Mobilisation and organisation When war broke out in August 1914, VII London Bde had only just arrived at
Perham Down on
Salisbury Plain for its annual training camp, and it was immediately recalled to London to mobilise under the command of
Brevet Colonel Chambers. After completing their mobilisation the 2nd London Division's artillery brigades moved to the country round
Hemel Hempstead,
Berkhamsted and
Kings Langley in
Hertfordshire to begin war training. On the outbreak of war, TF units were invited to volunteer for Overseas Service. On 15 August 1914, the
War Office issued instructions to separate those men who had signed up for Home Service only, and form these into reserve units. On 31 August, the formation of a reserve or 2nd Line unit was authorised for each 1st Line unit where 60 per cent or more of the men had volunteered for Overseas Service. The titles of these 2nd Line units would be the same as the original, but distinguished by a '2/' prefix. In this way duplicate batteries, brigades and divisions were created, mirroring those TF formations being sent overseas. Eventually these too were prepared for overseas service and 3rd Line reserve units were formed to produce reinforcement drafts to the others. The duplicate 2/VII London Brigade was formed in September 1914.
1/VII London Brigade At the end of October 1914 the 2nd London Division was chosen to reinforce the
British Expeditionary Force (BEF) fighting on the
Western Front and training was stepped up, despite bad weather and equipment shortages. Brigade and divisional training began in February 1915 and it received its orders for the move to France on 2 March. By 22 March all the batteries had reached the divisional concentration area around
Béthune.
Aubers Ridge While the division's infantry were introduced to trench routine by being attached in groups to the
1st and
2nd Divisions holding the line, the TF field batteries with their obsolescent 15-pounders were interspersed with those of the two Regular divisions equipped with modern
18-pounder guns. However, ammunition was very scarce, and the guns were restricted to three rounds per gun per day during April. Ammunition was being saved up for the
Battle of Aubers Ridge on 9 May, when the 15-pounders of 1/VII London Bde joined with the guns of 1st and 2nd Divisions and the
Royal Horse Artillery (RHA) to cut the
barbed wire for the assault by 1st Division. The bombardment began at 05.00 with
Shrapnel shell, then at 05.30 the guns switched to
High Explosive (HE) shell to join the howitzers already firing at the German
breastworks. At 05.40 the guns lifted to targets further back and the infantry moved to the attack. The attackers ran into devastating machine gun fire (there was no artillery
barrage to suppress the defenders) and they found that the wire was inadequately cut and the breastworks barely touched. The inexperienced artillery had failed in all its tasks. A renewed bombardment was ordered from 06.15 to 07.00, but the artillery's forward observation officers (FOOs) were unable to locate the hidden German machine gun positions, which required a direct hit from an HE shell to be put out of action. The second attack failed as badly as the first, as did two others launched during the afternoon, and the survivors were pinned down in
No man's land until nightfall, despite a further bombardment being laid on to allow them to withdraw.
Festubert Although 2nd London Division suffered few casualties at Aubers Ridge, its gunners had learned a sobering lesson about the impossibility of suppressing strong defences with inadequate guns and shells. On 11 May the division was redesignated
47th (1/2nd London) Division, and on the night of 14/15 May it took its place in the line for the
Battle of Festubert. The guns were already in place, with 47th Divisional Artillery operating under the control of
7th Division. Despite the continuing shortage of ammunition, the plan this time was for a long methodical bombardment. On 13 and 14 May the field guns carried out three two-hour deliberate bombardments each day, attacking the wire with slow observed fire or keeping the enemy communication trenches under fire. At night they carried out intermittent bombardments of the communication trenches and defences, to stop supplies being brought up and to prevent repairs being carried out. The guns fired about 100 rounds per day. During 15 May feint bombardments mimicking the moment of assault were carried out, but the actual attack was made after dark with some success. The fighting went on for several days, and 47th (2nd L) Division made its own first attack on the night of 25 May. The leading brigade captured the German front and support trenches, but was then pinned down by accurate German artillery fire and could advance no further. This effectively ended the battle. The heavy rate of fire during the battle was too much for the old 15-pdrs: by 26 May, 11 out of 36 guns in the division were out of action.
Loos In June 47th (2nd L) Division took over trenches in front of
Loos-en-Gohelle from the French. In August the divisional artillery was rested for the first time since March, and the brigade began training on the 18-pounder for when these became available. The Loos sector had been selected for the next major British attack (the
Battle of Loos), to which part of 47th (2nd L) Division would provide the southern 'hinge'. 1/VII London Bde with its obsolescent guns was not assigned a major role in the complex artillery plan, and it remained in reserve behind the attack of
140th (4th London) Brigade except for two batteries; of these a section of 1/19th Bty was attached to
15th (Scottish) Divisional Artillery. Supported by
poison gas clouds, the attacking portion of 47th (2nd L) Division made good progress towards its limited objective, and 15th (S) Division had almost broken through, though it had failed to take Hill 70. However, events had not played out so well further north at the
Hohenzollern Redoubt, and the battle raged on after 47th (2nd L) Division had been relieved between 28 September and 1 October. On 13 October 47th (2nd L) Division was in support for the final attack on the Hohenzollern Redoubt, and was practising on dummy trenches for a follow-up attack on
Hulluch next day, but the results at the Hohenzollern were so disappointing that the operation was cancelled. The division took over the line and the artillery was in constant action over the following weeks. On 6 November 1915 the batteries of 1/VII London Bde were re-equipped with modern 18-pounders, for which they had been training since August; ammunition supply also improved. Colonel Chambers was succeeded as CO by Lt-Col W.E. Peal,
DSO, promoted from command of 20th Bty during November. The division returned to the Loos sector in January 1916, with most of the artillery round
Grenay, with Observation Posts (OPs) in the cottages of Maroc. The guns carried out a great deal of counter-battery (CB) work against battery positions in and around
Lens. However, there was now a policy of pushing a few guns close up behind the infantry's trenches, and a gun of 1/19th Bty was brought into action from the mine pit (
fosse) at Calonne, no more than from the front line, from where it could shoot laterally at the railway triangle east of Loos. 'Although searched for by every type of missile, including trench-mortar bombs, the gun remained in action for several weeks, until the battery left the neighbourhood'.
Spring 1916 On 24 April 1/VII London Bde was joined by an additional 4-gun battery, manned by half of 93rd Bty RFA, a Regular battery that had come to France from
India with the
3rd (Lahore) Division and stayed with the BEF when the division went to
Mesopotamia. This became R/VII Bty, but only stayed a short time: on 17 May 1916 1/VII London Bde was renumbered
CCXXXVII Bde (237 Bde) and the batteries were designated A, B and C; R Bty transferred to CCXXXVIII (formerly
VIII London Bde). At the same time the brigade ammunition columns (BACs) were abolished and incorporated into the divisional ammunition column (DAC). In the spring of 1916, 47th (2nd L) Division took over the lines facing
Vimy Ridge. Active
mine warfare was being conducted by both sides underground. In May the Germans secretly assembled 80 batteries in the sector and on 21 May carried out a heavy bombardment in the morning; the bombardment resumed at 15.00 and an assault was launched at 15.45, while the guns lifted onto the British guns and fired a
Box barrage into Zouave Valley to seal the attacked sector off from support. 47th Divisional Artillery reported 150 heavy shells an hour landing on its poorly-covered battery positions and guns being put out of action, while its own guns tried to respond to SOS calls from the infantry under attack, though most communications were cut by the box barrage. During the night the gun pits were shelled with gas, but on 22 May the artillery duel began to swing towards the British, with fresh batteries brought in, despite their shortage of ammunition. A system of 'one round strikes' was introduced: whenever a German battery was identified every gun in range fired one round at it, which effectively suppressed them. British counter-attacks were attempted, but when the fighting died down the Germans had succeeded in capturing the British front line. Throughout their stay in the Vimy sector the batteries suffered heavily from German CB fire.
Somme On 1 August 1916 47th (2nd L) Division began to move south to join in the
Somme Offensive. While the infantry underwent training with the newly-introduced tanks, the divisional artillery went into the line on 14 August in support of
15th (Scottish) Division. The batteries were positioned in Bottom Wood and near
Mametz Wood, and became familiar with the ground over which 47th (2nd L) Division was later to attack, while supporting 15th (S) Division's gradual encroachment on
Martinpuich. Casualties among FOOs and signallers was heavy in this kind of fighting. Between 9 and 11 September 47th (2nd L) Division took over the front in the High Wood sector, and on 15 September the
Battle of Flers-Courcelette was launched, with tank support for the first time. The barrage fired by the divisional artillery left lanes through which the tanks could advance. However, the tanks proved useless in the tangled tree stumps of High Wood, and the artillery could not bombard the German front line because No man's land was so narrow. Casualties among the attacking infantry were extremely heavy, but they succeeded in capturing High Wood and the gun batteries began to move up in support, crossing deeply-cratered ground. The first to arrive was 1/19th Bty under its commander, Maj
Lord Gorell, who brought it up into the shell-hole area immediately behind High Wood. He then made a reconnaissance of the whole divisional front with Maj E.H.Marshall of 1/18th Bty. Lord Gorell was awarded a
Distinguished Service Order (DSO) for this work. Casualties among the exposed guns and gunners took their toll, but a German counter-attack was broken up by gunfire. Next day the division fought to consolidate its positions round the captured 'Cough Drop' strongpoint. When the infantry were relieved on 19 September the artillery remained in the line under 1st Division. 47th (2nd L) Division came back into the line to relieve 1st Division on 28/29 September, and began attacking
Eaucourt L'Abbaye as part of the
Battle of the Transloy Ridges, finally securing the ruins on 3 October. This allowed the batteries to cross the High Wood Ridge into a small valley where they remained for the rest of the Somme fighting, helping to cover the unsuccessful attacks by 47th (2nd L) Division and later
9th (Scottish) Division against the
Butte de Warlencourt through October. By now the gun lines were crowded together in deep mud, guns sank up to their axles, and getting ammunition through was extremely difficult. The artillery was finally relieved on 14 October and followed the rest of the division to the
Ypres Salient. A further reorganisation of field artillery in the BEF was carried out in November 1916. To increase the batteries of other brigades of the division to six guns each, CCCXXXVII Bde was split up: B battery and half of A battery formed C Battery in
CCXXXVI Bde, and C Battery and half of A Battery formed C Battery in
CCXXXV Bde. CCXXXVII Brigade's headquarters was abolished on 29 November, and the brigade ceased to exist for the rest of the war.
2/VII London Brigade The 2/2nd London Division came into existence quickly as volunteers rushed to join up. There were no guns or horses for the artillery, but the batteries improvised dummy guns mounted on handcarts, with wooden sights and washing-lines for drag-ropes. Although the
Master-General of the Ordnance,
Major-General Sir
Stanley von Donop, was pleased with their work and promised them the first guns available, it was not until February 1915 that some old 15-pdrs arrived for training. In March 1915 the division took the place of 1/2nd London Division in the St Albans area. At the end of May, now numbered
60th (2/2nd London) Division, it moved into
Essex, with the artillery at
Much Hadham. Finally, at the end of November it began to receive new 18-pdr guns and towards the end of January 1916 the division moved to the
Warminster training area on
Salisbury Plain. On 28 April 1916 3/3rd Wessex Bty arrived as a fourth 18-pdr battery for 2/VII London Brigade. Then, as with the TF artillery brigades in the BEF, those in 60th Division were numbered on 17 May, 2/VII Londons taking the number
CCCII Brigade (302 Bde), and the batteries were lettered. 3/3rd Wessex Bty was exchanged with 2/22nd (Howitzer) Bty from
CCCIII (H) Bde (formerly2/VIII London Bde). This became D (H) Bty, and was equipped with four
4.5-inch howitzers. The BACs were also absorbed into the DAC.
Western Front On 14 June 1916 orders arrived for 60th (2/2nd L) Division to move to the Western Front, and the artillery units made the crossing from
Southampton to
Le Havre between 22 and 26 June, with CCCII Bde under the command of Lt-Col H.M. Drake. The division concentrated in the area behind
Arras by 29 June. It relieved
51st (Highland) Division in the line on 14 July, with the artillery moving into position over the next three nights. The line held was facing the same strong German positions along Vimy Ridge that 47th (2nd L) Division had faced, and there was constant mine warfare and trench raiding. The artillery was mostly engaged in suppressing troublesome German trench mortars (
Minenwerfers) by firing short concentrated bombardments on specific sectors of the enemy line. Some trench raids were preceded by local wire-cutting bombardments, or by a barrage, others were 'stealth' raids. On 30–31 August the divisional artillery underwent the same reorganisation into six-gun batteries that was going on throughout the BEF. In CCCII Bde this meant A and half of B Bty joined from
CCC Bde. However, orders arrived on 1 November for the division to transfer to the
Macedonian front (Salonika), where the four-gun establishment was still in force, and the batteries reverted to their original organisation; the BAC was also reformed. Once the brigade was in Macedonia, the six-gun battery establishment was introduced there as well, and this time C Bty was broken up to bring A and B Btys up to six guns each.
Salonika Entrainment of the artillery for the embarkation port of
Marseille began on 14 November and was a slow business due to lack of facilities: the drivers needed their wooden trench bridges to get their horses aboard the trains. All units were embarked and at sea by 12 December and proceeded to
Salonika via
Malta. The first part of the division to move out was
179th (2/4th London) Brigade, which went by sea to
Katerini to prevent any move by the
Greek Army against the base at Salonika. It was followed a few days later by a cross-country column comprising CCCII Bde, the transport and a
Troop of the
Lothians and Border Horse. Their 'Katerini Trek' was a strenuous six-day march in bad weather, across flooded rivers, but the Salonika–Katerini railway was soon repaired, making supply more straightforward The Greek troops showed no signs of interfering with the
Allies' operations, and the brigade group at Katerini marched out on 5 March to join the rest of the division in the
Lake Doiran sector in preparation for the Allied Spring offensive. Apart from diversionary raids, 60th (2/2nd L) Division took little part in the first part of this operation (8–9 April), most of its batteries being used to reinforce the main attack near Lake Doiran, which required several days' artillery preparation. The division did attack during the second phase of the offensive (8/9 May), but it captured its objectives by night attacks without preliminary artillery fire. A further advance was made by the division on 15 May, but the rest of the offensive having come to a standstill it was called off on 24 May. On 1 June 1917 the division was marched back to Salonika to embark for
Egypt.
Palestine On arrival at Alexandria on 19 June 1917 D (H) Bty transferred to the new
74th (Yeomanry) Division, leaving CCCII Bde with just two batteries until 10 October when 413 (H) Bty arrived to become C (H) Bty (413 (H) Bty was a New Army ('
Kitchener's Army') battery formed in 1917 and equipped with four 4.5-inch howitzers). On 8 August, the brigade's CO, Lt-Col Drake, was promoted to
Brigadier-General, RA, of the division and was succeeded by Lt-Col V.M. Fergusson. From Alexandria, 60th (2/2nd L) Division moved to the
Suez Canal to join the
Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF), where its units were reorganised (the BACs were absorbed into the DAC once more) and underwent training before crossing
Sinai in early July 1917. Further intensive training followed until late October, when the division made its first full-scale attack of the war, at
Beersheba. In the weeks leading up to the attack artillery officers had regularly ridden close to the Beersheba defences to reconnoitre, often under fire. Concentration for the attack was carried out under cover of darkness, beginning on 20/21 October and completed on 28/29 October. The divisional artillery was divided into Right and Left groups corresponding to the two attacking brigades; CCCII Bde was part of Left Group supporting
181st (2/6th London) Brigade. The whole force moved forward under moonlight on 30/31 October, with the
Royal Engineers improving the track north of Wadi ed Sabe for the artillery, which was in position by 01.30. At dawn the guns began to bombard Hill 1070, pausing at 07.00 to let the smoke and dust clear. At 08.30 the guns switched from wire-cutting to intensive bombardment, 181st Bde moving forward as the guns lifted, and taking the hill in 10 minutes. As soon as new OPs had been established on the hill the batteries galloped forward over the stony ground to begin wire-cutting on the main Turkish position. The general advance was resumed at 12.15 and 181st Bde captured its objectives easily. By 13.00 the whole of the defence works were in British hands, and that evening the
Desert Mounted Corps entered Beersheba. The next phase of the offensive involved 60th (2/2nd L) Division in an attack on
Kauwukah in the Turkish Sheria position (the
Battle of Hareira and Sheria) on 6 November. The attacking brigades moved forwards at 03.30 with the artillery, which began wire-cutting as soon as it was in position. Each 18-pdr battery cut two gaps in the wire by 12.15, and then began a bombardment of the enemy trench as the attack went in against heavy fire. The field guns then lifted onto the works in the second line. The whole defensive position was in the division's hands by 14.00 and it pushed patrols ahead towards Sheria and its water supply. Sheria was captured at daybreak the following morning, without artillery preparation, but afterwards there was heavy fighting, and several Turkish counter-attacks were broken up by the field guns. The infantry brigade groups continued their advance the following day, supported by their artillery groups (Fergusson's Group supporting 181st Bde in the Right Column), and entered
Huj. of an RFA battery engaging Turkish batteries at Nebi Samwil After a short rest at Huj, the division
bivouacked at
Gaza under heavy rain, then began a march through the mud to Junction Station, which it reached on 22 November. It now entered the last stage of the
Battle of Nebi Samwil, where the objectives were a tangle of hill slopes, with tracks so bad that it was impossible to bring up the guns until roads had been made for them. Nebi Samwil had been captured by units of
75th Division, and the London battalions that relieved them came under fierce counter-attacks on 29 November; only the supporting British artillery fire allowed them to maintain their position. However, the way was now open to attack the final defences of
Jerusalem; an encirclement was chosen, to avoid attacking the city itself. The surprise attack began on 8 December without artillery support; once progress had been made the batteries were to move up and come under command of the brigade groups. The going was tough for the gun teams, but CCCII Bde got though and eventually came into action within close rifle range of the enemy. C (H) Battery, together with C (H)/CCCI Bty, came up through Qalonye and supported
180th (2/5th London) Brigade's afternoon attack on the heights above
Lifta; the hill was carried with great dash at the point of the bayonet. The division consolidated its gains that evening. The advance was resumed the following morning and the infantry fought their way into the suburbs of Jerusalem; there was little the artillery could do to support them. The Turks evacuated the city and the following morning the mayor and civic leaders
surrendered the city to two sergeants of
2/19th Londons. 60th (2/2nd L) Division was then pushed forward into positions from which to defend the captured city. Turkish counter-attacks began on 22 December, and a major attack followed on the night of 26/27 December. This was beaten off and the division took the opportunity to push forward up the
Nablus Road into the hills over the following days. 60th Divisional Artillery made 'extraordinary exertions' to get its guns up to support attacks that captured the heights of Tahuneh and Shab Salah on 29 December. The Nablus Road defences were then garrisoned, with CCCII Bde in reserve. There was a pause in operations until February 1918 when the EEF moved to drive the Turks east of the
Jordan. 60th (2/2nd L) Division advanced with three brigade groups, each supported by artillery, and worked its way forward between 14 and 21 February over rough country, with Turkish road demolitions needing repair before the guns could get forward. At 02.30 on 21 February
2/14th Londons (London Scottish) were ordered to Nebi Musa, which they reached by 06.00, but it took 38 hours of struggle for a battery of CCCII Bde to cover the same distance. On 21 February the Australian
1st Light Horse Brigade swept into
Jericho, leaving the Turks with only small bridgeheads west of the Jordan. CCCII Brigade played no part in the
Battle of Tell 'Asur that followed. 181st Brigade, with CCCII Bde (less one battery) in support, secured the line of the
Wadi el Auja on 9 March. The division then crossed the river on the night of 21 March to carry out the
First Transjordan raid. A
Pontoon bridge was built at
Ghoraniyeh, and the reinforced division advanced as far as
Amman, though the field artillery could not get forward in the wet conditions, even with double teams of horses. Without artillery support the division failed to capture the
Amman Citadel, and with its communications back to the Jordan threatened, the raiding force withdrew on 30–31 March. The EEF settled down to defend its Jordan bridgeheads; CCCI Brigade was posted to support the Australian
2nd Light Horse Brigade and
Imperial Camel Corps garrisoning a bridgehead at the Wadi el Auja confluence. The Turks attacked the Auja bridgehead on 11 April but were driven off, the artillery observers on the high ground to the west having 'an admirable view'. Later that month the 60th (2/2nd L) Division played its part in the
Second Transjordan raid. CCCII Brigade came up in support, but while the mounted troops reached
Es Salt the Londoners could not break through the Turkish positions in the foothills, and the raiding force was withdrawn on 4 May. 60th (2/2nd L) Division then went into Corps Reserve for a rest. As a result of the
German spring offensive and consequent British manpower crisis on the Western Front, 60th (2/2nd L) Division was changed between 25 May and 1 August to an
Indian Army establishment, releasing three-quarters of its London infantry units for service in France and replacing them with Indian units; however, this did not affect the artillery, which continued to serve with the division in Palestine. For the final offensive in Palestine, the
Battle of Megiddo, 60th Division was transferred to the coastal sector where the breakthrough was to be made. The opening attack (the
Battle of Sharon) went in at 04.30 on 19 September behind an intense artillery bombardment. As soon as the barrage programme was complete, the artillery moved up behind the infantry, who had gained their first objectives. The division then continued its advance as the Turks streamed away in retreat. The 60th Division advanced for the next three days against enemy rearguards until it ran ahead of its supplies. After the battle the pursuit was carried out by the mounted troops and 60th Division was left behind on salvage duties. It was still in the rear areas when the
Armistice of Mudros ended the war with Turkey on 31 October. The division then went back to Alexandria where
demobilisation began and units were gradually reduced to cadres, though still with some responsibility for internal security and seizing illegal arms. The division ceased to exist on 31 May 1919. ==Interwar==