Mobilisation On the outbreak of war, the Forth RGA mobilised under the command of
Lieutenant-Colonel H. O'Connor,
VD. By October 1914, the campaign on the
Western Front was bogging down into
Trench warfare and there was an urgent need for batteries of
Siege artillery to be sent to France. The WO decided that the TF coastal gunners were well enough trained to take over many of the duties in the coastal defences, releasing Regular RGA gunners for service in the field, and 1st line RGA companies had been authorised to increase their strength by 50 per cent. Although complete defended ports units never left the UK, they did supply drafts of trained gunners to RGA units serving overseas. They also provided
cadres as the basis on which to form complete new units for front line service. 70th Siege Battery formed in October 1915 was based on a company (probably 1/4th Company) from the Forth RGA, and 108th Siege Battery formed in the Forth Defences in February 1916 also drew its cadre from the unit. A number of other siege batteries formed in the Forth Defences in 1915–16 (89th, 90th, 118th, 138th, 152nd, 153rd, 181st, 210th, 228th, 251st, 263rd, 293rd, and
311th) may also have included trained men from the Forth RGA among the recruits, although the Army Council Instructions did not specifically order this. Under Army Council Instruction 686 of April 1917, the coastal defence companies of the RGA (TF) were reorganised. The RGA companies serving in the Forth garrison (including one from the
North Scottish RGA) were reduced from 12 companies to 10, and were to be kept up to strength with non-TF recruits: • 1/1st Company – became 1st Company • 1/2nd Company – became 2nd Company • 1/3rd Company – became 3rd Company • 1/5th Company – became 4th Company • 1/6th Company – became 5th Company • 2/1st Company – became 6th Company • 2/2nd Company – became 7th Company • 2/3rd Company – became 8th Company • 2/4th Company – became 9th Company • 2/5th Company – became 10th Company 2/6th Company Forth RGA and 2/1st Company North Scottish RGA were disbanded In April 1918, the Forth Garrison comprised the following batteries: • Outer Defences: No 19 Coastal Fire Command,
Inchkeith (including No 20 Company RGA) • Inchkeith Battery 1 – 3 ×
9.2-inch Mk X guns • Inchkeith Battery 2 – 6 ×
6-inch Mk VII guns •
Kinghorn Battery 1 – 1 × 9.2-inch Mk X • Kinghorn Battery 2 – 2 × 6-inch Mk VII •
Pettycur Battery – 2 × 6-inch Mk VII •
Leith Docks – 2 × 6-inch Mk VII • Middle Defences: No 20 Coastal Fire Command, Inchcolm (including No 21 Company RGA) It went out to the Western Front on 26 March 1916 armed with four
8-inch howitzers and joined the Northern Heavy Group (40th Heavy Artillery Group or HAG) in
X Corps. This Corps was part of
Fourth Army preparing for that summer's 'Big Push' (the
Battle of the Somme).
Somme The role of the northern division of X Corps, the
36th (Ulster) Division, was to attack astride the River
Ancre and capture the
Schwaben Redoubt on the edge of the
Thiepval Ridge. The bombardment programme was to extend over five days, U, V, W, X and Y, before the assault was launched on Z day. 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). When the infantry launched their assault at 07.30 on
Z Day (1 July) the heavy guns lifted to successive targets, repeating the process six times. On 36th Division's front the initial assault was entirely successful, except for the area immediately adjacent to the Ancre. The Ulstermen overran the German front line trenches and
dugouts, and by 08.00 they had captured the front face of the Schwaben Redoubt. Although some parties got into the German 2nd Position, the divisions on either flank had met with disaster, allowing the defenders to get into their rear. Most of the 36th Division was pinned down in the open and had to be withdrawn after dark. The gunners helped to evacuate the wounded, a process that was not completed until 3 July. By now, massive quantities of artillery were employed for each phase of the continuing offensive as Fourth Army and later
Reserve Army attacked again and again: •
Battle of Bazentin Ridge (14 July) •
Capture of Ovillers (17 July) •
Battle of Pozières (23 July) •
Battle of Flers-Courcelette (15–22 September) •
Battle of Thiepval Ridge (26–28 September) On 3 October, 70th Siege Bty was transferred to 16th HAG with Reserve (later Fifth) Army, which continued to attack on the
Ancre Heights until mid-November, and carried out
minor operations on the Ancre through the winter.
Vimy On 22 March 1917, 70th Siege Bty was transferred north to join 31st HAG with
First Army, On 29 May, 70th Siege Bty was joined by a section from the newly-arrived 310th Siege Bty, bringing it up to a strength of six 8-inch howitzers. It came under the command of a number of different HAGs, finally joining 12th HAG with
Third Army on 7 September.
Cambrai In October, Third Army began preparing for its surprise attack with tanks at the
Battle of Cambrai. There was to be no preliminary bombardment or registration: when the battle began with a crash of artillery at 06.20 on 20 November the German defenders were stunned, and the massed tanks completed their overcome. In most areas the attack was an outstanding success. Exploitation over succeeding days was less spectacular. By now, HAG allocations were becoming more fixed, and on 1 February 1918 they were converted into permanent RGA brigades. Because of the inclusion of 70th Siege Bty, the 12th Brigade was defined as an 8-inch Howitzer Brigade, though the other three batteries were all equipped with
6-inch howitzers. 70th Siege Bty remained with this brigade until the
Armistice.
1918 12th Brigade was part of
IX Corps' Heavy Artillery in the fighting at
Mont Kemmel, during the
Battle of the Lys (the second phase of the
German spring offensive) in April 1918. It then moved to Fourth Amy on 18 August 1918 in time for the
Battle of Amiens and to participate in the victorious
Hundred Days Offensive. For the next attack, the
Battle of the Selle, IX Corps HQ selected important localities to be bombarded by 70th Siege Bty's heavy howitzers, for which 200 rounds of ammunition per gun were accumulated. The corps attacked on 17 October, 'lifted forward' by two great belts of intense artillery fire, and a German counter-attack was hit by every gun within range. IX Corps renewed its advance on 23 October, with 12th Bde part of a massive corps artillery reserve. The attack went in at 01.20 in moonlight, after the heavy guns had done the usual CB and harassing fire bombardments, and the results were extremely satisfactory. After a pause to regroup and reconnoitre, IX Corps stormed across the
Sambre–Oise Canal on 4 November (the
Battle of the Sambre). After that the campaign became a pursuit of a beaten enemy, in which the slow-moving siege guns could play no part. The war ended with the
Armistice with Germany on 11 November. 70th Siege Battery was disbanded in 1919. 108th Siege Bty moved to 59th HAG on 29 September, then began a series of rapid changes in command, to 76th HAG with First Army on 23 December, to 50th HAG with Third Army on 26 January 1917, 31st HAG with First Army two days later, then to 53rd HAG on 5 February and 79th HAG on 18 February, joining 87th HAG with Third Army on 26 March before the Battle of Arras. Then it was with 76th HAG, First Army, from 30 April, and back to 50th HAG, Third Army, on 14 May. It remained with 50th HAG during the summer, being rested from 23 August to 7 September. On 25 September 1917, 108th Siege Bty was made up to six howitzers when it was joined by a section from the newly arrived 441st Siege Bty. However, further exploitation was slow, and the fighting bogged down round
Bourlon Wood. On 30 November, the Germans launched a heavy counter-attack. 108th Siege Bty's guns were sited at Sonnet Farm, alongside
110th Siege Bty (formed by the Clyde RGA at the same time as the 108th). The German barrage on the battery positions lasted half an hour and although 110th Siege Bty managed to get two howitzers into action, the retreating British infantry had passed the batteries' position, and about noon the Germans came over the crest of
Gonnelieu Ridge. The gunners removed the dial sights before abandoning their howitzers and those armed with rifles took up a position about 300 yards back. Here, they were joined by troops from
60th Infantry Brigade, who held the German advance. 108th Siege Bty had lost five of its howitzers. After this action, the battery moved to 86th HAG and was re-equipped, but reduced to an establishment of four guns; a section of gunners left on 24 December to join 288th Siege Bty, an 8-inch howitzer unit that had been broken up and was being reconstituted with 6-inch howitzers. 108th Siege Bty was attached to 17th HAG on 27 December, then moved to 78th HAG two days later. This was its final transfer, and it served with 78th HAG (78th Bde RGA from 1 February 1918) until the Armistice. On 2 October, 78th Bde transferred to First Army, supporting
XXII Corps at the
Battle of the Selle (24 October), after which the pursuit was too fast for most of the heavy artillery to keep up. The fighting was ended by the Armistice of 11 November 1918 and demobilisation began shortly afterwards. In the interim order of battle for the postwar army, the battery was supposed to form 148th Bty in XXXVII Brigade, RGA, but this was rescinded after the signing of the
Treaty of Versailles, and the remaining cadre of the battery was disbanded in 1919.
178th Siege Battery, RGA 178th Siege Battery was formed on 23 June 1916 in the Forth Garrison under War Office Instruction No 1037 of 30 June 1916. A cadre of 50–60 volunteers was obtained for the battery from the Forth RGA and together with recruits from the depots it assembled at
King's Park, Edinburgh, between 3 and 5 July. The battery maintained a largely Scottish character, and was always preceded by a
piper on the march. Equipped with 6-inch howitzers it went out to the Western Front on 8 October and joined Third Army on the Arras front, frequently switching between that army's HAGs. It took part in the
Battle of Arras, moving up during the first day's fighting (9 April) to keep the enemy in range. After the initial successes, the battle developed into a long series of attacks with decreasing success. The battery was then transferred to 77th HAG in Fifth Army (and later 42nd HAG under Second Army) for the
Third Ypres Offensive, from 31 July until it was relieved on 14 October, having suffered heavily from enemy CB fire and
Mustard gas shelling. Afterwards it returned to Third Army and moved south through various quiet sectors until it joined 17th HAG for the Battle of Cambrai. It was heavily engaged in the fighting for Bourlon Wood when the Germans counter-attacked the
Flesquières Salient. In the winter of 1917–18, the battery became part of 89th HAG (later Brigade). It was back in the Flesquières Salient, enduring German
Mustard gas shelling, when the German Spring Offensive broke on 21 March 1918. It suffered heavy shelling and air attack, being forced to abandon its guns temporarily, but was able to withdraw when Third Army fell back from the dangerous salient. After the 'Great Retreat', 178th Siege Bty spent the next four months in front of
Albert, behind the Ancre, which was the limit of the German advance. For the Battle of Amiens it fired across the Ancre to support III Corps, then on 22 August (the
Battle of Albert) 89th Bde assisted
18th (Eastern) Division across the Ancre to recapture Albert. The battery's
FWD Model B gun tractors and lorries proved useful in the subsequent pursuit to the Hindenburg Line. It fired in support of III Corps' flanking operations during the Battle of the St Quentin Canal, and joined
XIII Corps for the
Second Battle of Cambrai (8 October). 89th Brigade then moved north to join Fifth Army and the battery was not engaged again before the Armistice. In the interim order of battle for the postwar army, the battery was supposed to form 155th Bty in XXXIX Brigade, RGA, but this was rescinded after the Treaty of Versailles and the remaining cadre of the battery was disbanded in 1919. ==Interwar==