[1][2] The 5th Battalion was authorized on 10 August 1914 and embarked for Great Britain on 29 September 1914.

It entered the theatre of operations in France on 14 February 1915, where it fought as part of the 2nd Canadian Infantry Brigade, 1st Canadian Division in France and Flanders until the end of the war.

[3] The 5th Battalion recruited in Brandon, Manitoba; Saskatoon, Regina and Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan; Red Deer, Alberta and Merritt and Vernon, British Columbia and was mobilized at Camp Valcartier, Quebec.

[4] The battalion fought in the attack on Vimy Ridge with 14 officers and 350 other ranks killed or wounded.

Raphael Louis Zengel of the 5th Battalion was awarded the Victoria Cross for his action on 9 August 1918 at Warvillers, France.