THE POWDER HORN
Monthly Newsletter
April 2023
COMMANDING OFFICER’s UPDATE
April 2023 marks the beginning of our new training cycle. This year we will be embarking on a new training program for the Army Reserves called the Soldier Readiness Program. This sets mandatory annual requirements and attendance expectations.
This month, the Regiment welcomed LCol Chris Boileau home from his 6-month tour in Eastern Europe as the Task Force Commander for Operation UNIFIER. This operation directly supports the Ukrainian fight against the Russians through providing equipment and training.
The Regiment’s Hockey Team played in the Annual Sgt. Rick Foldeak Hockey Tournament in Brockville on April 1st and 2nd, and the Ranger Cup in Toronto on April 8th. The hockey team is a great example of how the Regimental Trust supports unit morale and Regimental activities.
On April 22nd and 23rd, the Regiment hosted a very successful Rifles Council. The Command Teams and members of Rifles Regiments across Canada were in attendance. It consisted of Battle Task Skill at Arms events at Winona range, followed by a VIP reception and Mess Dinner at Moss Park. The QOR fielded 5 teams (placing first and third), while the Royal Winnipeg Rifles (placing second) and Royal Regina Rifles fielded one team each.
The challenge was laid by HCol Fraser to hold the event in Quebec City next year on the home turf of Les Voltigeurs de Québec. During this event we initiated our fundraising campaign for the 80th Anniversary of D-Day, with the formal launch taking place on June 6th, 2023 at Casa Loma during the D-Day Dinner. We will also be launching the Normandy Challenge March this year, with the added opportunity to raise funds for the 80th Anniversary pilgrimage.
In Pace Paratus
LCol Scott Moody, CD
Commanding Officer
The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada
The Origin and Evolution of Rifle Regiments (3/4)
Editors note: This is the third article by Capt Anthony Simokovic, CD in a series of four short historical pieces associated with military history and figures of importance to the Regiment.
Figure 1: Riflemen of the 95th engage the French at the Battle of Waterloo, 18 June 1815. “95th Rifles” by Ben Fook.
Not many battles are as fascinating as the Battle of Waterloo. Fought on the 18th of June 1815, it was the culminating event of the Napoleonic Wars marking the end of the reign of Napoleon I, his Grande Armée, and 24 years of global conflict. This calamity was arguably one of the first true “World Wars” with actions in the Americas, Africa and Europe and proxy campaigns in Asia and at sea across the globe.
The battlefield of Waterloo lays 20km south of Brussels and was an incredibly tight space where, at its height, it contained 200 000 soldiers, 60 000 horses and 537 guns in an area measuring approximately 4 km². The area was farmland at the time of the battle, with rye stalks as tall as the soldiers impeding sightlines and movement. To make matters worse for all sides, it rained all night before the battle making the entire field sodden.¹
Due to the battlefield geometry of Waterloo, the Riflemen of Wellington’s Anglo-Allied Army fought mostly as conventional infantry, as opposed to the skirmishers that terrorized the French throughout the Peninsular Campaign. This is not to say that their contribution was in any way lessened; roughly 1300 officers and Riflemen of the 95th fought in the battle, 600 of which became casualties.² Though all three battalions of the 95th fought the entirety of Waterloo, the decisive actions were at La Haye Sainte where they provided overwatch for the Riflemen of the King’s German Legion (KGL) as well as the counterattack by Gen. Adams against the Imperial Guard where they met the Emperor’s elite infantry in the open with swords fixed.
La Haye Sainte (The Sacred Hedge) is an orchard that was located in the centre of the Anglo-Allied line. This was vital for Wellington to hold and conversely for the French; unless they were able to capture the orchard they would be exposed to flanking fires during any assault on Wellington’s line.³ The orchard was defended initially by the 1st and 2ndBattalions of the KGL which were armed with Baker rifles.⁴ Just behind the orchard was a sandpit occupied by 1/95thwho engaged the first French assault on the orchard. The 95th were eventually forced to withdraw when their flanks were threatened by cavalry. Capt. John Kincaid wrote about the initial action:
Our rifles were, however, in a very few seconds, required to play their parts, and opened such a fire on the advancing skirmishers as quickly brought them to a stand still; but their columns advanced steadily through them, although our incessant tiralade was telling in their centre with fearful exactness, and our post was quickly turned in both flanks, which compelled us to fall back and join our comrades, behind the hedge, though not before some of our officers and theirs had been engaged in personal combat.⁵
This episode would continue throughout the day; the French would be repulsed as the KGL held on to La Haye Sainte only withdrawing once all ammunition was expended. The 95th would then reoccupy the sandpit and conduct fighting withdrawals to the hedgerows behind their position several times throughout the course of the action, ultimately withdrawing to a knoll overlooking the position. When the French finally occupied La Haye Sainte, the found the position to be untenable, and accurate rifle fire from 1/95th drove them off from any further incursions.⁶ Thus, the Riflemen of the 95th were instrumental in holding the line of the Anglo-Allied army, denying the French vital ground. If acquired earlier in the battle, this would have assuredly been a turning point, providing a clean break for the French to advance into the centre of Wellington’s line.
As the evening of 18 June began to close on the Battle, Napoleon was realizing that he was rapidly running out of time to break through Wellington’s line before Prussian reinforcements arrived. His final move was the deployment of the Imperial Guard to assault Wellington’s line perched atop a low ridge. Within twenty minutes, the assault by the French infantry failed and Wellington ordered a counter attack. The vanguard of the attack was led by MGen Adam whose 3rdBritish Brigade consisted of the elite light troops of Wellington’s Army, including the 2/95th and 3/95th.⁷ Out of character for a Rifle Regiment, with swords affixed to Baker rifles, companies of 2/95th joined the flank of the 52nd Light Infantry as they led the advance and rapidly got stuck into the melee against the remaining Imperial Guard formations.⁸
The Battle of Waterloo was a by all accounts a slaughter, with total battlefield casualties estimated at 54 000. Major Harry Smith, a Rifleman remarked the day after the battle “At Waterloo the whole field from right to left was a mass of dead bodies. In one spot, to the right La Haie Sainte, the French Curiassiers were literally piled on each other…”⁹ . Yet through the carnage and the destruction wrought by the near constant firing of cannon and shot, the Riflemen of the 95thand those of the KGL proved once more that they were a cut above the rest of the soldiery. Often found in the thick of the fighting, using their initiative to cover a withdrawal, or plugging a hole in a stalling advance, there was no task that the Rifleman with a Baker rifle could not accomplish.
Bibliography
Adkin, Mark (2001) The Waterloo Companion. Aurum Press.
Cornwell, Bernard (2015) Waterloo. HarperCollins.
Haythornthwaite, Philip (2016) British Light Infantry & Rifle Tactics of the Napoleonic Wars (Elite).
Osprey Publishing.
Kincaid, John (1998) Adventures in the Rifle Brigade: In the Peninsula, France and the Netherlands from 1809 to 1815. Sarpedon Publishing.
Simms, Brendan (2015) The Longest Afternoon. Basic Books.
[1] The Waterloo Companion by Mark Adkins p. 121.
[2] Ibid, p. 178.
[3] Ibid p. 138.
[4] The Longest Afternoon by Brendan Simms, p. 23.
[5] Adventures in the Rifle Brigade, by Kincaid ch. 21.
[6] Adkins, p. 378.
[7] Ibid. p. 104.
[8] Haythornwaite, Philip British Light Infantry & Rifle Tactics of the Napoleonic Wars p. 58.
[9] Cornwell, Waterloo p. 322.
QOR of C Regimental Band
You're invited to The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada Regimental Band Spring Concert:
Location
Metropolitan United Church, 56 Queen Street East, Toronto
Date and Time
April 30th, 2023 at 4:00 p.m.
Featuring a selection of works by Sparke, Whitacre, Balmages, Prokofiev, Jacob, and more.
Canadian Airborne Forces Association
WARNING ORDER CAFA AGM 23
The Canadian Airborne Forces Association will hold an Annual General Meeting at CFB Trenton on the 28th, 29th and 30th of April 2023.
A block of rooms has been reserved for CAFA members at the CFB Trenton Yukon Lodge at a reduced rate of $60 per night + Tax. See attached AGM Registration document for details on how to book accommodation at the reduced rate.
Schedule
Friday 28 Apr 23
1500 to 1800
Check In at the Yukon Lodge
1800 to 2200
Meet & Greet at the CFB Trenton Earl of Bessborough Pub
Saturday 29 Apr 23
0830 to 1100
AGM at the CAAWC
1100 to 1130
CAAWC Kit Shop open
1130 to 1830
Free Time
1800 to 2200
AGM Dinner at the Golden Valley Restaurant, 499 Dundas St, Trenton
See attached AGM Registration document for meal details.
Sunday 30 Apr 23
1000 to 1100
Memorial Service held in conjunction with the CAAWC
1100
Disperse to Home Stations
For more information, including how to book accommodations, and the CAFA AGM registration form, please click here.
The QOR Association—Toronto Branch
It was great for the Association to participate and support the Regiment for a BBQ after Exercise Crash Can and the Basic Mountain Operations Course on 26 March 23, with over 100 in attendance. I want to thank fellow Association members - James Atcheson and Padre John Howie. I want to thank the support we had from members of the Regiment to make this such a success. It was impressive to be out there to support the Regiment again.
A warm welcome to new members who attended our Annual QORA (Toronto Branch) AGM on April 15th at RCL 258. It has been a long 3 years since we gathered. It is great to see old and new faces; we hope everyone is keeping safe and well.
The Association has been very active in the past year, with Regimental barbecues, the Soldier’s Holiday Dinner, Regimental functions, Church Parades, Golf Tournaments, and more. There will be more events this year. Another ongoing activity (since March 2020) is the QOR Keep Connected group (via email and zoom), which was primarily put together by member Jerry Senetchko. Presently there are over 68 members.
Elections were conducted at the AGM. Your 2023/2024 Executive will be:
President: Brian Budden;
1st Vice President : Mark Shannon;
2nd Vice President : Dave Lavery;
Membership & Secretary: Ann Ward;
Treasurer: Brenda Butt, and
10 Directors
In Pace Paratus
Brian Budden
President
Health & Welfare Chairman
QORA (Toronto Branch
QOR of C Kit Shop
If you are interested in purchasing QOR of C merchandise, you may do so via our online Kit Shop. We now have the ability to issue invoices and accept payment online. We have several new items in stock, including merchandise from the Airborne Reunion.
Please visit the QOR Kit Shop here.
The success of our museum depends solely on our team of dedicated volunteers and we’re looking to expand that team. We normally meet on Thursday evenings at Casa Loma from 7 pm to 9:30 pm. Our primary need is for cataloguers and we’ll help train you if required. We’re also looking for people with archival experience as we have a LOT of archival materials to process.
You can find more information – and a Volunteer application form – on our museum website. Please visit our YouTube and Flickr page for the latest content.
If you have potential items for our Museum and Archive collection, please read this page and complete the online form, or contact us at museum@qormuseum.org.
Watch and Shoot (Upcoming Events)
April 26
Regimental Birthday
May 6
Celebration of Life for Rifleman Alex Adair (the last surviving QOR D-Day veteran)—Tamworth, Ontario
May 13
Sergeants’ Mess Dinner
June 1-10
Normandy Challenge
June 6
D-Day Dinner—Casa Loma
For more events, please consult the calendar of events.
Trust Fund and Fundraising Update
Since the launch of the 1860 Club, our members have donated over $200,000 to support The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada Trust Fund and various Regimental initiatives. We would like to express our sincere gratitude for your generosity and support. The full list of Founders can be viewed here.
For more information on supporting the Trust Fund, please click here. For any additional questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Online Links
The QOR of C Regimental Association
More information about The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada Association Branches can be found at:
Toronto Branch
https://www.facebook.com/qortorontoassociation
East Coast Branch
https://www.qor-east.com
Calgary Branch
https://www.qorcalgary.com
Vancouver Island Branch
https://www.qorvi.com
The Rifleman Magazine (Annual Journal of the QOR of C)
https://fliphtml5.com/insrc/jjni
The Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada Regimental Museum
https://qormuseum.org/
The Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada Website
https://www.queensownrifles.com/
Kit Shop
https://sites.google.com/view/qorkitshop/
Submissions
To submit comments or content to the The Rifles Report or The Powder Horn, please contact Martin Bunch, 1860 Club Communications Director at editor@1860club.ca