The 44th Siege Battery was a unit of Britain's

Royal Garrison Artillery The Royal Garrison Artillery (RGA) was formed in 1899 as a distinct arm of the British Army's Royal Regiment of Artillery serving alongside the other two arms of the Regiment, the Royal Field Artillery (RFA) and the Royal Horse Artillery (R ...

(RGA) raised during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

. It manned heavy Railway guns supporting the British Expeditionary Force on the

Western Front Western Front or West Front may refer to: Military frontiers * Western Front (World War I), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (World War II), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (Russian Empire), a maj ...

from 1916 to 1918, seeing action on the

Somme __NOTOC__ Somme or The Somme may refer to: Places *Somme (department), a department of France *Somme, Queensland, Australia *Canal de la Somme, a canal in France *Somme (river), a river in France Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Somme'' (book), a ...

, at

Vimy Ridge The Battle of Vimy Ridge was part of the Battle of Arras, in the Pas-de-Calais department of France, during the First World War. The main combatants were the four divisions of the Canadian Corps in the First Army, against three divisions of ...

and at

Cambrai Cambrai (, ; pcd, Kimbré; nl, Kamerijk), formerly Cambray and historically in English Camerick or Camericke, is a city in the Nord department and in the Hauts-de-France region of France on the Scheldt river, which is known locally as the ...

. A distant successor unit continues in the present-day

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

Mobilisation

On the outbreak of war in August 1914, units of the part-time

Territorial Force The Territorial Force was a part-time volunteer component of the British Army, created in 1908 to augment British land forces without resorting to conscription. The new organisation consolidated the 19th-century Volunteer Force and yeomanry ...

(TF) moved into their war stations. The Tynemouth Royal Garrison Artillery was a 'defended ports' unit tasked with manning the defences of the

River Tyne The River Tyne is a river in North East England. Its length (excluding tributaries) is . It is formed by the North Tyne and the South Tyne, which converge at Warden Rock near Hexham in Northumberland at a place dubbed 'The Meeting of the Wat ...

. By October 1914, the campaign on the

was bogging down into

Trench warfare Trench warfare is a type of land warfare using occupied lines largely comprising Trench#Military engineering, military trenches, in which troops are well-protected from the enemy's small arms fire and are substantially sheltered from artille ...

and there was an urgent need for batteries of siege artillery to be sent to assist the British Expeditionary Force (BEF). Soon TF coast defence units that had volunteered for overseas service were supplying trained gunners to serving RGA units and providing cadres to form complete new units. 44th Siege Battery was formed on 12 July 1915 at

Sheerness Sheerness () is a town and civil parish beside the mouth of the River Medway on the north-west corner of the Isle of Sheppey in north Kent, England. With a population of 11,938, it is the second largest town on the island after the nearby tow ...

from a cadre provided by the Tynemouth RGA and Regular RGA coastal gunners brought back from the garrisons of

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = "Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gibr ...

and

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

. Formally, it was a New Army ('

Kitchener's Army The New Army, often referred to as Kitchener's Army or, disparagingly, as Kitchener's Mob, was an (initially) all-volunteer portion of the British Army formed in the United Kingdom from 1914 onwards following the outbreak of hostilities in the Fi ...

') unit rather than TF or Regular.

Service

The battery was sent out to the Western Front to man two 12-inch railway howitzers, disembarking at

Le Havre Le Havre (, ; nrf, Lé Hâvre ) is a port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the river Seine on the Channel southwest of the Pays de Caux, very ...

on 25 January 1916. On 16 February it was allocated to XIII Corps in Fourth Army, which was preparing for that summer's 'Big Push' (the

Battle of the Somme The Battle of the Somme (French: Bataille de la Somme), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place be ...

). The battery came under 21st Heavy Artillery Brigade on 12 March and spent the next few weeks constructing dugouts first at Morlancourt and then at Méaulte. On 9 April the battery reported that it had 'Rigged up a haystack with wire netting and straw over No 1 gun position'. It was also digging trenches for buried communication cables. In early May it came under the command of

XV Corps 15th Corps, Fifteenth Corps, or XV Corps may refer to: * XV Corps (British India) *XV Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial German Army prior to and during World War I *15th Army Corps (Russian Empire), a unit in World War I * XV Royal Bav ...

, a headquarters that had returned from

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via a land bridg ...

and now took over XIII Corps' section of the line for the forthcoming offensive.'Allocation of Siege Batteries RGA'
The National Archives (TNA), Kew, file WO 95/5494/4.'Headquarters Heavy Artillery Groups'
TNA file WO 95/5494/1.'44 Siege Battery War Diary January 1916–February 1918'
TNA file WO 95/545.Becke, Pt 4, pp. 225–8.

Somme

12inchRailwayHowitzerHildaYpres7November1917

On 2 June the battery brought up its No 1 gun and got it into position during the night under its 'haystack'. On 14 June No 2 gun was got into position near Vivier Farm. On 16 June No 1 gun fired four rounds for registration against Mametz Church. On 24 June both guns fired for registration, No 2 at

Fricourt Fricourt () is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Geography Fricourt is situated on the D147 and D64 junction, some northeast of Amiens. History Fricourt is about a kilometre from Mametz. It was close to ...

Farm. Then on 26 June the battery joined in the preliminary bombardment for the attack on 1 July. The two howitzers each fired 45–68 rounds per day at Fricourt and Fricourt Farm; at one point No 1 gun crew achieved seven rounds (each weighing ) in 11 minutes. The recoil was so great that the railway embankment from which No 1 gun was firing began to settle, and it had to cease fire until the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is head ...

(RE) could shore it up. Despite the weight of shelling the first day's assault on Fricourt was a failure, and its

capture Capture may refer to: *Asteroid capture, a phenomenon in which an asteroid enters a stable orbit around another body *Capture, a software for lighting design, documentation and visualisation *"Capture" a song by Simon Townshend *Capture (band), an ...

had to be completed on 2 July. While No 1 gun fired at

Contalmaison Contalmaison () is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Geography Contalmaison is situated on the D147 and D20 crossroads, some northeast of Amiens. History As with many towns in this part of France, Conta ...

, No 2 gun moved near to

Bray-sur-Somme Bray-sur-Somme (, literally ''Bray on Somme'') is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Twin towns It is twinned with Inkberrow. Geography The communes is situated on the D1 and D329 road junction, some ea ...

on 5 July, then No 1 moved alongside on 8 July. The bombardment of the German second line began on 11 July: No 1 blew up an ammunition store while No 2 was reported to have set fire to Martinpuich Church and to have destroyed an anti-aircraft gun. The attack on the second line (the Battle of Bazentin Ridge) went in on 14 July and the guns fired on Martinpuich and Bazentin-le-Petit. Over the next three months of the Somme offensive 44th SB continued to engage targets such as

High Wood The Attacks on High Wood, near Bazentin le Petit in the Somme ''département'' of northern France, took place between the British Fourth Army and the German 1st Army during the Battle of the Somme. After the Battle of Bazentin Ridge on 14 ...

Delville Wood The Battle of Delville Wood was a series of engagements in the 1916 Battle of the Somme in the First World War, between the armies of the German Empire and the British Empire. Delville Wood , was a thick tangle of trees, chiefly beech and ...

, Switch Trench,

Guillemont Guillemont () is a commune approximately east of Albert in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. It, like much of the surrounding area, is primarily an agricultural community, but is known for its large Commonwealth War ...

, and Ginchy, each the scene of bitter fighting. Firing was often in cooperation with observation balloons and occasionally with aircraft. On 31 August the No 1 gun (No 10 in order of manufacture) was showing signs of wear and was allocated its last 50 rounds. It was replaced by gun No 34 on 6 September, but this lasted only 152 rounds before it suffered torn rifling and was also condemned on 15 September during the

Battle of Flers–Courcelette The Battle of Flers–Courcelette (, 15 to 22 September 1916) was fought during the Battle of the Somme in France, by the French Sixth Army and the British Fourth Army and Reserve Army, against the German 1st Army, during the First World War. ...

. While No 2 gun continued firing at

Gueudecourt Gueudecourt () is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. History During the Battle of the Somme, the town of Gueudecourt had represented one of the most distant objectives for the British drive that opened on 1 ...

, No 1 was sent to Le Havre for replacing. No 2 gun was condemned on 27 September for scoring of the barrel after 1956 rounds fired, but gun and mounting No 40 arrived on 30 September as the battery's new No 1 gun. XV Corps' participation in the Somme Offensive ended with the Battle of Le Transloy (1–18 October), after which 44th SB was transferred to 69th Heavy Artillery Group (HAG) on 23 October. It continued firing at various targets until the end of the year.

Vimy

The practice at this stage of the war was to switch batteries and HAG headquarters around as required. 44th Siege Battery moved to 23rd HAG on 27 January 1917, then on 3 February it got orders for an immediate move, joining

I ANZAC Corps The I ANZAC Corps (First Anzac Corps) was a combined Australian and New Zealand army corps that served during World War I. It was formed in Egypt in February 1916 as part of the reorganisation and expansion of the Australian Imperial Force and ...

with Fifth Army on 6 February for the

Operations on the Ancre, January–March 1917 Operations on the Ancre took place from between the British Fifth Army and the German 1st Army, on the Somme front during the First World War. After the Battle of the Ancre (13–18 November 1916), British attacks on the Somme front stopped f ...

.Becke, Pt 4, pp. 111–20. Next it was with First Army, first with 55th HAG, then from 18 March with 26th HAG.Becke, Pt 4, pp. 71–8. First Army was preparing for its part in the forthcoming Arras Offensive, the attack on

planned for 9 April. The role of heavy howitzers was clarified in early 1917, when it was recognised that they were best suited for

counter-battery Counter-battery fire (sometimes called counter-fire) is a battlefield tactic employed to defeat the enemy's indirect fire elements ( multiple rocket launchers, artillery and mortars), including their target acquisition, as well as their command ...

(CB) fire against well-protected enemy guns. For Vimy there were dedicated CB groups with observation aircraft, beginning 20 days before the attack (Z minus 20) with systematic fire, then from Z minus 10 switching to more vigorous destruction of all known enemy batteries, telephone exchanges and observation posts. First Army's commander, Gen Henry Horne was himself a gunner and took personal command through his Major-General, Royal Artillery, Maj-Gen H.F. Mercer, of the heaviest 15-inch and 12-inch guns. 26th HAG was firing in direct support of the

Canadian Corps The Canadian Corps was a World War I corps formed from the Canadian Expeditionary Force in September 1915 after the arrival of the 2nd Canadian Division in France. The corps was expanded by the addition of the 3rd Canadian Division in December ...

attacking on Vimy Ridge itself. The huge weight of artillery, including 'some of the most accurate counter-battery fire of the war', together with the dash of the Canadians ensured the success of the attack. Successes dwindled as the Arras offensive continued, though the guns continued their support. In May 44th SB brought CB fire and direct bombardment onto Mericourt. But CB fire could work both ways: on 28/29 May the battery suffered two men wounded and cartridge dugouts destroyed by enemy guns.

Cambrai

44th Siege Battery continued its CB duties from June to October 1917, then between 12 and 18 November it was transported to join 90th HAG with Third Army, preparing for the Battle of Cambrai. The massed guns were kept silent until the surprise attack was launched in 20 November, but their positions and targets were accurately surveyed so that they could fire 'off the map' without need for prior registration. The 'super heavy' artillery group fired concentrations on the villages behind the lines, 44th SB firing on

Havrincourt Havrincourt () is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in Hauts-de-France in France. The inhabitants are called ''Havrincourtois''. Situation The village lies about 14 kilometres south-west of Cambrai near the Havrincourt service area on ...

Flesquières Flesquières () is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. Heraldry See also *Communes of the Nord department The following is a list of the 648 communes of the Nord department of the French Republic. The communes cooperate ...

and Graincourt, major objectives for the attack. The attack was a great success, but its exploitation was disappointing. 44th Siege Bty switched to the command of 58th HAG on 25 November during the fighting for Bourlon Wood and then the German counter-attacks that wiped out the gains of Cambrai.Becke, Pt 4, pp. 89–98.

Battles of 1918

12inchMkVRailwayHowitzerFiringSoissons-2

44th Siege Battery remained with Third Army during the winter of 1917–18, under 87th HAG from 15 December to 26 February 1918. In early 1918 the BEF changed its heavy artillery organisation. The HAGs became permanent RGA brigades, but the heaviest guns (including 44th SB's railway howitzers) remained unbrigaded under the direct command of Army HQs. The battery operated under Third, First, Fifth and Fourth Armies during the German spring offensive and Allied

Hundred Days Offensive The Hundred Days Offensive (8 August to 11 November 1918) was a series of massive Allies of World War I, Allied offensives that ended the First World War. Beginning with the Battle of Amiens (1918), Battle of Amiens (8–12 August) on the Wester ...

of 1918. As the fighting became more fluid the heaviest artillery became less useful, the railway guns in particular being dependent on the rate at which the RE could repair the destroyed lines in the battle zone. When hostilities ended in November, 44th SB was operating under Fifth Army.

Postwar

Unusually for a New Army unit, 44th Siege Battery was not disbanded after the

Armistice with Germany The Armistice of 11 November 1918 was the armistice signed at Le Francport near Compiègne that ended fighting on land, sea, and air in World War I between the Entente and their last remaining opponent, Germany. Previous armistices ...

but continued in the postwar Regular Army. On 24 July 1919 it absorbed the Home Service details of No 84 Company RGA at

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to ...

(the rest of the company having been converted into 130th Siege Battery in 1916 and disbanded in 1919). It was then converted into a medium artillery battery in XI Brigade, RGA. On 13 January 1920 it absorbed the former 60th Siege Battery and later that year the battery and brigade were redesignated as 16th Medium Battery in 4th Medium Brigade.''Army List'', various dates.Frederick, pp. 591, 702, 719, 721.Frederick, p. 727. From 16 August 1921 16th Med Bty was considered to be the successor to 84 Company, RGA, originally formed in 1757, and on 13 November 1934 it was awarded the

Honour Title A battle honour is an award of a right by a government or sovereign to a military unit to emblazon the name of a battle or operation on its flags ("colours"), uniforms or other accessories where ornamentation is possible. In European military t ...

'Gibraltar 1779–83' in recognition of that company's service during the

Great Siege of Gibraltar The Great Siege of Gibraltar was an unsuccessful attempt by Spain and France to capture Gibraltar from the British during the War of the American Revolution. It was the largest battle in the war by number of combatants. The American war had e ...

.Hughes, pp. 28–38. On 1 June 1924 the RGA was subsumed into the

(RA), and in May 1938 the brigade was redesignated 4th Medium Regiment, RA. Just before the outbreak of war in 1939 the RA's medium regiments were each reorganised into two large batteries, and 16th Bty served throughout

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

as part of the linked 14/16 Medium Bty. 4th Medium Rgt served in the

Battle of France The Battle of France (french: bataille de France) (10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign ('), the French Campaign (german: Frankreichfeldzug, ) and the Fall of France, was the German invasion of France during the Second Wor ...

Tunisian Campaign The Tunisian campaign (also known as the Battle of Tunisia) was a series of battles that took place in Tunisia during the North African campaign of the Second World War, between Axis and Allied forces from 17 November 1942 to 13 May 1943. Th ...

and Italian Campaign. 16 Battery was unlinked in the 1947 reorganisation of the RA, and resuscitated with new personnel to become 22 (Gibraltar 1779–83) Observation Battery ('Locating Battery' from 15 June 1951) in 52 Observation Regiment, later as an independent battery. Today, 22 (Gibraltar 1779–83) Battery forms part of

32 Regiment Royal Artillery 32 Regiment Royal Artillery ("The Wessex Gunners") is a regiment in the Royal Artillery, part of the British Army and is equipped with the Lockheed Martin Desert Hawk III and PUMA 2 miniature unmanned aerial vehicles. 32nd Regiment is the only ...

.32 Rgt RA at MoD.
/ref>

Notes

References

* Maj A.F. Becke,''History of the Great War: Order of Battle of Divisions, Part 4: The Army Council, GHQs, Armies, and Corps 1914–1918'', London: HM Stationery Office, 1944/Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, 2007, . * Brig-Gen Sir James E. Edmonds, ''History of the Great War: Military Operations, France and Belgium, 1916'', Vol I, London: Macmillan,1932/Woking: Shearer, 1986, . * Brig-Gen Sir James E. Edmonds & Lt-Col R. Maxwell-Hyslop, ''History of the Great War: Military Operations, France and Belgium 1918'', Vol V, ''26th September–11th November, The Advance to Victory'', London: HM Stationery Office, 1947/Imperial War Museum and Battery Press, 1993, . * Gen Sir

Martin Farndale General Sir Martin Baker Farndale, (6 January 1929 – 10 May 2000) was a British Army officer who reached high office in the 1980s. Military career Educated at Yorebridge Grammar School, Askrigg, and the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, Farnd ...

, ''History of the Royal Regiment of Artillery: Western Front 1914–18'', Woolwich: Royal Artillery Institution, 1986, . * Maj-Gen B.P. Hughes, ''Honour titles of the Royal Artillery'', Woolwich: Royal Artillery Institution, 1975. * J.B.M. Frederick, ''Lineage Book of British Land Forces 1660–1978'', Vol II, Wakefield, Microform Academic, 1984, . * {{Joslen-OOB * Lt-Col M.E.S. Lawes, ''Battery Records of the Royal Artillery, 1859–1877'', Woolwich: Royal Artillery Institution, 1970.

External sources

British Army units from 1945 on

Siege batteries of the Royal Garrison Artillery Military units and formations established in 1915 Artillery units and formations of World War I