The 14th Heavy Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery, was one of the first British Army units recruited for 'Kitchener's Army' in World War I. It served on the Western Front from 1915 to 1918, supporting different formations of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF). It participated in the battles of the Somme and Arras, served on the Flanders coast and against the German Spring Offensive, and took part in the Allies' victorious Hundred Days Offensive. It continued in the Regular British Army postwar.
Mobilisation & training
On 6 August 1914, less than 48 hours after Britain's declaration of war, Parliament sanctioned an increase of 500,000 men for the Regular Army, and on 11 August the newly appointed secretary of state for war, Earl Kitchener of Khartoum issued his famous call to arms: 'Your King and Country Need You', urging the first 100,000 volunteers to come forward. This group of six divisions with supporting arms became known as Kitchener's First New Army, or 'K1'.Becke, Pt 3a, pp. 2, 8, 24, Appendix I.
The establishment for each of these divisions included a heavy battery of the Royal Garrison Artillery (RGA) and integral ammunition column, which would take the same number as the division. The senior division of K1 was to be the 8th (Light) Division, numbered after the seven Regular divisions of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF). The new division began to assemble at Aldershot in early September. However, it soon emerged that enough Regular units were returning from overseas garrisons to form an eighth division for the BEF. Under Army Order 382 of 11 September the 8th Kitchener division was renumbered and became 14th (Light) Division, now the junior K1 division; the accompanying heavy battery was similarly renumbered from 8th to 14th Heavy Battery, RGA.Becke Pt 3a, p. 47.Frederick, pp. 700–1.
On 3 October 1914, 14th Heavy Bty consisted of one lieutenant and about 12 Regular and re-enlisted Non-Commissioned Officers (NCOs) on Woolwich Common (the other five K1 heavy batteries were in a similar state). Only on 15 October did the first Kitchener recruits arrive, mainly from Newhaven Depot, followed two days later by two obsolescent Boer War-era 4.7-inch guns on converted 40-pounder carriages for training. The men were housed in tents on the common and training was carried out at Shooter's Hill and Blackheath. Some 50 horses were allotted to the battery on 7 November and riding classes began. By 27 November conditions on Woolwich Common were so bad that the battery moved to the Deer Park at Charlton Park, Greenwich. The winter mud was so bad that often the guns could not be pulled out for training. The men moved into huts on 5 January 1915, but only on 30 January were the horses moved into covered stables. Training was also hampered by the rapid turnover of officers and NCOs; the first long-term officer commanding (OC) was Major R.A. Thomas, who joined on 11 February 1915.Anon, War Diary, pp. 15–20, 103.14th Hvy Bty War Diary, October 1914–September 1915, The National Archives (TNA), Kew, file WO 95/397/3.
The battery left Woolwich on 9 February 1915 and went into billets round Merrow and West Clandon in Surrey, where it joined 14th (L) Division; battery headquarters (BHQ) was at Clandon Park House. At Clandon the battery received its full establishment of horses, but many were in poor condition. On 25 March the battery moved to Aldershot, and between 8 and 15 April attended a practice camp at Larkhill on Salisbury Plain where it fired 50 training rounds, and participated in divisional manoeuvres. At the end of April the battery's other two 4.7-inch guns (on Mk I carriages) arrived and it completed mobilisation.Anon, War Diary, pp. 20–2.
Western Front 14th (L) Division began moving to the embarkation ports on 18 May. 14th Heavy Bty entrained at Aldershot for Southampton two days later and was split between three transports: SS Archimedes, Minnesota and Empress Queen. After a voyage slowed by fog and anti-submarine precautions, the battery disembarked at Le Havre on 22 May and entrained for St Omer. After a series of marches the battery reached billets behind the Ypres Salient at Westoutre at the end of the month. Officers and specialists went for familiarisation to 109th Hvy Bty.Anon, War Diary, pp. 22–3.'Allocation of Heavy Batteries RGA', TNA file WO 95/5494/2.
Artillery policy in the BEF was to withdraw heavy batteries from the divisions and group them into dedicated heavy artillery formations, so 14th Hvy Bty left 14th (Light) Division on 8 June and two days later (together with 1/1st Warwickshire and 9th Hvy Btys) it became part of the recently arrived 16th Heavy Artillery Brigade, RGA.Anon, War Diary, p. 24.Farndale, Annex E .16th Bde War Diary May–December 1915, TNA file WO 95/216/5.
16th Brigade formed part of an ad hoc group under Colonel Currie ('Currie's Group') in the Armentières sector, and 14th Hvy Bty was ordered to march there. It took up gun positions previously held by 9th Hvy Bty and the gunners went into billets on the outskirts of Bailleul. The battery fired its first round on 11 June and spent the next few days registering its guns, despite enemy shellfire on the observation posts (OPs) and problems with the varied ammunition supplied for the old 4.7s. The BEF was suffering a serious shell shortage, and the daily allowance was small – about 20–30 shrapnel, Lyddite high explosive (HE) or low explosive common pointed shells. Targets comprised bridges, roads and enemy battery positions, including timed shrapnel over an anti-aircraft battery that was firing at a British aircraft. 14th Heavy Bty continued firing a few rounds on most days when weather permitted, chiefly counter-battery (CB) fire, often in retaliation for German shelling of Armentières and Ploegsteert ('Plug Street'). On 26 June the battery scored a direct hit on a factory chimney that was suspected to be a German OP; the chimney fell down that night. During July it also carried out CB fire to neutralise enemy batteries during trench raids by 12th (Eastern) Division. Later it supported 50th (Northumbrian) Division when that came into the sector.Anon, War Diary, pp. 25–6.
On 18 July the batteries lost their individual ammunition columns, which were merged into a single brigade column. The other battery wagons went out each day to collect green brushwood with which to camouflage the gun positions, or bricks and timber to make hardstandings for the horses. The British lines were heavily shelled on 9 August while an operation was carried out in the Ypres sector. At this time 16th Bde was supporting II Corps in Second Army. On 4 September the battery's Right Section moved to Bac-Saint-Maur, south of Armentières, where it joined 'Loring's Brigade' and fired at targets around Fromelles in support of First Army. Although it was not directly engaged in the Battle of Loos launched on 25 September, II Corps cooperated with bombardment of the trenches in front of Fromelles and a smokescreen to deceive the enemy: 14th Heavy Bty fired at Frelinghein. II Corps made another demonstration on 13 October but most ammunition was being sent to the Loos sector, so 16th Bde's batteries had a quiet time. Right Section rejoined on 14 October having received commendations for its work.Anon, War Diary, pp. 26–8.
Winter 1915–16 On 1 November 16 Bde transferred to Third Army south-west of Arras marching by way of Doullens. 14th Heavy Bty went into former French gun positions at Bienvillers-au-Bois on 6 November and shared wagon lines with 9th Hvy Bty at Gaudiempré, where the horse lines were in bad condition. After preparing emplacements, 14th Hvy Bty began registration on Hameau Farm on 10 November, with an OP at Berles-au-Bois, but firing was hampered for the rest of the year by bad weather and ammunition shortages. Fatigue parties collected bricks to improve the horse standings, and a fresh OP had to be prepared after the forward observation officer (FOO) was shelled out of Berles-au-Bois. On 4 December the battery exchanged three of its worn out guns for three from 114th Hvy Bty, which was re-equipping with modern 60-pounders. A little more ammunition became available at the end of December, when on several days 14th and 9th fired brigade salvoes on a succession of troublesome enemy batteries. 14th Heavy Bty also fired about 80 rounds of Lyddite on 26 December, enfilading enemy front line trenches opposite the neighbouring French troops, and watching the Germans evacuate the line and run across open ground to shelter, followed by French shrapnel. But the supply of 4.7-inch ammunition was still limited (it was being diverted to guns mounted on Merchant Navy ships), so on 3 January 1916 the battery borrowed two 60-pdrs from 114th Hvy Bty to carry out its tasks until 25 February. Major Thomas had left the battery on 27 December, and he was succeeded on 24 January by Capt P.S. Wiltshire. The early months of 1916 were relatively quiet, the battery carrying out a few CB shoots with observation aircraft.Anon, War Diary, pp. 29–35.16th Bde War Diary January–August 1916, TNA file WO 95/216/6.
RGA brigades were redesignated Heavy Artillery Groups (HAGs) in April 1916, and the policy now was to move batteries between them as required.Frederick, p. 718.'Headquarters Heavy Artillery Groups', TNA file WO 95/5494/1. 16th HAG transferred its batteries to the newly arrived 48th HAG on 27 April 1916. At the end of May the battery handed over its obsolete 4.7-inch guns in their emplacements to the newly arrived 133rd (County Palatine) Heavy Bty and took over the latter's new 60-pounder Mk I guns at Authieule on 1 June. It then travelled to Senlis-le-Sec to join 2nd HAG.Anon, War Diary, pp. 35–6.MacDonald, p. 178.
Somme 2nd HAG was with X Corps in Fourth Army preparing for that summer's 'Big Push' (the Battle of the Somme). 14th Heavy Bty prepared gun positions in front of Martinsart and established OPs on the ridge north of Mesnil and on the spur facing Ovillers. The guns were hauled into position and registration began between 15 and 23 June.Anon, War Diary, pp. 36–7.
X Corps' task was to advance astride the River Ancre to capture the high ground in front, with 36th (Ulster) Division attacking up the river valley towards the Schwaben Redoubt and 32nd Division assaulting Thiepval and the Leipzig Redoubt before advancing to Mouquet Farm ('Mucky Farm').Becke, Pt 4, pp. 99–109.Becke, Pt 4, pp. 193–7.Edmonds, 1916, Vol I, pp. 394–9, Sketch 22. The bombardment programme 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 was divided into 2-hour periods to allow the gunners to rest, Forward Observation Officers (FOOs) to be relieved, and the guns to cool. 14th Heavy Bty's task was to cut the barbed wire near Mucky Farm and Thiepval. The bombardment began on 24 June, but 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).Anon, War Diary, p. 37.Edmonds, 1916, Vol I, pp. 299–305.Farndale, pp. 144–9.