Mountain Division, Royal Artillery

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Mountain Division, RA
Koning Soldaat., item 60.jpg
Cap Badge of the Royal Regiment of Artillery
Active1 July 1889–1920
CountryFlag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom
Branch Flag of the British Army.svg British Army
TypeAdministrative division
Part of Royal Artillery

The Mountain Division, Royal Artillery, was an administrative grouping of mountain artillery units of the Royal Artillery from 1889. It continued as a distinct branch of the Royal Garrison Artillery until World War I.

Contents

Organisation

Since 1882 the garrison artillery units of the Royal Artillery (Regular, Militia and Volunteers) had been grouped into 11 territorial 'divisions' based on recruiting area rather than function. On 1 July 1889 these were reorganised into three larger divisions, but at the same time the five existing mountain batteries, together with five other batteries (four garrison and one field) newly converted to the role, were grouped into a separate Mountain Division. While garrison batteries were redesignated 'companies' from 1 August 1891 (indicating that they could be assigned to any permanent gun battery), the specialist mountain units, who were issued their own guns, remained 'batteries'. The Mountain Division consisted only of Regular RA units: no militia or volunteer units were equipped as mountain artillery. [1] [2] There were also a number of mountain batteries in India officered by the RA, but these were on the establishments of the Indian Armies. [3] Unlike the territorial divisions, the Mountain Division had no defined headquarters, but a depot was established at Newport, Monmouthshire. [4]

Composition

Mountain Division, RA, comprised the following batteries: [2] [4] [5] [6]

Reorganisation

In 1899 the Royal Artillery was divided into two distinct branches, field and garrison. The field branch included the Royal Horse Artillery (RHA) and the newly-named Royal Field Artillery (RFA). The garrison branch was named the Royal Garrison Artillery (RGA) and included coast defence, position, heavy, siege and mountain artillery. The RGA temporarily retained the divisional structure with the division being redesignated the Mountain Division, RGA, and the batteries becoming '1st Mountain Bty, RGA', etc. While the territorial divisions were scrapped on 31 December 1901, the term 'Mountain Division' continued as the title of a distinct branch of the RGA until World War I. [1] [2] [5] [6] [7]

In 1901 the batteries were distributed as follows: [8]

Thereafter until World War I eight companies rotated around the same mountain stations in India with one being stationed at Cairo. [6] With the formation of the part-time Territorial Force (TF) in 1908 the 1st Argyll & Bute RGA (Volunteers) was converted into 4th Highland (Mountain) Brigade, Royal Garrison Artillery, attached to the Highland Division as the TF's only mountain artillery unit. [6] [9]

Postwar, the RGA adopted the regiment-sized 'brigades' employed by the RHA and RFA and the mountain batteries were organised into a number of 'Pack Brigades'. [2] [5] [6] [9]

Notes

  1. 1 2 Frederick, p. 574.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Frederick, pp. 891–2.
  3. Heathcote, pp. 42–3.
  4. 1 2 Hart's Army List, 1890.
  5. 1 2 3 Lawes, Vol II, Index.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Monthly Army Lists.
  7. Frederick. pp. 580–95.
  8. Hart's Army List, 1901.
  9. 1 2 Frederick, pp. 897–9.

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