CXIX Brigade (119th Brigade) was a Royal Field Artillery (RFA) unit raised as part of 'Kitchener's Army' during World War I. Initially recruited in Wales as part of 38th (Welsh) Division, it served on the Western Front and saw action on the Somme. At the beginning of 1917 it became an independent 'Army Field Artillery' brigade, supporting various formations at the battles of Messines and Passchendaele in 1917, the Battle of the Lys during the German Spring Offensive of 1918, and the victorious Allied Hundred Days Offensive. It was disbanded after the Armistice.

Recruitment On 6 August 1914, less than 48 hours after Britain's declaration of war, Parliament sanctioned an increase of 500,000 men for the Regular British Army, and the newly-appointed Secretary of State for War, Earl Kitchener of Khartoum issued his famous call to arms: 'Your King and Country Need You', urging the first 100,000 volunteers to come forward. This group of six divisions with supporting arms became known as Kitchener's First New Army, or 'K1'.Army Council Instructions No 32 (6 August) and No 37 (7 August).Becke, Pt 3a, pp. 2 & 8. The flood of volunteers overwhelmed the ability of the army to absorb and organise them, and by the time the Fifth New Army (K5) was authorised, many of the units were being organised by local recruitment initiatives. One of the largest of these was the 'Welsh National Executive Committee' (WNEC) formed after a meeting held at Cardiff on 28 September under the chairmanship of David Lloyd George. The WNEC proposed to raise a complete Welsh Army Corps of two divisions. This proposal was authorised by the WO on 10 October, and recruitment got under way. As well as the infantry 'Pals battalions' raised by these initiatives, the K5 divisions required supporting arms such as artillery and engineers. The first field artillery battery for the 1st Welsh Division was formed at Sophia Gardens at Cardiff towards the end of October. It was then sent with the other artillery recruits to the training camp at Porthcawl where they were divided into subsections. There were no uniforms before the WNEC procured clothing in the grey Welsh cloth known as Brethyn Llwyd which the men wore until sufficient khaki could be obtained. There was a complete lack of equipment with which to train, and gun drill had to be carried out with improvisations such as a pair of old horse-drawn omnibus wheels fitted with a pole and hook to practise limbering-up. 1st Welsh Division was numbered as 43rd Division on 10 December 1914.Becke, Pt 3b, pp. 81–9, Appendix 2.38th (Welsh) Division at Long, Long Trail.Munby, pp. 1, 6–8.

Organisation and Training In January 1915 the artillery recruits at Porthcawl were organised into four batteries, numbered 1–4. They moved to Pwllheli in February and over the following weeks each was ordered to form a second battery (Nos 5–8). During March and April the batteries split once again resulting in the 16 field batteries (4 brigades) and 1 heavy battery required for divisional artillery. In April 1915 the WO decided to convert the K4 battalions into reserve units to train reinforcements for the K1–K3 units, and on 27 April the K5 divisions were renumbered to take up the designations of the K4 formations. The short-lived 43rd Division thus became 38th (Welsh) Division on 27 April (the WNEC's over-ambitious plan to raise a complete Welsh Army Corps had been abandoned by then, and the 38th was the only Welsh Kitchener division actually formed). The division's embryo Royal Field Artillery (RFA) brigades were given numbers vacated by the break-up of the K4 divisions: CXIX–CXXI (119th–121st) from 30th Division, and CXXII (122nd) from 31st Division. As well as the number, the Welsh units gained those personnel who had already been posted to the K4 brigades, bringing 38th (Welsh) Divisional Artillery (38th (W) DA) closer to its establishment strength. CXIX Brigade was organised as follows:Becke, Appendices 1A, 1B.38th (W) DA at Long, Long Trail. A & B Batteries – from No 2 Bty formed at Porthcawl January 1915 C & D Batteries – from No 6 Bty formed at Pwllheli 3 March 1915 CXIX Brigade Ammunition Column (BAC)

When fully equipped, each battery would consist of four 18-pounder guns.Farndale, Annex D. In August 1915 38th (W) Division began to concentrate around Winchester where it trained for open warfare on the Hampshire downland. However, for 38th (W) DA the process of organisation continued for several months. Temporary Lieutenant-Colonel Philip Paterson, who had been Mentioned in dispatches while commanding 2nd Bty, RFA, on the Western Front earlier in the year, was appointed commanding officer (CO) of CXIX Bde during November. By the time the brigade went overseas, Major F.W. Salmond was second in command and officer commanding (OC) B Bty. The OC of A Bty was Captain George Thomas Dorrell, who had won a Victoria Cross as Battery Sergeant-Major of L Bty, Royal Horse Artillery, at Néry in 1914. On 6 November 38th (W) Division was warned for service with the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) on the Western Front, but while the rest of the division embarked for France in early December 1915, 38th (W) DA remained behind to complete its training on the ranges at Larkhill.Munby, pp. viii, xii.Munby, pp. 13–4.CXIX Bde War Diary, December 1915–February 1917, TNA file WO 95/2546/1.Medal Card for P.J. Paterson, The National Archives (TNA), Kew, file WO 372/24/485/73.London Gazette, 17 February 1915.

Western Front

CXIX Brigade left Avington Camp, Winchester, on 22 December and marched to Southampton Docks where it embarked for Le Havre in France, landing the following morning. It travelled by train to Saint-Venant, where it was billeted from 25 December. On 31 December a first detachment of officers, telephonists and gunners was attached to batteries of Guards Divisional Artillery for introduction to front line duties. In late January 1916 another party was attached to 19th (Western) Divisional Artillery for the same purpose. On 29 January half of the brigade relieved half of LXXXVI Bde of 19th (W) DA at Vieille-Chapelle where 38th (W) Division had taken over responsibility. 38th (W) DA completed the relief of 19th (W) DA on 30/31 January, when CXIX Bde was distributed with A Bty acting as 'Counter-Battery' (CB), B Bty as 'Flank guns', C Bty had pairs of guns attached to other batteries as flank guns, and D Bty was attached to 'Left Group' of 38th (W) DA.38th Division CRA War Diary 1 December 1915–31 August 1916, TNA file WO 2542/1.

From January until June 38th (W) DA was continually in the line along different parts of XI Corps' front. There was little firing to begin with because poor weather restricted observation, but the batteries began registering their guns on targets such as buildings or suspected enemy strongpoints and observation posts (OPs), and carried out retaliatory fire at the request of the infantry in response to German shelling. Early in 1916 a number CXIX Bde's officers were evacuated sick, including Maj Salmond, and Capt Dorrell commanded the brigade when Paterson went on leave during March. In April CXIX Bde moved to Laventie to take over 38th (W) DA's Left Group. German aircraft and observation balloons were active when the weather permitted, and their positions having been located the batteries came under more frequent CB fire from heavy artillery, particularly D Bty, but the gunners had installed double thickness roofs over their gun pits and damage was slight. On 15 May a small operation was carried out to breach the Wyck salient with trench mortars and heavy artillery, with A, B and C Btys of CXIX firing in enfilade along the trenches and communication trenches, A and D Btys also standing by to fire defensive barrages in case of an enemy counter-attack. The operation was successful, but drew heavy retaliatory fire on the front line trenches, including CXIX Bde's OPs. Similar operations to breach the enemy parapets for infantry trench raids were carried out over following weeks.

In May 38th (W) DA was reorganised to match current practice in the BEF. The Brigade Ammunition Columns were disbanded and absorbed by 38th (W) Divisional Ammunition Column (DAC). CXXII (Howitzer) Brigade exchanged a battery with each of the other brigades on 24 May, with the result that all four brigades had three 18-pdr batteries and one 4.5-inch howitzer battery (designated D (H) Battery). The changes to CXIX Brigade's organisation were as follows: A/CXIX – left to become A/CXXII B/CXIX C/CXIX D/CXIX – redesignated A/CXIX A (H)/CXXII – joined to become D (H)/CXIX

Somme

On 10 June 38th (W) Division was ordered south to join Fourth Army and prepare for the summer's 'Big Push', the Battle of the Somme. After being relieved, 38th (W) DA began its march on 14 June and arrived at 'Grand Camp' near Saint-Pol two days later. Here it spent two weeks training before continuing its march to the south behind the infantry of the division, reaching Treux Wood on 4 July.Munby, pp16–20. The Somme Offensive had begun on 1 July with a disastrous attack across a wide front. 38th (W) Division had been warned to accompany the cavalry in exploiting a breakthrough towards Bapaume. There was no breakthrough: instead the division was switched to the Mametz sector, where there had been some success. On the afternoon of 5 July it took over the front line and prepared to capture Mametz Wood. However, most of 38th (W) DA had not yet arrived, so the infantry's attack on 7 June was supported by the artillery of two other divisions with whom they had not previously worked, which led to poor coordination. Part of 38th (W) DA then went into action in the Fricourt–Mametz sector under the command of 21st DA, supporting 17th (Northern) Division's attack. CXIX Brigade had to hand over six 18-pdrs and two howitzers to replace guns of 21st DA that were out of action (it later received two howitzers and one 18-pdr of 21st DA that had been repaired). The brigade came into action at Fricourt and began registering its guns on 9 July. During the successful attack on Mametz Wood on 10 July, CXIX Bde was pushed forward to cut the enemy barbed wire for 17th (N) Division. Next day it began registering targets in the German second line at Bazentin le Petit Wood beyond 38th (W) Division's new positions, and continued shelling this line (suffering some casualties from return fire) until it was successfully attacked on 14 July (the Battle of Bazentin Ridge). The infantry of 38th (W) Division had already been withdrawn from the line by then, but 38th (W) DA continued firing in support of XV Corps' Attacks on High Wood until 19 July. It then left Fourth Army and marched to rejoin 38th (W) Division with Reserve Army around Couin in the now-quiet northern part of the Somme sector opposite Serre.Becke, Pt 4, pp. 223–8.Marden, p. 382.Miles, 1916, Vol II, pp. 1–4, 30–2, 49–54, 67–86, 94–7, Sketches 9–10.Munby, pp. 16–19.