Mobilisation The units of the Welsh Division had just departed for their annual summer camp when the order to mobilise was received on 4 August 1914. They then returned home and assembled at their drill halls to mobilise. The 4th Welsh Brigade mobilised at Newport under the command of Lt-Col D.E. Williams,
VD, who had been CO since 1911. By 11 August the units had completed their concentration and Territorial Force members were invited to volunteer for Overseas Service. Four days later the
War Office issued instructions to separate those men who had signed up for Home Service only, and form these into reserve units, and 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 Territorial Force formations being sent overseas.
1/IV Welsh Brigade, RFA At the end of August the Welsh Division concentrated at
Northampton to continue its training. On 18 November the division was warned for garrison duty in
India, but this was cancelled and in December it moved to
Cambridge, then to
Bedford in May 1915. In July the infantry of the division (now renamed the 53rd (Welsh) Division) embarked for service at
Gallipoli, but the divisional artillery remained at Bedford. In October the batteries were re-armed with modern
18-pounder guns and on 8 November they handed over their obsolescent 15-pounders to the 2nd Line unit, which had just arrived at Bedford. 53rd (Welsh) Divisional Artillery was now ordered to France to join the
British Expeditionary Force (BEF) on the
Western Front. It embarked on 20 November and had concentrated at
Pont-Remy by 25 November, from where parties were sent to various divisional artilleries for instruction in front line duties. In May 1916 the Territorial Force field brigades were numbered, the 1/IV Welsh being designated
CCLXVIII (268) Bde, RFA, and the batteries became A, B and C. Then on 25 December 1916 the divisional artillery was reorganised: A Bty was broken up between B and C Btys (to make them up to six guns each) and they were redesignated A and B, while B Battery (the former 2nd Glamorgan Bty) joined from the old CCLXV (
I Welsh) Bde and became C (Howitzer) Bty, equipped with
4.5-inch howitzers. The brigade itself was redesignated
CCLXVI (266) Bde. 53rd (W) Divisional Ammunition Column had remained in France, and was reformed in Egypt by abolishing the Brigade Ammunition Columns.
Gaza Early in 1917 the
Egyptian Expeditionary Force launched the
Sinai and Palestine Campaign by crossing the
Sinai desert and advancing against Turkish forces at
Gaza City. The
First Battle of Gaza began during the night of 25/26 March when 53rd (W) Division advanced to cross the
Wadi Ghuzzeh, with CCLXVI Bde following
158th (North Wales) Infantry Brigade. Despite the darkness and morning fog – 158th Brigade lost its way and arrived late – the infantry were in position by 8:30 and at 10:10 CCLXVI Bde opened fire on Ali Muntar. However, the attack orders were late reaching the infantry, and the main bombardment did not begin until 12:00. The division's attack went well, with 158th Bde establishing a lodgement at Ali Muntar, but the artillery was too weak to suppress the Turkish fire – CCLXVI Brigade had to support the frontage of two infantry brigades, and there were not enough forward observation officers (FOOs) or signal cable – and casualties were heavy. By 18:30 the division had taken all its objectives and its troops were in the eastern streets of Gaza when the attack was stopped for lack of water. Although 53rd (W) Division consolidated its position, it was very congested by next morning, with the guns of 53rd (W) and
54th (East Anglian) Divisions firing back to back. The infantry were withdrawn to Wadi Guzzeh the following day. For the
Second Battle of Gaza, beginning on 17 April, 53rd (W) Division's role was to advance up the coast across Wadi Ghuzzeh, and then attack Gaza after an artillery bombardment. The bombardment was begun by the heavy artillery and warships offshore, then the 4.5-inch howitzers began firing
gas shells against Turkish batteries. At 07.20, 10 minutes before Zero, the 18-pounders began engaging the objectives, CCLXVI Bde firing at Samson's Ridge. The infantry attacked punctually at 7:30 and 53rd (W) Division got onto Samson's Ridge. However, it could not push straight on to the redoubt on the ridge because the artillery support was too weak (the gas shelling was ineffectual) and the neighbouring division was badly held up.
160th Brigade carried the redoubt later in the day, but were still short of the main Turkish defence position. Casualties had been high and gains minimal, and the EEF dug in for a summer of trench warfare. The artillery batteries were regularly ordered to fire test rounds at specified map coordinates to prove their readiness for defensive fire Although the War Office was unable to provide more divisions for the EEF, it could send guns: 53rd (W) Division's batteries were temporarily brought up to a strength of eight rather than six guns, until further troops arrived. The reorganised EEF renewed its offensive (the
Third Battle of Gaza) on 27 October.
XX Corps, including 53rd (W) Divisional artillery, moved into position during the night of 30/31 October to capture
Beersheba, and the bombardment began at 05.55. After a pause at 7:00 to let the dust settle and determine the effect, the guns reopened. Infantry parties advanced to within of the
barrage to finish cutting the
barbed wire. They then rushed Point 1069 and the 18-pounder batteries began to move up to more advanced positions.
Beersheba had fallen to the
Desert Mounted Corps and XX Corps could
bivouack on the objective. On 3 November 53rd (W) Division was ordered to advance to the Tel es Sheria road led by 158th Brigade. It was a difficult march over broken country in hot weather and CCLXVI Bde, escorted by 5th Battalion,
Royal Welsh Fusiliers (RWF), made a wide movement out to the east where there was a track over comparatively flat ground. There were several sharp actions with enemy detachments, and 5th RWF was called from escort duty to support the attack on the Khuweilfe heights. Water was so short that the artillery horses had to be sent back to Beersheba for the night and afterwards only brought forward when guns actually had to be moved. Over following days 53rd (W) Division kept up pressure on the enemy in the hills so that the EEF could roll up the main trench lines (the
Battle of Hareira and Sheria). CCLXVI Brigade and other units of the divisional artillery moved east with 5th RWF to find the best road. Then on 6 November the division
assaulted the Khuweilfe position supported by an intense bombardment by all its own guns and a heavy battery. The guns had been dragged into position using double horse teams, and simply lined up alongside batteries that had already
registered their targets. Early in the morning a mist rose, preventing the gunners from seeing their targets, and causing a delay in the attack. After confused fighting the position was taken and then held with the support of the divisional artillery breaking up Turkish counter-attacks.
Jerusalem After breaking through the Gaza positions, the EEF pressed on to
Jerusalem in appalling weather. The city was to be captured by XX Corps after a rapid advance by a flying column known as 'Mott's Detachment' based on 53rd (W) Division. It included the howitzer batteries of the divisional artillery in its advance guard and main body, while the field batteries of CCLXVI Bde provided flank guards to the long column advancing through terrible weather and road conditions. The batteries also support 7th
Cheshire Regiment in its preliminary attack on 7 December.
Jerusalem fell to the EEF the following day. There was still heavy fighting around Jerusalem. 53rd (W) Division improved its positions on 17 December by seizing the commanding ridges east of
Abu Dis, with CCLXVI Bde supporting
4th Royal Sussex onto its objectives of 'Scrag Hill' and 'Sussex Ridge'. The division moved on to attack Ras ez Zamby and White Hill on 21 December, with CCLXVI Bde participating in a preliminary bombardment and then a
lifting barrage at 5:15. The attack took the crest but was then held up, so the barrage was re-arranged and from 7:20 to 7:40 all the 18-pdrs concentrated on ez Zamby and 'the Wall'. Bringing up ammunition through the rough country was difficult, and many artillery horses died under the harsh conditions. On 27 December the Turks counter-attacked to try to regain Jerusalem. They retook the crest of White Hill, but the divisional artillery rendered it untenable, and it remained in
No man's land. Meanwhile, the EEF had launched an advance on another part of the front, and 53rd (W) Division joined in next day, with CCLXVI Bde supporting 160th Bde. By 30 December all organised resistance in front had ended.
Tell 'Asur When the weather improved in February 1918, XX Corps advanced to the
Capture of Jericho, but the ground was so bad that one field battery took 36 hours to cover . To widen the EEF's base of operations, XX Corps attacked Tell 'Asur in March. 53rd (W) Divisional artillery was reinforced by other divisions so that there were had four composite brigades available for its attack, two to each attacking infantry brigade, but arranged so that three (including CCLXVI) could concentrate if necessary to support the main assault by 158th Bde. The
Battle of Tell 'Asur was launched early on the morning of 9 March. The leading battalions began crossing the wide Mo man's land at 2:00, but the guns remained silent while the infantry picked their way forward in fog. The subsequent fighting was confused, with false reports that Tell 'Asur had been captured, and the fighting went on all day while the peak was taken, lost, and retaken, followed by four more Turkish counter-attacks before it was secured. That night the division also took Chipp Hill, which had defied the neighbouring division during daylight. The advance was resumed on 10 March and the ridges in front were captured with the help of a heavy and well-directed bombardment. The artillery was now able to move forward, but the wadi in front was too steep to climb. A number of other hilltop positions were captured on 12 March, after which the artillery passed over the wadi during darkness. The fighting died down and the new line was held through the summer months. CCLXVI Brigade moved down to the
Jordan Valley with 158th Infantry Bde in late March to cover the EEF's
First Transjordan raid, then rejoined the rest of the division at
Ramallah at the beginning of April. The EEF was now required to send urgent reinforcements to the Western Front where the
German spring offensive threatened a breakthrough. In the summer of 1918 the 53rd Division was 'Indianised', with three quarters of the infantry battalions replaced by others drawn from the
British Indian Army, but this did not affect the divisional artillery, which retained its composition to the end of the war.
Megiddo At the climactic
Battle of Megiddo 53rd Division was positioned on the right flank above the Jordan Valley. The division launched its attack late on the first day (18 September). the artillery opened slow fire on 'Keen's Knoll' to drown the sound of the leading infantry scrambling down from the heights.
17th Indian Infantry were in position to attack at 22:00 and a 20-minute bombardment crashed down before the regiment went in with the bayonet. Coming from an unexpected direction, the attack was completely successful, and the rest of 159th Bde attacked. The divisional commander ordered the artillery to increase their rate of fire on the wadis behind to block the enemy's retreat. 160th Brigade then attacked in the darkness, guided by the glow of smoke shells fire by the artillery. The 3rd Battalion, 152nd Punjabis, had the severest fighting in attempting to capture Malul at the end of 'Nairn Ridge': in this area the Turks did not actually occupy their trenches, so the bombardment was ineffective. When the artillery lifted and the infantry attacked they were met by fire from untouched Turkish machine guns. The attack was broken up, though some parties of the regiment hung on within of the crest. The telephone line was cut by Turkish artillery fire, so the battalion could not call down a repeat bombardment; by the time a runner could get through with the request, the battalion had withdrawn after two more attempts to reach the top. Apart from this failure, the main enemy positions had been taken. The afternoon of 19 September was quiet on 53rd Division's front, though one Turkish force was discovered eating a meal, and five batteries were turned onto them. This disaster to the Turks that probably contributed to the division's easy advance that evening, when Malul was secured, allowing the guns to move forward. However, a Turkish counter-attack while the guns were moving temporarily retook some of their lost positions. The division now blocked the enemy's line of retreat eastwards across the Jordan. The pressure was kept up on 20 September and by the end of the next day the Turkish army was shattered and could be seen streaming north – to the annoyance of the gunners who were out of range. After the battle the pursuit was continued by the cavalry and air force, and 53rd Division was used to clear the battlefield and repair roads. It was then withdrawn to Alexandria before the
Armistice of Mudros came into effect on 31 October.
Demobilisation began on 20 December and was completed in June 1919. CCLXVI Brigade was placed in suspended animation. 68th (2nd Welsh) Division was assigned a role in Home Defence in November 1915 when it joined
First Army (Home Forces) in
Central Force, with its units quartered across Eastern England. In May 1916 the brigade was numbered
CCCXLIII Brigade (343 Bde) and the batteries became A, B and C. Later in the year CCCXL (Howitzer) Bde (formerly
2/I Welsh Bde) was broken up and its A Bty (formerly 2/1st Glamorgan Bty) joined CCCXLIII Bde as D (H) Bty. 37th Division had been in France since the middle of 1915, but it had still not taken part in a major operation. Now it was involved in the
Battle of the Ancre (the last phase of the
Somme Offensive) starting on 13 November. 37th Divisional Artillery was in the line for the whole six-day battle, at first covering the front of
63rd (Royal Naval) Division before 37th Division took over the front. On 25 January 1917, C(H)/CXXVI Bty (the former 2/1 Monmouth Bty) was broken up and its Right and Left Sections used to make up D(H)CXXIII and D(H)CXXIV Btys up to six howitzers each. These two batteries served with 37th Divisional Artillery on the Western Front for the rest of the war. The rest of CCCXLIII Bde had disappeared from 68th (2nd W) Division's order of battle by mid-1917. ==Interwar==