The 69th Siege Battery was a heavy howitzer unit of the British Royal Garrison Artillery (RGA), formed in Sussex during World War I. The battery saw active service on the Western Front, participating in key battles such as the Battle of the Somme, the Battle of Arras, and the Battle of Messines.

In addition to its role in these major offensives, the 69th Siege Battery also fought during the German Spring Offensive and contributed to the final Allied push during the Hundred Days Offensive, which ultimately led to the end of the war.

Mobilisation On the outbreak of war in August 1914, units of the part-time Territorial Force (TF) were invited to volunteer for Overseas ServiceBecke, Pt 2b, p. 6. and the majority of the Sussex Royal Garrison Artillery did so. This unit had mobilised as part of No. 10 Coastal Fire Command, responsible for the defence of Newhaven.Farndale, Forgotten Fronts, pp. 402, 409.Maurice-Jones, p. 185. By October 1914, the campaign on the Western Front was bogging down into trench warfare, and there was an urgent need for siege artillery batteries in France. The War Office decided that the TF coastal gunners were well-trained enough to take over many of the duties in the coastal defences, releasing Regular RGA gunners for service in the field.WO Instruction No 248 of October 1914. Soon the TF RGA companies that had volunteered for overseas service were also supplying trained gunners to RGA units serving overseas and providing cadres to form complete new units.Maurice-Jones, pp. 200–1.

A company from the Sussex RGA provided half the personnel for the 69th Siege Battery, RGA when it was formed on 9 October 1915, the remainder being 'Kitchener's Army' volunteers.Frederick, pp. 702–8.WO Instruction No 144 of October 1915. Together with the 68th Siege Battery, it constituted C Siege Brigade (Training) until that was dissolved in January 1916. The two batteries then joined the 70th Siege Battery in C Siege Brigade (Training) at Lydd Camp.Frederick, pp. 710, 716–7. At Lydd, the men were introduced to modern heavy guns but did gun drills on 9.45-inch Skoda howitzers from the Second Boer War and their actual field firing with 8-inch rifled muzzle-loading howitzers from 1879. Other units under training at Lydd at this time included the 67th and 76th Siege Batteries, as well as five South African Heavy Artillery batteries (71st, 72nd, 73rd, 74th, 75th).Penstone, pp. 12–3.Anon, Seventy-First Siege Battery, p. 11.

On 19 February 1916, the Army Service Corps formed 652 Company as Battery Ammunition Column Motor Transport for 68th and 69th Siege Batteries.Young, Annex Q. The battery mobilised at Taunton on 28 February under the command of Major H.G. Carr, with Major A.J. Martineau of the Sussex RGA as second-in-command. Throughout March, it received four 9.2-inch howitzers and was joined by the 652 Company. On 29 March, it dispatched its guns and transport by road to Avonmouth Docks, where they were loaded aboard HM Transport Aragon, and on 31 March, the men were transported by train to Southampton. There they embarked on the SS Lydia, together with the 76th Siege Battery with whom they had trained at Lydd, and arrived at Boulogne on 1 April.69th Siege Bty War Diary March 1916–January 1918, The National Archives (TNA), Kew, file WO 95/478/4.Penstone, pp. 14–5.

Western Front The guns had been unloaded and overhauled by 16 April. The next day, the battery left for the front by lorry, with the guns following by train and arriving at La Houssoye on 19 April. The battery joined the 27th Heavy Artillery Group (HAG) supporting III Corps in the Fourth Army.'Allocation of Siege Batteries RGA', TNA, file WO 95/5494/4.'Headquarters Heavy Artillery Groups', TNA file WO 95/5494/1. Shortly afterwards, 652 Company ASC was absorbed into the group's ammunition column. The gunners spent a week digging positions; two guns were ready for action by 27 April, with all four ready by 29 April. They spent another 10 days preparing dugouts before firing their first rounds on 10 May, to begin registering their guns on targets. They then carried out a few counter-battery (CB) shoots. On 19 May, the battery came under the command of 30th HAG, a newly-arrived headquarters.

Somme

The Fourth Army was preparing for that year's 'Big Push', the Battle of the Somme, with III Corps facing the German redoubts in front of Ovillers. The bombardment was to extend over five days-U, V, W, X, and Y-before the assault was launched on Z day. The strenuous work of firing the heavy guns and howitzers was divided into two-hour periods to allow the gunners to rest, Forward Observation Officers (FOOs) to be relieved, and the guns to cool. The bombardment began on 24 June, and for the 69th Siege Battery, it reached a crescendo of 444 rounds on X day (27 June), on which a premature shell burst killed two and wounded six gunners in the battery. However, on several days, the weather was too bad for good air or ground observation, and the programme was extended by two days (Y1 and Y2). The infantry commanders were still dissatisfied with the effects on Ovillers (many shells failed to burst) and brought up trench mortars to supplement the heavies. The final bombardment began at 06:25 on Z Day (1 July). When the infantry launched their assault at 07:30, III Corps had its heavy guns lengthen their range in a series of timed 'lifts' ahead of them. However, the bombardment had failed to knock out many of the machine gun positions, and as soon as the attackers went 'over the top', they began to take heavy casualties. The 8th Division, attacking up the Ovillers spur, gained only a few footholds in the opposing lines, and it was impossible to renew the attack in the afternoon.Becke, Pt 4, pp. 99–107.Edmonds, 1916, Vol I, pp. 299–300, 304–5, 371–5, 385–91.Farndale, Western Front, pp. 142–98.Farrar-Hockley, pp. 138–45.

The bombardment resumed the next day, with the 69th Siege Battery having to replace the beams on which its howitzers rested because they were splitting. Fire continued over the following days on targets in Contalmaison, Pozières, and Courcelette as the offensive continued, with the battery moving forward by sections to shorten the range. On 31 July, it suffered several casualties from enemy fire, and the Right Section withdrew to a safer position. The battery shelled Martinpuich and High Wood intermittently until mid-September in support of the continuing attacks. It then moved up to Contalmaison to bombard Eaucourt L'Abbaye and the Butte de Warlencourt. The battery participated in a heavy bombardment of the Gallwitz Line on 5 November, followed by some 'Chinese' (fake) attacks before the Somme offensive died out in mid-November. It supported the continuing Operations on the Ancre, January–March 1917. On 30 January 1917, Major Carr was promoted to command the 29th HAG and was replaced by Captain J.C. Lucas. On 28 January, the battery began preparing new positions at Frise, and the guns began registration fire from 5 February. Targets over the following weeks included trenches, dugouts, and bridges.Penstone, pp. 44, 49.

Arras On 12 March, the guns were hauled out and moved north to join the 50th HAG under the Third Army in the Arras sector, with the first half battery arriving on 20 March. For the opening of the Battle of Arras on 9 April, the battery was deployed at Marœuil in support of XVII Corps.Becke, Pt 4, pp. 89–98.Farndale, Western Front, Map 23. Before and during the attack, the 69th Siege Battery carried out counter-battery (CB) tasks and fired on selected roads. XVII Corps attacked with three divisions and was largely successful, except for a hold-up on one flank. Large numbers of prisoners were taken in the German front line, demoralised by the bombardment.Falls, 1917, Vol I, pp. 179–86, 198–200, 225–36.Farndale, Western Front, pp. 164–72. After the battle, the battery prepared to dismount its guns, but several of the road wheels were destroyed by shellfire. The 76th Siege Battery loaned some wheels so that the battery could complete the move. It went to Écurie, north of Arras, and switched to the command of the 70th HAG for the subsequent stages of the Arras offensive, including the attacks on Oppy Wood.Penstone, p. 50.

Messines The battery next moved to Neuve Eglise to join the 16th HAG with the Second Army as part of the artillery build-up for the forthcoming Battle of Messines. Once the battery had prepared its positions, it opened fire on Messines village on 29 May. The bombardment continued against enemy trenches until the assault went in on 7 June, following the explosion of huge mines. During the day, the battery fired 1,386 rounds between 03:00 and 23:00. The results of the limited attack were spectacular. The British artillery was repositioned after the battle, with the 69th Siege Battery moving up to La Petite Douve Farm in the old German front line.Becke, Pt 4, pp. 79–87.Edmonds, 1917, Vol II, pp. 41–9, 52–81.Farndale, Western Front, pp. 184–92.

Nieuport On 17 June, the battery was pulled out of the line, leaving its guns in position and taking over those of the 118th Siege Battery. The gunners rested and overhauled these guns until 3 July, when they moved to Oostduinkerke on the Belgian coast to join the 22nd HAG with the Fourth Army. The BEF's next operation was the Flanders Offensive, aiming to break through at Ypres with a follow-up attack along the coast supported by amphibious landings (Operation Hush), for which the Fourth Army had assembled around Nieuport. The guns began registering on targets on 9 July; the next day, British preparations were disrupted by a German spoiling attack. Over the following weeks, the British batteries exchanged counter-battery (CB) fire with their German counterparts, with aircraft spotting for the guns. On 22 July, the 69th Siege Battery had a gun temporarily put out of action by a concentration of 11-inch shells, and the next day, had one gun totally destroyed. This continued, with occasional spells at rest camps, until 15 November, when the battery was pulled out.Edmonds, 1917, Vol II, pp. 116–22.

Major Cyril Scholefield took over command of the battery on 31 August. He was a Regular officer who had been commissioned into the RGA just before the outbreak of war.London Gazette, 7 August 1914. Despite the static warfare, the battery's chain of command was frequently changed: to the 45th HAG on 3 September, to the 36th HAG on 6 October while in rest camp, and then to the 15th HAG with XIX Corps Heavy Artillery under the Belgian Army (after the Fourth Army HQ left) from 9 October to 26 November 1917.

Winter 1917–18 On 25 November 1917, the 69th Siege Battery returned to Marœuil, joining the 83rd HAG under the First Army. The guns shared a position at Maison de la Côte ('X2') on the Arras–Bailleul road with a section of 8-inch howitzers from the 135th Siege Battery.Walters & Hurle Hobbs, pp. 76–8. By then, HAG allocations were becoming more fixed, and on 1 January 1918, they were converted into permanent RGA brigades. For the rest of the war, the battery was part of the 83rd (Mixed) Brigade, RGA, along with one or two heavy batteries (60-pounders), two 6-inch howitzer batteries, and one battery of 8-inch howitzers.Farndale, Western Front, Annex M.83rd Bde War Diary February 1917–February 1919, TNA file WO 95/478/1. The 83rd Brigade's role was counter-battery (CB) work on XIII Corps' front, and with its excellent observation from Vimy Ridge, its batteries were able to carry out some effective shoots against hostile batteries around Crest Wood. During February and March, German retaliatory fire on Bailleul was heavy, especially with mustard gas shells, which caused numerous casualties.Walters & Hurle Hobbs, pp. 78–80. The 69th Siege Battery was rearmed with 9.2-inch Mark II howitzers and made up to a strength of six guns when a section from the 504th Siege Battery arrived from England and joined on 16 March 1918.

Spring Offensive