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Canadian general (1917?2010)
Lieutenant-General
Gilles-Antoine Turcot
CM
CMM
CD
(9 December 1917 ? 15 December 2010) was the
Commander, Mobile Command
of the
Canadian Forces
.
Military career
[
edit
]
Educated at the
Seminaire de Quebec
and
Universite Laval
, Turcot enlisted in the
Canadian Militia
in 1935.
[1]
He served in
World War II
, joining
Royal 22
e
Regiment
, part of the
1st Canadian Division
under Major General
Andrew McNaughton
, in 1939. After training in England for several years and defending the coast, the Regiment was sent in on the
Allied invasion of Sicily
, where Turcot was injured.
[2]
He later fought as a
company commander
in Eastern Italy, notably at the bitterly fought
Battle of Ortona
where his regiment was out-numbered but held off a determined German attack aimed at encircling the 1st Canadian Division. He was promoted to command the Regiment when it was redeployed to fight in the liberation of Holland, liberating several Dutch towns.
[3]
After the war, he attended the
Canadian Army Staff College
and later the
Imperial Defence College
in London. In 1952 he was appointed Director of Military Operations and Planning at
National Defence Headquarters
and in 1957 he was transferred to the International Commission for Supervision and Control of
Laos
.
[1]
Then in 1958 he was put in charge of administration at
Quebec Command Headquarters
in
Montreal
.
[1]
He became Commanding Officer of
1 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group
in
CFB Calgary
in 1959 and Director General of Military Training for the
Canadian Army
in 1962.
[1]
In 1964 he was made
General Officer Commanding
the
Land Force Atlantic Area
and in 1967 was appointed Commander of Allied Command Europe ("ACE") Mobile Force, a multinational NATO flank force based in Seckenheim, Germany. In 1969, he became
Commander, Mobile Command
.
[1]
which included all Canadian Land Forces. He led the military response to the
October Crisis
when the
Front de liberation du Quebec
initiated
kidnappings
in October 1970.
[4]
Subsequent to retirement he led the administration of the Montreal Olympics and later served as Honorary Colonel of the Royal 22
e
Regiment.
[2]
Family
[
edit
]
He married Helen Mitchell and had two daughters.
[1]
References
[
edit
]
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General Officers Commanding
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Chiefs of the General Staff
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Commanders, Mobile Command
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Chiefs of the Land Staff
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Commanders of the Canadian Army
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