Royal Artillery 1914-1918

The Royal Artillery was split into three branches during the First World War;

Royal Horse Artillery

The RHA was equipped at the start of the war with the 13 pounder field gun. The purpose of the RHA was to give fast, mobile horse-drawn artillery support to the cavalry, and so had the lighter 13 pounder as opposed to the larger 18 pounder of the RFA - although as the war changed to a more static nature, they were replaced by the 18 pounder

Royal Field Artillery

The RFA, also horse drawn, was equipped with medium sized guns and to support the infantry, so not designed to be as fast or mobile as the RHA. During the First World War the RFA was equipped with the 18 pounder field gun and the 4.5 inch howitzer, as well as some mortars

Royal Garrison Artillery

The RGA originally manned coastal guns in static emplacements at Fortresses to protect against naval attack, however came to also man heavy guns and howitzers. In the First World War the RGA really came into it's own - the mainly static nature of warfare on the western front meant that the slow transportation of the heaviest guns wasn't a major issue, and could be used to destructive effect targeting the enemy front line, artillery batteries and targets well behind the front line such as railway junctions and important roads. The large expansion of the RGA meant that guns taken from Royal Navy warships were converted for land use, as well as purpose built guns. The RGA used a wide variety of weapons, ranging from the 60 pounder field gun through to 14 inch railway guns, as well as heavy mortars. They also manned anti-aircraft guns and mountain guns

Last update - 28th June 2010, site created

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