It is a high-readiness unit, able to move on very short notice, and is staffed and equipped to meet Canada's military objectives to counter any potential threat.

[1] During its service in the First World War, the division fought at Ypres, Festubert, the Somme, Vimy Ridge, Passchendaele and Amiens among other notable battles on the Western Front.

While the four divisions (2nd to 5th) of the Canadian Army are responsible for command of units within their respective geographic regions, the 1st Canadian Division Headquarters was formed to serve as a task-tailored, deployable joint headquarters at high readiness to command and control joint, inter-agency, multinational forces to achieve national objectives at home and abroad.

The First Contingent of the Canadian Expeditionary Force was raised in August 1914, shortly after the outbreak of the Great War, concentrated at Valcartier Camp in Quebec, and set off for England in the largest trans-Atlantic convoy to date two months later.

Training and reorganization commenced upon arrival in the United Kingdom in October 1914, and it was not until 26 January 1915 that the division was officially organized, under the command of Lieutenant-General Edwin Alderson, a British Army officer.

The division consisted originally of a cavalry squadron, cyclist company, four infantry brigades, three artillery brigades (equivalent in terms of numbers to the regiments used in the Second World War and after) armed with 18-pounders, and divisional engineers, with supporting troops of the Canadian Army Service Corps and Canadian Army Medical Corps.

The Canadians withstood German attack — aided, for the first time on the Western Front, by the use of poison gas — and finally retired to secondary positions on 26 April, where they held on until 4 May.

Active operations resumed again in the spring of 1916, participating in the Battle of Mount Sorrel, and then restoring the situation at Sanctuary Wood.

The insignia was also painted on steel trench helmets, and adorned with geometric shapes of different colours to further identify the soldier's specific battery, brigade, battalion or other subunit.

Massive German offensives came in the spring of 1918, but the Canadian Corps—now considered crack assault troops—were held in reserve for the inevitable counter-offensives.

The division, under the command of Major General Andrew McNaughton, left Halifax from Pier 21 in two heavily escorted convoys.

[2] In 1941, the formation adopted the red rectangular battle patch insignia worn by the 1st Canadian Division in the Great War.

All elements of the division were far from completely equipped on mobilization: of the artillery and machine guns on hand, most were obsolete, and the troops lacked steel helmets.

Members of the RCR were present in France at least until 16 June, after the French capital of Paris had fallen to German forces, and returned almost immediately after.

The division transferred to the Mediterranean theatre in June 1943 where the division, now under the command of Major General Guy Simonds after Major General Harry Salmon (who had taken command in September 1942) was killed in an air crash, took part in Operation Husky, code name for the Allied assault landing on Sicily on 10 July 1943, which ended after just 28 days.

The division, now under Major General Chris Vokes, supported by tanks of the 1st Canadian Armoured Brigade, took part in the Battle of Ortona, fighting against German Fallschirmjäger–crack air force paratroops of the 1st Parachute Division–over Christmas 1943.

The division then went on to break out of the Eighth Army's bridgehead with the second wave in the spring offensive, Operation Diadem, the Fourth Battle of Monte Cassino.

The 4th Princess Louise Dragoon Guards, the reconnaissance (or 'recce') regiment serving with the 1st Canadian Division, was the first of the Eighth Army's units to cross the Hitler Line in May 1944, below Pontecorvo in its armoured cars.

They were Captain Paul Triquet of the Royal 22e Régiment, Major John Keefer Mahony of The Westminster Regiment and Private Ernest "Smoky" Smith of the Seaforth Highlanders of Canada.

His Division contained the 1st Canadian Infantry Brigade, stationed in Germany, the 2nd at Edmonton and the 3rd at Valcartier, with normal supporting arms and services.

The life of this division was short as on 5 December 1957, the Minister of National Defence announced in the House of Commons that the divisional headquarters would be reduced to nil strength.

[citation needed] Shortly thereafter, General Rockingham was transferred to Quebec Command and on 30 April 1958, the Headquarters of 1st Canadian Infantry Division was disbanded.

In 1988, a new era for the division began when the Government of Canada announced the intention to consolidate its military commitments to Europe in the Central Region.

As it became obvious that the Soviet threat was disappearing in the early 1990s, the future options for Canadian forces in Europe were increasingly debated.

Subsequently, the successful December 1992 deployment of the Division Headquarters to Somalia in this role validated the need for this capability in the Army.

The Division HQ would train formation HQs, plan for contingencies and command assigned forces in crisis situations.

1st Cdn Div HQ officially was stood up on 7 October 2010 at Kingston, with Defence Minister Peter MacKay acting as the reviewing officer.