Royal Artillery Mounted Rifles

The Royal Artillery Mounted Rifles are detachments of the British Army's Royal Artillery when deployed as mounted infantry. The unit was first developed towards the end of the Second Boer War which was characterised by guerrilla warfare. There was little call for traditional units of field or horse artillery but high demand for mounted infantrymen to counter the highly mobile Boer commandos. By the end of the war around 2,000 artillerymen were acting in the mounted infantry role. A similar force was deployed to Ireland in the early 1920s to counter guerrilla tactics used by Irish republicans.

Second Boer War

The final year of the Second Boer War (1899–1902) was characterised by guerrilla warfare fought between mounted Boer commandos and British mobile columns. With little use for heavy calibre weaponry in such an environment both sides stood down much of their artillery units. With a large number of artillerymen gathering at depots awaiting return to England or deployment on garrison duty in India, British commander Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener, Lord Kitchener decided to form them into units of mounted infantry. The artillerymen were suited to this task as they were trained to a good standard of horsemanship and tended to be of above average intelligence and discipline. Additional rifle shooting practice was arranged for the men, as this was not usually a core aspect of their training.

The Royal Artillery Mounted Rifles were formed into independent columns of around 750 men commanded by a Royal Artillery lieutenant-colonel. One such column was commanded by Thomas Baldock, who would later become a Major-General. In addition to mounted infantry the columns contained a QF 1-pounder pom-pom, light pom-pom artillery unit and their own signals and scout sections. The men were not issued with swords and so relied on rifles with fixed bayonets when required to carry out Charge_(warfare)#Cavalry_charges, cavalry-style charges. The units remained under the administration of the Royal Regiment of Artillery who retained responsibility for forming and equipping the units, supply, remounts, staffing and signals.

The columns were particularly active in the final six months of the war during which time they undertook many long distance "drives" to clear the countryside of Boer guerrillas. The units were so successful that Kitchener requested a further 1,000 gunners from the Indian government to deploy in the role; this was refused but a comparable number of artillerymen were instead supplied by the British Army. By the end of the war around 2,000 artillery personnel were serving as mounted infantry.

At the time they were formed, British General Ian Hamilton (British Army officer), Ian Hamilton stated that the artillerymen were keen to carry out their new role. However, Colonel H. Rowan-Robinson, writing in 1921, claimed that the decision was viewed with horror by a large number of the artillerymen due to the unconventional nature of the deployment.

Kipling poem

The unit is commemorated in Rudyard Kipling's 1903 poem Ubique (poem), ''Ubique'' which commemorates the Royal Artillery's service in the war (Ubique is the regimental motto). The poem includes the lines:

This refers to the re-roling of the artillery as a mounted infantry force without their guns. Kipling refers to the unit as "infantillery", a portmanteau of infantry and artillery that he may well have coined, which reflects the role and origins of the unit.

Irish War of Independence

The concept was revived in the early 1920s during and immediately after the Irish War of Independence, another largely-guerrilla war. The bulk of the 30th (Howitzer) Brigade Royal Field Artillery, XXX Brigade, Royal Field Artillery (RFA) and 36th Brigade Royal Field Artillery, XXXVI Brigade RFA, attached to the 5th Infantry Division (United Kingdom), 5th Infantry Division, were deployed as mounted rifles or else as composite artillery/infantry units. For a brief period in early 1922 they reverted to the traditional artillery role. The I Brigade, Royal Horse Artillery (RHA)also deployed to Ireland as mounted infantry while the XXXIII Brigade RFA operated as a mixed armoured car/infantry unit.

Four formal regiments were organised for service in Ireland, with squadrons made up of personnel drawn from various brigades:J.B.M. Frederick, ''Lineage Book of British Land Forces 1660–1978'', Vol II, Wakefield: Microform Academic, 1984, ISBN 1-85117-009-X, p. 977.
* 1st Regiment, Royal Artillery Mounted Rifles – formed 23 June 1921
** A Squadron – V Brigade, RFA
** B Squadron – VI Brigade, RFA
** C Squadron – 12th (Howitzer) Brigade Royal Field Artillery, XII Brigade, RFA
* 2nd Regiment, Royal Artillery Mounted Rifles – formed 1 July 1921
** A Squadron – V Brigade, RFA and N Battery (The Eagle Troop) Royal Horse Artillery, N Battery, RHA
** B Squadron – VIII Brigade, RFA
** C Squadron – IX or XXXVII Brigades, RFA
* 3rd Regiment, Royal Artillery Mounted Rifles – formed 17 June 1921
** A Squadron – VII Brigade, RFA
** B Squadron – XV Brigade, RFA
** C Squadron – 35th Brigade Royal Field Artillery, XXXV Brigade, RFA
* 4th Regiment, Royal Artillery Mounted Rifles – formed 1921
** A Squadron – IV Brigade, RFA
** B Squadron – XIV Brigade, RFA
** C Squadron – 34th Brigade Royal Field Artillery, XXXIV Brigade, RFA

All four regiments were disbanded in 1922, the 4th Regiment on 31 January.

References

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Units and formations of the Royal Artillery
Military units and formations of the Second Boer War