Royal Artillery Mounted Rifles

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Royal Artillery Mounted Rifles
The Second Boer War, 1899-1902 Q72153.jpg
A British pom-pom artillery piece
Active1901–1902, 1920–21
CountryFlag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom
BranchFlag of the British Army.svg  British Army
Type Artillery
Role Mounted infantry
SizeCirca 2,000 men
Nickname(s)"Infantillery Corps"
Engagements Second Boer War
Irish War of Independence

The Royal Artillery Mounted Rifles were detachments of the British Army's Royal Artillery when deployed as mounted infantry. The units were first developed towards the end of the Second Boer War which was characterised by guerrilla warfare. There was little call for traditional units of field or horse artillery but high demand for mounted infantrymen to counter the highly mobile Boer commandos. By the end of the war around 2,000 artillerymen were acting in the mounted infantry role. A similar force was deployed to Ireland in the early 1920s to counter guerrilla tactics used by Irish republicans.

Contents

Second Boer War

The final year of the Second Boer War (1899–1902) was characterised by guerrilla warfare fought between mounted Boer commandos and British mobile columns. [1] With little use for heavy calibre weaponry in such an environment both sides stood down much of their artillery units. [2] With a large number of artillerymen gathering at depots awaiting return to England or deployment on garrison duty in India, British commander Lord Kitchener decided to form them into units of mounted infantry. [2] The artillerymen were suited to this task as they were trained to a good standard of horsemanship and tended to be of above average intelligence and discipline. [1] [2] Additional rifle shooting practice was arranged for the men, as this was not usually a core aspect of their training. [2] [3]

The Royal Artillery Mounted Rifles were formed into independent columns of around 750 men commanded by a Royal Artillery lieutenant-colonel. [2] One such column was commanded by Thomas Baldock, who would later become a Major-General. [4] In addition to mounted infantry the columns contained a light pom-pom artillery unit and their own signals and scout sections. [2] The men were not issued with swords and so relied on rifles with fixed bayonets when required to carry out cavalry-style charges. [5] The units remained under the administration of the Royal Regiment of Artillery who retained responsibility for forming and equipping the units, supply, remounts, staffing and signals. [6]

The RAMR took the field for the first time during the 'New Model Drives' that rounded up hundreds of Boers in January–February 1902. For these operations three columns of RAMR were drawn from the Royal Horse Artillery (RHA) and Royal Field Artillery (RFA): [1] [7] [8] [9]

Dunlop's RAMR served with Col the Hon Julian Byng's column and Jervis's RAMR served with Col Michael Rimington's column; Keir's Column acted independently.

The RAMR units were so successful that Kitchener requested a further 1,000 gunners from the Indian government to deploy in the role; this was refused but a comparable number of artillerymen were instead supplied by the British Army. [2] By the end of the war around 2,000 artillery personnel were serving as mounted infantry. [2]

At the time they were formed, British General Ian Hamilton stated that the artillerymen were keen to carry out their new role. [3] However, Colonel H. Rowan-Robinson, writing in 1921, claimed that the decision was viewed with horror by a large number of the artillerymen due to the unconventional nature of the deployment. [10]

Kipling poem

The unit is commemorated in Rudyard Kipling's 1903 poem Ubique which commemorates the Royal Artillery's service in the war (Ubique is the regimental motto). The poem includes the lines: [11]

Ubique means "More mounted men. Return all guns to store."
Ubique means the R. A. M. R. Infantillery Corps!

This refers to the re-roling of the artillery as a mounted infantry force without their guns. Kipling refers to the unit as "infantillery", a portmanteau of infantry and artillery that he may well have coined, which reflects the role and origins of the unit. [12]

Irish War of Independence

The concept was revived in the early 1920s during and immediately after the Irish War of Independence, another largely-guerrilla war. The bulk of the XXX Brigade, Royal Field Artillery (RFA) and XXXVI Brigade RFA, attached to the 5th Infantry Division, were deployed as mounted rifles or else as composite artillery/infantry units. For a brief period in early 1922 they reverted to the traditional artillery role. The I Brigade, Royal Horse Artillery (RHA)also deployed to Ireland as mounted infantry while the XXXIII Brigade RFA operated as a mixed armoured car/infantry unit. [13]

Four formal regiments were organised for service in Ireland, with squadrons made up of personnel drawn from various brigades: [14]

All four regiments were disbanded in 1922, the 4th Regiment on 31 January.

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 Stirling, p. 464.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Anglesey, Vol 4, p. 221.
  3. 1 2 Winrow, p. 140.
  4. ↑ Davis & Maddocks, p. 111.
  5. ↑ Rimington, Chapter 2.
  6. ↑ Deputy Director General of Ordnance. "Appendix 1: Record of work carried out by the Artillery Branch of the Headquarter Staff, South African War". Proceedings of the Royal Artillery Institute (30): 7–9. Retrieved 4 January 2019.
  7. ↑ Amery, Vol V, pp. 472–91.
  8. ↑ Frederick, pp. 498–501.
  9. ↑ Hart's Army List 1901.
  10. ↑ Rowan-Robinson, Colonel H. (1921). "The Danger of Catch-Words and Phrases". Royal United Services Institution Journal. 66 (463): 436. doi:10.1080/03071842109434620.
  11. ↑ "Ubique (Royal Artillery)". The Kipling Society. Retrieved 4 January 2019.
  12. ↑ Hamer, Mary; Ayers, Roger. "Ubique". The Kipling Society. Retrieved 4 January 2019.
  13. ↑ Linderman, p. 29.
  14. ↑ Frederick, p. 977.

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