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. II South Midland Bde mobilised at Worcester on 5 August under Lt-Col E.C. Bullock, who had commanded it since 27 July 1912. The division then concentrated around
Chelmsford in
Essex where it formed part of
Central Force, with II South Midland Bde at
Ingatestone.
1/II South Midland Brigade The training of 1st South Midland Division proceeded satisfactorily, and it was selected for service on the
Western Front. Orders arrived on 13 March 1915 and II South Midland Bde entrained on 29 and 30 March for
Southampton, where it embarked on the transports
City of Dunkirk,
Munich and
Archimedes, landing at
Le Havre on 31 March. By 3 April the division had concentrated near
Cassel, and II South Midland Bde's batteries were attached to the Regular RFA brigades of
6th Division in the
Armentières sector for introduction to frontline procedures. The batteries were allocated a small number of shells for
registering the guns. Then on 15 April the brigade took over its own section of front. On 12 May the division was designated the
48th (South Midland) Division. On 21 July 1/II South Midland Bde was re-equipped with modern
18-pounder guns. It then went back into the line near
Authie in the
Somme sector, where 48th (SM) Division joined a new
Third Army. Lieutenant-Col Bullock retired to the TF Reserve on 14 March 1916, having been
Mentioned in dispatches, and was succeeded as commanding officer (CO) by Lt-Col J.R. Colville, a Regular officer.
Somme After a long period of low-level
Trench warfare, 48th (SM) Division's first offensive operation was in the
Battle of the Somme. The bombardment began on 24 June and D (H) Bty took part. The 18-pdr batteries moved into prepared positions close behind the line on 28 June ready for the attack planned for next day, but Z Day was delayed by two days while the bombardment continued and the brigade stood fast. The
battle was launched on 1 July 1916. Most of 48th (SM) Division was in reserve, only two battalions being engaged, but the brigade fired in support of
29th Division, with Lt-Col Colville acting as artillery liaison officer to
87th Infantry Bde. A Battery fired on Beaucourt Chateau in the final round of bombardment from 06.25 to H Hour at 07.30, when the infantry went 'over the top', then B and C Btys opened fire as part of the
Creeping barrage at 07.30. 87th Brigade assaulted 'Y Ravine', but found that the long bombardment by 29th Divisional Artillery (DA) had failed to cut much of the
barbed wire hidden in hollows. The attack crumpled in the face of unsuppressed German machine guns and was over by 08.05. A Battery was ordered to resume firing for a second assault, but this also failed and 29th Division stopped its attacks at 15.00. B and C Batteries had ceased fire at 09.30, expecting to move up, but D (H) Bty continued firing all day. Orders for 48th (SM) Division to resume the attacks next day were cancelled. While D Bty's howitzers continued firing in support of other formations, the rest of CCXLI Bde was pulled out, A Bty being heavily shelled as it did so on the night of 3/4 July. The division carried out various feint attacks, on 7 July and again on 14 July before the
Battle of Bazentin Ridge. Then on 21 July CCXLI Bde was attached to
49th (West Riding) Division during the
Battle of Pozières Ridge, mainly carrying out harassing fire (HF) tasks on enemy communications at night. D (H) Battery remained in 'Mash Valley' on detachment to other formations. Between 2 and 8 August Brigade HQ progressively took over command of the Right Group of 49th (WR) DA, which included the whole of CCXLV Bde and C/CCXLVIII Bty as well as its own A and C Btys. The guns continued night firing, particularly on the night of 9/10 August when they laid down a barrage to isolate '
Leipzig Salient', for which 49th (WR) Division had been battling for a month. On 15 August the brigade bombarded Mouquet Farm ('Mucky Farm') to help
4th Australian Division's attack. Then on 18 August 48th (SM) Division took up the attack, again helped by the field artillery isolating the objectives with continuous well-placed barrages. On 21 August 48th (SM) and
25th Division attacked again in the Leipzig Salient area behind an 'excellent barrage'. A follow-up attack by
7th Bde of 25th Division on 24 August, covered by 'Right Group' succeeded in capturing 'Hindenburg Trench' across the rear of the Leipzig Salient 'in fine style'. 49th (WR) Divisional Artillery loaned its Right Group (including HQ, A and C Btys of CCXLI Bde) to 25th Division for an attempt on 28 August to clear the new German frontline trench behind the Leipzig salient, but this was an expensive failure. Meanwhile, C Bty had returned to the wagon lines to relocate, and D (H) Bty had moved from Mash Valley to Aveluy Wood. Fighting continued on Pozières Ridge into September. On 3 September all batteries of CCXLI Bde were engaged: A & B supporting a failed attack by
75th Bde of 25th Division on 'Turk Trench' near Mucky Farm, C & D (H) covering 49th (WR) Division's attack north of
Thiepval, which succeeded in capturing 'Fabeck Graben'. From 6 September Brigade HQ with A and D (H) Btys came under tactical command of
32nd Bde of
11th (Northern) Division, which captured the 'Wonder Work' on 14 September.
147th (West Riding) Bde of 49th (WR) Division then took over again for the follow-up attack on 16 September. CCXLI Brigade HQ was relieved on 18 September, but the batteries remained in action, with D (H) preparing positions on the railway at Pozières. All the batteries fired in support of the
attack on Thiepval on 26 September. Over the following days the Germans counter-attacked strongly, attempting to recapture '
Stuff Redoubt' and the '
Schwaben Redoubt', and the batteries suffered a number of casualties before they were relieved on the night of 30 September. The batteries left their guns in position to be taken over by their relieving batteries, and collected others from the gun lines of the 18th and 49th Divisions before moving to new positions at
Sailly-au-Bois, arriving on 5 October. CCXLI Brigade rejoined its parent division and was designated Right Group of 48th (SM) DA, with A and B Btys of
CCXL Bde as well as its own 18-pdr batteries. The brigade spent a quiet few weeks carrying out registration and wire cutting shoots. On 18 October 48th (SM) DA was reorganised, with CCXLIII Bde being broken up to bring the rest of the 18-pdr batteries up to a strength of six guns each. Thereafter CCXLI Bde had the following organisation:
Ypres In July 48th (SM) Division was sent north to rejoin Fifth Army for the forthcoming
Third Ypres Offensive. It was in reserve when the offensive opened on 31 July, but took part in the
Battle of Langemarck (16 August) Although this attack was disastrous overall, the artillery support for 48th (SM) Division was good and it captured some ground before being held up by a group of fortified farms. On 20 August the division took advantage of a spell of dry weather to attack the troublesome strongpoints that had held them up: 'Hillock Farm', 'Maison du Hibou', 'Triangle Farm' and 'The Cockcroft'. Seven tanks moved up the firm
St Julien–
Poelcapelle road covered by a smoke and shrapnel barrage, with a
High Explosive (HE) barrage ahead, and subdued the strongpoints that were then captured by infantry platoons. A repeat of this attack two days later was less successful. The division was back in action at the
Battle of Broodseinde (4 October), with one infantry brigade attacking, but CCXLI Bde remained in reserve. Next day it was ordered forward, but the attempts to advance the guns were abandoned because of the mud and enemy shellfire. On 9 October the brigade fired in support of an attack by
66th (2nd East Lancashire) Division (the
Battle of Poelcappelle), its Forward Observation Officers (FOOs) working their way forward with the infantry, though news was slow in coming back. Ground conditions were bad, and many batteries were bogged down, so the preparatory barrage was feeble, many of the HE shellbursts being deadened by the mud. Casualties among the gunners were also severe because they were exposed to German observers on the ridge. Another attempt to push the brigade's guns forward was abandoned. On 11 October the brigade managed to get 12 guns and four howitzers up to the Ypres–
Roulers railway at
Zonnebeke. However, it was relieved two days later.
Italy On 10 November 1917 the 48th (SM) Division received orders to move to the
Italian Front. 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, through 48th (SM) DA remained in the line until 21/22 March, rejoining the division on 24 March. On 1 April the division moved westward into reserve for the middle sector of the
Asiago Plateau Front. Later in April 48th (SM) Division began tours of duty on the
Asiago plateau, where the guns were manhandled into positions on steep slopes and hidden among trees. The flat-trajectory 18-pdrs had to have lanes cut through the trees to allow them to fire. The division was holding the front line on 15 June when the
Austro-Hungarian Army launched its last offensive (the
Second Battle of the Piave River). The division was wakened by the effects of the
Spanish flu epidemic, but the artillery began their counter-preparation barrage at 03.30 in response to the wild Austrian bombardment, and shortened the range at 05.00 after their own infantry outposts had withdrawn. Thick mist hampered the defensive fire all day and telephone lines were cut by fire, so the batteries had to rely on runners and cyclists for communications, and on their own initiative. CCXLI Brigade reported the use of
gas shells by the enemy, and respirators had to be worn at all times. C Battery's observation post (OP) was manned by Lt R.A. Kirby and his signallers as the enemy bombardment started; all the signallers were wounded trying to repair the telephone line, so they resorted to flag signals, calling down fire on the 'SOS' target despite both OP and battery being under heavy gas shelling. As the mist cleared and the guns shifted to a better position, Lt Kirby was also wounded, but a wounded signaller kept contact until the line was repaired. By noon the battery only had three guns left in action. Because of the terrain there was little depth to the British positions, and Austrian infantry penetrating 48th (SM) Division's line got close to the guns, but they remained in action: A Bty engaged an infantry battalion at 15.15, driving it back leaving 2–300 dead and wounded. At the end of the day A Bty had lost a gun and much ammunition to a direct hit, but D Bty had fired over 4500 rounds from its six howitzers. 48th (SM) Division's infantry began counter-attacking that afternoon, and the following morning regained the lost ground. Although the
Italian Army staff and press played down the part played by the British force,
King Victor Emmanuel III later reviewed a composite battery drawn from CCXLI Bde. 48th (SM) Division remained in the Asiago sector throughout the summer and early autumn, carrying out a few minor operations. When the
Allies forced the Piave line in later October (the
Battle of Vittorio Veneto) the forces on the Asiago conformed when the Austrians withdrew. 48th (SM) Division began advancing into the Val d'Assa on 1 November, meeting some stiff resistance before the advance turned into a pursuit, with field gun sections accompanying the infantry brigade groups (there was not sufficient transport to support more than half the guns). 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 48th (SM) Division was withdrawn to Italy for the winter.
Demobilisation began in 1919 and was complete by 31 March.
2/II South Midland Brigade The 2nd Line brigade was formed in the autumn of 1914, and in January 1915 it joined the
2nd South Midland Division (later 61st (2nd South Midland) Division) at
Northampton. It was commanded by
Colonel Ralph Lyon, former CO of 1st Worcester RGA (V) who had been recalled from the TF Reserve. While stationed at Northampton, the division formed part of
First Army of Central Force, but once the 48th Division had gone to France, the 61st replaced it around Chelmsford as part of
Third Army, Central Force, responsible for coastal defence. By the summer of 1915 2/II South Midland Bde was stationed at Northampton and at camps across Essex, at Ingatestone,
Epping and
Writtle (Brigade HQ), with gun drill carried out at
Hylands Park. Equipment was scarce, and until the end of 1915 the only guns available for training were obsolete French
De Bange 90 mm guns. The divisional artillery carried out field training around
Hatfield Peverel and
Woodham Walter. In September 1915 2/II South Midland Bde exchanged camps with 2/IV SM (H) Bde at
Great Baddow. In January 1916 the brigade received four of the obsolescent 15-pounders that had equipped 1st Line TF units and in February the division moved to
Salisbury Plain for final battle training. Only when the division prepared to go overseas were modern 18-pounders issued. In May it concentrated in the
Tidworth–
Bulford area, and on 16/17 May 1916 2/II (SM) brigade was redesignated
CCCVI Brigade RFA (306 Bde) and the batteries became A, B and C. It was joined by 2/4th Warwickshire (Howitzer) Bty from 2/IV South Midland Brigade (now
CCCCVIII Bde), which became D (H) Bty, equipped with 4.5-inch howitzers.
Fromelles CCCVI Brigade under the command of Lt-Col F.G. Willock left Bulford on 23 May and entrained at
Amesbury for
Southampton Docks, where it boarded the SS
Hunscraft, except C Bty aboard the transport
Black Prince. The
Hunscraft returned to Southampton after an alert, and it was not until 25 May that the brigade landed at Le Havre. It then went by train to
Merville, being billeted near
Haverskerque on 27 May, though many of the men camped in the fields. 61st (2nd SM) Division completed its concentration next day. The artillery continued training, and sent parties up to
38th (Welsh) Division in the line for introduction to front line duties. On 13 June CCCVI Bde moved into the line at
Laventie, relieving Right Group of 38th (W) Divisional Artillery. On 16/17 September
CCCV (2/I SM) Brigade was broken up among the other brigades of 61st (2nd SM) DA to bring them up to 6-gun batteries, giving CCCVI Bde the following organisation: On 16–17 February the brigade returned to the line at
Guillaucourt in the Somme sector. It pulled out its guns on 18 March to follow the German retreat to the Hindenburg Line, harassing them as they went, and then supporting operations against the outposts from 5 April. Together with a battery from CLVII Bde it supported
183rd (2nd Gloucester and Worcester) Infantry Bde against Fresnoy-le-Petit and then
IV Corps' attacks on 'Gricourt Trench' and 'Cologne Park' near
Pontruet. By 2 May brigade HQ was established at
Holnon Wood, and on 9 May moved to
Étreillers. On 19 May the brigade was withdrawn to rest, returning to the line in the
Arras sector on 8 June, first at
Wancourt, later at
Habarcq, supporting minor operations and raids. In July 1917 61st (2nd SM) Division was withdrawn from Third Army and moved to the Ypres sector, where it went into reserve for the Third Ypres Offensive. Like 48th (SM) Division it was not committed until the second phase of the offensive, the Battle of Langemarck, and then only late in the battle (22 August), when
184th (2nd South Midland) Bde gained a few hundred yards of ground against camouflaged concrete
pillboxes that were invisible to the artillery observers. On 27 August and 10 September the division was again halted by the strongpoints hidden in the farm buildings.
Cambrai By October, 61st (2nd SM) Division was back with Third Army in a quiet sector, with CCCVI Bde supporting trench raids and using its howitzers for gas bombardments of the enemy trenches. Then on 8 November the CO and battery commanders were summoned to
Léchelle to reconnoitre new gun positions. For Third Army's forthcoming attack (the
Battle of Cambrai) the brigade was detached from 61st (2nd SM) Division to
51st (Highland) Division. The batteries exchanged their unreliable guns with selected ones from
CCCVII Bde and moved on 16 November to
Metz-en-Couture, where they constructed new gun positions. On the night of 19 November the guns were moved in and brigade HQ was established in
Havrincourt Wood. The attack opened at 06.20 on 20 November with a surprise bombardment and a mass tank advance. At first 51st (H) Division's attack went well, crossing the Hindenburg Line, and by 11.00 CCCVI Bde's guns were moving forward to new positions in the former
No Man's land near
Trescault to support the Highlanders' advance on the
Flesquières Ridge. However, German guns hidden on the reverse slope destroyed most of the tanks as they crossed the ridge and held up the infantry, who got no requests back for artillery support. 51st (H) Division failed to enter Flesquières until the Germans withdrew at nightfall. Next morning Willock reconnoitred new positions for his guns at Orival Wood near the village and brigade HQ moved up from Havrincourt wood at 16.00. All day on 22 November the batteries were in action against enemy counter-attacks, and over the following days the brigade supported 51st (H) and later
Guards Division's attacks on
Fontaine and
Bourlon. The British offensive became bogged down and the Germans launched a counter-offensive on 30 November. During the night Flesquières came under heavy shellfire and A, B and C Btys had to withdraw from Orival Wood (D (H) Bty was some to the south-west). Brigade HQ was set up in a captured dugout in the Hindenburg Line. Next day 61st (2nd SM) Division arrived to relieve exhausted British troops. As the German offensive continued, CCCVI Bde withdrew to positions in the Grand Ravine between
Ribécourt and Havrincourt on the night of 4/5 December. By 7 December the German advance had been held, and two days later CCCVI Bde moved from the Grand Ravine back to Havrincourt Wood, commanding Right Group of
36th (Ulster) DA. On 14 December the brigade reverted to the command of 61st (2nd SM) Division. Its batteries were relieved between 20 and 25 December and moved back to Caix.
Spring Offensive On 13 December CCCVI Bde returned to the line between
Savy and Holnon, with the three 18-pdr batteries of CCCXV Army Field Bde also under command, constituting Right Group of 61st (2nd SM) DA, under Col Willock. The BEF was now in defensive mode, and the batteries spent the winter months reconnoitring and preparing alternative and 'silent' positions. On 20–21 January 1918 the brigade handed over control of Right Group to CCCXV Bde and went for a week's intensive training. On return to the line it took over positions in the Battle Zone, with brigade HQ at
Attilly. When the
German spring offensive opened on 21 March, 61st (2nd SM) Division was mostly disposed on the reverse slopes of a spur running north from
St Quentin. The attack began with a massive bombardment at 04.40, and the advance of the German infantry was covered by mist. The outposts were soon overrun, and all but one section of CCCVII Bde was captured, but the line of redoubts at the back of the Forward Zone held out for a long time and once the mist cleared the fire from 61st (SM) Division's Battle Zone positions held back the Germans with CCCVI's batteries firing in support of 184th Bde. Counter-attacks during the afternoon relieved the pressure. Next day the Germans put in another heavy attack on the Holnon Plateau. In the morning CCCVI Bde's HQ dugout collapsed under shellfire and the staff relocated to the HQ of
182nd (2nd Warwickshire) Bde, before moving back to
Beauvois at noon. Although 61st (SM) Division was holding its own, flanking formations were in retreat, and the division had to retire. The guns and ammunition were got away and CCCVI Bde came into action again at Fern Copse at 17.00 before withdrawing to the Somme at 20.30. The division went into reserve early on 23 March, but CCCVI Bde's guns remained in continuous action defending the bridgehead at
Béthencourt. On 24 March the Germans crossed the Somme and a retirement was ordered behind the
Canal du Nord, where 184th Bde was already digging in. 183rd Brigade was ordered up from reserve to make a counter-attack at noon, which CCVI Bde supported, but at 13.15 the batteries had to evacuate the positions at
Mesnil and retire to
Herly, moving back to
Billancourt at 21.00. By now the British troops in this sector had come under French command. During 25 March 61st (2nd SM) DA fired to cover the French withdrawal, and was almost cut off and captured at
Gruny at the end of the day, A, B and D Btys of CCCVI Bde pulling out at 20.30, C Bty not until 22.00. The brigade arrived at
Villers-lès-Roye during the night. It continued to fall back during 26 and 27 March, between halting to cover the French, and was in position in front of
Le Plessier by nightfall. The Germans made a heavy attack on the morning of 28 March (the
Third Battle of Arras) and at 15.00 the batteries were withdrawn . The enemy still coming on, the brigade was withdrawn across the
River Avre. Allied counter-attacks began on 29 March, and at 09.00 CCCVI Bde recrossed the Avre, coming into action near the outskirts of
Moreuil, but was forced to withdraw across the river once more that evening. The batteries continued in action between
Rouvrel and
Morisel throughout 30 March–3 April. On 4 April the Germans put in a fresh attack (the
Battle of the Avre), but their advance on Rouvrel was frustrated by the barrage put down by CCCVI Bde before it withdrew. By the end of the day the batteries were deployed south of
Cottenchy with brigade HQ at La Houche Farm. Next day it supported a French counter-attack between Rouvrel and Moreuil, which marked the end of the German offensive on this front. The brigade carried out intermittent fire on German positions until 19.30 on 6 April, when it was pulled out and marched north to rejoin the British forces in front of
Villers-Bretonneux. 61st (2nd SM) Division's exhausted infantry had been relieved and sent north (where they were engaged in the
Battle of the Lys from 11 to 18 April), but the divisional artillery remained in position at Villers-Bretonneux, supporting British, Australian and French units. CCCVI Brigade was relieved on 22–23 April and sent north to
First Army. By the end of the month the batteries were reorganising and re-equipping at
Quernes, some miles from
Béthune. From 4 May the brigade began moving by sections into the line north of
Gonnehem, coming under
4th Divisional Artillery. The guns were registered and were involved in gas attacks by both sides. On 21 May brigade HQ exchanged with
256th Brigade, Royal Field Artillery and took over Right Group of
16th (Irish) Divisional Artillery (later
6th Divisional Artillery), with CCCVII and 12th Australian Field Artillery (later
CCLXXXII) brigades under command. By late June the reorganised 61st (2nd SM) Division had re-entered the line in front of its own artillery, and Right Group supported it in the usual trench raids. It also made a demonstration and smokescreen on 28 June to assist
5th Division's surprise attack on La Becque (Operation Borderland).
Hundred Days Offensive CCCVI Brigade was pulled out of the line for training from 13 July, and then went onto GHQ Reserve. On 25 July Lt-Col E.W.S. Brooks took over the brigade from Lt-Col Willock, who had commanded it since it landed in France. At the end of July advance parties began constructing new gun positions at
Enquin-les-Mines, which were occupied on 1 August. However, after a week the batteries handed over these positions and moved to
Saint-Floris. The Allied
Hundred Days Offensive was now under way, and by 18 August Fifth Army's infantry was edging forward as the enemy gave up ground, with CCCVI Bde following up in support. On 30 August the brigade became 'Advanced Guard Artillery' supporting 184th Bde, with C Bty and two sections of D (H) Bty leading. As the cautious advance continued CCCVI Bde handed over the advanced guard role to CCCVII Bde on 4 September, resuming it on 16 September. From 23 September the guns fired for 184th Bde's operation against the strongpoints of 'Bartlett Farm' and 'Junction Post', which was carried out from 30 September to 2 October and the advance resumed. 61st (2nd SM) Division was transferred to Third Army on 5 October and CCCVI Bde entrained for
Doullens. It then resumed its role with the Advanced Guard of the division (with 183rd Bde). It came into the line on 13 October during Third Army's pursuit to the
River Selle and three days later supported an operation against
Haussy by
24th Division. Third Army now launched a fullscale assault against the German positions (the
Battle of the Selle). CCCVI Brigade moved forward during the night of 18/19 October to support
19th (Western) Division's continued attack on Haussy on 20 October, then crossed the river itself and set up HQ in the town. Lieutenant-Col Brook took over Right Group of artillery comprising
LXXXVII and CCCXV Bdes as well as 61st (SM) DA. The group supported a raid on the night of 21/22 October that captured Ferme de Rieux, then 19th (W) Division's advance through Les Forrieres to the high ground beyond on 23 October. Brook then handed Right Group over to 19th DA and moved C and D (H) Btys forward during the night as 61st (2nd SM) Division prepared to attack. For its first setpiece attack in over a year, the division was supported by nine RFA brigades, including its own and 19th (W) Division's. The 18-pdrs laid down a creeping barrage, then 90 minutes after Zero CCCVI Bde left Right Group and advanced by batteries to support the advance of 183rd Bde across the river (where a special field artillery bridge was built by the engineers). 182nd Brigade alongside got held up by uncut wire, but 184th Bde passed through 183rd later in the day with a special barrage and completed the division's objectives for the day. On 26 October the batteries moved up again and next day supported 61st (2nd SM) Divisio's attempts to establish bridgeheads across the
River Rhonelle. Brook took over the same Right Group brigades once more on 31 October and moved his HQ up to the north end of
Bermerain. The Rhonelle was crossed on 1–2 November (the
Battle of Valenciennes), with 182nd Bde behind a creeping barrage making for the high ground and the village of
Maresches. The attack was disrupted by an enemy counter-attack, and a repeat attack that evening with a fresh barrage was also held up; 184th Bde succeeded in gaining the bridgeheads next morning. The advance was now turning into a pursuit, and CCCVI Bde moved forward almost daily; planned barrages were sometime cancelled when it was found that the opposing Germans had already retreated. On 4 November it supported an attack by 24th Division, but otherwise there was little firing, When hostilities were ended by the
Armistice on 11 November the brigade was in readiness at
Feignies. After the Armistice CCCVI Bde marched back into France, and on 7–8 December went into winter quarters around
Beauvoir-Wavans. Demobilisation began in January 1919 and by 1 June the brigade had been reduced to a
cadre. ==Interwar==