The South African Heavy Artillery (SAHA) was a regiment formed in 1915 as part of the South African Overseas Expeditionary Force to serve under British command during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. It never fought as a single formation, but contributed a number of batteries and brigades to the

Royal Garrison Artillery The Royal Garrison Artillery (RGA) was formed in 1899 as a distinct arm of the British Army's Royal Regiment of Artillery serving alongside the other two arms of the Regiment, the Royal Field Artillery (RFA) and the Royal Horse Artillery (RHA) ...

that fought on the

Western Front Western Front or West Front may refer to: Military frontiers *Western Front (World War I), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (World War II), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (Russian Empire), a majo ...

from 1916 until the

Armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from the La ...

Background

The South African Union Defence Act of 1914 forbade the deployment of South African troops outside of its national borders and immediate surrounding territories. After the suppression of the Maritz rebellion and the successful conclusion of the

South West Africa campaign The South West Africa campaign was the conquest and occupation of German South West Africa by forces from the Union of South Africa acting on behalf of the British imperial government at the beginning of the First World War. Background The ...

at the beginning of

, the South African Overseas Expeditionary Force (SAOEF) was created in July 1915 to support the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...

during the continuing war. It consisted of volunteers from the Union Defence Force (UDF) and had the status of Imperial troops under British command, rather than independent South African units.

South African Heavy Artillery Regiment

A heavy artillery brigade armed with 4.7-inch and 4-inch naval guns had served in the South West Africa campaign. It had been formed at

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

from volunteers from various UDF artillery regiments (including the

Cape Garrison Artillery A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment which drapes the wearer's back, arms, and chest, and connects at the neck. History Capes were common in medieval Europe, especially when combined with a hood in the chaperon. Th ...

and the Durban Garrison Artillery) with a nucleus of officers and non-commissioned officers from the Royal Marine Artillery. This brigade reached a strength of 60 officers and 1000 men but was disbanded in July 1915 at the conclusion of the campaign, and shortly afterwards a 600-strong regiment of heavy artillery was formed for the SAOEF, largely from ex-members of the earlier brigade. When it sailed from Cape Town on 28 August 1915 it was organised into five batteries:Crook.
/ref> * No 1 (Western Cape Province) Battery, SAHA * No 2 (Eastern Cape Province) Battery, SAHA * No 3 (Transvaal) Battery, SAHA * No 4 (Kimberley and the Diamond Districts) Battery, SAHA * No 5 (Province of Natal) Battery, SAHA

Organisation and training

The regiment landed at

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

on 15 September and went to Cooden Camp,

Bexhill-on-Sea Bexhill-on-Sea (often shortened to Bexhill) is a seaside town and civil parish situated in the county of East Sussex in South East England. An ancient town and part of the local government district of Rother, Bexhill is home to a number of arc ...

, for general training. The British

War Office The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from ...

decided to equip the SAHA as siege artillery attached to the

(RGA). Although numbered as RGA units, the batteries retained their SAHA cap badges and national identity. Under War Office Instruction No 276 of 20 October 1915, they were to be equipped with tractor-drawn 6-inch howitzers and organised as follows:Anon, ''Seventy-First'', p. 11.Frederick, pp. 702–12.Anon, ''Official History'', pp. 185–9. * Northern and Central South Africa Siege Brigade, RGA ** 71st (Transvaal) Siege Battery, RGA ** 72nd (Central and Diamond) Siege Battery, RGA * Cape Province Siege Brigade, RGA ** 73rd (Cape Peninsula) Siege Battery, RGA ** 74th (Eastern and Port Elizabeth) Siege Battery, RGA * Unbrigaded ** 75th (Natal) Siege Battery, RGA (The brigades and batteries soon dropped their provincial subtitles and became simply 'South African'.) The batteries went to the RGA training camp at

Lydd Lydd is a town and electoral ward in Kent, England, lying on Romney Marsh. It is one of the larger settlements on the marsh, and the most southerly town in Kent. Lydd reached the height of its prosperity during the 13th century, when it was a co ...

in December where they were introduced to modern heavy guns, but did gun drill on 9.45-inch Skoda howitzers from the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...

and their actual field firing with 8-inch rifled muzzle-loading howitzers dating from 1879. Other units under training at Lydd at this time included 69th and 76th Siege Btys. FWD_Model_B,_IWM_Q_10421

On completion of training, each of the batteries was equipped with four 6-inch howitzers of the latest 26-cwt pattern. Mobilisation then began: the Northern and Central Brigade mobilised at

Woolwich Woolwich () is a district in southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The district's location on the River Thames led to its status as an important naval, military and industrial area; a role that was maintained throu ...

on 8 March 1916 as 44th (South African) Siege Brigade, RGA, and 71st (SA) Siege Bty at

Fort Fareham Fort Fareham is one of the Palmerston Forts, in Fareham, England. After the Gosport Advanced Line of Fort Brockhurst, Fort Elson, Fort Rowner, Fort Grange and Fort Gomer had been approved by the Royal Commission on the Defence of the United Kin ...

on 6 April. They embarked at

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

on 15 April and landed at

Le Havre Le Havre (, ; nrf, Lé Hâvre ) is a port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the river Seine on the Channel southwest of the Pays de Caux, very cl ...

next day, followed by 72nd (SA) Siege Bty on 21 April. 75th (SA) Siege Bty arrived on 23 April, and 72nd and 73rd on 30 April. The Cape Province Siege Brigade did not mobilise until 30 April, when it became 50th (South African) Siege Brigade, RGA. It arrived in France in June, when it was assigned two British RGA batteries.'Allocation of Siege Batteries RGA'
The National Archives (TNA), Kew, file WO 95/5494/4.44th (SA) Bde War Diary, March 1916–December 1918, TNA file WO 95/542/1.
/ref>50th (SA) Bde War Diary, June 1916–March 1919,TNA file WO 95/225/5.
/ref>

Reinforcements

Immediately the first five batteries had begun mobilising, an additional 6-inch howitzer siege battery was formed on 3 April 1916 from the remaining SAHA details at Bexhill. This was 125th (SA) Siege Bty, which went to the Western Front in July. At the end of 1916 a policy was adopted of increasing RGA batteries to six guns.Farndale, Annex E. Over the next year this was done by forming new batteries in England, and then breaking them up on arrival on the Western Front, sending them by sections to reinforce existing batteries. Three new South African 6-inch batteries were therefore formed: * 496th (SA) Siege Bty formed about August 1917; arrived on Western Front February 1918 and split between 71st and 73rd (SA) Siege Btys * 497th (SA) Siege Bty formed about August 1917; arrived on Western Front February 1918 and split between 72nd and 74th (SA) Siege Btys * 542nd (SA) Siege Bty formed January 1918; arrived on Western Front May 1918 and split between 75th and 125th (SA) Siege Btys In addition, 552nd (SA) Siege Bty, equipped with 8-inch howitzers, began to form in autumn 1918 but was too late to see action.

Service

When the SAHA units arrived on the Western Front the policy within the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) was to move batteries frequently between brigades, which were designated Heavy Artillery Groups (HAGs). On arrival, the South African batteries began registering targets for that summer's 'Big Push' (the

Battle of the Somme The Battle of the Somme ( French: Bataille de la Somme), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place bet ...

) but 71st and 72nd had to interrupt their preparations and move north to reinforce the

Canadian Corps The Canadian Corps was a World War I corps formed from the Canadian Expeditionary Force in September 1915 after the arrival of the 2nd Canadian Division in France. The corps was expanded by the addition of the 3rd Canadian Division in December ...

at the

Battle of Mont Sorrel The Battle of Mont Sorrel (''Battle of Mount Sorrel'', ''Battle of Hill 62'') was a local operation in World War I by three divisions of the British Second Army and three divisions of the German 4th Army in the Ypres Salient, near Ypres, Bel ...

. They returned in time for the

First day on the Somme The first day on the Somme, 1 July 1916, was the beginning of the Battle of Albert the name given by the British to the first two weeks of the 141 days of the Battle of the Somme () in the First World War. Nine corps of the French Sixth Arm ...

, when 73rd and 74th (SA) Btys supported the diversionary

Attack on the Gommecourt Salient The Attack on the Gommecourt Salient was a British operation against the northern flank of the German 2nd Army. The attack took place on 1 July 1916, on the Western Front in France, during the First World War. The attack was conducted by the B ...

as part of 46th HAG. All six South African batteries served during the Somme offensive. By late 1916 44th (SA) Bde was commanding heavy rather than siege batteries, including 22nd and 126th (Camberwell) Heavy Btys.'Allocation of Heavy Batteries RGA', TNA file WO 95/5494/2.
/ref> Throughout 1917 the batteries were frequently switched from one HAG to another. 71st and 75th (SA) Siege Btys remained in the Somme sector, following up the German withdrawal to the Hindenburg Line (

Operation Alberich Operation Alberich (german: Unternehmen Alberich) was the code name of a German military operation in France during the First World War. Two salients had been formed during the Battle of the Somme in 1916 between Arras and Saint-Quentin and f ...

) in March, and 71st Bty and 44th (SA) Bde participated in the

Battle of Bullecourt The Battle of Arras (also known as the Second Battle of Arras) was a British offensive on the Western Front during the First World War. From 9 April to 16 May 1917, British troops attacked German defences near the French city of Arras on the W ...

. 72nd and 73rd (SA) Siege Btys and 44th (SA) Bde fired in support of the Canadian Corps at the Battle of Vimy, and 72nd continued with that formation for the remainder of the Arras Offensive and the

Battle of Hill 70 The Battle of Hill 70 took place in the First World War between the Canadian Corps and five divisions of the German 6th Army. The battle took place along the Western Front on the outskirts of Lens in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France b ...

(when 50th (SA) Bde also supported the Canadians). Meanwhile 73rd (SA) Siege Bty moved to the

Ypres Salient The Ypres Salient around Ypres in Belgium was the scene of several battles and an extremely important part of the Western front during the First World War. Ypres district Ypres lies at the junction of the Ypres–Comines Canal and the Ieperlee. ...

for the Third Ypres Offensive. 74th (SA) Siege Bty supported the advance of the

1st South African Brigade The South African 1st Infantry Brigade was an infantry brigade of the army of the Union of South Africa during World Wars I and II. During World War I, the Brigade served as a British formation in Egypt and on the Western Front, most famou ...

at the start of the Arras Offensive, and then moved to Ypres. 125th (SA) Siege Bty also fought at Arras and Hill 70 and then was attached to the Belgian Army for the rest of the year. At the end of August, 71st also went north to join the Ypres offensive, suffering badly from

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 in the later stages of the fighting. In September it supported 9th (Scottish) Division, which included the 1st SA Bde. 71st Siege Bty was relieved in this dangerous area by 73rd, which in turn was relieved by 72nd. 71st was then sent to participate in the Battle of Cambrai, where the German counter-attack came near to its gun positions. At the end of 1917 the BEF's policy changed and HAGs became permanent brigades once more. 44th and 50th HAGs were designated 8-inch howitzer brigades, each containing a British RGA battery equipped with this weapon, but both regained their largely South African character with the following organisation:Farndale, Annex M. LAC_BL_6-inch_26_cwt_Howitzer

* 44th (SA) Brigade ** 71st (SA) Siege Bty – 4 x 6-inch howitzers ** 73rd (SA) Siege Bty – 4 x 6-inch howitzers ** 125th (SA) Siege Bty – 4 x 6-inch howitzers ** 20th Siege Bty – 4 x 8-inch howitzers * 50th (SA) Brigade ** 72nd (SA) Siege Bty – 4 x 6-inch howitzers ** 74th (SA) Siege Bty – 4 x 6-inch howitzers ** 75th (SA) Siege Bty – 4 x 6-inch howitzers ** 275th Siege Bty – 6 x 8-inch howitzers Between March and May 1918 the 6-inch howitzer batteries were brought up to a strength of six guns each after the arrival of the three reinforcing batteries (''see above''). When the Germans launched their Spring Offensive in March 1918, 50th (SA) Bde was sent south to reinforce Third Army fighting round

Arras Arras ( , ; pcd, Aro; historical nl, Atrecht ) is the prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais Departments of France, department, which forms part of the regions of France, region of Hauts-de-France; before the regions of France#Reform and mergers of ...

. 44th (SA) Brigade was very heavily engaged during the second phase of the offensive in April (the Battle of the Lys) and the gunners of 73rd (SA) Bty had to defend their guns with rifles, suffering heavy casualties. During the final

Allied 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 ...

Hundred Days Offensive The Hundred Days Offensive (8 August to 11 November 1918) was a series of massive Allies of World War I, Allied offensives that ended the First World War. Beginning with the Battle of Amiens (1918), Battle of Amiens (8–12 August) on the Wester ...

44th (SA) Bde supported Fifth Army's advance to the

Escaut Canal Escaut may refer to: * Scheldt River, ''Escaut'' in French * , a number of ships with this name * Escaut (department) Escaut (, nl, Schelde) was a department of the French First Republic and French First Empire in present-day Belgium and Netherla ...

and 50th (SA) Bde supported First Army, including the Canadian Corps at the

Second Battle of the Scarpe The Battle of Arras (also known as the Second Battle of Arras) was a British offensive on the Western Front during the First World War. From 9 April to 16 May 1917, British troops attacked German defences near the French city of Arras on the We ...

and the Battle of the Drocourt-Quéant Switch Line. The South African Heavy Artillery was demobilised after the

Memorial

The South African Heavy Artillery Memorial, including 6-inch howitzers brought back from the Western Front, stands in Pretoria, another at the Johannesburg Zoo and a 3rd Gun in Port Elizabeth.

Battle honours

Notes

References

* * Anon, ''The Union of South Africa and the Great War 1914–1918: Official History'', Pretoria: South African Defence Forces, 1924/Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, 2010, ISBN 978-1-84574-885-2. * * * * * * * * * * * * * {{cite book, author=War Office, title=Army Council Instructions Issued During April 1916, place=London, publisher=HM Stationery Office, year=1916

External sources

Chris Baker, ''The Long, Long Trail''
Artillery regiments of South Africa Military units and formations of South Africa in World War I Military units and formations established in 1915 Military units and formations disestablished in 1919