8th Army Group Royal Artillery (8 AGRA) was a brigade-sized formation organised by Britain's

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

(RA) during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

to command medium and heavy guns. It served in the campaign in North West Europe, participating in the battles in the

Orne Orne (; nrf, Ôrne or ) is a département in the northwest of France, named after the river Orne. It had a population of 279,942 in 2019.bocage Bocage (, ) is a terrain of mixed woodland and pasture characteristic of parts of Northern France, Southern England, Ireland, the Netherlands and Northern Germany, in regions where pastoral farming is the dominant land use. ''Bocage'' may als ...

south of Caumont before the breakout from the Normandy beachhead, operations to close up to the Maas, and the assault crossing of the

Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , so ...

(

Operation Plunder Operation Plunder was a military operation to cross the Rhine on the night of 23 March 1945, launched by the 21st Army Group under Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery. The crossing of the river was at Rees, Wesel, and south of the river Li ...

Background

The need for a higher organisational command structure for medium and heavy artillery became apparent during the

Battle of France The Battle of France (french: bataille de France) (10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign ('), the French Campaign (german: Frankreichfeldzug, ) and the Fall of France, was the Nazi Germany, German invasion of French Third Rep ...

and the early part of the Western Desert Campaign. The

Army Group Royal Artillery An Army Group Royal Artillery (AGRA) was a British Commonwealth military formation during the Second World War and shortly thereafter. Generally assigned to Army corps, an AGRA provided the medium and heavy artillery to higher formations within the ...

(AGRA) concept was developed during Exercise 'Bumper' held in the UK in 1941, organised by the commander of Home Forces, General

Alan Brooke Field Marshal Alan Francis Brooke, 1st Viscount Alanbrooke, (23 July 1883 – 17 June 1963), was a senior officer of the British Army. He was Chief of the Imperial General Staff (CIGS), the professional head of the British Army, during the Sec ...

(himself a Gunner) with Lt-Gen

Bernard Montgomery Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein, (; 17 November 1887 – 24 March 1976), nicknamed "Monty", was a senior British Army officer who served in the First World War, the Irish War of Independence and t ...

as chief umpire. This large anti-invasion exercise tested many of the tactical concepts that would be used by the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

in the latter stages of the war. The gunnery tacticians developed the AGRAs as powerful artillery brigades, usually comprising three or four medium regiments and one heavy regiment, which could be rapidly moved about the battlefield, and had the punch to destroy enemy artillery with

counter-battery Counter-battery fire (sometimes called counter-fire) is a battlefield tactic employed to defeat the enemy's indirect fire elements (multiple rocket launchers, artillery and mortars), including their target acquisition, as well as their command a ...

(CB) fire. AGRAs were provided to field armies at a scale of about one per

Army corps Corps (; plural ''corps'' ; from French , from the Latin "body") is a term used for several different kinds of organization. A military innovation by Napoleon I, the formation was first named as such in 1805. The size of a corps varies great ...

.Ellis, ''Normandy'' Appendix IV. AGRAs were improvised until 26 November 1942, when they were officially sanctioned, to consist of a commander (CAGRA) and staff to control non-divisional artillery.

Organisation

8 AGRA was formed on 1 May 1943 at

Brandeston Hall Brandeston Hall is a grade II* listed house in Old Maids Lane, Brandeston, Suffolk, England. The Hall is the former manor house of Brandeston but is now used for educational purposes. The original house was built around 1550 for Andrew Revett, b ...

Woodbridge, Suffolk Woodbridge is a port and market town in the East Suffolk District, East Suffolk district of Suffolk, England. It is up the River Deben from the sea. It lies north-east of Ipswich and forms part of the wider Ipswich built-up area. The town is c ...

, from the Headquarters, RA, of

54th (East Anglian) Infantry Division The 54th (East Anglian) Infantry Division was an infantry division of the British Army. The division was raised in 1908 following the creation of the Territorial Force (TF) as the East Anglian Division. During the First World War the division fo ...

, which was being broken up.Frederick, p. 965.8 AGRA at RA 1939–45.
/ref> It was assigned to

21st Army Group The 21st Army Group was a British headquarters formation formed during the Second World War. It controlled two field armies and other supporting units, consisting primarily of the British Second Army and the First Canadian Army. Established in ...

being formed for the planned invasion of Normandy (

Operation Overlord Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allies of World War II, Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Front (World War II), Western Europe during World War II. The operat ...

). At the time its organisation was as follows: * 177th Field Rgt * 15th Medium Rgt * 61st (Caernarvon & Denbigh Yeomanry) Medium Rgt * 63rd (Midland) Medium Rgt * 77th (Duke of Lancaster's Own Yeomanry) Medium Rgt * 53rd Heavy Rgt Later, AGRAs often dropped their field regiment: 177th Field Rgt was disbanded on 14 March 1944. 15th Medium Rgt transferred to 2 Canadian AGRA in May 1944. By the time of the Normandy landings, medium regiments were equipped with the 5.5-inch gun (two 8-gun batteries), heavy regiments with 155 mm guns and 7.2-inch howitzers (one 8-gun battery of each). In the field they were often supplemented by 3.7-inch heavy anti-aircraft (HAA) guns from the AA brigades who had few air targets.

Service

The British Army in the Normandy Campaign 1944 B9174

Operation Overlord

8 AGRA's units landed in Normandy after

D Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as D ...

in June 1944 and it fought through the subsequent campaign under the command of

Brigadier Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. In ...

Archibald Campbell of Achalader, DSO, OBE (previously Commander, RA, of

47th (London) Infantry Division The 47th (London) Infantry Division was an infantry Division (military), division of the British Army that was formed during the Second World War and remained in the United Kingdom until the end of the war. In March 1939, after the re-emergenc ...

) with the following organisation: * 61st (C&DY) Med Rgt * 63rd (Midland) Med Rgt * 77th (DLOY) Med Rgt * 146th (Pembroke & Cardiganshire Yeomanry) Med Rgt * 53rd Hvy Rgt

Operation Epsom

8 AGRA supported

VIII Corps 8th Corps, Eighth Corps, or VIII Corps may refer to: * VIII Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French army during the Napoleonic Wars * VIII Army Corps (German Confederation) * VIII Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial German Ar ...

Operation Epsom Operation Epsom, also known as the First Battle of the Odon, was a British offensive in the Second World War between 26 and 30 June 1944, during the Battle of Normandy. The offensive was intended to outflank and seize the German-occupied city ...

(26–30 June), employing 16 heavy guns, 16 medium, and 24 HAA. When

II SS Panzer Corps The II SS Panzer Corps was a German Waffen-SS armoured corps which saw action on both the Eastern Front (World War II), Eastern and Western Front (World War II), Western Fronts during World War II. It was commanded by Paul Hausser during the Thir ...

counter-attacked on 29 June, the attack of

10th SS Panzer Division Frundsberg The 10th SS Panzer Division "Frundsberg" (german: 10. SS-Panzerdivision "Frundsberg") was a German Waffen-SS armoured division during World War II. The division's first battles were in Ukraine in April 1944. Afterwards, the unit was then trans ...

was broken by the combined fire of 8 AGRA and the entire divisional artilleries of

15th (Scottish) Infantry Division The 15th (Scottish) Infantry Division was an infantry division of the British Army that served during the Second World War. It was raised on 2 September 1939, the day before war was declared, as part of the Territorial Army (TA) and served in ...

and

11th Armoured Division The 11th Armoured Division was an armoured division of the British Army which was created in March 1941 during the Second World War. The division was formed in response to the unanticipated success of the German panzer divisions. The 11th Armou ...

. Next day the Germans could only make probing attacks, to which 8 AGRA responded with some 38,000 rounds of ammunition.

Operation Jupiter

8 AGRA supported

43rd (Wessex) Infantry Division The 43rd (Wessex) Infantry Division was an infantry division of Britain's Territorial Army (TA). The division was first formed in 1908, as the Wessex Division. During the First World War, it was broken-up and never served as a complete formatio ...

of VIII Corps during the follow-up Operation Jupiter (the recapture of Hill 112 on 10 July). From positions around

Cheux Cheux () is a former commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas r ...

the AGRA fired heavy concentrations on all the known centres of enemy resistance, such as the farm of Les Duanes, first objective of 5th Battalion

Dorset Regiment The Dorset Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 to 1958, being the county regiment of Dorset. Until 1951, it was formally called the Dorsetshire Regiment, although usually known as "The Dorsets". In 1 ...

. 10th SS Panzer Division was shattered by the weight of artillery directed against it. When a company of 5th Bn

Wiltshire Regiment The Wiltshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 62nd (Wiltshire) Regiment of Foot and the 99th Duke of Edinburgh's (Lanarkshire) Regiment of Foot. The ...

got into difficulties later in the day, it was extricated with corps-level fire support including guns of the AGRAs.

Operation Spring

II Canadian Corps II Canadian Corps was a corps-level formation that, along with I Corps (United Kingdom), I (British) Corps (August 1, 1944 to April 1, 1945) and I Canadian Corps (April 6, 1943 to November 1943, and April 1, 1945 until the end of hostilities), ...

launched an attack on 25 July (

Operation Spring Operation Spring (July 25–27, 1944) was an offensive operation of the Second World War conducted by II Canadian Corps during the Normandy campaign in 1944. The plan was intended to create pressure on the German forces operating on the British ...

) aimed at pinning German forces and preventing them moving west to interfere with First US Army's

Operation Cobra Operation Cobra was the codename for an Offensive (military), offensive launched by the United States First United States Army, First Army under Lieutenant General Omar Bradley seven weeks after the D-Day landings, during the Invasion of Norman ...

to break out of the Normandy beachhead. 8 AGRA was moved to Giberville, east of

Caen Caen (, ; nrf, Kaem) is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the department of Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inhabitants (), while its functional urban area has 470,000,Verrières Ridge. Although it succeeded in attracting German attention, resulting in an armoured counter-attack, the operation failed to take its limited objectives beyond Verrières and was suspended at the end of the day.

Operation Bluecoat

Once 'Cobra' was under way, VIII Corps (including 8 AGRA) was sent from its positions east of the

River Orne The Orne () is a river in Normandy, within northwestern France. It is long. It discharges into the English Channel at the port of Ouistreham. Its source is in Aunou-sur-Orne, east of Sées. Its main tributaries are the Odon and the Rouvre. The ...

to make a supporting attack on its flank (

Operation Bluecoat Operation Bluecoat was a British offensive in the Battle of Normandy, from 30 July until 7 August 1944, during the Second World War. The geographical objectives of the attack, undertaken by VIII Corps and XXX Corps of the British Second Army (L ...

). This meant cutting across the lines of communication of the whole of Second British Army. Moves were mainly made by night and VIII Corps' formation signs were covered up, in order to disguise the movement. 8 AGRA moved from Giberville across the Orne to an area south of

Bayeux Bayeux () is a Communes of France, commune in the Calvados (department), Calvados Departments of France, department in Normandy (administrative region), Normandy in northwestern France. Bayeux is the home of the Bayeux Tapestry, which depicts ...

during the night of 28/29 July, then a further to north of Caumont during 29 July. Only 15th (S) Division, already in place, was allowed to

register Register or registration may refer to: Arts entertainment, and media Music * Register (music), the relative "height" or range of a note, melody, part, instrument, etc. * ''Register'', a 2017 album by Travis Miller * Registration (organ), th ...

its guns; incoming artillery remained silent until H Hour. 8 AGRA was allocated a

flight Flight or flying is the process by which an object moves through a space without contacting any planetary surface, either within an atmosphere (i.e. air flight or aviation) or through the vacuum of outer space (i.e. spaceflight). This can be a ...

Air Observation Post Air Observation Post (AOP) is an aeroplane or helicopter used in the role of artillery spotter by the British Army and Commonwealth forces. In this role, either the pilot of the aircraft or another crew member acts as an observer watching for ta ...

(AOP) aircraft to direct its fire thereafter. Radio silence was maintained until 03.55 on D Day (30 July). There were fewer guns than normal for an attack by Second Army, and ammunition supply was limited because the 'tail' of the corps was still strung out east of the Orne when the battle began. 8 AGRA planned timed concentrations of fire for Phase I of the operation. 77th (DLOY) Med Rgt was in direct support of 11th Armoured Division and 61st (C&DY) Med Rgt of 15th (S) Division. 8 AGRA also had VIII Corps' light AA regiment, 121st (Leicestershire Regiment) LAA Rgt (less one battery) under its command. For Phase II, two medium regiments fired a barrage ahead of the field guns' creeping barrage, with one medium regiment doing the same for Phase III. Despite the rush with which the operation had been laid on, and tough fighting in some places (at one point the infantry were still of their Phase III start line, so the armour support had to advance alone to keep up with the barrage) 11th Armoured and 15th (S) Divisions achieved their objectives by the end of the day. Massed artillery fire helped to break up German counter-attacks over the next two days, during which 77th (DLOY) Med Rgt and the 155 mm battery of 53rd Hvy Rgt moved up beyond the recently captured village of La Morichesse les Mares and the heavy guns opened fire on

Vire Vire () is a town and a former commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Vire Normandie. Geography The town is located on the river Vire. Much of it ...

. Within days the German front was cracked wide open.

Operation Guildford

Once the breakout from the beachhead was achieved, VIII Corps was 'grounded' at Vire to provide transport and fuel to 21st Army Group's pursuit force. It played a minor flanking role in

Operation Market Garden Operation Market Garden was an Allies of World War II, Allied military operation during the World War II, Second World War fought in the Netherlands from 17 to 27 September 1944. Its objective was to create a Salient (military), salient into G ...

(the

Battle of Arnhem The Battle of Arnhem was a battle of the Second World War at the vanguard of the Allied Operation Market Garden. It was fought in and around the Dutch city of Arnhem, the town of Oosterbeek, the villages Wolfheze and Driel and the vicinity fro ...

), after which it closed up to the

River Maas The Meuse ( , , , ; wa, Moûze ) or Maas ( , ; li, Maos or ) is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea from the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. It has a t ...

in the autumn. This drive, beginning with Operation Constellation, entailed clearing the

Venlo Venlo () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the southeastern Netherlands, close to the border with Germany. It is situated in the province of Limburg (Netherland ...

'Pocket', which took from October to the beginning of December, due to a surprise German counter-attack at

Meijel Meijel (; li, Méél) is a former municipality and a village in south-eastern Netherlands. History The village was first mentioned in 1303 as "Iohannes et Henricus fratres dicti van der Vloet de Meyele". The etymology is uncertain. It might me ...

. By 3 December 15th (S) Division (temporarily under

XII Corps 12th Corps, Twelfth Corps, or XII Corps may refer to: * 12th Army Corps (France) * XII Corps (Grande Armée), a corps of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * XII (1st Royal Saxon) Corps, a unit of the Imperial German Army * XII ...

) was ready to take the Germans' last bridgehead west of the Maas, at

Blerick Blerick (; li, Bliërik ; ) is a city district of the Dutch municipality of Venlo. It lies on the west bank of the Meuse and its origin goes back to the Roman era as a military stronghold and settlement en route from Mosa Trajectum (Maastricht) ...

, opposite Venlo. Operation Guildford was a textbook operation, employing 21st Army Group's superior resources in airpower, engineering and artillery to overcome the formidable minefields, anti-tank ditches and fortifications with low casualties. 8 AGRA was among the three AGRAs devoted to supporting this attack by a single infantry brigade ( 44th (Lowland) Bde). The operation was a complete success. Although held up by winter weather and the German Ardennes Offensive (the

Battle of the Bulge The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive, was the last major German offensive (military), offensive military campaign, campaign on the Western Front (World War II), Western Front during World War II. The battle lasted fr ...

), the

Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

were ready to resume operations by February 1945. 21st Army Group began

Operation Veritable Operation Veritable (also known as the Battle of the Reichswald) was the northern part of an Allies of World War II, Allied pincer movement that took place between 8 February and 11 March 1945 during the final stages of the World War II, Second ...

to clear the Reichswald and the west bank of the

on 8 February with the heaviest concentration of fire employed by the British so far in the war. Five of the nine available AGRAs and an AA brigade were assigned to XXX Corps' for the initial bombardment; 8 AGRA was not among them, but by now 53rd Hvy Rgt had been reassigned from 8 AGRA to 9 AGRA and did participate.

Operation Plunder

At the conclusion of 'Veritable' on 11 March 21st Army Group was in position to attempt an assault crossing of the Rhine (

). 8 AGRA was assigned to support XII Corps for this operation. 15th (Scottish) Division was selected for the assault,

52nd (Lowland) Infantry Division The 52nd (Lowland) Infantry Division was an infantry division of the British Army that was originally formed as the Lowland Division, in 1908 as part of the Territorial Force. It later became the 52nd (Lowland) Division in 1915. The 52nd (Lowland ...

holding the riverbank while the preparations were made behind a massive smokescreen, including parking the guns as close to the river as possible. The division would cross with two brigades in Landing Vehicles, Tracked ('Buffaloes') and stormboats, each brigade supported by four medium regiments and two heavy or super-heavy regiments of the AGRAs, as well as the divisional field artillery and two HAA batteries. XXX Corps began crossing further downstream at 21.00 on 23 March, then at 23.30 the 700 guns supporting 15th (S) Division fired their opening salvo of the bombardment (described by the divisional historian as 'earth-shaking'). This was followed at 01.00 by the divisional 'Pepperpot' when every available support weapon of every calibre saturated targets on the far bank. Then at 02.00 on 24 March 15th (S) Division launched its assault (Operation Torchlight). Generally, the assault was successful, but 227th (Highland) Bde got held up at Haffen. A follow-up attack was planned using part of the divisional reserve and a squadron of

DD Sherman DD or Duplex Drive tanks, nicknamed " Donald Duck tanks", were a type of amphibious swimming tank developed by the British during the Second World War. The phrase is mostly used for the Duplex Drive variant of the M4 Sherman medium tank, that ...

swimming tanks that had crossed the river. At the last minute there was an erroneous report that some of the tanks were already in Haffen so the artillery support from the AGRAs was cancelled. Nevertheless, the area was largely cleared by nightfall. German counter-attacks came in against Mehr during the night, and the dangerous decision was made to use the medium guns for defensive fire close to the Scottish positions, then in the woods and close to the bridges over the River Issel where the Germans had retreated. The enemy was finally driven out of the riverside villages by 07.00 next morning and at 07.30 15th (S) Division began moving inland to the Issel.

Germany

Once the Rhine had been crossed 21st Army Group began a rapid advance across northern Germany. Apart from the crossing of the

River Elbe The Elbe (; cs, Labe ; nds, Ilv or ''Elv''; Upper and dsb, Łobjo) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Repu ...

(Operation Enterprise) there were few setpiece operations and little call for medium or heavy artillery. Increasingly, as Victory in Europe (

VE Day Victory in Europe Day is the day celebrating the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II of Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces on Tuesday, 8 May 1945, marking the official end of World War II in Europe in the Easter ...

) approached, British units were called upon to act as occupation forces. After the

German surrender at Lüneburg Heath On 4 May 1945, at 18:30 British Double Summer Time, at Lüneburg Heath, south of Hamburg, Field Marshal Sir Bernard Law Montgomery accepted the unconditional surrender of the German forces in the Netherlands, northwest Germany including all i ...

this became the role for the whole of 21st Army Group while the troops awaited

demobilisation Demobilization or demobilisation (see spelling differences) is the process of standing down a nation's armed forces from combat-ready status. This may be as a result of victory in war, or because a crisis has been peacefully resolved and militar ...

.Routledge, p. 363. 8 AGRA was disbanded at

Lauenburg Lauenburg (), or Lauenburg an der Elbe ( en, Lauenberg on the Elbe), is a town in the state of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is situated on the northern bank of the river Elbe, east of Hamburg. It is the southernmost town of Schleswig-Holstein ...

, Germany, on 20 November 1945.

Footnotes

Notes

References

* Anon, ''British Army of the Rhine Battlefield Tour: Operation Bluecoat'', Germany: BAOR, 1947/Uckfield: Naval and Military Press, 2021, . * Anon, ''British Army of the Rhine Battlefield Tour: Operation Veritable'', Germany: BAOR, 1947/Uckfield: Naval and Military Press, 2021, . * John Buckley, ''Monty's Men: The British Army and the Liberation of Europe'', London: Yale University Press, 2013, . * Ian Daglish, ''Battleground Europe: Normandy: Operation Bluecoat: The British Armoured Breakout'', Barnsley: Leo Cooper, 2003, . * Maj L.F. Ellis, ''History of the Second World War, United Kingdom Military Series: Victory in the West'', Vol I: ''The Battle of Normandy'', London: HM Stationery Office, 1962/Uckfield: Naval & Military, 2004, . * Maj L.F. Ellis, ''History of the Second World War, United Kingdom Military Series: Victory in the West'', Vol II: ''The Defeat of Germany'', London: HM Stationery Office, 1968/Uckfield: Naval & Military, 2004, . * Gen Sir

Martin Farndale General Sir Martin Baker Farndale, (6 January 1929 – 10 May 2000) was a British Army officer who reached high office in the 1980s. Military career Educated at Yorebridge Grammar School, Askrigg, and the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, Farnda ...

, ''History of the Royal Regiment of Artillery: The Years of Defeat: Europe and North Africa, 1939–1941'', Woolwich: Royal Artillery Institution, 1988/London: Brasseys, 1996, . * J.B.M. Frederick, ''Lineage Book of British Land Forces 1660–1978'', Vol II, Wakefield: Microform Academic, 1984, . * Lt-Col H.F. Joslen, ''Orders of Battle, United Kingdom and Colonial Formations and Units in the Second World War, 1939–1945'', London: HM Stationery Office, 1960/Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, 2003, . * Lt-Gen H.G. Martin, ''The History of the Fifteenth Scottish Division 1939–1945'', Edinburgh: Blackwood, 1948/Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, 2014, . * Maj-Gen I.S.O. Playfair & Brig C.J.C. Molony, "History of the Second World War, United Kingdom Military Series: The Mediterranean and Middle East'', Vol IV: ''The Destruction of the Axis forces in Africa'', London: HM Stationery Office, 1966/Uckfield, Naval & Military Press, 2004, . * Brig N.W. Routledge, ''History of the Royal Regiment of Artillery: Anti-Aircraft Artillery 1914–55'', London: Royal Artillery Institution/Brassey's, 1994, * Tim Saunders, ''Battleground Europe: Operation Epsom: Normandy, June 1944'', Barnsley: Pen & Sword, 2003, . * Tim Saunders, ''Battleground Europe: Normandy: Hill 112, Battles of the Odon – 1944'', Barnsley: Pen & Sword, 2000, . * Tim Saunders, ''Battleground Europe: Operation Plunder: The British and Canadian Rhine Crossing'', Barnsley: Pen & Sword, 2006, . * Col C.P. Stacey
''Official History of the Canadian Army in the Second World War'', Vol III: ''The Victory Campaign – The Operations in North-West Europe 1944–1945'', Ottawa: Queen's Printer & Controller of Stationery, 1960.

External sources

Generals of World War II

Royal Artillery 1939–45
{{refend Army Groups Royal Artillery Military units and formations established in 1943 Military units and formations in Suffolk Military units and formations disestablished in 1945