XIX Brigade, Royal Horse Artillery (T.F.) | |
---|---|
Active | January 1917 – 30 October 1919 |
Country | United Kingdom |
Branch | British Army |
Type | Artillery |
Size | Battalion |
Part of | Imperial (later Australian) Mounted Division |
Equipment | Ordnance QF 15-pounder Ordnance QF 18-pounder Ordnance QF 13-pounder |
Engagements | World War I |
XIX Brigade, Royal Horse Artillery (Territorial Force) was a Royal Horse Artillery brigade [lower-alpha 1] of the Territorial Force that was formed by the Egyptian Expeditionary Force in Palestine in January 1917 for the Imperial Mounted Division (later renamed Australian Mounted Division). It served with the division thereafter in the Sinai and Palestine Campaign and was broken up after the end of World War I.
The Imperial Mounted Division was formed in Egypt in January 1917 with four cavalry brigades: the Australian 3rd and 4th Light Horse Brigades and the British 5th and 6th Mounted Brigades. Four British Territorial Force horse artillery batteries were assigned to the division to provide artillery support, one per brigade. [3] XIX Brigade, Royal Horse Artillery (Territorial Force) was formed for the division with [4] [lower-alpha 2]
The batteries had been assigned to the 2nd South Midland, Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire, London, and South Eastern Mounted Brigades, respectively, at the outbreak of the war. [6] Each was equipped with four [7] Ehrhardt 15-pounder guns. [8]
All four batteries had originally gone out to Egypt with the 2nd Mounted Division in April 1915, but did not proceed to Gallipoli when the division was dismounted for service there. [9] Instead, they variously served on the Suez Canal Defences, [10] as part of the Western Frontier Force in the Senussi Campaign, [5] or in Aden where B Battery, HAC and Berkshire, RHA fought a sharp action at Sheikh Othman that removed the Turkish threat to Aden for the rest of the war. [11] They rejoined 2nd Mounted Division on its return from Gallipoli in December 1915, [12] however, the dismemberment of the division began almost immediately as units were posted to the Western Frontier Force, Suez Canal Defences or to various other commands. [10]
In practice, the batteries were tactically attached to the mounted brigades, for example, Nottinghamshire RHA to the 3rd Light Horse Brigade [13] and A Battery, HAC to the 4th Light Horse Brigade [14]
The brigade, and its batteries, served with the Imperial Mounted Division in the Sinai and Palestine Campaign as part of the Desert Column. With the division, it took part in the advance across the Sinai. The batteries were re-equipped with four 18 pounders each [15] in time for the First Battle of Gaza (26 –27 March 1917). They also took part in the Second Battle of Gaza (17 –19 April 1917). [16]
In June 1917, the Desert Column was reorganised from two mounted divisions of four brigades each (ANZAC and Imperial Mounted Divisions) to three mounted divisions of three brigades each (ANZAC, Australian –Imperial Mounted Division renamed –and the new Yeomanry Mounted Division). [17] Consequently, the British 6th Mounted Brigade, along with Berkshire RHA, was transferred from the Imperial to the Yeomanry Mounted Division on 27 June 1917. [3] Berkshire RHA joined XX Brigade, RHA (T.F.) in the Yeomanry Mounted Division on 5 July. [18] [lower-alpha 3]
On 20 June 1917, the Imperial Mounted Division was redesignated as Australian Mounted Division as the majority of its troops were now Australian. [4] On 12 August 1917, the Desert Column disappeared and the Desert Mounted Corps was formed. [20] The batteries were still equipped with 18 pounders when the brigade was reorganised [21] but were re-equipped with 13 pounders (four per battery) before the Third Battle of Gaza at the end of October 1917. [22]
The brigade, and its batteries, served with the Australian Mounted Division throughout the rest of the Sinai and Palestine Campaign. As part of the Desert Mounted Corps, the division took part in the Third Battle of Gaza, in particular the Capture of Beersheba (31 October) and the Battle of Mughar Ridge (13 and 14 November), and the defence of Jerusalem against the Turkish counter-attacks (27 November –3 December). [16]
In March 1918, the 5th Mounted Brigade left the division for the new 2nd Mounted Division [lower-alpha 4] and was replaced by the newly formed 5th Light Horse Brigade; B Battery, HAC was attached to the brigade. [23]
Still part of the Desert Mounted Corps, the division took part in the Second Trans-Jordan Raid (30 April –4 May 1918). [16] XIX Brigade, RHA supported the 4th Light Horse Brigade in the advance on the Jisr ed Damiye–Es Salt track on 30 April. The next day, a strong Turkish force attacked from the direction of Jisr ed Damiye and soon the artillery was in danger. B Battery, HAC was in the rear and managed to get away with all but one of their guns (stuck in a wadi) but the Nottinghamshire RHA and A Battery, HAC were less fortunate. Machine gun fire cut down the horse teams before the guns could be gotten away. XIX Brigade lost 9 guns in total, the only guns to be lost in action in the entire campaign. [24] [25]
It final action was the capture of Damascus (1 October). [16]
After the Armistice of Mudros, the division was withdrawn to Egypt and started to demobilise. The last of the Australians returned home in April and May 1919. [16] A and B Batteries, HAC were reduced to cadre in Egypt on 25 October 1919 [26] and the brigade headquarters was disbanded in Egypt on 30 October 1919. [5]
The Australian Mounted Division originally formed as the Imperial Mounted Division in January 1917, was a mounted infantry, light horse and yeomanry division. The division was formed in Egypt, and along with the Anzac Mounted Division formed part of Desert Column, Egyptian Expeditionary Force in World War I. The division was originally made up of the Australian 3rd Light Horse Brigade, the reconstituted 4th Light Horse Brigade, and two British yeomanry brigades; the 5th Mounted Brigade and 6th Mounted Brigade.
The Yeomanry Mounted Division was a Territorial Force cavalry division formed at Khan Yunis in Palestine in June 1917 from three yeomanry mounted brigades. It served in the Sinai and Palestine Campaign of the First World War, mostly as part of the Desert Mounted Corps. In April 1918 six of the regiments were withdrawn from the division and sent to France, being converted from Yeomanry to battalions of the Machine Gun Corps. These were replaced by Indian Army cavalry regiments withdrawn from France, and the division was renamed 1st Mounted Division, the third such division to bear that title. In July the combined division was renamed as the 4th Cavalry Division.
V Lowland Brigade, Royal Field Artillery was a field artillery brigade formed from three Territorial Force Royal Horse Artillery batteries in January 1916. It was assigned to the 52nd (Lowland) Division to replace I Lowland Brigade, RFA (T.F.) and joined the division in Egypt.
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The Essex Royal Horse Artillery was a Territorial Force Royal Horse Artillery battery that was formed in Essex in 1908. It saw active service during the First World War in Egypt and Palestine from 1916 to 1918, initially as field artillery with 52nd (Lowland) Division before being converted back to horse artillery and serving with the 2nd Mounted / 5th Cavalry Division. A second line battery, 2/1st Essex RHA, served on the Western Front in 1917 and 1918 as part of an Army Field Artillery Brigade.
I Brigade, Royal Horse Artillery , along with its sister II Brigade, Royal Horse Artillery (T.F.), was a horse artillery brigade of the Territorial Force that was formed in September 1914 for the 2nd Mounted Division at the start of World War I.
II Brigade, Royal Horse Artillery , along with its sister I Brigade, Royal Horse Artillery (T.F.), was a horse artillery brigade of the Territorial Force that was formed in September 1914 for the 2nd Mounted Division at the start of World War I.
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XVIII Brigade, Royal Horse Artillery was a Royal Horse Artillery brigade of the Territorial Force that was formed by the Egyptian Expeditionary Force in Palestine in July 1917 for the ANZAC Mounted Division. It served with the division thereafter in the Sinai and Palestine Campaign and was broken up after the end of World War I.
A Battery, Honourable Artillery Company is a L118 light gun battery that provides a reserve to 7th Parachute Regiment Royal Horse Artillery. Its predecessor was a horse artillery battery that was formed from Light Cavalry Squadron, HAC, in 1891. It transferred to the Territorial Force in 1908 as artillery support for the London Mounted Brigade.
B Battery, Honourable Artillery Company was a horse artillery battery that was formed from the Field Artillery, HAC in 1899. It transferred to the Territorial Force in 1908 as artillery support for the South Eastern Mounted Brigade.
The Ayrshire Royal Horse Artillery was a Territorial Force Royal Horse Artillery battery that was formed in Ayrshire in 1908. It saw active service during the First World War in the Sinai and Palestine Campaign with the ANZAC Mounted Division from 1916 to 1918. It was disembodied after the end of the war and was not reconstituted in the post-war Territorial Force.
The Inverness-shire Royal Horse Artillery was a Territorial Force Royal Horse Artillery battery that was formed in Inverness-shire in 1908. It saw active service during the First World War in the Sinai and Palestine Campaign with the ANZAC Mounted Division from 1916 to 1918. A second line battery, 2/1st Inverness-shire RHA, served in the United Kingdom throughout the war. It was disembodied after the end of the war and was reconstituted as a Royal Field Artillery battery in 1920.
The Somerset Royal Horse Artillery was a Territorial Force Royal Horse Artillery battery that was formed in Somerset in 1908. It saw active service during the First World War in the Sinai and Palestine Campaign with the ANZAC Mounted Division from 1916 to 1918. A second line battery, 2/1st Somerset RHA, served on the Western Front with the 63rd Division from 1916 to 1918. It was disembodied after the end of the war and was not reconstituted in the Territorial Force in 1920.
The Leicestershire Royal Horse Artillery was a Territorial Force Royal Horse Artillery battery that was formed in Leicestershire in 1908. It saw active service during the First World War in Egypt and Palestine from 1916 to 1918, initially with ANZAC Mounted Division before joining the Yeomanry Mounted Division and 1st Mounted / 4th Cavalry Division. A second line battery, 2/1st Leicestershire RHA, served on the Western Front with the 63rd Division from 1916 to 1918. Post-war, it was reconstituted as a Royal Field Artillery battery.
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