route from Normandy, France, into Belgium and the Netherlands, and they ended action in Germany. The three batteries that made up the 23rd Field Regiment were:

Activities in the Second World War

Training in Canada and the United Kingdom

Action in France

Note: Locations shown in the map are highlighted in bold in the following section.

Action in Belgium

Action in Netherlands

Action in Germany and the Netherlands

War's end and after

Battle casualties

The regiment suffered the following casualties:

Honours and awards

The following honours and awards were bestowed upon members of the regiment during the war:

Commanding officers

The following officers commanded the 23rd Field Regiment during the war:

Citations