46th Siege Battery was a heavy howitzer unit of Britain's Royal Garrison Artillery (RGA) in World War I, formed at Tynemouth with a nucleus of Territorial Force coastal gunners from Cornwall. It served on the Somme and the Ancre, at Arras and Hill 70, before going to Ypres during the battles of Autumn 1917. It then fought against the German Spring Offensive and participated in the final Allied Hundred Days Offensive. The battery was absorbed into the Regular Army after the war.
Mobilisation & training On the outbreak of war in August 1914, units of the part-time Territorial Force (TF) were invited to volunteer for Overseas ServiceBecke, Pt 2b, p. 6. and the majority of the Cornwall (Duke of Cornwall's) Royal Garrison Artillery (CRGA) did so. This was a 'defended ports unit' with companies stationed at the small ports on the coast of Cornwall.Frederick, p. 696.Maurice-Jones, p. 185.
By October 1914, the campaign on the Western Front was bogging down into Trench warfare and there was an urgent need for batteries of siege artillery to be sent to reinforce the British Expeditionary Force (BEF). The War Office decided that the TF coastal gunners were well enough trained to take over many of the duties in the coastal defences, releasing Regular Army RGA gunners for service in the field.WO Instruction No 248 of October 1914. Although complete TF defended ports units never served overseas, the companies that had volunteered for foreign service were soon supplying trained gunners to RGA units serving overseas and providing cadres to help form complete units.Maurice-Jones, pp. 200–1.
46th Siege Battery, RGA, was officially formed at Tynemouth on 30 July 1915 under the command of Major T.S.N. Hardinge, who had been the gunnery instructor of the North East Coast Defences, with 115 other ranks (ORs) drawn from Nos 12 and 47 Companies, RGA, of the Tynemouth garrison. On 10 August three officers and 78 ORs from the CRGA, led by Captain A.W. Gill, officer commanding (OC) No 7 Co, CRGA, at Truro, travelled from their headquarters at Falmouth to the RGA camp at Lydd, where they were joined by the Tynemouth contingent on 16 August.Frederick, pp. 702–6.46th Siege Bty War Diary, July 1915–February 1918, The National Archives (TNA), Kew, file WO 95/217/4.Monthly Army List, August 1914. Together with 47th Siege Bty the battery formed a new 'L' Siege Brigade (Training), but was transferred to 'H' Siege Bde (T) on 30 August. The establishment of the battery was then reduced, and the surplus men were posted to 60th Siege Bty, which was being formed.Frederick, pp. 712–8. Like other batteries training at Lydd, the gunners of 46th Siege Bty did their field firing with 9.45-inch Skoda howitzers from the Second Boer War and 8-inch rifled muzzle-loading howitzers dating from 1879.Anon, 71st Battery, p. 11.Penstone, pp. 11–2.
On the completion of its training the battery proceeded to Taunton where it drew its equipment, four 9.2-inch howitzers. The battery's Army Service Corps motor transport section (2nd Section, No 565 MT Company) took the 30 lorries and 5 Holt 75 caterpillar tractors to Avonmouth Docks to be loaded onto SS Chevington on 17 October. The main body with the guns entrained at Taunton for Southampton on 20 October, where the guns and ASC personnel were embarked on the Chevington while the gunners boarded the SS France. The battery disembarked at Boulogne on 21–22 October and marched across France, arriving on 29 October at Authie in the Somme sector, where it was billeted.'Allocation of Siege Batteries RGA', TNA file WO 95/5494/4.
Western Front
46th Siege Bty joined X Corps' Heavy Artillery (HA) under Third Army on 1 November and began laying concrete gun platforms and preparing dugouts at its gun positions: Right Half Bty under Maj Hardinge at Beaussart, Left Half Bty under Capt Gill at St Amand. The ground conditions at Beaussart meant that the gunners and caterpillars struggled to position the guns. On 8 November the battery came under the command of 31st HA Brigade, which was designated as a Siege Group under Third Army HA Reserve; 565 MT Co, ASC, became 31st Bde's ammunition column.Becke, Pt 4, pp. 193–7.31st HAG War Diary, September 1915–September 1917, TNA file WO 95/221/1.Young, Annex Q,
Hindered by snow and frost, it was not until 24 November that the gun positions at Beaussart were complete and the observation posts (OPs) established: No 2 gun fired the battery's first registration shots with the help of an observation aircraft. After problems with calibrating the guns and remounting them on firmer platforms, it was not until 23 December that the section carried out a full bombardment, firing 30 rounds at the Hawthorn Ridge Redoubt. On 8 December Left Section (LX) moved from St Amand to Warloy and came under 23rd HA Bde. It rejoined on 20 January 1916 and returned to its old positions at St Amand. During January the battery settled down to the routine of trench warfare, firing a few rounds most days, at targets such as trenches on Redan Ridge, and enemy occupied farms and villages, including Beaucourt, Beaumont-Hamel, Serre and Thiepval.
Somme On 4 March 31 HA Bde HQ moved away, handing over its batteries to 17th HA Bde, which was acting as Northern Group of X Corps HA. It ordered 46th Siege Bty to take over gun positions between Mailly and Englebelmer from 50th Siege Bty. The group concentrated on counter-battery (CB) work against enemy artillery and firing on trenches to assist the infantry. The BEF was beginning to prepare for that summer's 'Big Push' (the Battle of the Somme) and Fourth Army took over the Somme sector, with 17th HA Bde coming under VIII Corps at the end of March.Becke, Pt 4, pp. 99–109.17th HAG War Diary May 1915–April 1919, TNA file WO 95/388/1. A change in artillery policy from 4 April led the RGA brigades to be redesignated as 'Heavy Artillery Groups' (HAGs), with batteries being frequently switched between them as required.Farndale, Annex E .
Apart from a few registration shots 46th Siege Bty remained silent for most of April and May while it was preparing new positions halfway between Beaussart and Colincamps for itself, and also for other batteries to move in later. It transferred from 17th to 1st HAG on 4 May but carried on with digging its gun pits and preparing OPs. Dumping of ammunition at the battery's new positions for the forthcoming offensive began on 8 June, and the last howitzer was mounted on 17 June, when re-registration began. The bombardment programme for the offensive was to be spread over five days, U, V, W, X and Y before the assault was launched on Z day. On U Day (24 June) the battery began barbed wire-cutting, with LX prepared to carry out CB fire if required. However, the battery complained that registration methods and small amount of ammunition allocated gave unsatisfactory results. More general bombardment began on W day, with 46th Siege Bty shelling Puisieux, the Heidenkopf strongpoint known as the Quadrilateral Redoubt, and Munich Trench. The strenuous work of firing the heavy guns was divided into 2-hour periods to allow the gunners to rest, Forward Observation Officers (FOOs) to be relieved, and the guns to cool. On several days the weather was too bad for good air or ground observation and the programme was extended by two days (Y1 and Y2).Edmonds, 1916, Vol I, pp. 299–305.Farndale, Western Front, pp. 142–4.
At 06.25 on Z Day (1 July) the final bombardment began. When VIII Corps' infantry launched their assault at 07.30, the heavy artillery had already lifted off the German front line and 46th Siege Bty was firing at their third line. The attacks on Serre and Beaumont-Hamel by 31st and 29th Divisions were disastrous. 4th Division found the wire better cut and the trenches destroyed, but the German dugouts sheltering the machine gun teams were hardly touched. Although it too suffered heavy casualties 4th Division was able to capture the Quadrilateral and some men entered Munich Trench, but counter-attacks from the direction of Serre drove them back. By the end of the day VIII Corps' only gain was the Quadrilateral, and that had to abandoned next day.Becke, Pt 4, pp. 179–83.Cave, pp. 19–22, 33–48.Edmonds, 1916, Vol I, pp. 424–41, Sketch 23.Farndale, Western Front, pp. 146–9, Map 21.Horsfall & Cave, pp. 57–72.Middlebrook, pp. 134, 147–8, 168–9, 187–9, 213–4, 238–9, 244.
Although Fourth Army continued attacking, the offensive was shut down on VIII Corps' front. Reserve Army took over that sector on 4 July. There was very little firing for 46th Siege Bty in the days following the battle, and it returned some of its unused ammunition to the railhead for distribution to other units. Later it fired a few rounds a day at various targets, including Grandcourt, to assist the operations further south. The battery resumed CB fire, sometimes with air observation by No 15 Squadron, Royal Flying Corps, when German aircraft and wireless jamming did not interfere. Continued firing with the guns trained right (south) led to damage to their platforms. At the end of July VIII Corps HQ handed over the sector in front of Beaumont-Hamel to XIV Corps, then V Corps took over in mid-August. It carried out active trench warfare and began preparations for renewed operations in the sector. From 25 August 46th Siege Bty began firing at trenches (Railway Alley, Redoubt Alley, etc) rather than hostile batteries. Reserve Army's assault went in at 05.10 on 3 September, with 39th Division attacking up the valley of the River Ancre. 46th Siege Bty fired on the Quarries and then laid down a barrage on the station before moving onto the front edge of Beaucourt and then the German second line trenches. The attack, however, was another failure.Becke, Pt 4, pp. 111–120.Becke, Pt 4, pp. 161–7.Miles, 1916, Vol II, pp. 220, 228, 278–82, Sketch 39.
On 9 September the battery came temporarily under 16th HAG while transferring to 58th HAG at Mesnil. Left Section dismounted its guns overnight and began preparing the new positions, RX following a day later. On 11 September LX took part in a bombardment of Miraumont, then began firing at enemy trenches (one of which was recorded by 16th HAG as 'pulverised'). During 15 September the battery fired a large number of CB tasks with aircraft observation in support of the Battle of Flers–Courcelette. On 23 September it began firing on Stuff Trench and Regina Trench in preparation for the Battle of Thiepval Ridge that was launched on 26 September and continued for four days. The battery then dismounted its guns and moved them (with difficulty in the mud) back to their old positions, coming under 1st HAG once more. From here it supported Reserve Army's continuing attacks (the Battle of the Ancre Heights), firing on Grandcourt, Muck Trench and Beaucourt Redoubt. From 22 October the targets switched to Puisieux, Serre and Beaumont-Hamel as Reserve Army (soon redesignated Fifth Army) attempted to capture the objectives of 1 July. It took a further major attack (the Battle of the Ancre 13–18 November) for V Corps finally to take Beaumont-Hamel and Beaucourt; this ended the Somme Offensive.16th HAG War Diary September 1916–May 1917, TNA file WO 95/216/7.Cave, pp. 77–97, 110–20.Farndale, pp. 154–7.Miles, 1916, pp. 391–422, 460–5, 485–502, Sketches 45, 47.
Winter 1916–17 The normal routine of static trench warfare was then resumed, with 46th Siege Bty still shelling Puisieux and Munich Trench. On 5 January 1917 it fired on Ten Tree Alley to support a small operation by XIII Corps. The battery was then rested from 14 to 26 January 1917. After returning to its gun positions, it came under the command of 43rd HAG from 19 February 1917.