2nd Regiment, Royal Horse Artillery was a

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscript ...

of the

Royal Horse Artillery The Royal Horse Artillery (RHA) was formed in 1793 as a distinct arm of the Royal Regiment of Artillery (commonly termed Royal Artillery) to provide horse artillery support to the cavalry units of the British Army. (Although the cavalry link r ...

that served in the

Second World War 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 opposi ...

. It saw action in France, Greece, North Africa and Italy. It was redesignated as 2nd Field Regiment,

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 ...

in 1958. The regiment had an earlier incarnation as B Brigade, RHA, formed from the Horse Brigade,

in 1864 before being broken up in 1889. It was reestablished in 1901 as II

Brigade A brigade is a major tactical military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute a division. ...

, RHA but was broken up at the outbreak of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

as its constituent battery was posted away.

History

B Brigade, RHA

brigades did not exist as an organizational or operational grouping of batteries until 1 July 1859 when the Horse Brigade, Royal Artillery was formed. As a result of the

Indian Rebellion of 1857 The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against the rule of the British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown. The rebellion began on 10 May 1857 in the for ...

, the

British Crown The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has different ...

took direct control of India from the East India Company on 1 November 1858 under the provisions of the

Government of India Act 1858 The Government of India Act 1858 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (21 & 22 Vict. c. 106) passed on 2 August 1858. Its provisions called for the liquidation of the British East India Company (who had up to this point been ruling ...

. The

Presidency armies The presidency armies were the armies of the three presidencies of the East India Company's rule in India, later the forces of the British Crown in India, composed primarily of Indian sepoys. The presidency armies were named after the presiden ...

transferred to the direct authority of the British Crown and its European units were transferred to 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 Gurkha ...

. Henceforth artillery, the mutineers most effective arm, was to be the sole preserve of the British Army (with the exception of certain Mountain Artillery batteries). On 19 February 1862, the Bengal, Bombay and Madras Horse Artilleries transferred to the

as its 2nd to 5th Horse Brigades. The 1st Brigade with 10 batteries was much larger than the other four (with four to seven batteries each). A reorganization of the Horse Artillery on 13 April 1864 saw 1st Brigade split as A and B Horse Brigade, Royal Artillery, 2nd Brigade become C Brigade, 3rd become D Brigade, 4th become E Brigade, and 5th become F Brigade. As battery designations were tied to the brigade the battery was assigned to, the batteries were also redesignated. B Horse Brigade, RA comprised: *A Battery, B Horse Brigade (A/B) - formerly D Battery at

Aldershot Aldershot () is a town in Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme northeast corner of the county, southwest of London. The area is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Alder ...

*B Battery, B Horse Brigade (B/B) - formerly E Battery 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 thr ...

*C Battery, B Horse Brigade (C/B) - formerly F Battery at Woolwich *D Battery, B Horse Brigade (D/B) - formerly H Battery at Aldershot *E Battery, B Horse Brigade (E/B) - formerly I Battery at Newbridge From 1866, the term "

" appeared in Army List hence the brigade was designated B Brigade, Royal Horse Artillery from about this time. Another reorganization on 14 April 1877 saw the number of brigades reduced to three (of 10 batteries each). B Brigade was extensively reorganized: its batteries were transferred to the new A Brigade and it was reformed with the batteries of the old C and D Brigades. The number of brigades was further reduced to two (of 13 batteries each) in 1882. C Brigade was broken up on 1 April 1882 and it batteries transferred to A and B Brigades. The brigade system was finally abolished in 1889. Henceforth, batteries were designated in a single alphabetical sequence in order of seniority from date of formation.

II Brigade, RHA

First formation

The brigade system was revived in 1901. Each brigade now commanded just two batteries and a small staff (a

Lieutenant-Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colo ...

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 Sergeant major is a senior non-commissioned rank or appointment in many militaries around the world. History In 16th century Spain, the ("sergeant major") was a general officer. He commanded an army's infantry, and ranked about third in th ...

). Initially, batteries were not assigned to brigades in any particular order, but in 1906, at the insistence of

Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until Death and state funeral of Edward VII, his death in 1910. The second chil ...

, 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' ...

). II Brigade, RHA was formed on 1 March 1901 as the VI Brigade-Division, RHA with

and

C Battery The C battery (C size battery or R14 battery) is a standard size of dry cell battery typically used in medium-drain applications such as toys, flashlights, and musical instruments. As of 2007, C batteries accounted for 4% of alkaline primary b ...

. In 1903 it was redesignated as VI Brigade, RHA and was stationed at

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line ...

. On 1 October 1906, it was redesignated as II Brigade, RHA. By the time

broke out, B Battery had been transferred to I Brigade, leaving just C Battery at

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of t ...

, attached to 4th Cavalry Brigade. In September 1914, C Battery transferred to XIV Brigade which joined 7th Division at Lyndhurst on formation. The brigade HQ was dissolved.

Second formation

By October 1919, II Brigade, RHA was reformed at

Bordon Bordon is a town in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England. It lies in the interior of the royal Woolmer Forest, about southeast of Alton. The town forms a part of the civil parish of Whitehill which is one of two contiguous villag ...

with * C Battery, RHA from IV Brigade, RHA in Belgium in July 1919 * H Battery, RHA from VII Brigade, RHA in Germany in early 1919 * K Battery, RHA also from IV Brigade, RHA Between December 1919 and March 1920 it moved to India, where C Battery was stationed at

Meerut Meerut (, IAST: ''Meraṭh'') is a city in Meerut district of the western part of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The city lies northeast of the national capital New Delhi, within the National Capital Region and west of the state capital ...

, H Battery at

Sialkot Sialkot ( ur, ) is a city located in Punjab, Pakistan. It is the capital of Sialkot District and the 13th most populous city in Pakistan. The boundaries of Sialkot are joined with Jammu (the winter capital of Indian administered Jammu and Ka ...

and K Battery at Risalpur. In November 1926, the brigade moved to

Abbassia Abbassia ( ar, العباسية ) is a neighbourhood in Cairo, Egypt. The Saint Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral, Cairo is located in Abbassia. The medical faculty of Ain Shams University and its affiliate hospital units are located in A ...

, Egypt (with L Battery instead of H Battery), before returning to Newport in December 1931 (L Battery at

Trowbridge Trowbridge ( ) is the county town of Wiltshire, England, on the River Biss in the west of the county. It is near the border with Somerset and lies southeast of Bath, 31 miles (49 km) southwest of Swindon and 20 miles (32 km) southeas ...

). By December 1936, I Battery replaced K Battery, and in May 1938 N Battery replaced C Battery. By now the brigade commanded I, L and N batteries.

2nd Regiment, RHA

Formed

In 1938, field artillery brigades were reorganized as two 12-gun batteries. Rather than disband existing batteries, they were instead linked in pairs. On 11 May, H Battery (from 8th Field Brigade) and I Battery were linked as H/I Battery, RHA and L Battery and N were linked as L/N Battery, RHA. With effect from May 1938, brigades were redesignated as regiments and II Brigade became 2nd Regiment, RHA on 21 May. The regiment was mechanized in August 1939 replacing its horses and

13 pounder The Ordnance QF 13-pounder ( quick-firing) field gun was the standard equipment of the British and Canadian Royal Horse Artillery at the outbreak of World War I. History The QF 13-pounder was developed as a response to combat experience gaine ...

s with 3.7" Howitzers towed by

Vickers Light Dragon The Vickers Light Dragon was a fully-tracked British field artillery tractor made by Vickers-Armstrongs Ltd from 1929 to 1935. Designed to tow small-calibre field guns, it complemented Vickers' Medium Dragon tractor, which pulled medium to heav ...

gun tractors.

Second World War

At the outbreak of the

, 2nd RHA was assigned to

1st Support Group First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...

of The Armoured Division. In October 1939, it moved to France where it was placed under direct command of General Headquarters, BEF. It was still serving with the BEF when 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 German invasion of France during the Second Wor ...

broke out in May 1940. After evacuation from the continent, it was assigned to 2nd Support Group of 2nd Armoured Division, but did not join until July 1940. It was transferred to Egypt with the division. From January to May 1941, it was assigned to 1st Armoured Brigade and took part in the

Battle of Greece The German invasion of Greece, also known as the Battle of Greece or Operation Marita ( de , Unternehmen Marita, links = no), was the attack of Greece by Italy and Germany during World War II. The Italian invasion in October 1940, which is usu ...

. On return to Egypt, it game under direct command of the Middle East Forces (MEF). At the end of January 1942 it rejoined 1st Support Group briefly. The experience of the BEF in 1940 showed the limitations of having artillery regiments formed with two 12-gun batteries: field regiments were intended to support an infantry brigade of three battalions (or armoured brigade of three regiments). This could not be managed without severe disruption to the regiment. As a result, field regiments were reorganised into three 8-gun batteries. Surprisingly, it was not until April 1942 that its batteries were unlinked. H/I once again formed H and I batteries and L/N reformed as L and N batteries. N Battery returned to the UK to join

6th Regiment, Royal Horse Artillery 6th Regiment, Royal Horse Artillery was a Regiment of the Royal Horse Artillery that acted as a training formation during World War II. It was the last RHA unit to serve in India between December 1945 and April 1947, before being redesignated ...

. At this point the regiment was armed with twenty four

25 pounder The Ordnance QF 25-pounder, or more simply 25-pounder or 25-pdr, was the major British field gun and howitzer during the Second World War. Its calibre is 3.45-inch (87.6 mm). It was introduced into service just before the war started, com ...

s. From 21 April 1942, the regiment served with

22nd Guards Brigade The 22nd Guards Brigade was an infantry brigade of the British Army that saw distinguished active service during the Second World War. History The 22nd Infantry Brigade was formed by the redesignation of the 29th Infantry Brigade on 3 Septemb ...

under command of

2nd South African Division The South African 2nd Infantry Division was an infantry division of the army of the Union of South Africa during World War II. The division was formed on 23 October 1940 and served in the Western Desert Campaign and was captured (save for on ...

in the

Battle of Gazala The Battle of Gazala (near the village of ) was fought during the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War, west of the port of Tobruk in Libya, from 26 May to 21 June 1942. Axis troops of the ( Erwin Rommel) consisting of German an ...

. On 25 June it transferred to 22nd Armoured Brigade and took part in the

Battle of Mersa Matruh The Battle of Mersa Matruh was fought from 26 to 29 June 1942, following the defeat of the Eighth Army (General Sir Claude Auchinleck) at the Battle of Gazala and was part of the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War. The combatant ...

and the Defence of the El Alamein Line. On 24 August 1942 it joined 1st Armoured Division. It served with this division throughout the rest of the Western Desert campaign and the

Tunisia campaign The Tunisian campaign (also known as the Battle of Tunisia) was a series of battles that took place in Tunisia during the North African campaign of the Second World War, between Axis and Allied forces from 17 November 1942 to 13 May 1943. Th ...

, in particular, the battles of

El Alamein El Alamein ( ar, العلمين, translit=al-ʿAlamayn, lit=the two flags, ) is a town in the northern Matrouh Governorate of Egypt. Located on the Arab's Gulf, Mediterranean Sea, it lies west of Alexandria and northwest of Cairo. , it had ...

Tebaga Gap The Tebaga Gap of southern Tunisia is a low mountain pass located in rough rocky broken country giving entry to the inhabited coastal plain to the north and east from much less hospitable desert dominated terrain in southern and south-western Tun ...

, Akarit, El Kourzia and

Tunis ''Tounsi'' french: Tunisois , population_note = , population_urban = , population_metro = 2658816 , population_density_km2 = , timezone1 = CET , utc_offset1 ...

. It moved with the division to

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

in May 1944, fighting at the Battle of Coriano on the

Gothic Line The Gothic Line (german: Gotenstellung; it, Linea Gotica) was a German defensive line of the Italian Campaign of World War II. It formed Field Marshal Albert Kesselring's last major line of defence along the summits of the northern part of ...

. It left 1st Armoured Division on 26 September 1944 and came under direct command of Headquarters,

Allied Armies in Italy The Allied Armies in Italy (AAI) was the title of the highest Allied field headquarters in Italy, during the middle part of the Italian campaign of World War II. In the early and later stages of the campaign the headquarters was known as the ...

where it remained until May 1945.

Post-war

In 1948, H Battery transferred to 6th Field Regiment, Royal Artillery and O Battery, RHA joined in its place. I Battery transferred to 4th Regiment, RHA just before conversion to a field artillery regiment, with N Battery replacing it.

Conversion to a field artillery regiment

The regiment was re-formed as 2nd Field Regiment Royal Artillery by renaming 2nd Regiment, Royal Horse Artillery and subordinating it to 12th Infantry Brigade, on 1 February 1958. At that time it included L Field Battery, N Field Battery and O Field Battery and it saw active service later that year during the

Malayan Emergency The Malayan Emergency, also known as the Anti–British National Liberation War was a guerrilla war fought in British Malaya between communist pro-independence fighters of the Malayan National Liberation Army (MNLA) and the military forces ...

. In November 1961 the regiment became 2nd (Airportable) Regiment, Royal Artillery and moved to

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian. Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colch ...

and in March 1964 it converted to

Ordnance QF 25-pounder The Ordnance QF 25-pounder, or more simply 25-pounder or 25-pdr, was the major British field gun and howitzer during the Second World War. Its calibre is 3.45-inch (87.6 mm). It was introduced into service just before the war started, combin ...

as 2nd (Light) Regiment, Royal Artillery. Then in 1965 it moved to

Münster Münster (; nds, Mönster) is an independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a state di ...

and became 2nd Field Regiment Royal Artillery. In 1971 it moved to

Hemer Hemer is a town in the Märkischer Kreis district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Geography Hemer is located at the north end of the Sauerland near the Ruhr river. The highest elevation, at 546 metres (1,791 ft), is in the ''Balver Wa ...

with

Abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the male head of a monastery in various Western religious traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not the head of a monastery. Th ...

guns as part of 2nd Division and in 1977 it transferred to

Dortmund Dortmund (; Westphalian nds, Düörpm ; la, Tremonia) is the third-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne and Düsseldorf, and the eighth-largest city of Germany, with a population of 588,250 inhabitants as of 2021. It is the la ...

with Abbots as part of 3rd Armoured Division. It returned home to Roberts Barracks at

Larkhill Larkhill is a garrison town in the civil parish of Durrington, Wiltshire, England. It lies about west of the centre of Durrington village and north of the prehistoric monument of Stonehenge. It is about north of Salisbury. The settlement ...

as 2nd (Support) Regiment, Royal Artillery in September 1979. In March 1982 it became 2nd (Field) Regiment, Royal Artillery and in April 1982, as part of a move to

with M109's, it joined 4th Armoured Division. It became part of 3rd Armoured Division in 1988 and it deployed to the

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a mediterranean sea in Western Asia. The bo ...

as part of

Operation Granby Operation Granby, commonly abbreviated Op Granby, was the code name given to the British military operations during the 1991 Gulf War. 53,462 members of the British Armed Forces were deployed during the conflict. The total cost of operations ...

between 1991 and 1992. The regiment was finally disbanded in 1993 as a result of the

Options for Change Options for Change was a restructuring of the British Armed Forces in summer 1990 after the end of the Cold War. Until this point, UK military strategy had been almost entirely focused on defending Western Europe against the Soviet Armed Forces, ...

and the drawdown from

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

Lineage

1864–1889: B Brigade, Royal Horse Artillery 1901–1903: IV Brigade–Division, Royal Horse Artillery 1903–1906: IV Brigade, Royal Horse Artillery 1906–1914: II Brigade, Royal Horse Artillery 1919–1938: II Brigade, Royal Horse Artillery 1938–1958: 2nd Regiment, Royal Horse Artillery 1958–1993: 2nd Regiment, Royal Artillery

Notes

References

Bibliography

* * * * * *

External links

''The Royal Horse Artillery'' on The Long, Long Trail
{{DEFAULTSORT:2nd Regiment, Royal Horse Artillery Royal Horse Artillery regiments Military units and formations established in 1864 Military units and formations disestablished in 1889 Military units and formations established in 1901 Military units and formations disestablished in 1914 Military units and formations established in 1919 Military units and formations disestablished in 1958