4th CAN

Klunk

Klunk

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ok geniuses

I recently aquired a 'gun' of German origin from zee Great War that apparently was captured

carved into the stock is '4th CAN'

Now...Canada only had one division so...what unit would this most likely be???
 
Klunk said:
ok geniuses

I recently aquired a 'gun' of German origin from zee Great War that apparently was captured

carved into the stock is '4th CAN'

Now...Canada only had one division so...what unit would this most likely be???
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Canada fielded 4 divisions during WWI forming the Canadian corps (with a 5th raised and preparing in the UK but never sent to battle). So it is possible it was a 4 Inf Div capture.

Additionally, the numbered Canadian Expeditionary Force infantry battalions were often referred to as X Can Inf (i.e. 4th Can Inf or 4th CEF). So 4th CAN could also be the 4th Canadian Infantry Battalion (Hamilton and Dufferin origin).
 
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Rather than sending in formed units, Canada raised a series of numbered infantry batallions (and accompanying arms) to form the Canadian Expeditionary Force. If it was 4th Bn, CEF, it would have been based on the following units:

12th Regiment (York Rangers)
19th Lincoln Regiment
20th Regiment (Halton Rifles)
35th Regiment (Simcoe Foresters)
36th Peel Regiment
44th Lincoln and Welland Regiment


If it was a 4 Div capture, it could have been acquired by any number of units. A listing of 4 Div's organization is here:

http://www.canadiansoldiers.com/organization/fieldforces/4thdivision.htm
 
canuck said:
Are you going to tell us what "gun" it is we are discussing?
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Typical...guys just wanna see some ####...

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You maybe able to use the German Unit markings to reverse engineer where it may have been captured. You might also consider that it could have become a Canadian trophy in any european/asian conflict post 1917.
 
I think the question is being overthought. I would bet my left testicle any soldier carving would use his regiment, or in the case of WWI, his battalion. It would almost certainly be 4th Bn CEF, and going with the information above you know which units made that up. It's very specific and if you go to visit the Ypres Salient you'll see grave after grave marker 4th Bn, CEF, and those would be the men who captured that gun or others like it. It has a great deal of meaning.
 
rattus said:
I think the question is being overthought. I would bet my left testicle any soldier carving would use his regiment, or in the case of WWI, his battalion. It would almost certainly be 4th Bn CEF, and going with the information above you know which units made that up. It's very specific and if you go to visit the Ypres Salient you'll see grave after grave marker 4th Bn, CEF, and those would be the men who captured that gun or others like it. It has a great deal of meaning.
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I think rattus has it right. Divisional affilitation (and pride) is certainly possible, but most likely, the guys that 'found' this gun probably thought of their unit first. 4th Bn CEF would make the most sense.

If it was the 4th Bn CEF that captured this gun, you may be interested to know that the batallion is perpetuated by the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry (Wentworth Regiment). Their museum or historical section might be able to shed some light. Some additional info here:

http://regimentalrogue.com/cef_perpetuation/cef_infantry_1-50.htm
http://www.cefresearch.com/matrix/A...vision/1st Infantry Brigade/4th Battalion.htm
 
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