XII Brigade, Royal Horse Artillery was a brigade of the Royal Horse Artillery which existed in the early part of the 20th century. It was dissolved during World War I as its constituent batteries were posted to other formations.

History

Background

Royal Horse Artillery brigades did not exist as an organizational or operational grouping of batteries until 1 July 1859 when the Horse Brigade, Royal Artillery was formed. The brigade system was extended to five (later six) brigades when the horse artillery of the Honourable East India Company had been transferred to the British Army in 1861. These brigades were reduced to five in 1871, then to three (of 10 batteries each) in 1877 and to two (of 13 batteries each) in 1882. The brigade system was finally abolished in 1889. As battery designations were tied to the brigade that the battery was assigned to, batteries were redesignated in a bewildering sequence as they were transferred between brigades. For example, E Battery of C Brigade (E/C Bty) might become N Battery of A Brigade (N/A Bty) upon transfer. Henceforth, batteries were designated in a single alphabetical sequence in order of seniority from date of formation. The brigade system was revived in 1901. Each brigade now commanded just two batteries and a small staff (a Lieutenant-Colonel in command, an

adjutant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of human resources in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed forces as a non-commission ...

and a brigade sergeant major). Initially, batteries were not assigned to brigades in any particular order, but in 1906, at the insistence of Edward VII, brigades were redesignated so that batteries were roughly in order of seniority (hence I Brigade commanded A Battery and

B Battery A generic triode vacuum tube circuit showing "A", "B" and "C" batteries">vacuum_tube.html" ;"title="triode vacuum tube">triode vacuum tube circuit showing "A", "B" and "C" batteries In the early days of electronics, vacuum tube (called ''valves' ...

Formation

XII Brigade, RHA was formed on 1 March 1901 as the II Brigade-Division, RHA with V Battery and W Battery. In 1903 it was redesignated as II Brigade, RHA and was stationed at Woolwich. On 1 October 1906, it was redesignated as XII Brigade, RHA. By the time World War I broke out, the brigade was in Meerut, India assigned to

7th (Meerut) Division The 7th (Meerut) Division was an infantry division of the British Indian Army that saw active service during World War I. Pre-1857 The Meerut Division first appeared in the Indian Army List in 1829, under the command of Sir Jasper Nicolls, ...

. On mobilization, V Battery was assigned to the newly formed II Indian Brigade, RHA with

2nd Indian Cavalry Division The 2nd Indian Cavalry Division was a division of the British Indian Army formed at the outbreak of World War I. It served on the Western Front, being renamed as 5th Cavalry Division on 26 November 1916. In March 1918, the 5th Cavalry Divisio ...

(attached to

7th (Meerut) Cavalry Brigade The Meerut Cavalry Brigade was a cavalry brigade of the British Indian Army formed in 1904 as a result of the Kitchener Reforms. It was mobilized as 7th (Meerut) Cavalry Brigade at the outbreak of the First World War and departed for the Weste ...

) and sailed for 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 ...

in November 1914. W Battery moved to Sialkot and joined the

2nd (Rawalpindi) Division The 2nd (Rawalpindi) Division was a regular army division of the British Indian Army. It was formed in 1903 after the Kitchener reforms of the Indian Army. During World War I it remained in India for local defence but it was mobilised for actio ...

in October 1914. It returned to the 7th (Meerut) Divisional Area where it joined 4th (Meerut) Cavalry Brigade in February 1915. In November 1917 it departed for Mesopotamia where it joined the

11th Indian Cavalry Brigade The 11th Indian Cavalry Brigade was a cavalry brigade of the British Indian Army that saw active service in the Indian Army during the First World War. It took part in the Mesopotamian campaign and was broken up soon after the end of the war. ...

. With the departure of its batteries, the brigade HQ was dissolved.

Notes

References

Bibliography

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External links

''The Royal Horse Artillery'' on The Long, Long Trail
{{DEFAULTSORT:12 Brigade, Royal Horse Artillery Royal Horse Artillery brigades Artillery units and formations of World War I Military units and formations established in 1901 Military units and formations disestablished in 1917