I Indian Brigade, Royal Horse Artillery was a brigade of the Royal Horse Artillery formed at the outbreak of World War I. It served with

1st Indian Cavalry Division The 1st Indian Cavalry Division was a division of the British Indian Army which was formed at the outbreak of the First World War. It served on the Western Front, and was renamed the 4th Cavalry Division on 26 November 1916. In March 1918, the ...

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 ...

. It was redesignated XVI Brigade, RHA in February 1917 and XVI Army Brigade, RHA in March 1918. It was disbanded after the war.

History

I Indian Brigade, RHA

I Indian Brigade, RHA was formed on 12 December 1914 for the

in France. It commanded * A Battery of I Brigade, RHA at Ambala, India * Q Battery of VIII Brigade, RHA at Peshawar, India * U Battery of XI Brigade, RHA at Lucknow, India * I Indian RHA Brigade Ammunition Column Each battery was armed with six 13 pounder guns. The brigade served with the 1st Indian Cavalry Division on the

and the brigade commander acted as Commander Royal Horse Artillery (CRHA). In practice, the batteries were permanently assigned to the cavalry brigades, viz: * A Battery with

3rd (Ambala) Cavalry Brigade The Ambala 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 3rd (Ambala) Cavalry Brigade at the outbreak of the First World War as part of the 1st Indian ...

then

5th (Mhow) Cavalry Brigade The 5th (Mhow) Cavalry Brigade was a cavalry brigade of the British Indian Army that saw active service in the Indian Army during the First World War. Formed in November 1914, it served on the Western Front as part of the 2nd and 1st Indian C ...

from 15 September 1915 when it arrived from

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 ...

* Q Battery with

2nd (Sialkot) Cavalry Brigade The Sialkot 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 2nd (Sialkot) Cavalry Brigade at the outbreak of the First World War as part of the 1st Indian ...

* U Battery with 8th (Lucknow) Cavalry Brigade Other than the Battle of Cambrai when it helped to told the German counter-attack, the division was not involved in battle. Instead, it was held in reserve in case of a breakthrough, although it did send parties to the trenches on a number of occasions. They would hold the line, or act as Pioneers; such parties were designated as, for example, the Mhow Battalion.

XVI Brigade, RHA

On 26 November 1916, 1st Indian Cavalry Division was renamed 4th Cavalry Division. Consequently, on 24 February 1917, the brigade was redesignated as XVI Brigade, RHA. In March 1918, the 4th Cavalry Division was broken up in France. The British units remained in France and the Indian elements were sent to Egypt to help constitute

1st Mounted Division The 1st Mounted Division was a Yeomanry Division of the British Army active during World War I. It was formed in August 1914 for the home defence of the United Kingdom from four existing mounted brigades of the Territorial Force, each of three ...

. The brigade became XVI Army Brigade, RHA. About this time the brigade's 13 pounders were replaced by

18 pounder The Ordnance QF 18-pounder,British military traditionally denoted smaller ordnance by the weight of its standard projectile, in this case approximately or simply 18-pounder gun, was the standard British Empire field gun of the First World War ...

s. At the Armistice, it was serving as Army Troops with the Fourth Army commanding A, Q, and U Batteries, RHA (eighteen 18 pounders). The brigade moved to Germany as part of the Army of Occupation.

Dissolved

The brigade was broken up in Germany in April 1919 and the batteries returned to England. A Battery joined I Brigade, RHA at Woolwich, Q Battery joined VII Brigade, RHA at

Exeter Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...

and U Battery joined IX Brigade, RHA at Trowbridge.

Notes

References

Bibliography

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External links

1st Indian Cavalry Division on The Long, Long Trail
{{DEFAULTSORT:16 Brigade, Royal Horse Artillery Royal Horse Artillery brigades Artillery units and formations of World War I Military units and formations established in 1914 Military units and formations disestablished in 1919