XII Brigade, Royal Horse Artillery was a

brigade A brigade is a major tactical military unit, 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 ...

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 rem ...

which existed in the early part of the 20th century. It was dissolved during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

as its constituent batteries were posted to other formations.

History

Background

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 The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...

had been transferred to the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

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 (armed forces), 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 ...

and a brigade

sergeant major Sergeant major is a senior Non-commissioned officer, non-commissioned Military rank, 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 ...

). 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 and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until Death and state funeral of Edward VII, his death in 1910. The second child ...

, brigades were redesignated so that batteries were roughly in order of seniority (hence I Brigade commanded

A Battery A generic vacuum_tube.html" ;"title="triode vacuum tube">triode vacuum tube circuit showing "A", "B" and "C" batteries In the early days of electronics, devices that used vacuum tubes (called ''valves'' in British contexts), such as radios, wer ...

and

B Battery A generic vacuum_tube.html" ;"title="triode vacuum tube">triode vacuum tube circuit showing "A", "B" and "C" batteries In the early days of electronics, devices that used vacuum tubes (called ''valves'' in British contexts), such as radios, wer ...

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 Woolwich () is a town in South London, 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 mainta ...

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

broke out, the brigade was in

Meerut Meerut (, ISO 15919, ISO: ''Mēraṭh'') is a city in the western region of the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Located in the Meerut district, it is northeast of the national capital, New Delhi, and is ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

assigned to

7th (Meerut) Division The 7th (Meerut) Division was an infantry division of the Indian Army and, before 1895, the Bengal 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 comman ...

. 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 West ...

) and sailed for the Western Front in November 1914. W Battery moved to

Sialkot Sialkot (Punjabi language, Punjabi, ) is a city located in Punjab, Pakistan. It is the capital of the Sialkot District and the List of most populous cities in Pakistan, 12th most populous city in Pakistan. The boundaries of Sialkot are joined ...

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 British Indian Army#Kitchener reforms, Kitchener reforms of the Indian Army. During World War I it remained in British Raj, In ...

in October 1914. It returned to the 7th (Meerut) Divisional Area where it joined

4th (Meerut) Cavalry Brigade C4, C04, C.IV, C-4, or C-04 often refers to C-4 (explosive), the explosive. It may refer to: Places * Caldwell 4 or NGC 7023 or Iris Nebula, a reflection nebula in the constellation Cepheus * Circumferential Road 4 or C-4, an arterial road of Ma ...

in February 1915. In November 1917 it departed for

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia is a historical region of West Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the Fertile Crescent. Today, Mesopotamia is known as present-day Iraq and forms the eastern geographic boundary of ...

where it joined the 11th Indian Cavalry Brigade. With the departure of its batteries, the brigade HQ was dissolved.

Notes

References

Bibliography

* * *

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