The South Midland (Warwickshire) Royal Garrison Artillery was a volunteer artillery unit of Britain's Territorial Force formed in 1908. It served in Home Defence and provided heavy artillery support to the armies on the Western Front and Italian Front in World War I. In the interwar years it became 204 (Warwickshire) Battery serving in various regiments and formations before being expanded into a full regiment. In World War II it served in the heavy anti-aircraft (HAA) role defending its home area of the West Midlands against German air attack (particularly in the notorious Coventry Blitz), and then defended Calcutta against Japanese attacks. It continued in the postwar Territorial Army until 1955.
Origins
When the Territorial Force (TF) was created in 1908 as part of the Haldane Reforms,Dunlop, Chapter 14.Spiers, Chapter 10. each of its infantry divisions included a heavy artillery battery in its establishment.Conrad, British Army 1914. For the South Midland Division a new battery was raised in Birmingham, under the title of South Midland (Warwickshire) Royal Garrison Artillery (RGA). The battery was equipped with four Boer War-era 4.7-inch guns. It was based at the Metropolitan Cammell Carriage and Wagon Company works at Saltley, and was organised as follows:Frederick, pp. 696–701.Litchfield, pp. 237–41.South Midlands (Warwickshire) RGA at Regiments.orgArmy List.Saltley at Drill Hall Project.Becke, Pt 2a, pp. 77–83. HQ at Metropolitan Works, Saltley Heavy Battery at Saltley Ammunition Column at Wednesbury
World War I Mobilisation The South Midland Division mobilised on the outbreak of World War I and took up its war stations around Chelmsford in Essex as part of Central Force. Shortly afterwards, TF units were invited to volunteer for Overseas Service, and 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. Hence the South Midland RGA formed 1/1st South Midland (Warwickshire) Heavy Battery) for overseas service (usually referred to as 1/1st Warwickshire Heavy Battery in army documents) and the 2/1st South Midland (Warwickshire) Heavy Battery for Home Defence and to provide drafts to the 1st Line.Becke, Pt 2b, p. 6.'Allocation of Heavy Batteries RGA', The National Archives (TNA), Kew, file WO 95/5494/2.
1/1st Warwickshire Heavy Battery Western Front The South Midland Division was ordered to join the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) in France on 13 March 1915, and the artillery embarked at Southampton for Le Havre, the 1/1st Battery disembarking on 31 March. By 4 April the division had taken over a section of the front line near Cassel.
However, artillery policy in the BEF was to withdraw heavy batteries from the divisions and group them into dedicated heavy artillery brigades, so on 16 April the battery left the South Midland Division to join Second Army Artillery in time for the Second Battle of Ypres. At this time the practice was to move batteries between heavy brigades (later heavy artillery groups or HAGs) as required, so the 1/1st Warwickshire Bty moved to XVI Brigade RGA on 10 June, to VIII Brigade RGA on 3 July, to III Corps Artillery with First Army on 21 August, and IV Heavy Bde on 10 November.Farndale, Western Front, Annex E.
In early 1916 the battery was moved again, to 12th HAG with Second Army (10 April), to 'Loring's Group' with I ANZAC Corps (19 May), then to 44th (South African) HAG (5 August), and on to 34th HAG (27 August), which joined Fourth Army on the Somme in September. After the Somme fighting died down, the battery moved within Fourth Army to 7th HAG (30 November) and back to 44th (SA) HAG (23 December).'Headquarters Heavy Artillery Groups', TNA file WO 95/5494/1.
By the end of 1916 the obsolete 4.7-inch gun had been largely superseded on the Western Front by the modern 60-pounder. On 28 February 1917 the battery was made up to a strength of six guns when it was joined by a section from the newly arrived 199th Heavy Bty. It then moved north on 13 March to join 15th HAG with First Army, arriving on 21 March. Soon afterwards (15 April) it was switched south again to Fifth Army where it joined 9th HAG on 20 April. Through the early summer the battery continued to be switched rapidly from one HAG to another: 42nd (arriving 19 May), 16th with Third Army (5 July), 52nd with Second Army (9 July), 99th (12 July), then back to 52nd (6 August), and finally 11th (7 September).
By now, Second Army was involved in the Third Ypres Offensive, taking the lead at the Battles of the Menin Road Ridge, Polygon Wood and Broodseinde, which were notable artillery victories. The 60-pounders were used for counter-battery (CB) fire before the attack, and then as part of the creeping barrage that led the infantry onto their objectives.Farndale, Western Front, pp. 205–11.Wolff, pp. 191–5, 199, 207–8. However, the subsequent attacks (the Battles of Poelcappelle, First Passchendaele and Second Passchendaele) were failures. The British batteries were clearly observable from the Passchendaele Ridge and suffered badly from counter-battery fire, while their own guns sank into the mud and became difficult to aim and fire.Farndale, Western Front, pp. 211–13.Wolff, pp. 223–35, 249–51.
While the Ypres offensive was still continuing, the German and Austrian victory at Caporetto on the Italian Front led to British forces being rushed from Flanders to shore up the Italian Army. Even before their defeat the Italians had asked for the loan of heavy artillery, and now a number of units were hurriedly sent by rail, including 1/1st Warwickshire Battery, which went on 14 November.Campbell, pp. 91–104.Falls, pp. 73–5, 89–91.John Turner, 'Lloyd George, the War Cabinet and High Politics', in Liddle (ed), p. 21.Wolff, pp. 252–3, 274.
Italian Front On arrival, 1/1st Warwickshire Bty joined 24th HAG (renamed 24th Bde RGA in February 1918), with which it remained for the rest of the war. The battery was the only 60-pounder unit in the brigade, the rest being the 105th, 172nd, 229th and 247th Siege Btys. By 6 December its guns went into action on the Montello Hill, supporting the Italian army, which had been critically short of heavy artillery. The situation was stabilised by the end of the year, but 24th HAG remained in Italy.Falls, pp. 89–92, 131–2, 143.Farndale, Forgotten Fronts, pp. 176–7.Shepard's summary, in Campbell, pp. 122–5.Thompson, pp. 328–30.
Apart from some CB shoots, there was little activity through the winter months.Farndale Forgotten Fronts, p. 183. At the end of March 1918, 1/1st Warwickshire Hvy Bty moved to a position south of the Asiago plateau supporting VIII Italian Corps. The gunsites were in wooded mountainous terrain and the guns had to be manhandled into position. They carried out trench bombardment while awaiting the next Austrian offensive (the Second Battle of the Piave River). This finally came on 15 June. Despite some initial Austrian gains, 48th (South Midland) Division held its main positions. The British heavy batteries systematically destroyed the Austrian guns on the Asiago, notwithstanding poor visibility early on (Royal Air Force observation aircraft were able to direct the fire later) and the Austrian offensive failed all along the front.Falls, pp. 157–67.Farndale, Forgotten Fronts, pp. 184–8.Thompson, pp. 344–7.Kurt Peball, 'The Piave: Austria's last Throw', Purnell's History of the First World War, Vol 7, No 6, pp. 2833–8.
Preparations then began for the final battle on the Italian Front, the stunning success of the Battle of Vittorio Veneto. The British were relieved in the Asiago sector and moved to join the British-commanded Tenth Italian Army near Treviso. 24th HAG supported a number of British and French raids during September and October, then on 23 October the preliminary attacks began, supported by 24th HAG's guns. The main British assault crossed the River Piave on 27 October, with the heavy guns engaging all known Austrian gun positions and providing a protective barrage on either flank. A bridge was ready by 29 October and the heavy guns crossed the river. By 1 November the Austrian army had collapsed and the pursuing British troops had left their heavy guns far in the rear. Austrian signed the Armistice of Villa Giusti on 3 November, ending the war in Italy.Falls, pp. 169-77.Farndale, Forgotten Fronts, pp. 189–92.Thompson, pp. 356–64.Franco Velsecchi, 'Vittorio Veneto', Purnell's History of the First World War, Vol 7, No 14, pp. 3064–71.
After the Armistice, 24th HAG was involved in securing prisoners and captured enemy guns. Demobilisation of the batteries in Italy began at Christmas 1918 and by March they were down to cadre strength. 1/1st Warwickshire Heavy Bty passed into suspended animation in 1919.Campbell, pp. 106–19.
2/1st South Midland (Warwickshire) Heavy Battery The 2/1st Battery served in 61st (2nd South Midland) Division, first at Northampton in First Army, Central Force, then at Chelmsford when it replaced the 1st South Midland Division in coastal defence. In February 1916 the battery left the division and took over the old 4.7-inch guns of 117th Heavy Battery RGA, which was preparing to move to France.Becke Pt 2b, pp. 33–39. For the rest of the war 2/1st Battery served in Home Defence, from September 1916 to August 1917 with 67th (2nd Home Counties) Division at Ramsgate and Sandwich in Kent, and from January 1918 until the Armistice with the Cyclist Division at Ramsgate.Becke, Pt 2b, pp. 35, 77, 82.Farndale, Home Base, Annex 7.
Interwar 204 (Warwickshire) Medium Battery
The battery was reformed on 7 February 1920 at Saltley as 204 (Warwickshire) Medium Battery, forming part of 7th (Cornwall and Warwickshire) Medium Brigade, Royal Garrison Artillery, which became 51st (Cornwall and Warwickshire) Medium Brigade, RGA when the TF was reorganised as the Territorial Army (TA) in 1921. This was an awkward arrangement, Saltley being many miles from the brigade HQ at Truro and the other batteries at Padstow, Par and Penzance.Frederick, pp. 723, 733.Titles & Designations, 1927.Litchfield, p. 34.
On 1 October 1932 the brigade was broken up: the Cornish elements were separated to form a new 56th (Cornwall) Anti-Aircraft (AA) brigade, while a new 51st (Midland) Medium Brigade was formed in which 204 (Warwickshire) Bty was brigaded with geographically closer batteries from Staffordshire and Shropshire.
204 (Warwickshire) Anti-Aircraft Battery During the 1930s the increasing need for anti-aircraft (AA) defence for Britain's cities was addressed by converting a number of existing TA units into AA units. On 1 October 1937, 204 (Warwickshire) Bty was converted and transferred to a new 73rd Anti-Aircraft Brigade based at Wolverhampton.Frederick, pp. 755–9, 774, 778.95 HAA Rgt at Regiments.org.4 AA Division 1939 at British Military History
95th (Birmingham) AA Regiment On 1 April 1939 the battery was transferred yet again, this time to provide the experienced cadre for a newly formed 95th (Birmingham) AA Regiment (RA 'brigades' became 'regiments' on 1 January 1939): RHQ at Washwood Heath, Birmingham 204 (Warwickshire) AA Bty at Saltley 293 AA Bty at Washwood Heath
World War II Mobilisation