XVI Brigade, Royal Horse Artillery

Last updated

I Indian Brigade, RHA
XVI Brigade, RHA
XVI Army Brigade, RHA
Active12 December 1914 – April 1919
CountryFlag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom
BranchFlag of the British Army.svg  British Army
Type Artillery
Size Battalion
Part of 1st Indian Cavalry Division
Fourth Army
Engagements World War I
Western Front

I Indian Brigade, Royal Horse Artillery was a brigade [lower-alpha 1] 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.

Contents

History

I Indian Brigade, RHA

I Indian Brigade, RHA was formed on 12 December 1914 for the 1st Indian Cavalry Division in France. [3] It commanded

Each battery was armed with six 13 pounder guns.

The brigade served with the 1st Indian Cavalry Division on the Western Front and the brigade commander acted as Commander Royal Horse Artillery (CRHA). [7] In practice, the batteries were permanently assigned to the cavalry brigades, viz: [8]

Other than the Battle of Cambrai when it helped to told the German counter-attack, the division was not involved in battle. Instead, it was held in reserve in case of a breakthrough, although it did send parties to the trenches on a number of occasions. They would hold the line, or act as Pioneers; such parties were designated as, for example, the Mhow Battalion. [9]

XVI Brigade, RHA

On 26 November 1916, 1st Indian Cavalry Division was renamed 4th Cavalry Division. [8] Consequently, on 24 February 1917, the brigade was redesignated as XVI Brigade, RHA. [10]

In March 1918, the 4th Cavalry Division was broken up in France. The British units remained in France and the Indian elements were sent to Egypt to help constitute 1st Mounted Division. [9] The brigade became XVI Army Brigade, RHA. [lower-alpha 2] [3] About this time the brigade's 13 pounders were replaced by 18 pounders. At the Armistice, it was serving as Army Troops with the Fourth Army [11] commanding A, Q, and U Batteries, RHA (eighteen 18 pounders). [12] The brigade moved to Germany as part of the Army of Occupation. [13]

Dissolved

The brigade was broken up in Germany in April 1919 and the batteries returned to England. [13] A Battery joined I Brigade, RHA at Woolwich, [14] Q Battery joined VII Brigade, RHA at Exeter [15] and U Battery joined IX Brigade, RHA at Trowbridge. [15]

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. ↑ Army Brigades, RHA and RFA were artillery brigades that were excess to the needs of the divisions, withdrawn to form an artillery reserve.

Related Research Articles

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.

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.

The 1st Indian Cavalry Division was a division of the British Indian Army which was formed at the outbreak of the First World War. It served on the Western Front, and was renamed the 4th Cavalry Division on 26 November 1916. In March 1918, the 4th Cavalry Division was disbanded; the British units remained in France and the Indian units were sent to Egypt to help form the 1st Mounted Division.

The 5th (Mhow) Cavalry Brigade was a cavalry brigade of the British Indian Army that saw active service in the Indian Army during the First World War. Formed in November 1914, it served on the Western Front as part of the 2nd and 1st Indian Cavalry Divisions until it was broken up in March 1918.

VIII 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. A related unit 8th Regiment, Royal Horse Artillery also had a brief existence post-World War II.

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.

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.

XV Brigade, Royal Horse Artillery was a brigade of the Royal Horse Artillery formed during World War I. It served with 29th Division in the Gallipoli Campaign and on the Western Front. It was disbanded after the war.

II Indian Brigade, Royal Horse Artillery was a brigade of the Royal Horse Artillery formed at the outbreak of World War I. It served with the 2nd Indian Cavalry Division on the Western Front. It was redesignated XVII Brigade, RHA in February 1917 and XVII Army Brigade, RHA just before being disbanded in April 1918.

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.

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.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hampshire Royal Horse Artillery</span> Former British Army horse artillery battery

The Hampshire Royal Horse Artillery was a Territorial Force Royal Horse Artillery battery that was formed in Hampshire in 1909. 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 Yeomanry Mounted Division and 1st Mounted / 4th Cavalry Division. A second line battery, 2/1st Hampshire RHA, served on the Western Front in 1917 and 1918 as part of an Army Field Artillery Brigade. Post-war, it was reconstituted as a Royal Field Artillery battery.

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.

G Parachute Battery Royal Horse Artillery is a close support battery of 7th Parachute Regiment Royal Horse Artillery, part of the Royal Horse Artillery of the British Army, currently based in Merville Barracks in Colchester.

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. 447
  4. ↑ Perry 1993 , p. 52
  5. ↑ Perry 1993 , p. 36
  6. ↑ Perry 1993 , p. 103
  7. ↑ Perry 1993 , p. 11
  8. 1 2 Perry 1993 , p. 14
  9. 1 2 Perry 1993 , p. 16
  10. ↑ Perry 1993 , p. 15
  11. ↑ BEF GHQ 1918 , p. 19
  12. ↑ BEF GHQ 1918 , p. 78
  13. 1 2 Clarke 1993 , p. 146
  14. ↑ Clarke 1993 , p. 148
  15. 1 2 Clarke 1993 , p. 149

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.