Prior to 1914, the primary purpose of the Royal Field Artillery had been the destruction of enemy troops in the open by the firing of and bursting of shrapnel above their heads.
However, as war on the Western Front evolved from 1915 into a bloody stalemate with troops entrenched in ever deeper trenches and dugouts from the English Channel to the Swiss border, so the need for heavier artillery firing high explosive and gas grew.
British artillery in the run up to 1914 consisted primarily of Field Guns operated by the Royal Field Artillery (RFA) and the Royal Horse Artillery (RHA). The RFA was equipped with the 18 Pounder and a limited supply of 4.5 inch Howitzers and the RHA with the lighter 13 Pounder – both field guns were well equipped to fire shrapnel at the enemy in the open. The heavy artillery was manned and operated by troops of the Royal Garrison Artillery (RGA).
The 13 Pounder. This light gun was used by the batteries of the RHA and worked primarily with the cavalry, with one battery being available to each cavalry brigade.
A RHA 13 Pounder team – above.
The 18 Pounder and 4.5 inch Howitzer. These were the guns that the RFA went to war with in August 1914. Both guns fired a relatively light shell to a maximum range of some 7,000 yards. Four batteries were in support to each Infantry Division.
A RFA team coming through the mud – above.
The 60 Pounder. At the start of the war, the British Expeditionary Force (BEF), only had six batteries of the 60 Pounder available. It fired a 60lb Lyddite or Shrapnel shell to a maximum range of 10,500 yards. It was regarded as being a particularly effective weapon but required a large team of horses to move it from location to location.
The 4.7 inch. Until British industry caught up with the war time economy and requirements, the heavy artillery relied upon this outdated Boer War veteran which fired a 45lb shell a maximum of 9,000 yards.
The 6 inch 30 Hundredweight (cwt) Howitzer. Was another relic from the Boer War firing a 100lb shell around 6,500 yards. It was deemed to be a very accurate weapon but required at least two hours to prepare the firing platform before it came into action. It was therefore, not very mobile and required a team of twelve draught horses to move it.
The 6 inch 26 cwt Howitzer. Replaced the 30 cwt model in the early summer of 1915. It had a maximum range of 10,000 yards and had its own recuperative hydraulic system which did away with the need to construct a firing platform. This howitzer became the standard medium howitzer of the British Army and by the war’s end, some 1,300 had been in action firing over 22 million rounds.
9.2 inch Howitzer. This weapon was only just coming into production when war was declared in 1914. When on the road, the three separate sections, barrel, carriage and cradle and the bed, travelled independently and had to be assembled at the firing location. The whole gun weighed over 15 tons and could fire a 290lb shell 10,000 yards, which later increased to 12,700 yards. Eventually, over 450 of these monsters saw service firing over three million rounds.
Heavy artillery on the move by caterpillar engine.
8 inch Howitzer. This new weapon came into service in the summer of 1915 and was a stop gap attempt at creating a new heavy weapon. It was a 6 inch howitzer with its barrel shortened and bored out to 8 inches, fitted onto a special carriage with each wheel standing 6 feet tall and weighing a ton. The whole gun weighed 14 tons and was moved by mechanical caterpillar. The 200lb shells were winched into place by using a crane, rammed home into the breech by the gunners before a 20lb bag of cordite was installed as the firing charge. The 8 inch could fire one round a minute propelling the shell over 10,000 yards and the recoil of the gun was taken up by the gun moving backwards on vast wooden ramps.
8 Inch Howitzers on the Somme – above.
The 6 inch Mark VII and 6 inch Mark XIX. Both of these weapons came into service in late 1915 and early 1917 respectively, and they replaced the original 6 inch and later 8 inch howitzers. They were considerably lighter, more mobile and could eventually fire a shell to 17,000 yards – nearly 10 miles.
A 6 inch Mark XIX. Barrel length 18 feet – above.
12 inch Howitzer. The first 12 inch guns arrived on the Western Front at the end of 1915. Some were on road mountings and others were on railway mountings. They fired an 850lb projectile up to 15,600 yards. Other railway mounted guns included 9.2, 12, 14 and 18 inch heavy guns.
An 18 inch railway gun – above.
One branch of the RGA, stationed in India, was equipped with the 2.75 inch field gun and 3.7 inch Howitzers. The field gun could be dismantled and carried on mules in mountainous terrain and these Mountain Batteries, equipped to fight on the North West Frontier of India, also saw service in Gallipoli and the Middle East.
A Mountain Battery operating in Gallipoli – above.
NZ gunners in action at Le Quesnoy November 1918.
[With thanks to the late Major Franklin Lushington and his book, ‘The Gambardier.’]