VIII Brigade, Royal Horse Artillery

Last updated

VIII Brigade, RHA
8th Regiment, RHA
Active1 March 1901 – 12 December 1914
October 1919 – 14 February 1920
October 1946 – March 1947
CountryFlag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom
BranchFlag of the British Army.svg  British Army
Type Artillery
Size Battalion

VIII Brigade, Royal Horse Artillery was a brigade [lower-alpha 1] of the Royal Horse Artillery which existed in the early part of the 20th century. It was dissolved at the outbreak of World War I as its constituent batteries were posted to other formations. It was briefly resurrected post-war before being dissolved once again. A related unit 8th Regiment, Royal Horse Artillery also had a brief existence post-World War II.

Contents

History

First formation

Royal Horse Artillery brigades did not exist as an organizational or operational grouping of batteries until 1 July 1859 when the Horse Brigade, Royal Artillery was formed. [3] The brigade system was extended to five (later six) brigades when the horse artillery of the Honourable East India Company had been transferred to the British Army in 1861. [4] These brigades were reduced to five in 1871, then to three (of 10 batteries each) in 1877 and to two (of 13 batteries each) in 1882. The brigade system was finally abolished in 1889. [5]

As battery designations were tied to the brigade that the battery was assigned to, batteries were redesignated in a bewildering sequence as they were transferred between brigades. For example, E Battery of C Brigade (E/C Bty) might become N Battery of A Brigade (N/A Bty) upon transfer. Henceforth, batteries were designated in a single alphabetical sequence in order of seniority from date of formation. [5]

The brigade system was revived in 1901. Each brigade now commanded just two batteries and a small staff (a Lieutenant-Colonel in command, an adjutant and a brigade sergeant major). Initially, batteries were not assigned to brigades in any particular order, [6] but in 1906, at the insistence of Edward VII, brigades were redesignated so that batteries were roughly in order of seniority (hence I Brigade commanded A Battery and B Battery). [7]

VIII Brigade, RHA was formed on 1 March 1901 as the XIV Brigade-Division, RHA with M Battery and Q Battery. In 1903 it was redesignated as XIV Brigade, RHA [8] and was stationed at Woolwich. [9] On 1 October 1906, it was redesignated as VIII Brigade, RHA. [8]

By the time World War I broke out, the brigade was in Peshawar, India assigned to 1st (Peshawar) Division. [10] M Battery was at Risalpur and on mobilization was assigned to the 1st (Risalpur) Cavalry Brigade. It remained in India throughout the war. [10] Q Battery was at Sialkot with 2nd (Rawalpindi) Division [11] and on mobilization was assigned to the newly formed I Indian Brigade, RHA with 1st Indian Cavalry Division (attached to 2nd (Sialkot) Cavalry Brigade) and sailed for the Western Front in October 1914. [12] With the departure of its batteries, the brigade HQ was dissolved on 12 December 1914. [8]

Second formation

By October 1919, VIII Brigade, RHA was reformed in the United Kingdom with [13]

This new incarnation was short-lived, however. On 20 November 1919 Y Battery was absorbed in A Battery, on 7 January 1920 Z Battery was absorbed in B Battery and on 11 February 1920 AA Battery was absorbed in M Battery, all of I Brigade, RHA. Finally, on 14 February 1920 the Headquarters was absorbed into the HQ of I Brigade. [8]

8th Regiment, RHA

Post-World War II plans for the Royal Horse Artillery envisioned an 8th Regiment, RHA. This was to be a Light Anti-Aircraft (LAA) Regiment with V, W and X Batteries. Initially formed in the British Army of the Rhine in October 1946, the decision was rescinded in March 1947 before the regiment was fully constituted. On 1 April 1947, the regiment became 10th Field Regiment, Royal Artillery. [16]

See also

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.
  2. ↑ From 1 July 1889, RHA batteries were lettered in a single alphabetical sequence in order of seniority from date of formation. [5] When more than 26 batteries were needed, double letters were used, AA, [14] BB, [15] etc.

Related Research Articles

M (Headquarters) Battery Royal Horse Artillery is the Headquarters Battery of 3rd Regiment Royal Horse Artillery, part of the Royal Horse Artillery of the British Army. As of 2015, it is based at Albemarle Barracks, Northumberland, England. The Battery Commander is Maj B Johnston RHA.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Z Battery Royal Artillery</span> British Army artillery battery

Z Battery RA was a Battery of 5th Regiment Royal Artillery in the Royal Artillery. It had the Surveillance and Target Acquisition role and was equipped with various weapon platform locating equipment using radars and acoustic sound ranging assets.

IX Brigade, Royal Horse Artillery was a brigade of the Royal Horse Artillery which existed in the early part of the 20th century. It was dissolved at the outbreak of World War I as its constituent batteries were posted to other formations. It was briefly resurrected post-war before being dissolved once again.

X Brigade, Royal Horse Artillery was a brigade of the Royal Horse Artillery which existed in the early part of the 20th century. It served as a training formation in the First World War before being dissolved at the end of the war.

XI Brigade, Royal Horse Artillery was a brigade of the Royal Horse Artillery which existed in the early part of the 20th century. It was dissolved at the outbreak of World War I as its constituent batteries were posted to other formations.

XII Brigade, Royal Horse Artillery was a brigade of the Royal Horse Artillery which existed in the early part of the 20th century. It was dissolved during World War I as its constituent batteries were posted to other formations.

XIII Brigade, Royal Horse Artillery was a brigade of the Royal Horse Artillery which existed in the early part of the 20th century. It was dissolved at the outbreak of World War I as its constituent batteries were posted to other formations.

XIV Brigade, Royal Horse Artillery was a brigade of the Royal Horse Artillery which existed in the early part of the 20th century. It had been dissolved before World War I but was reformed for the war. It served with 7th Division on the Western Front before becoming XIV Army Brigade, RHA in February 1917. It was disbanded at the end of the war.

I Indian Brigade, Royal Horse Artillery was a brigade of the Royal Horse Artillery formed at the outbreak of World War I. It served with 1st Indian Cavalry Division on the Western Front. It was redesignated XVI Brigade, RHA in February 1917 and XVI Army Brigade, RHA in March 1918. It was disbanded after the war.

VII Brigade, Royal Horse Artillery was a brigade of the Royal Horse Artillery which existed in the early part of the 20th century. It served with 1st Cavalry Division throughout World War I and was reorganized post-war before being dissolved. A related unit 7th Regiment, RHA had a brief existence post-World War II, before 7th Parachute Regiment, RHA was formed in 1961.

6th Regiment, Royal Horse Artillery was a Regiment of the Royal Horse Artillery that acted as a training formation during World War II. It was the last RHA unit to serve in India between December 1945 and April 1947, before being redesignated as 6th Field Regiment, Royal Artillery in Palestine in 1948.

V Brigade, Royal Horse Artillery was a brigade of the Royal Horse Artillery which existed in the early part of the 20th century. It served with 8th Division on the Western Front in World War I before becoming V Army Brigade, RHA in January 1917. It was reformed after the war but was disbanded in October 1928.

IV Brigade, Royal Horse Artillery was a brigade of the Royal Horse Artillery which existed in the early part of the 20th century. It served with 3rd Cavalry Division throughout World War I but was dissolved shortly thereafter.

III Brigade, Royal Horse Artillery was a brigade of the Royal Horse Artillery which existed in the early part of the 20th century. It served with the 1st and 2nd Cavalry Divisions on the Western Front throughout World War I.

2nd Regiment Royal Horse Artillery was a regiment of the Royal Horse Artillery that served in the Second World War. It saw action in France, Greece, North Africa and Italy. It was redesignated as 2nd Field Regiment, Royal Artillery in 1958.

I Brigade, Royal Horse Artillery was a brigade of the Royal Horse Artillery which existed in the early part of the 20th century. It was dissolved at the outbreak of World War I as its constituent batteries were posted to other formations.

I Parachute Battery Royal Horse Artillery is the Headquarters battery of 7th Parachute Regiment Royal Horse Artillery, part of the Royal Horse Artillery of the British Army, currently based in Albemarle Barracks in Newcastle Upon Tyne.

H Battery Royal Horse Artillery is a battery of 1st Regiment Royal Horse Artillery, part of the Royal Horse Artillery of the British Army. As of 2015, it is based at Albemarle Barracks, Northumberland, England and is equipped with GMLRS.

V Battery Royal Horse Artillery was a battery of the Royal Horse Artillery. Formed in 1804, the battery took part in the Napoleonic Wars – notably the Peninsular War and Battle of Waterloo – before being placed into suspended animation in 1816 as part of the usual post-war reductions of the British Army.

T Battery Royal Artillery is an air defence battery of the Royal Artillery that serves with the British Army's 12 Regiment Royal Artillery. It is stationed at Baker Barracks, Thorney Island, West Sussex.

References

  1. ↑ "The Royal Artillery". Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom) . Retrieved 13 April 2013.
  2. ↑ Baker, Chris. "What was an artillery brigade?". The Long, Long Trail. Retrieved 13 April 2013.
  3. ↑ Frederick 1984 , p. 430
  4. ↑ Clarke 1993 , p. 53
  5. 1 2 3 Clarke 1993 , p. 54
  6. ↑ Clarke 1993 , p. 55
  7. ↑ Clarke 1993 , p. 58
  8. 1 2 3 4 Frederick 1984 , p. 445
  9. ↑ Clarke 1993 , p. 142
  10. 1 2 Perry 1993 , p. 36
  11. ↑ Conrad, Mark (1996). "The British Army, 1914" . Retrieved 30 April 2013.
  12. ↑ Perry 1993 , p. 16
  13. ↑ Clarke 1993 , p. 149
  14. ↑ Clarke 1993, p. 99
  15. ↑ Clarke 1993, p. 100
  16. ↑ Clarke 1993 , p. 153

Bibliography

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.