Mobilisation The order to mobilise was received on 4 August 1914. Shortly afterwards, the men were invited to volunteer for overseas service, and the majority having accepted this liability, the North Midland Division concentrated at
Luton. In November, it moved to the area round
Bishop's Stortford where it completed its war training. At the time of mobilisation, the two batteries of IV North Midland (H) Bde were each equipped with four
BL 5-inch howitzers. 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 battalions, brigades and divisions were created, mirroring those TF formations being sent overseas. The floods of recruits coming forward were enrolled in these 2nd Line units. Lieutenant-Colonel Chandos-Pole-Gell was brought out of retirement to command the
2/1st Staffordshire Infantry Brigade during its first weeks of training.
1/IV North Midland Brigade The North Midland Division began embarking for France on 25 February 1915, and by 8 March had completed its concentration at
Ploegsteert in Belgium – the first complete TF division to deploy to the
Western Front with the
British Expeditionary Force (BEF). It was numbered the
46th (North Midland) Division shortly afterwards.
Hooge Over the following months, the artillery supported the infantry in routine trench warfare in the
Ypres Salient. On 19 July, the
Royal Engineers exploded a
mine under the German positions at
Hooge, but the infantry of
3rd Division tasked with seizing the crater had not been given a supporting artillery fireplan. As the infantry were being driven out by German artillery,
counter-battery fire from 46th Division's guns and other neighbouring artillery helped to rectify the situation. When the Germans attacked the Hooge crater with
flamethrowers on 30 July,
139th (Sherwood Foresters) Brigade of 46th Division was able to stabilise the line with the help of the divisional artillery.
Hohenzollern Redoubt 46th Division's first offensive operation was the
Battle of the Hohenzollern Redoubt. This was an attempt to restart the failed
Battle of Loos, and the division was moved down from Ypres on 1 October for the purpose. The Germans recaptured the Hohenzollern trench system on 3 October, and the new attack was aimed at this point. The artillery bombardment (by the field guns of 46th and
28th Division, backed by heavy batteries) began at 12.00 on 13 October and the infantry went in at 14.00 behind a
gas cloud. The attack was a disaster, most of the leading waves being cut down by machine gun and shell fire from German positions that had not been suppressed by the bombardment. On 23 December, the 46th (NM) Division was ordered to embark for
Egypt. It entrained for
Marseille, and some of the infantry had actually reached Egypt before the order was rescinded on 21 January 1916. The artillery returned from Marseille and the whole division reassembled on the Western Front near
Amiens by 14 February. On 1 May, the division was ordered into the line facing
Gommecourt in preparation for the forthcoming
Somme Offensive. Over the first 10 days of the month, the divisional artillery took over the existing battery positions along this front and began digging additional gun pits, observation posts (OPs) and
dugouts to new designs. While preparing for the offensive, the divisional artillery were subjected to a thorough reorganisation that was affecting all the field artillery in the BEF. First the TF brigades were assigned numbers, 1/IV North Midland becoming CCXXXIII (233), and the 1st and 2nd Derby Howitzer Btys becoming A (H) and B (H) Btys on 13 May. The other three North Midland brigades, now numbered CCXXX,
CCXXXI and
CCXXXII (230–2), each formed an additional D battery. On 23 May, CCXXXIII (H) Bde transferred A (H), R (H) and B (H) Btys to the other three brigades, and in exchange received each of the other brigades' D Btys equipped with
18-pounder field guns. As a result, CCXXX, CCXXXI, and CCXXXII brigades now had three 18-pounder batteries and one 4.5-inch howitzer battery, but CCXXXIII (despite being the original howitzer brigade) had three newly formed 18-pounder batteries (A from
Lincolnshire, B and C from
Staffordshire) but no howitzers. In addition, the brigade ammunition columns (BACs) were abolished and merged into 46th Divisional Ammunition Column (DAC). In June, Lt-Col Gisborne was awarded a
CB and Major (acting Lt-Col) Drury-Lowe, commanding 2nd Derby Bty, received a
DSO, but in July Drury-Lowe returned to the Grenadier Guards and reverted to his former rank of captain. He was killed in action in September 1916.
Gommecourt . Preparations were under way for the 46th and
56th (1st London) Divisions to carry out an
Attack on the Gommecourt Salient as a diversion from the main offensive further south. 46th Division would attack from the north west, converging with 56th from the south west. On 18 June, 46th Divisional artillery was allocated its tasks for wire-cutting and registration of targets ahead of the attack. It was divided into two groups: CCXXXIII Bde was grouped with CCXXX Bde on the right under the latter's CO, while Lt-Col Gisborne was Right Group's liaison officer at
137th (Staffordshire) Brigade, which was to make the division's right attack towards Gommecourt Wood. Right Group had its batteries dug in west and south west of Gommecourt with a concentration of three batteries around Chateau de la Haye and three others scattered around
Sailly-au-Bois and
Foncquevillers intermixed with 56th Division's batteries. C/CCXXXIII Battery at the end was lined up with Left Group's guns just west of Foncquevillers. Right Group's responsibility was the German line from the westernmost tip of Gommecourt Park to a point just north of the Gommecourt–Foncquevillers road. 46th Division used a high proportion of its 18-pounder ammunition to bombard enemy trenches and lines of communication, and a smaller proportion (about 27 per cent) of
shrapnel shells to cut German
barbed wire. However, on the right of the attack, the ground sloped away from the trajectory of the guns, making it difficult to judge
Fuze-settings for wire-cutting. A/CCXXXIII and C/CCXXXIII batteries were assigned to wire-cutting on 137th Bde's front. Apart from the wire-cutting batteries, the divisional artillery was under the direction of
VII Corps during the preliminary bombardment, which began on 24 June, but at zero hour it reverted to divisional control. Once the infantry went 'over the top' the field guns were to make a series of short 'lifts', almost amounting to a '
creeping barrage'. A final 'whirlwind' bombardment by all the guns began at 06.25 on 1 July and at zero hour (07.30) 137th Brigade made its attack with 1/6th Battalion
South Staffordshire Regiment and 1/6th Bn
North Staffordshire Regiment in the lead. Patrols had already established that the German wire was not adequately cut: there were four partially cut lanes on the South Staffs' front and five areas of weakened wire in front of the North Staffs. In addition, German casualties during the bombardment had been few because of their deep dugouts, and when the attack went in their men emerged to receive the attack with heavy machine-gun and rifle fire from their trenches and from Gommecourt Wood. Held up by uncut wire in dead ground and by enemy fire, the brigade's leading two waves only reached the German first line and were forced to take cover in shell holes where they exchanged
Grenade attacks with the Germans. The third wave was stopped by machine gun fire short of the first line. The British infantry were unable to keep up with the covering barrage of the 18-pounders, which was lifted onto each enemy trench line to a strict timetable: artillery observation during the attack was difficult due to the smoke and confusion. Meanwhile, the supporting waves were held up in the jumping-off trenches or in
No man's land by enemy shellfire. The whole attack had halted in bloody failure by 08.00. Lieutenant-Colonel Gisborne and the commander of 137th Bde attempted to bring the barrage back so that a second attack could be launched by the supporting battalions (1/5th South Staffs and 1/5th North Staffs). At about 08.45 VII Corps ordered a renewed bombardment on Gommecourt Wood in which A and B/CCXXXIII Btys participated. But the support units were already inextricably held up by mud and shellfire in their own trenches and the attack was postponed several times. It was not until 15.30 that 137th Bde was ready to attack again. However, the neighbouring brigade never began the advance, and 137th Bde's officers called off the attack at the last minute.
Disbandment The Gommecourt attack was a diversion, and it was not renewed after the first day's disaster. 46th Division remained in position while the Somme offensive continued further south throughout the summer and autumn. There was further reorganisation amongst divisional artillery, resulting in CCXXXIII Brigade being broken up on 29 August 1916 and distributed by sections so that the rest of the divisional artillery had 6-gun batteries. The two original Derbyshire Howitzer batteries, much reorganised, continued to serve as (D (H)/CCXXX Bty in 46th Divisional Artillery and D (H)/CCXXXII Bty in an Army Field Brigade) until the
Armistice. At first the 2nd Line recruits had to parade in civilian clothes and train with 'Quaker' guns – logs of wood mounted on cart wheels – but these shortages were slowly made up. Uniforms arrived in November 1914, but it was not until March 1915 that a few
90 mm French guns arrived for training. The division took over the requisitioned transport and second-hand horse harness when 46th Division was re-equipped and left for France. The divisional artillery were joined at Luton by the 1st Line
4th Home Counties (Howitzer) Brigade, RFA, and
Wessex Heavy Bty, RGA, which were fully equipped and could lend guns for training. Later, the brigade took over some 5-inch howitzers. In July the division moved out of overcrowded Luton, the artillery moving to
Hemel Hempstead, where they spent the winter of 1915–16. In early 1916 the batteries were finally brought up to establishment in horses, and 4.5-inch howitzers replaced the 5-inch howitzers.
Ireland In April 1916, the 59th Division was the mobile division of
Central Force in England, and it was ordered to Ireland when the
Easter Rising occurred, the divisional artillery landing at
Kingstown on 28 April. The artillery moved up to
Ballsbridge to support the infantry but was not engaged, and once the trouble in
Dublin had been suppressed, the troops moved out to
The Curragh to continue training. As was the case with the RFA units in the BEF, the brigade went through major reorganisation at this time. On 29 April 1916, the batteries were designated A (H) and B (H), and later the brigade was numbered CCXCVIII (298). At the end of May the brigade was joined by 3 (H) Bty from LIX Bde, a Kitchener's Army unit with
11th (Northern) Division, which became C (H) Bty. On 10 July, all three batteries were exchanged for
2/1st Hampshire Royal Horse Artillery (RHA),
2/1st Essex RHA, and
2/1st Glamorganshire RHA, which had recently joined the other three RFA brigades of 59th Division (CCXCV, CCXCVI and CCXCVII Bdes respectively). These RHA batteries were each equipped with four 18-pounder field guns rather than horse artillery guns, and the brigade lost its Howitzer designation. In July, the BAC was merged into the 59th DAC.
Western Front In January 1917, the 59th Division was relieved in Ireland and returned to the UK, concentrating at the
Fovant training area on the edge of
Salisbury Plain preparatory to embarking for France. Before leaving Ireland, 2/1st Glamorgan RHA was split between the other two batteries to bring them up to six guns each. A new C (H) Bty was formed, but quickly broken up, to be replaced by D (H)/CCXCVII (the former 3 (H)/LIX). 59th Division began crossing to France on 17 February 1917 and concentrated around
Méricourt. The last unit battery of CCXCVIII Bde arrived at
Le Havre on 17 March, the day the Germans began their retreat to the
Hindenburg Line (
Operation Alberich). The brigade immediately took part in following this retreat in March and April. On 4 April 1917, CCXCVIII Bde left 59th Division to become an Army Field Brigade. At the same time, C (H) Bty was transferred away to
Fourth Army, to be replaced on 12 April by A/CCCXXXII Bty (originally
2/18th Lancashire Bty) from
66th (2nd East Lancashire) Division. Finally, D (H) Bty joined from
Fourth Army Artillery on 1 August 1917 to complete the brigade to the organisation it kept for the remainder of the war:
Third Ypres The brigade continued supporting 23rd and
24th Divisions in X Corps until 4 July when
Fifth Army's
II Corps took over that sector of the front. It supported 24th Division during the early phases of the
Third Ypres Offensive, which opened with the
Battle of Pilckem Ridge on 31 July. Once again the field guns supplied the creeping barrage and standing barrage. Attacking towards 'Shrewsbury Forest', 24th Division got held up and left behind as the barrage advanced to timetable. The rest of the attack was a partial success, but II Corps' failure led to the development of a dangerous salient. Casualties among the gunners rose over the following days as they struggled amongst the mud to bombard the German line for a second attack (the
Battle of Langemarck, 16–18 August). 24th Division and CCXCVIII AFA Bde reverted to X Corps in Second Army on 28 August, and the gunners were rested from 8 to 17 September. The brigade was assigned to
XVIII Corps in Fifth Army for the
Battle of the Menin Road Ridge (20–25 September) in which it supported
58th (2/1st London) Division. New artillery tactics involved five belts of fire, the first two fired by 18-pounders, the third by 4.5-inch howitzers, moving at a slow pace with frequent pauses to allow the infantry to keep up. Batteries also had the task of swinging off to engage targets of opportunity, and had spare detachments to avoid exhaustion of the gunners. The barrage was described as 'magnificent both in accuracy and volume', German counterattacks were broken up by shellfire, and the attack was a resounding success. CCXCVIII AFA Brigade supported XVIII Corps' divisions through the following phases of the offensive, the battles of
Polygon Wood (26 September–3 October),
Broodseinde (4 October),
Poelcappelle (9 October),
1st Passchendaele (12 October) and
2nd Passchendaele (26 October), where the conditions became increasingly impossible and the quality of artillery support diminished. The brigade was withdrawn for rest on 28 October before the fighting was over.
Spring Offensive In November, the brigade reverted to II Corps, and then moved in December to
V Corps, where it supported
63rd (Royal Naval) Division from 21 December to 11 January 1918, including the action at Welch Ridge (30–31 December). It next joined
III Corps, but was rested until 28 February when it was assigned to
14th (Light) Division. This formation was thinly spread along a stretch of line recently taken over from the French army, and quickly crumbled when it was attacked on the first day of the
German spring offensive (21 March 1918). The divisional field artillery lost all their guns but the divisional artillery commander kept a composite force, including CCXCVIII AFA Bde and various heavy artillery batteries, in action until 29 March supporting 'Reynolds's Force' even after 14th Division had been withdrawn.
Hundred Days Offensive After the 'Great Retreat' of March 1918, CCXCVIII AFA Bde spent 31 March to 9 April 1918 refitting, before returning to the line with 58th Division in time for the fighting round
Villers-Bretonneux. During this battle the brigade transferred to the neighbouring
5th Australian Division, and went with that formation to the
Australian Corps. It remained with the Australians in Fourth Army throughout the summer of 1918, supporting different Australian divisions or acting as mobile Corps reserve during the
Battle of Amiens (8 August) and the
Second Battle of the Somme (21 August–2 September). The keynote of these attacks was thorough preparation and execution of the artillery fireplan, and then rapid movement of the field batteries behind the advancing infantry. On 13 September 1918, the brigade transferred to
IX Corps, which had been reconstituted in Fourth Army to take a leading role in the continuing
Hundred Days Offensive. IX Corps assigned it to
1st Division for the
Battle of Épehy (18 September), the attack on The Quadrilateral and
Fresnoy (24 September), the
Battle of St Quentin Canal (29 September–2 October) and the
Battle of the Beaurevoir Line (3–5 October). It was rested for a while, then went back into the line supporting 1st and
32nd Divisions in the
Battle of the Selle (16–20 October). After another short rest, it caught up with 46th (North Midland) Division in time for the
Battle of the Sambre (4–8 November), when the division advanced on 7 November to seize the
Avesnes road. As
138th (Lincoln & Leicester) Bde advanced up the road,
CCXXXI (2nd North Midland) and then CCXCVIII AFA Bdes put down concentrations of fire on the main points of resistance and the Germans began to withdraw. Most of IX Corps, including CCXCVIII AFA Bde, halted for rest on 9 November having advanced more than 50 miles since it came into the line in September. It was still resting when the
Armistice with Germany came into effect on 11 November. ==Interwar==