The 6th Battalion, Royal Warwickshire Regiment (6th Royal Warwicks) was a unit of Britain's Territorial Army (TA) from 1908 until 1961. Recruited from Birmingham, it served as infantry in some of the bloodiest fighting on the Western Front and in Italy during World War I. Converted to an Anti-Aircraft (AA) role, it defended the West Midlands during The Blitz in the early part of World War II, and then joined Eighth Army in North Africa, including service in the famous Siege of Tobruk and in the Italian Campaign. It served on in the air defence role in the postwar TA until 1961.

Volunteers

The enthusiasm for the Volunteer movement following an invasion scare in 1859 saw the creation of many Rifle Volunteer Corps (RVCs) composed of part-time soldiers eager to supplement the Regular British Army in time of need.Beckett.Spiers, pp. 163–8.Westlake. One such unit was the 1st (Birmingham Rifles) Warwickshire RVC.Beckett, Appendix VII.Frederick, pp. 281–2.Westlake, pp. 241–2.Jeff, pp. 5–6.

Under the 'Localisation of Forces' scheme introduced by the Cardwell reforms, the Volunteers in Warwickshire were grouped with the two Regular battalions of the 6th Foot (Royal Warwickshire Regiment) and, following the Childers Reforms, the battalion was designated the 1st Volunteer Battalion of the Royal Warwickshire Regiment in 1883. On 1 January 1891, the unit reorganised as a double battalion (referred to as A and B Battalions, or more confusingly as 1st and 2nd Battalions).Army List, various dates.Jeff, pp. 6–15.

Territorial Force When the Volunteers were subsumed into the Territorial Force (TF) in 1908 as part of the Haldane Reforms,Dunlop, Chapter 14.Spiers, Chapter 10. the 1st and 2nd Battalions of the Birmingham Rifles became the 5th Battalion, Royal Warwickshire Regiment and 6th Battalion, Royal Warwickshire Regiment respectively and adopted the red uniform with blue facings of the Royal Warwickshires. The 5th and 6th Battalions continued to share a drill hall at Thorp Street, Birmingham, and both were in the Warwickshire Brigade of the TF's South Midland Division.Becke, Pt 2a, pp. 77–83.

World War I Mobilisation On the outbreak of war in August 1914 the units of the South Midland Division had just set out for annual training when orders recalled them to their home depots for mobilisation. 6th Royal Warwicks mobilised at Thorp Street under its commanding officer (CO) Lt-Col E. Martineau, VD. The division then concentrated around Chelmsford where it formed part of Central Force. While the battalions trained for overseas service, so-called 2nd-Line battalions were authorised on 31 August to be formed at the home depots from men who either had not volunteered for overseas service or were unfit, together with the recruits flooding in. Thus the parent battalion at Chelmsford was designated the 1/6th Bn, that at Birmingham was the 2/6th Bn. Later a 3rd-Line or reserve battalion was also formed to train drafts for the other two.48 Division at Long, Long TrailBecke, Pt 2b, p. 6.

1/6th Royal Warwicks The South Midland Division was selected to proceed to France to join the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) early in 1915, and the 1/6th Royal Warwicks disembarked at Le Havre at the beginning of April. Within days it began learning the routine of trench warfare around St Yves, Messines and Ploegsteert. On 12 May the division was designated the 48th (South Midland) Division and the brigade became the 143rd (Warwickshire) Brigade.Jeff, p. 24. The battalion later moved south to a section of the line around Hébuterne, Foncquevillers and Gommecourt. It was still in this area a year later when the Battle of the Somme began.Jeff, p. 26.

Somme Although 48th Division was in Corps Reserve for the First day on the Somme, two battalions (1/6th and 1/8th Royal Warwicks) were detailed to attack with 11th Brigade leading the assault of 4th Division towards 'Redan Ridge'. Even before Zero hour the 'jumping-off' trenches came under fire from 'crumps' of enemy artillery, and machine guns began playing over No man's land from both flanks. 1/8th Royal Warwicks was shielded by the ground from direct fire and managed to get into the German second line and into 'Quadrilateral Redoubt' (the Heidenkopf, which German engineers had blown up too early). 1/6th Battalion, following up, passed the Quadrilateral. The right hand companies of both battalions pushed on and made contact with the rest of 11th Brigade in 'Munich Trench', but the left companies suffered heavy casualties from the village of Serre, which 31st Division had been unable to reach. 4th Division's support brigades now arrived: it was too late to stop their leading battalions, who also suffered heavy casualties crossing No man's land to join 11th Brigade. Although 4th Division had broken into the German positions, it now came under attack from both flanks, many of the men who had advanced furthest being cut off and shot down. Running short of hand grenades and ammunition, and attacked by German troops moving down from Serre, the survivors were forced back from Munich Trench to the Quadrilateral. The brigadier and all the battalion commanders of 11th Brigade had become casualties (Lt-Col H. Franklin of 1/6th Royal Warwicks was wounded) and the survivors of 11th Brigade was withdrawn in the afternoon, leaving the rest of the division to try to hold the foothold in the Quadrilateral. The 1/8th Royal Warwicks had suffered heavier casualties than any other TF battalion on the First day on the Somme, and those of 1/6th were not far behind with 466 casualties.Edmonds, pp. 426, 437–41, 446–8.Farrar-Hockley, pp. 114–7, 123–4.Horsfall & Cave, pp. 35–6, 66–7.Jeff, p 26.Middlebrook, Somme, pp. 147–8, 168–70, Appendices 3 & 5.

The 1/6th Bn was involved in the following further operations while serving on the Western Front:

Battle of the Somme: Battle of Bazentin Ridge, 15–17 July Capture of Ovillers-la-Boisselle, 17 July Battle of Pozières Ridge, 23–27 July and 13–28 August 1916 Battle of the Ancre Heights, 3–11 November 1916 Battle of the Ancre, 13–18 November 1916 German Retreat to the Hindenburg Line, 14 March–5 April 1917: Occupation of Peronne, 18 March 1916 Third Battle of Ypres: Battle of Langemarck, 16–18 August 1917 Battle of Polygon Wood, 28 September–3 October 1917 Battle of Broodseinde, 4 October 1917 Battle of Poelcappelle, 9 October 1917

Italy On 10 November 1917, the 48th Division received orders to move to Italy. By 1 December, the units had finished detraining around Legnago on the Adige. On 1 March 1918, the division relieved 7th Division in the front line of the Montello sector on the Piave Front, and held the line until 16 March. On 1 April, it moved westward into reserve for the middle sector of the Asiago Plateau Front. It remained in Italy for the remainder of the war, taking part in the following operations:Jeff, pp. 28–31. Battle of the Piave River: Fighting on the Asiago Plateau, 15–16 June 1918 Battle of Vittorio Veneto: Fighting in the Val d'Assa, 1–4 November 1918

On 3 November 1918, at Osteria del Termine, the division surrounded and captured a large force of Austrian troops including the corps commander and three divisional commanders. By 15.00 on 4 November, when the Armistice with Austria came into force, the division had pushed forward into the Trentino. After the conclusion of hostilities, the division was withdrawn to Italy for the winter. Demobilisation began in 1919 and the battalion completed this complete on 2 May.

2/6th Royal Warwicks The 2/6th Bn was formed in Birmingham in October 1914, but at first the men lived at home, and little or nothing was available in terms of uniforms, arms or equipment. It was not until the 2nd South Midland Division concentrated at Northampton in January 1915 that the men were issued with .256-in Japanese Ariska rifles with which to train. Here they formed part of First Army of Central Force, but when the 1st South Midland Division went to France, the 2nd took its place at Chelmsford and became part of Third Army of Central Force, with a definite role in Home Defence. The battalions formed their machine gun sections while at Chelmsford, but the strength of the units fluctuated widely as they were drawn upon for drafts for their 1st-Line battalions. In August 1915 the division was numbered as the 61st (2nd South Midland) Division and the brigade became the 182nd (2nd Warwickshire) Brigade.Becke, Pt 2b, pp. 33–9.61 Division at Long, Long Trail.

In February and March 1916, the units of 61st Division moved to Salisbury Plain to begin final training for overseas service. Here they were issued with .303 SMLE service rifles in place of the Japanese weapons, and Lewis guns in place of dummy guns and antique Maxim guns. Final leave was granted in April and May and the division entrained for France, concentrating at IX Corps' rest area by 28 May.

The 2/6th Bn's first action was the Battle of Fromelles on 19 July 1916, a diversionary attack in support of the Somme Offensive. The attack was badly handled and casualties were heavy. The 61st Division was so badly mauled that it was not used offensively again in 1916. Thereafter, the battalion was involved in the following operations: Operations on the Ancre, 11–15 January 1917 German Retreat to the Hindenburg Line, 14 March–5 April 1917 Battle of Langemarck, 16–18 August 1917 Battle of Cambrai: German counter-attacks, 1–3 December 1917.

Due to the manpower shortage being suffered by the BEF, 2/5th Royal Warwicks was disbanded on 20 February 1918, some of the men being drafted into the 2/6th Bn.

Spring Offensive On the day before the German spring offensive opened, 61st Division was in the line north of St Quentin when 2/6th Royal Warwicks was ordered to raid the enemy line. A and C Companies made the raid on Cepy Farm at 22.00 and obtained prisoners from three regiments and two separate divisions, indicating that the German lines were packed ready for an attack. Indeed, the prisoners were anxious to be taken to the rear because they knew the German bombardment was due at 04.40 the following morning, 21 March. Unfortunately, this priceless information was not widely disseminated before the attack (the Battle of St Quentin) began.Middlebrook, Kaiser's Battle, pp. 140–1.Murland, p. 69.

The front held by 61st Division opposite St Quentin was one of the few sectors where the attackers were delayed. Redoubts in the Forward Zone held out for most of the day and prevented the Germans from penetrating far into the Battle Zone, which was successfully held by 2/6th Royal Warwicks and four other battalions. Unfortunately, the Germans had fresh divisions to throw into the attack the next day, and although the division took a heavy toll on them, its neighbours had been driven back and it was ordered to retire. It was then involved in the Actions to defend the Somme Crossings on 24–25 March.Blaxland, pp. 43–5.Middlebrook, Kaiser's Battle, pp. 246–8.Murland, pp. 59, 79–80, 145-6.

The much-reduced 61st Division was relieved on 27 March and immediately taken north by lorry to make a counter-attack the following day at Lamotte near Villers-Bretonneux. This attack was shot down yards from the objective. The exhausted remnants were finally pulled out of the line on 30 March.Blaxland, pp. 92, 95, 98, 103. During the rest of Spring 1918 the battalion was involved in the following operations in the Battle of the Lys: Battle of Estaires, 11 April, when the 61st Division arrived just in time to prevent the destruction of the 51st (Highland) DivisionBlaxland, p. 120. Battle of Hazebrouck, 12–15 April Battle of Béthune, 18 April

Hundred Days Offensive