1st Sussex Artillery Volunteers

875:. At dawn on 28 October the Turks counter-attacked and were engaged by guns from the other bank of the river. This attack having been stopped, 17th Division then deployed to attack, with 1066th and 404th (H) Btys coming into action some 3000 yards from Sharquat. By last light the Turks were trapped against the river by 17th Division and the cavalry with 220th Bde (403rd (H) Bty less a section, 404th (H) Bty and a section each from 1064th and 1066th Btys) in action. To make sure that the Turks surrendered, 17th Division was ordered to attack with the rising moon at 01.45 on 29 October. The advance was very slow over broken ground, but at 11.30 all the guns of both divisions were turned on the Turks. A final attack went in at 15.30 on 29 October, and at first light the following morning the Turks in Sharquat surrendered. At noon on 31 October the 1577: 992:, and was initially under the command of Lt-Col A.P. Boxall until 1924. In 1924 the RFA was subsumed into the Royal Artillery (RA), and the word 'Field' was inserted into the titles of its brigades and batteries. The establishment of a TA divisional artillery brigade was four 6-gun batteries, three equipped with 18-pounders and one with 4.5-inch howitzers, all of World War I patterns. However, the batteries only held four guns in peacetime. The guns and their first-line ammunition wagons were still horsedrawn and the battery staffs were mounted. Partial mechanisation was carried out from 1927, but the guns retained iron-tyred wheels until pneumatic tyres began to be introduced just before 691:. 1/1st Sussex Bty again supported 7th (Meerut) Division. The infantry forded the River Wadi with ease, but it constituted a serious obstacle to artillery, so the guns were not across until the afternoon. Once they had come into action at 13.30, firing into the rear of the Turkish guns and trenches at a range of 3500 yards, 7th (Meerut) Division began its attack. Most of the Turkish artillery fire was directed at the British guns rather than the infantry, but the attack still made little progress. The divisional artillery had to be concentrated before the next attack, and bad weather on 14 January delayed this. Meanwhile, the Turks had slipped away to their next position of strength at 892: 418: 1184: 370: 1012: 719:

series of deliberate attacks on the Sannaiyat position failed to break through, though they got to Bait Isa. On 18 April the Turks put in a strong counter-offensive, against which the artillery caused terrible casualties, especially when the Turkish infantry retreated from the unbroken British line. A renewed British attack on 22 April failed to break through, despite the concentration of artillery, and shortly afterwards the garrison of Kut surrendered.

73: 90: 793: 49: 1561:(Operation Olive). When the offensive opened on 25 August 1944, V Corps was still moving up, and 56th Division was its reserve, but its artillery was sent on ahead to strengthen the Corps artillery. Once the Corps had broken into the German positions, 56th Division was used to widen the breach on 1 September, and then on 3 September to lead the pursuit, taking Monte Maggiore before opposition increased at the 1132:). 44th Divisional artillery covered the division's retreat until close to Dunkirk, where all routes were completely blocked by abandoned French vehicles. The gunners destroyed their guns and vehicles before marching to the evacuation beaches on foot. 44th (HC) Division got away in pretty good order aboard boats on 30–31 May, but 57th Fd Rgt lost a number of officers and men in the process. 478: 1226:, which itself was tasked with carrying out a subsidiary attack on the first day (23 October). Much of this support was with artillery fire. 57th Field Rgt contributed to the famous '1000 gun' barrage that opened the battle. In the later stages of the battle elements of the division were switched north to assist the main breakthrough. 1378:, the 2nd Line duplicate of 44th (HC) Division, but when the division moved to France in April 1940 it was only intended for labour duties and the RA units remained behind in the UK. After the Dunkirk evacuation the 12th Division was broken up, and on 6 July 113th Fd Rgt joined 1st London Division (shortly afterwards designated 773:(220th Bde) and the batteries designated A, B and C. In 1917 the batteries were finally re-equipped with 18-pounders and redesignated again as 1064, 1065 and 1066 Btys; 1065 Bty was then broken up between the other two to bring them up to six guns each. From April to September 1917, Brigade HQ and 1066 Bty were at 1588:

on the Fiumicino river, supported by a 90-minute barrage fired by the heavily reinforced divisional artillery. Nevertheless, the attack failed, as did attempts to renew it on 29/30 September and 1 October. Later in October, the badly weakened 56th Division was relieved in the line. While the infantry

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the following day, accompanied by unusually heavy support from field artillery, the whole artillery in VI Corps brought down a pre-emptive counter-preparation programme. Although this was too late to catch the German troops as they formed up, the attack made no real impression on the Allied defences.

999:

In August 1938 the brigade's batteries replaced the 'Sussex' subtitle with the name of their home town. In 1938 the RA modernised its nomenclature and a lieutenant-colonel's command was designated a 'regiment' rather than a 'brigade'; this applied to TA field brigades from 1 November 1938. The TA was

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had only got to about 800 yards from the Turkish trenches by 15.30 and were digging in under heavy fire. The attack was called off to allow the troops to regroup. In a renewed attack the following day the battery suffered the same problems, and the column had no better success. The right bank column,

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This was the most threatened part of the British line, and there was severe fighting after the enemy established bridgeheads across the Escaut at dawn on 20 May. However, it was the deep German penetration further east that forced the BEF to withdraw to the next canal line on the Belgian frontier by

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17th Division was ordered to assault along the crest of Jabal Makhul at dawn on 27 October and once again found the enemy trenches empty. It set off in pursuit, the advance guard comprising 220th Bde (403rd (H) Bty and one section each from 1064th and 1066th Btys, with 404th (H) and 25 Mountain Btys

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By the beginning of March the relief force had been reinforced, including 1/3rd Sussex Bty, and a new advance against the Hanna position was begun. 1/1st and 1/3rd Sussex Btys remained with the weak force left to contain the enemy and guard the British camp and bridges, so they played little part in

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On 23 October the 17th and 18th Divisions were within a mile of the Fat-Ha trenches; 220th Bde was on the west bank with 17th Division. The division advanced as the moon rose at 21.30, with the divisional artillery following close behind the leading infantry brigades to get as close as possible to

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groups. However, the Turks had abandoned their trenches and the attack hit 'thin air'. The force pushed on and made a rushed attack on poorly-reconnoitred positions at dawn the following day. The artillery fire was misdirected in the poor light, and the attack was bloodily repulsed at Sannaiyat. A

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refused to pay for the upkeep of field guns and they had died out among the AVCs in the 1870s. In 1888, the concept was revived and some Volunteer batteries were reorganised as position artillery to work alongside the Volunteer infantry brigades. In 1892, the 1st Sussex was reorganised as follows:

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using strong artillery support (400 rounds per gun were supplied for the division's 25-pounders). The attack on the night of 17/18 January 1944 was successful and by morning the leading battalions were across and attacking with plenty of artillery support. The division began its breakout from the

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One of the lessons learned from the Battle of France was that the two-battery organisation did not work: field regiments were intended to support an infantry brigade of three battalions. As a result, they were reorganised into three 8-gun batteries, but it was not until late 1940 that the RA had

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Over the next few days the division fought its way forward to extend the beachhead against strong German counter-attacks, and the divisional artillery was heavily engaged in defensive fire (DF) tasks. X Corps began its advance out of the beachhead on the night of 22/23 September with massive

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issued instructions to separate those men who had signed up for Home Service only, 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. Duplicate battalions, brigades and

882:

At the end of the war the 17th Indian Division was selected to form part of the occupation force in Iraq and served during the Iraq Rebellion of 1920. It is not clear when the TF units were demobilised and sent home; the 44th (Home Counties) Division began to reform in 1920.

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On 26 October the division closed up to Mushak. This time the Turks stood and fought, catching 403rd (H) Bty in the open and putting it temporarily out of action with 25 casualties. Lieutenant-Colonel R.K. Lynch-Staunton, CO of 220th Bde, was mortally wounded in this action.

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was worn with 'FIRST ('2nd', 'THIRD', 'FOURTH') SUSSEX ARTILLERY VOLUNTEERS' on the scrolls of the helmet plate. The band wore a scarlet plume in place of the ball finial, and a helmet plate of crowned star pattern with sheet music and musical instruments superimposed.

1201:, and the division was lucky not to be thrown straight into action without any desert experience. Instead it got a bare month to train and was positioned on the key south-facing Alam el Halfa ridge when Rommel resumed his offensive with a right hook round the British 317:

department store in Brighton, became lt-col of both the AVC and the Admin Brigade in 1868, and honorary colonel in 1873. In 1865 the 1st Sussex became the first unit to win the Queen's Prize at the annual National Artillery Association competition held at

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on 11 November. In May 1918 it was joined by 403rd (Howitzer) Bty (with six 4.5-inch howitzers) from England and an Anglo-Indian battery formed in India with four 18-pounders. Other RFA brigades from 44th and 67th (HC) Divisions also served in 17th and

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divisions were thereby created, mirroring those TF formations being sent overseas. The titles of these 2nd Line units would be the same as the original, but distinguished by a '2/' prefix. In this way the 1/I and 2/I Home Counties Brigades were formed.

675:, attempting to dislodge the main Turkish force blocking the way to Kut. The force advanced on both banks of the Euphrates, the 1/1st Sussex Bty accompanying the column on the left bank. The attack went in on 6 January, but morning mist followed by 950:) Howitzer Bde was broken up. However, in 1917 the whole brigade was broken up to bring the batteries of the other RFA brigades of 67th Division up to a strength of six guns each before they went overseas to serve in Mesopotamia. 1482:). H-Hour was at 03.30, the division's leading infantry landing craft touched down at 03.35 covered by naval gunfire, and 113rd Fd Rgt's guns began landing at 05.35. The whole regiment was ashore and ready for action at 16.15. 1441:

during the night of 28/29 April, it succeeded but was driven off the position the following morning. Montgomery realised that the division needed time to learn battlecraft. It went into action again during the final advance on

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the Turkish defences. But it found the Turkish positions empty; the flanking column had done its job. By 11.15 the following morning the division was astride Jabal Makhul and shortly afterwards patrols crossed the Little Zab.

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for Sussex, had promoted the idea of the Volunteers manning semi-mobile 'position batteries' of smooth-bore field guns pulled by agricultural horses. This concept was put into practice by a number of AVCs, but the

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Charles Gervaise Boxall (1852–1914), a Brighton-born London solicitor, was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the 1st Sussex in 1873 and rose to become its commanding officer (CO) in 1893. In 1884 he published

1619:(15–19 April) despite the shortage of artillery ammunition. Once through the gap, 56th Division drove on through German rearguards to the Po, arriving on 25 April and crossing immediately. The division reached 962:

in 1920 and was designated the 57th (Home Counties) Brigade, RFA, the following year. In 1924 the RFA was subsumed into the Royal Artillery. During the interwar years the unit had the following organisation:

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Because the 1st Home Counties Division had gone to India, the 2nd Home Counties Division was among the earliest 2nd Line formations to be formed. By 27 November 1914 the division was settled in billets round

4130: 1815:, 2nd Bt, MP, served in 57th Field Brigade (commissioned 2nd lieutenant 11 December 1923, lieutenant 11 December 1925, captain 1 August 1930, major 8 March 1935) and fought in the Second World War. 555:

Affiliated to the unit were the 1st Cadet Battalion, 1st Home Counties Bde, RFA, (Imperial Service Cadet Corps) at Brighton, the Steyne School Cadet Corps, and the Brighton Brigade, Sussex Cadets.

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From 1955 to 1961, 257 Fd Rgt wore a supplementary shoulder title 'COUNTY OF SUSSEX' embroidered in yellow on a navy background, immediately below the 'ROYAL ARTILLERY' title in red on navy blue.

1004:, and most regiments split to form duplicates. Part of the reorganisation was that field regiments changed from four six-gun batteries to an establishment of two batteries, each of three four-gun 1735:

From 1908 to 1919 the men of the TF Sussex batteries wore a brass shoulder title 'T/RFA/SUSSEX' on their service dress, while the men of the Brigade Ammunition Column wore 'T/RFA/HOME COUNTIES'.

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History of the Great War: Order of Battle of Divisions, Part 2b: The 2nd-Line Territorial Force Divisions (57th–69th), with the Home-Service Divisions (71st–73rd) and 74th and 75th Divisions,

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was worn with a white medal grenade badge and similar grenade badges were worn on the shoulder straps. When the guns were hauled by hired horses, the civilian carters wore a form of straw

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but failed to cross the river the following day and had to wait until 16 October before it could cross and begin the pursuit through rough country beyond. This brought the division to the

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river and the Fat-Ha gorge, 35 miles further on. Rather than make a direct assault with the untried 17th and 18th Indian Divisions, Cobbe chose to outflank the gorge with a mobile column.

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in November. 113th Field Rgt formed its third battery, 478 Fd Bty, on 27 February 1941. On 17 February 1942 113th Fd Rgt was authorised to use its parent unit's 'Home Counties' subtitle.

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and given a dual role of training drafts for units serving overseas and at the same time being part of the mobile force responsible for home defence. From November 1915 it formed part of

908:, and even then there were only 4 guns per brigade. It was not until January 1916 that the division's gunners received their modern 18-pounders, and even then some time elapsed before 1678: 4105: 4120: 1732:

The two men of No 6 (Railwaymen's) Garrison Company responsible for driving the armoured train wore silver arm badges bearing a locomotive and the word 'DRIVER' and 'FIREMAN'

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HQ at Nasiriyah pushed a force including 1/2nd Sussex Bty a few miles up the river to Butaniyah against some opposition, but there it halted. Meanwhile, 1/1st Sussex Bty with

1402:(PAIC) in November. By the time it arrived, the threats to the Persian oilfields had diminished with the British victory at El Alamein and the lack of German progress at the 1265: 616:

1–3 December, and were allotted to various peacetime stations across India. Although the Home Counties Division remained in the order of battle and received a number (as the

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to the east, forcing the BEF to withdraw again, and by 19 May the whole force was back across the Escaut, with 57th Fd Rgt deployed at Jammel Hoek covering the canal line.

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Orders to mobilise were received on 1 September ahead of the outbreak of war on 3 September 1939. Mobilisation went smoothly and on 14 September 57th Fd Rgt moved to

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enough trained battery staffs to carry out the reorganisation. 57th Field Rgt accordingly formed 440 Fd Bty on 28 February 1941 while the regiment was stationed at

506: 430:, outlining a new way to employ heavy artillery. No 6 Garrison Company of the 1st Sussex AVC was formed entirely from railway workers, and in 1894 they manned an 313:

of the 1st Admin Brigade in 1864, with Lt-Col Thomas G. Johnston of the 1st Sussex AVC as his major. Major Charles S. Hannington of the 1st Sussex AVC, owner of

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History of the Great War: Order of Battle of Divisions, Part 2a: The Territorial Force Mounted Divisions and the 1st-Line Territorial Force Divisions (42–56)

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The 3rd Sussex AVC wore a forage cap badge consisting of an oval surmounted by a crown and inscribed 'S A III V C' at the top and 'H I C' at the bottom in

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1890–1908 was a rectangular plate surrounded by a scroll inscribed '1st SUSSEX VOLUNTEER ARTILLERY' worn with a brown leather belt, pouch and pouch belt.

1288:(Operation Husky) as part of 5 AGRA supporting XXX Corps' campaign in the east of the island. On 2 August the regiment supported the successful attack by 1087: 1676:, with R Battery at Worthing formed by 313 and 641 HAA Rgts. When 257 (County of Sussex) Field Rgt joined this amalgamation on 4 October 1961 it became 377:

As well as manning fixed coast defence artillery, from the early days of the Artillery Volunteers, Captain George Darby of the 3rd Sussex AVC, a former

1764: 1334:. The field regiments fired over 600 rounds per gun in the three days of this engagement. 6 AGRA was involved in other operations by Eighth Army and 706:

For the third relief attempt, on 5 April, 1/1st and 1/3rd Sussex Btys were with the concentrated corps artillery, which was organised into separate

435: 1509:. Attacks at Monte Camino continued in early December, with large numbers of guns in support, until the division seized the heights on 6 December. 568:

On the outbreak of war, the TF was mobilised for home defence and units were then invited to volunteer for overseas service. On 15 August 1914 the

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The Territorials completed their training in India to prepare them for possible active service, and they supplied drafts to units serving in the

620:) in May 1915, it never served as a complete formation during the First World War. On arrival in India 1/I Home Counties Bde was assigned to the 3767: 1451: 1223: 347: 2078: 1382:). Post-Dunkirk, this formation was part of XII Corps in the south-east corner of England, the most-threatened area in the country, moving to 1229:

44th (HC) Division was broken up after Alamein and 57th Fd Rgt became an Army Field Regiment under Eighth Army. In January 1943 it joined 5th

695:, and pursuit was hampered by the weather. On 7 February the detachment at Butaniyah was withdrawn, 1/2nd Sussex Bty covering the retirement. 684:

however, succeeded in taking Sheikh Sa'ad, despite heavy casualties. The force was too exhausted to take immediate advantage of the position.

4017: 3818: 1665: 1541: 1273: 759: 502: 1615:), 56th Division was responsible for the operations on Lake Comacchio to outflank the Senio line (5/6, 10/11 and 13 April) allowing it to 2265: 1634:

in the immediate aftermath of the fighting. 113th (Home Counties) Field Regiment was placed in suspended animation on 10 November 1945.

1429:, covering approximately 3200 miles between 19 March and 19 April 1943. As soon as it arrived it was thrown into the last stages of the 310: 1269: 458: 848:. 17th Indian Division moved up the west bank and 18th Division up the east bank. The problem was the strong Turkish position on the 639:, the 1/I Home Counties Bde was part of the 'Emergency Force' sent from India. Still armed with obsolescent 15-pounders it landed at 3995: 3973: 3955: 3932: 3911: 3892: 3873: 3851: 3836: 3802: 3783: 3760: 3720: 3705: 3655: 3640: 3625: 2310: 1785: 1152:

guns began to arrive later in the month. 44th (HC) Division then moved to Sussex to man a key part of the anti-invasion defences in

959: 916: 581: 355: 232: 97: 600:

The bulk of the Home Counties Division, including the 1/I Home Counties Brigade without its Brigade Ammunition Column, embarked at

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following an invasion scare in 1859 saw the creation of many units composed of part-time soldiers eager to supplement the Regular

1375: 3583: 3529: 2228: 1379: 1355: 486: 249: 220: 165: 93: 4030: 1316: 1171:

44th (HC) Division remained in Sussex and Kent until the end of May 1942, when it embarked for the Middle East. It landed in

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In 1886 the unit was divided into the 1st and 2nd Sussex Artillery Volunteers based at Brighton and Eastbourne respectively.

1304:) on 3 September 1943. Against this force, the landings were not seriously disputed, and Eighth Army began advancing up the 904:, and was reported ready to receive its weapons. However, the only guns available for the RFA brigades were obsolete French 2240: 1540:

began an offensive against 56th Division that produced no change in the line. When the attack was widened to the front of

1537: 989: 617: 549: 4065: 1202: 891: 837: 224: 1406:. The troops in PAIC were therefore free to undergo intensive training, and 56th Division was selected for the planned 679:

made accurate artillery fire difficult in the flat featureless terrain. Even with the support of 1/1st Sussex Bty, the

2160: 1795: 1455: 1293: 1219: 727:

1/I Home Counties Bde was withdrawn to India in July 1916. On return to India the 1/1st and 1/2nd Sussex Btys went to

609: 153: 17: 3276: 1183: 1078:. However, the shortage of tools and equipment hampered training. The regiment carried out live firing exercises at 369: 2770: 1608:, forcing its way into Sant'Andrea on 31 December. However, ammunition shortages limited the use of the artillery. 1242: 1230: 778: 736: 417: 1311:

In November, XXX Corps including HQ 5 AGRA were withdrawn to the UK to prepare for the Allied invasion of Europe (

1616: 1407: 1383: 1285: 1250: 920: 744: 672: 465:) for his services during the war, and in 1906–7 he served on the committee that recommended the creation of the 216: 161: 4071: 2976: 2948: 1466:

Because of Montgomery's doubts, 56th Division was not in fact used in Operation Husky. Instead it moved back to

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were recuperating, 56th Division's artillery was brought up to reinforce V Corps' fire-plan for the capture of

1554: 1522: 1479: 1422: 1323: 1157: 1124:

On the morning of 27 May this line came under attack. By now the decision had been made to withdraw the BEF to

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56th Division was by now so weak that it was relieved and on 28 March went by sea to Egypt for recuperation.

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bridgehead on 23 January, but at the end of the month was ordered to pull out and go by sea to reinforce the

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broke out, he suggested the creation of a combat unit drawn from the London volunteer units. This became the

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An Account of the Operations of the 18th (Indian) Division in Mesopotamia, December, 1917, to December, 1918

1957: 1399: 1339: 1206: 1106: 1011: 814: 545: 319: 844:

Front in Mesopotamia, and it was time for the forces on the Tigris Front to exert pressure by advancing on

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high ground. There followed hard methodical fighting to clear the Germans off successive ridge lines (the

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The brigade (with a reformed Brigade Ammunition Column) returned to Basra between 18 and 23 October 1917.

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History of the Second World War, United Kingdom Military Series: The War in France and Flanders 1939–1940

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coming south, whose leading troops were able to spot for X Corps' guns via 56th Division's wireless net.

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for further training, and then put to sea on 1 September for the invasion of mainland Italy, landing at

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on 19 November 1859. This soon reached a strength of eight batteries. Other AVCs were formed along the

1117:

23 May. 44th (HC) Division withdrew into GHQ Reserve, and then took up positions immediately south of

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on the cuffs and collars and it is believed that a black stripe was worn down the trousers. A peaked

1624: 1570: 1403: 1289: 810: 805: 732: 707: 664: 446: 378: 301:

on 28 December 1860; absorbed into 1st Sussex AVC September 1864, regained independence 14 July 1875.

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from 1859 to 1961. Raised as coastal defence artillery, the unit later served as field artillery in

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History of the Royal Regiment of Artillery: The Years of Defeat: Europe and North Africa, 1939–1941

3683: 2082: 1612: 1502: 1418: 942:(335th Bde) and the batteries were designated A, B and C. A howitzer battery (D (H)) equipped with 876: 715: 643:

between 7 and 12 December 1915 and in January 1916 it joined Tigris Corps (soon afterward retitled

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