44th (Howitzer) Brigade Royal Field Artillery

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XLIV (Howitzer) Brigade, RFA
XLIV Brigade, RFA
Active March 1900 - 26 May 1916
early 1917 - by 10 July 1919
CountryFlag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom
BranchFlag of the British Army.svg  British Army
Type Artillery
Size Battalion
Engagements

World War I

XLIV (Howitzer) Brigade, Royal Field Artillery was a brigade [lower-alpha 1] of the Royal Field Artillery which served in the First World War. It joined the BEF in August 1914 before being broken up in May 1916. It was reformed as XLIV Brigade, Royal Field Artillery in early 1917, serving in Palestine and the Western Front before being disbanded after the end of the war.

Royal Field Artillery unit of the British Army from 1899 to 1924

The Royal Field Artillery (RFA) of the British Army provided close artillery support for the infantry. It came into being when created as a distinct arm of the Royal Regiment of Artillery on 1 July 1899, and was re-amalgamated back into the Regiment proper, along with the Royal Garrison Artillery, in 1924. The Royal Field Artillery was the largest arm of the artillery. It was responsible for the medium calibre guns and howitzers deployed close to the front line and was reasonably mobile. It was organised into brigades, attached to divisions or higher formations.

The British Expeditionary Force (BEF) was the British Army sent to the Western Front during the First World War. Planning for a British Expeditionary Force began with the Haldane reforms of the British Army carried out by the Secretary of State for War Richard Haldane following the Second Boer War (1899–1902).

Palestine (region) geographical region in the Middle East

Palestine is a geographic region in Western Asia usually considered to include Israel, the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and in some definitions, some parts of western Jordan.

Contents

XLIV (Howitzer) Brigade, RFA

XLIV (Howitzer) Brigade, RFA was formed in March 1900 as L (Howitzer) Brigade-Division, RFA commanding 56 (Howitzer) Battery and 149 (Howitzer) Battery and in 1901, 150 (Howitzer) Battery and 151 (Howitzer) Battery joined. In 1903, the brigade was redesignated as L (Howitzer) Brigade, RFA and in 1905, 151 (H) Battery was disbanded. [3]

Howitzer Type of artillery piece

A howitzer is a type of artillery piece characterized by a relatively short barrel and the use of comparatively small propellant charges to propel projectiles over relatively high trajectories, with a steep angle of descent.

With a reorganization of the field artillery on 1 August 1913, the brigade was redesignated XLIV (Howitzer) Brigade, RFA. About this time, as the numbers of field batteries were reduced 149 (H) and 150 (H) Batteries were disbanded. [3] The batteries were replaced with 47 (H) Battery (previously in XLI Brigade, RFA) and 60 (H) Battery (previously in XXXV Brigade, RFA), with most of the men from 149th Bty transferring to the new 47th Bty and those of 150th Bty to 60th Bty. [4]

Field artillery artillery piece designed to deploy with army units in the field

Field artillery is a category of mobile artillery used to support armies in the field. These weapons are specialized for mobility, tactical proficiency, short range, long range, and extremely long range target engagement.

XLI Brigade, Royal Field Artillery was a brigade of the Royal Field Artillery which served in the First World War.

XXXV Brigade, Royal Field Artillery was a brigade of the Royal Field Artillery which served in the First World War.

France and Flanders 1914-16

In August 1914, the brigade was mobilized at Brighton at the outbreak of World War I under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Dalrymple Arbuthnot, 5th Baronet and was sent to the Continent with the British Expeditionary Force. It was assigned to 2nd Division, with 47 (H),commanded by Major H. W. Newcombe (previously Major A C Edwards), 56 (H), commanded by Major F E L Barker, and 60 (H) Battery, commanded by Major H J A Mackey, each equipped with six 4.5" howitzers. The newly formed Brigade Ammunition Column (BAC) was commanded by Captain G R Miller. [5] The Adjutant was Captain G C Nevile; Orderly Officer Lt F L V Mills; Medical Officer: Captain Timothy W O Sexton; and Veterinary Officer: Captain L L Dixon. The RSM was John Thomas Coleman.

World War I 1914–1918 global war originating in Europe

World War I, also known as the First World War or the Great War, was a global war originating in Europe that lasted from 28 July 1914 to 11 November 1918. Contemporaneously described as "the war to end all wars", it led to the mobilisation of more than 70 million military personnel, including 60 million Europeans, making it one of the largest wars in history. It is also one of the deadliest conflicts in history, with an estimated nine million combatants and seven million civilian deaths as a direct result of the war, while resulting genocides and the 1918 influenza pandemic caused another 50 to 100 million deaths worldwide.

2nd Infantry Division (United Kingdom) British Army combat formation

The 2nd Infantry Division was a Regular Army infantry division of the British Army, with a long history. Its existence as a permanently embodied formation dated from 1809, when it was established by Lieutenant General Sir Arthur Wellesley, as part of the Anglo-Portuguese Army, for service in the Peninsular War..

The brigade saw considerable action with 2nd Division in 1914, in the retreat from Mons (August), on the Marne and the Aisne (September) and at the First Battle of Ypres (October and November). More action followed in 1915, including the battles of Festubert (May) and Loos (September and October) and of the Hohenzollern Redoubt (October). [6]

Battle of Mons battle during World War I

The Battle of Mons was the first major action of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) in the First World War. It was a subsidiary action of the Battle of the Frontiers, in which the Allies clashed with Germany on the French borders. At Mons, the British Army attempted to hold the line of the Mons–Condé Canal against the advancing German 1st Army. Although the British fought well and inflicted disproportionate casualties on the numerically superior Germans, they were eventually forced to retreat due both to the greater strength of the Germans and the sudden retreat of the French Fifth Army, which exposed the British right flank. Though initially planned as a simple tactical withdrawal and executed in good order, the British retreat from Mons lasted for two weeks and took the BEF to the outskirts of Paris before it counter-attacked in concert with the French, at the Battle of the Marne.

First Battle of the Marne First World War battle

The Battle of the Marne was a World War I battle fought from 6–12 September 1914. It resulted in an Allied victory against the German armies in the west. The battle was the culmination of the German advance into France and pursuit of the Allied armies which followed the Battle of the Frontiers in August and had reached the eastern outskirts of Paris. A counter-attack by six French armies and the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) along the Marne River forced the Imperial German Army to retreat northwest, leading to the First Battle of the Aisne and the Race to the Sea. The battle was a victory for the Allied Powers but led to four years of trench warfare stalemate on the Western Front.

First Battle of the Aisne

The First Battle of the Aisne was the Allied follow-up offensive against the right wing of the German First Army and the Second Army as they retreated after the First Battle of the Marne earlier in September 1914. The Advance to the Aisne consisted of the Battle of the Marne (7–10 September) and the Battle of the Aisne (12–15 September).

On 23 June 1915, 60 (H) Battery was withdrawn and assigned to the divisional artillery of 3rd (Lahore) Division. [5]

The 3rd (Lahore) Division was an infantry division of the British Indian Army, first organised in 1852. It saw service during World War I as part of the Indian Corps in France before being moved to the Middle East where it fought against troops of the Ottoman Empire.

In May 1916, the artillery brigades of infantry divisions were reorganised; the pure howitzer brigades were disbanded, and their batteries attached individually to field brigades, in order to produce mixed brigades of three field batteries and one howitzer battery. Accordingly, on 23 May the brigade was broken up and the batteries dispersed amongst the other field artillery brigades of 2nd Division:

Each battery now consisted of four 4.5" howitzers. [5]

XLIV Brigade, RFA

XLIV Brigade, RFA was reformed in England early in 1917 with 340, 382 and 399 Batteries, each equipped with four 13 pounders. It was transferred to Egypt, landing at Alexandria on 27 May 1917. It reached Sidi el Bishr on 2 June and was reorganized and re-equipped as two batteries of six 18 pounders (399 Battery was broken up to complete the other two). 340 Battery was renamed A Battery and 382 renamed B. The brigade joined 74th (Yeomanry) Division at Rafah on 3 July. [7]

Palestine 1917–18

With the 74th Division, the brigade took part in the invasion of Palestine in 1917 and 1918. In October and November 1917 it fought in the Third Battle of Gaza, at the end of 1917 it took part in the capture and defence of Jerusalem and in March 1918 in the Battle of Tell 'Asur. On 3 April 1918, the Division was warned that it would move to France and by 30 April 1918 had completed embarkation at Alexandria. [8]

Before moving to the Western Front, the brigade was reorganized:

The brigade now consisted of three batteries of six 18 pounders and a battery of four 4.5" howitzers. D (H) Battery was made up to six 4.5" howitzers in France on 21 May 1918 at Noulette. [9]

France and Flanders 1918

On 14 July 1918 the Yeomanry Division went into the line for the first time, near Merville on the right of XI Corps. From September 1918, as part of III Corps of Fourth Army, it took part in the Hundred Days Offensive including the Second Battle of the Somme (Second Battle of Bapaume) and the Battles of the Hindenburg Line (Battle of Épehy). In October and November 1918 it took part in the Final Advance in Artois and Flanders. By the Armistice it was in the area of Tournai, Belgium, still with 74th (Yeomanry) Division. [10]

With the end of the war, the troops of 74th Division were engaged in railway repair work and education was undertaken while demobilisation began. The division and its subformations were disbanded on 10 July 1919. [10]

Notes

  1. ↑ The basic organic unit of the Royal Artillery was, and is, the Battery. [1] When grouped together they formed brigades, in the same way that infantry battalions or cavalry regiments were grouped together in brigades. At the outbreak of World War I, a field artillery brigade of headquarters (4 officers, 37 other ranks), three batteries (5 and 193 each), and a brigade ammunition column (4 and 154) [2] had a total strength just under 800 so was broadly comparable to an infantry battalion (just over 1,000) or a cavalry regiment (about 550). Like an infantry battalion, an artillery brigade was usually commanded by a Lieutenant-Colonel. Artillery brigades were redesignated as regiments in 1938.

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References

  1. ↑ "The Royal Artillery". Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom). Archived from the original on 23 October 2013. Retrieved 13 April 2013.
  2. ↑ Baker, Chris. "What was an artillery brigade?". The Long, Long Trail. Retrieved 13 April 2013.
  3. 1 2 Frederick 1984 , p. 513
  4. ↑ Frederick 1984 , p. 512
  5. 1 2 3 Becke 1935 , p. 44
  6. ↑ Becke 1935 , p. 46
  7. ↑ Becke 1937 , p. 118
  8. ↑ Becke 1937 , p. 121
  9. ↑ Becke 1937 , p. 119
  10. 1 2 Becke 1937 , p. 122

Bibliography

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