Units
2nd (Special Service) Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment of
Infantry
The 2nd (Special Service) Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment of
Infantry crosses the Modder River at Paardeberg Drift on 18 February
1900 to begin the assault on the Boer positions down-river to the east
(or right out of the range of the picture).
On 3 October 1899, with war imminent, the British government
suggested that Canada could provide several 125-man units for service in
South Africa. These would be absorbed individually into British
battalions or regiments, thus overcoming the inexperience of the
Canadians. Prime Minister Sir Wilfrid Laurier and the Québec
wing of the Liberal Party were opposed to providing troops but, on the
outbreak of war on 11 October, a wave of enthusiasm in English Canada
forced their hand. After two days of Cabinet deliberations, Canada
offered eight 125-man units, a total of 1,000 men, all volunteers.
Recruiting began on 14 October, with each of the eight units being
raised at different centres across the country in order to obtain
national representation. Each company included a core of professional
troops from the tiny Permanent Force, augmented by volunteers enlisted
for six months' service, which could be extended to 12 months if
necessary.
Meanwhile, the government sought to assure a strong Canadian identity
for the contingent by changing its offer to a single "regiment of
infantry, 1,000 strong." When Great Britain agreed to this arrangement
later in October, it was a straightforward matter to combine the eight
smaller units into a larger formation of 1,019 officers and men, the
2nd (Special Service) Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment of Infantry
(2 RCRI). The name forged a link to the Royal Canadian Regiment of
Infantry (RCRI), the only infantry component of the Permanent Force.
Unlike the regional units of the part-time militia, however, the
RCRI
represented the whole nation, and it could permanently carry the battle
honours from South Africa after
2 RCRI
had completed its tour of duty and disbanded. Members of the Permanent
Force made up about fifteen percent of the total strength of the unit,
and this included the commanding officer,
Lieutenant-Colonel William Dillon
Otter.
When the battalion arrived in South Africa on 29 November 1899,
after an uncomfortable month-long sea voyage, it was still a fighting
unit in name only. Lieutenant-Colonel Otter
estimated that a third of
the battalion was without prior military service, and half the men were
no better than recruits. The battalion was able to train during the two
months it spent on lines-of-communications duties after it arrived in
South Africa. During this period there were a few opportunities to see
action, including the assault on Sunnyside kopje on 1 January 1900, in
which C Company, and the machine gun section, participated alongside
British and Australian troops.
On 12 February 1900, the battalion joined the 19th Brigade to march
and fight in the great British offensive aimed at capturing Pretoria,
the capital of the Transvaal. The Royal Canadians (as
2 RCRI
was often referred to at the time) were soon in action at
Paardeberg Drift, suffering heavy
casualties on 18 February, and mounting the famous attack that led to
the surrender of General Cronje's Boer forces on the 27th. Paardeberg
was the first major British victory of the war.
After Paardeberg the battalion fought in the British advance on the
Boer capitals of Bloemfontein and Pretoria, gaining in experience and
reputation all the while. By the time
2 RCRI
marched past Lord Roberts in Pretoria on 5 June 1900, it was considered
by many observers as good as any battalion in the British Army.
Unfortunately, Canadian arrangements to replace losses from battle and
disease were totally inadequate and by this time the battalion was at
less than half strength. With the Transvaal capital in British hands,
and the war seemingly won, the
RCRI took
up lines-of-communications duties once again. The unit spent the rest of
its tour of operations on this assignment, except for an interlude spent
with a column of infantry chasing mounted Boer forces.
The 2nd Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment of Infantry had set a very
high standard for the Canadian units that followed it on active service
in the South African War.