XLIII (Howitzer) Brigade (43rd (Howitzer) Brigade) was a unit of Britain's Royal Field Artillery from 1900 until 1919. After serving in India it returned to the UK, where it underwent several reorganisations. It served with 1st Divisional Artillery on the Western Front during the first two years of World War I, including the Battles of Mons, Ypres, and Loos before being broken up. It reformed as a field gun brigade in home defence in 1917 but was disbanded after the Armistice.
Origin
Traditionally, the basic unit of the Royal Artillery (RA) has always been the battery. Although batteries were organised into 'battalions', these were purely administrative groupings. Between 1859 and 1900, independent batteries were brigaded together into geographic groups termed at different times 'brigades', 'divisions' or 'brigade divisions' (though the titles had no connection with the field formations of the same names). The Second Boer War saw brigade divisions of three batteries established as a permanent unit type of the Royal Field Artillery, under the command of a lieutenant-colonel and comparable with an infantry battalion or cavalry regiment; they were redesignated simply brigades in 1903.Frederick, p. 496.Headlam, Vol II, p. 54. One such new unit was XLIII Brigade Division, formed in March 1900 in India with the following organisation:Frederick, p. 513.Hart's Army List 1901. XLIII Brigade Division Headquarters at Lucknow 1st Battery at Kirkee 16th Battery at Kirkee 41st Battery at Lucknow
By the end of 1901 the batteries had moved to Ahmedabad (1st), Neemuch (16th) and Nusseerabad (41st),Hart's Army List 1902. and at the end of 1903 they had all moved to Trimulgherry, with Brigade HQ at Campbellpore under Brevet Colonel John Keir.Hart's Army List 1904. In 1905 the whole brigade was stationed at Secunderabad under the command of Lt-Col C.M.T. Western,Hart's Army List 1905. returning to Trimulgherry under Lt-Col I.A. Stokes during the year,Hart's Army List 1906. where it remained until 1908. It then moved back to Secunderabad, now under Lt-Col J.F. Cadell.Hart's Army List 1909. During 1909 the brigade returned to the UK under Lt-Col R.F. Fox, being stationed at Newport Monmouthshire,Hart's Army List 1910. before moving to Royal Artillery Barracks, Woolwich under Lt-Col A.S. Tyndale-Biscoe.Hart's Army List 1911. Lieutenant-Col A.W. Gay took command during 1912.Hart's Army List 1913. . In 1913 XLIII (Howitzer) Bde was disbanded and its batteries were distributed to other brigades. Simultaneously XLIX (49th) (Howitzer) Bde was renumbered XLIII (Howitzer) Brigade and took its place. XLIX (Howitzer) Brigade had been formed at Aldershot in 1901 under Lt-Col (later Bt-Col) E.A. Burrows with 146th, 147th and 148th (H) Btys, all newly formed. It later moved to Bulford Camp before returning to Aldershot. During 1907 it moved to Newbridge and came under Bt-Col C.G. Henshaw,Hart's Army List 1908. then to Woolwich under Bt-Col H.A. Bethell during 1909. In 1911 it went to Clonmel first under Lt-Col E.P. Lambert,Hart's Army List 1912. then Lt-Col G Humphreys.
When XLIX (H) Brigade was redesignated XLIII (H) Bde in 1913,148 (H) Bty was disbanded. Early in 1914, XLIII (H) Bde was reorganised again: 146 and 147 (H) Btys went to form a new VI Reserve Brigade at Glasgow, and XLIII was joined by the following batteries from brigades that were being broken up:Monthly Army List, August 1914. 30th Battery from XLIV Bde 40th Battery from XLII Bde 57th Battery from XLIV Bde
These were field gun batteries that would have had to convert to howitzers. By the outbreak of World War I, the howitzer batteries were each equipped with six 4.5-inch howitzers.Farndale, Western Front, pp. 1–2. Ammunition columns were only formed when a brigade was mobilised for active service. As part of the Haldane reforms in 1908 the men of the former Artillery Militia units of the Royal Garrison Artillery (RGA) joined the part-time Special Reserve as the Royal Field Reserve Artillery. Their wartime role was to form brigade ammunition columns (BACs) for the RFA.Edmonds, 1914, Vol I, p. 5.
XLIII (H) Brigade was now serving in Aldershot Command, assigned to 1st Division, which would form part of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) if mobilisation was ordered.Becke, Pt 1, pp. 33–9.XLIII (H) Bde, RFA, at Long, Long Trail.
World War I
Mobilisation On the outbreak of war in Europe in August 1914, XLIII (H) Brigade was stationed at Deepcut Barracks, near Farnborough, Hampshire, under the command of Lt-Col Frederick Sharp. It received the order to mobilise at 18.00 on 5 August, reservists were absorbed and equipped, and the ammunition column was formed over the following days. The brigade completed its mobilisation on 14 August and two days later it entrained at Farnborough for Southampton, where it embarked (Brigade HQ and 57th (H) Bty aboard the SS Turcoman, 40th (H) Bty aboard the SS City of Chester) and sailed for France.43rd (H) Bde War Diary, August 1914–May 1916, including 40th (H) Bty August–September 1914 and 57th (H) Bty August–November 1914, The National Archives (TNA), Kew, file WO 95/1250/2.
Western Front XLIII (H) Brigade landed at Boulogne with 1st Division on 18 August. Once the division had concentrated around Le Nouvion it began to move forward on 21 August.1st Division at Long, Long TrailEdmonds, 1914, Vol I, p. 49.Farndale, Western Front, p. 7.
Mons The BEF contacted the advancing Germans on 22 August and took up positions around Mons. The ground was generally flat and studded with mining villages, and was consequently poor for artillery observation. 1st Division's guns were deployed in the open, relatively close behind the infantry. On Sunday 23 August 40th (H) Bty was at Croix-lez-Rouveroy when the Battle of Mons opened. It remained observing, then at 17.00 'moved forward at speed to extricate 70th Battery' (of 2nd Division), 'which was being shelled by German howitzers'. The battery could not locate the enemy guns to return fire, and was back at its bivouacs at nightfall. Next day 40th (H) Bty sent forward a section to support the infantry while the remainder stayed in observation until a general withdrawal of the BEF was ordered at 11.00. It joined the whole of 1st Divisional Artillery (1st DA) in positions at Villers-Sire-Nicole where it fired at enemy cavalry squadrons when they came into range. It reached Feignies that night. The BEF's Retreat from Mons now began, the batteries mixed up with transport waggons on the congested roads.Edmonds, 1914, Vol I, pp. 72–3, 76, 97–8, 121–2, Sketch 4.Farndale, Western Front, pp. 9–12; Map 3.
On 27 August 30th (H) Bty was in action near Bernot with hostile guns, and that evening 40th (H) Bty was ordered back to support a 'hot rearguard action' north of Guise (1st (Guards) Brigade's Rearguard Affair of Étreux). Next day the battery reached Saint-Gobain, and though it deployed 'into action' it did not fire. 29 August was a rest day for the brigade. The retreat resumed next morning and continued for several days, the artillery horses becoming tired and the gunners very sleepy. By 4 September 57th (H) Bty was deployed with the rearguard overlooking the bridge over the River Marne at La Ferte. On 5 September 1 Division reached Coulommiers, out of contact with the enemy, and the brigade went into billets at Rozay. This ended the retreat, and on 6 September the BEF began to move forward again, 40th (H) Bty battery under the command of XXVI Bde supporting British cavalry probing ahead, while 57th (H) Bty traded fire with a concealed German battery. Later that day 1st Division advanced to the line Le Plessis–Andnoy. 40th (H) Battery rejoined XLIII (H) Bde at dusk and next day the battery accompanied the BEF's advanced guard as the Germans began to fall back as a result of the Battle of the Marne. Small cavalry engagements were continuing in front as the battery moved forward. On 8 September the column came under German shellfire and 40th (H) Bty was ordered into action to reply, but no observation post (OP) could be found and the German battery retired before 40th (H) Bty opened fire. Later it shelled the road near Boussières to hurry the German retirement. On 9 September 57th (H) Bty accompanied 2nd Infantry Brigade while the rest of XLIII (H) Bde advanced with 3rd Infantry Brigade to force a crossing of the River Marne at Nogent, finding that the cavalry had already crossed without opposition. The batteries spent the night at Beaurepaire Farm, north of Charly-sur-Marne.Edmonds, 1914, Vol I, pp. 224, 277, 283–4, 299, 333, Sketches 9, 13–15, 17–18.Farndale, Western Front, pp. 60–1, Map 9.
Aisne Next morning (10 September) the brigade engaged the flank guards of a German column marching eastwards. 40th (H) Bty marched at the head of a column sent against a reported German entrenched position ahead. The battery found itself 'thrust into a bad position into action against a retreating column'. The German guns returned fire, driving the 1st Battalion, Northamptonshire Regiment, off a ridge they had occupied; 40th (H) Bty was then ordered to 'search' the area behind the ridge, lobbing over its howitzer shells. Meanwhile the infantry were running back through the OP and the battery position, drawing hostile howitzer fire. Although this did little damage, several men were wounded at the battery's OP, and the divisional Commander, Royal Artillery, (CRA), Brigadier-General Neil Findlay, was killed while directing his guns. There were now no British infantry between the guns and the Germans, but 2nd Battalion King's Royal Rifle Corps came forward to fill the gap. 40th (H) Battery continued 'searching' for the enemy guns until it was ordered to shell the village of Priez, which was reported to be full of German infantry. The battery questioned the orders, which were repeated twice more before it fired a few shells: it was later found that the only troops in the village were British stragglers and wounded. The artillery continued to cover the advance until nightfall, the British batteries catching the Germans as they filed out of Chouy after retiring across the River Ourcq.Edmonds, 1914, Vol I, pp. 360–1.Farndale, Western Front, p. 61.