The Canadian Motor Machine Gun Brigade

French-born Raymond Brutinel immigrated to Edmonton in 1904 and made his fortune in Alberta through land and railway development. He had previously completed military service in France and had met Auguste de Verchère de Reffye, the inventor of an early model of the machine gun. With the declaration of war on August 4, 1914, Brutinel immediately thought of the potential use of machine guns.

Clifford Sifton, chair of the Canadian Commission of Conservation, heard about Brutinel’s ideas, met with him and, together, they developed two significant papers on weaponry. The first explored the use of machine guns, and the second proposed combining the fire-power of machine guns and the mobility of the automobile. They received the approval of Sam Hughes, Minister of Militia and Defence, to develop the concept and created a unit – the Automobile Machine Gun Brigade No. 1 – in August 1914. It is believed that this was the first of its type created during the war.

*Brigadier-General Raymond Brutinel in military uniform, 1916. Photo courtesy of the Musée Héritage Museum CA MHM 2014.22.19*

An armoured vehicle from the 1st Automobile Machine Gun Brigade, which was commanded by Brutinel, circa ca 1914-1915. The vehicle is manned by two drivers in the front and four gunners in the back. Several different vehicles are parked in the background.
Photographer: Surveyor General’s Office in Ottawa. Photo courtesy of the Musée Héritage Museum CA MHM 2014.22.09

The Automobile Machine Gun Brigade No. 1 unit left for England on September 29, 1914. On June 16, 1915, it was renamed the 1^st Canadian Motor Machine Gun Brigade and was deployed to France. In October 1915, the British adopted the Lewis Gun and also the creation of brigade machine gun companies. By January 1916, the 1^st Canadian Division had three brigade Machine Gun Companies (1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd); the 2^nd Canadian Division added the 4^th, 5^th and 6^th brigades; and the 3^rd Canadian Division had the 7^th, 8^th and 9^th brigades. In August, the 4^th Canadian Division arrived with the 10^th, 11^th and 12^th Machine Gun Companies.

Six vehicles from the 1^st Automobile Machine Gun Brigade commanded by Brigadier-General Raymond Brutinel driving in single-file across a field. The first vehicle is carrying four military men, the second is the armoured vehicle, followed by three transport vehicles and a field ambulance, circa 1914-1915. This photo is one of many taken during an inspection of the unit by the Governor-General, the Duke of Connaught, at the Rockcliffe Rifle Range in Ottawa, September 1914, just before entraining for Montreal and embarking for England.
Photographer: Surveyor General’s Office in Ottawa. Photo courtesy of the Musée Héritage Museum CA MHM 2014.22.07

Just in time for the Battle of Vimy Ridge, which took place from April 9^th to 12^th, the British Imperial Machine Gun Corps adopted “barrage fire” as its principal tactic to support “creeping artillery barrage.” This was first tested at the Battle of Vimy Ridge with all 16 machine gun corps, four British companies, and the 1^st Canadian Motor Machine Gun Brigade seeing action. The Canadian Corps successful attack was supported by 358 machine guns. As a result, on April 16, 1917, a Canadian Order in Council approved Lt. General Sir Julian Byng’s earlier suggestion that the 16 machine gun companies be united under one command structure. This was first tested in the Fall of 1917 at Ypres in Belgium.

An armoured vehicle (designed by Brigadier-General Raymond Brutinel in 1914) driving alongside a 1956 tank, circa 1956. General F..F.. Worthington is driving the armoured vehicle. A caption reads “Quarante-deux ans se sont ecoules entre le char blinde Canadien de Brutinel de 1914 et le char d’assaut de 1956” [Forty-two years have elapsed between the Canadian armoured tank of Brutinel of 1914 and the tank of 1956.]
Photo courtesy of the Musée Héritage Museum CA MHM 2014.22.06

Brigadier-General Raymond Brutinel (seated) and four members of his Machine Gun Brigade, circa 1919. From left to right: Captain J.K. Lawson, Major J.D. Foster, Captain M.R. Lever (Marshall), and Lieutenant P.M. Hume. An inscription on the photograph reads “G.O.C. Canadian Machine Gun and Staff–11th Nov.”
Photo courtesy of the Musée Héritage Museum CA MHM 2014.22.02

Brutinel rose to the rank of Brigadier-General, General Officer Commanding Canadian Machine Gun Corps and, during the 100 Days (August 8^th to November 1918), commanded a formation called The Independent Force or “Brutinel’s Brigade.” Brutinel received honours from the British and French governments.

By Adriana A. Davies, CA, Cav. D’Italia, PhD

The Brutinel images are courtesy of Musée Héritage Museum, located in St. Albert, Alberta. The Brutinel Archives and his biography can also be found at the Musée Héritage Museum.

See also:

Champagne, Juliette, and Major (Retd) John Matthews. “Raymond Brutinel and the Genesis of Modern Mechanized Warfare.” In The Frontier of Patriotism: Alberta and the First World War. Calgary, AB: University of Calgary Press, 2016. URL: http://prism.ucalgary.ca/bitstream/1880/51593/2/Frontier_of_Patriotism_2016_frontmatter.pdf.

Read more from the Edmonton City as Museum Project

Vimy Ridge: A Forge for Canadian Identity

Edmonton’s 49th Battalion at Vimy Ridge

Edmonton’s Fighting Men