Crew of 2 Gun, Royal Marine Artillery working on and loading, ‘Granny’, a 15 inch howitzer, in position near the Menin Road in the Ypres sector, one of the enormous weapons used to support the Australians in their advance of 4 October 1917, and the attacks which preceded it. AWM photograph E00923, with permission.
Strictly, the units of the Royal Marine Artillery are not of the British Army. The Royal Marines were and remain to this day a separate element of British armed forces. But as the batteries mentioned served as part of the army in the field, they can not be disregarded.
The RMA Howitzer Brigade in France
In October 1914 the RMA was reorganised to provide two artillery brigades for the Western Front. One of these became an anti-aircraft unit, but the second was equipped with twelve heavy 15 inch howitzers to form the RM Howitzer Brigade. The brigade totalled around 1,000 all ranks, but never fought as a complete unit. Although originally organised with a brigade headquarters and arrangements made that each pair of howitzers should form a battery, this organisation was not retained once in France. Lieutenant-Colonel G. R. Poole remained in command of the brigade throughout the war after August 1915, but in May 1916 was appointed to command the 26th Heavy Artillery Group and only dealt with the RMA howitzers administratively. The huge weapons were deployed as single units – each requiring a crew of 60 men – along the front line. The first landed in France on 15 February 1915. A training base was established at Fort Cumberland at Portsmouth.
The guns
The RMA guns were strange misfits, owing their existence to the private enterprise of the Coventry Ordnance Works and their presence in France to the First Lord of the Admiralty, Winston Churchill. The Coventry Works had designed and built the modern 9.2″ howitzers, which had first arrived in France for the RGA Siege Batteries in November 1914 and, after the success of this equipment, had on their own initiative decided to build something altogether bigger and more powerful. Thus was born the 15-inch Breech Loading Siege Howitzer, which had a maximum range of 10,795 yards, firing a 1,400 pound shell. In order to gain acceptance within the military establishment, a Coventry Ordnance Works Director, Admiral Bacon, exploited his connections with the Admiralty in order to effect an introduction to the Ordnance Board of the Army. Churchill, as was his wont, intervened. Spotting an opportunity for the Navy to get embroiled in the action on the Western Front – as well as sensing a good story for the press – Churchill manned the first gun with a team of Royal Marine artillerymen and sent them post haste to France. They would be followed by another eleven of the 10 ton 15 hundredweight behemoths. Churchill’s enthusiasm for his Royal Marine Artillery soon waned and the twelve howitzers were turned over to the army. When approached by the Director of Artillery for further information about these unwanted ‘gifts’ the Ordnance Board commented acidly “These equipments were obtained by the Navy in direct negotiation with the manufacturers, and the Board was not consulted. In view of the poor range achieved, it is felt that these weapons are a waste of money and material”. The guns were declared obsolete and scrapped in 1920. As will be appreciated from the photograph, the time and effort required to move, erect and fire these weapons was prodigious. Simply to move one howitzer, its mounting equipment, shell crane and armament required five specially built Foster-Daimler steam tractors and eleven lorries.
| Howitzer | Notes |
| 1 | Embarked at Southampton on 15 February 1915. Proceeded to Saint-Omer at first but then mounted No 1 Gun at Locre. First opened fire on 6 March 1915. Later moved to Le Hamel, on the road to Le Touret NE of Bethune. Participated in Battles of Aubers and Festubert in May 1915 and in supporting actions to Battle of Loos in September 1915. Moved to La Clytte (now de Klijte) in February 1916 thence to near Dickebusch (Dikkebus). Fired on Wytschaete. relocated to Mazingarbe and came into action 9 May 1916. On 9-12 June, gun mounted near Mailly-Maillet to support forthcoming Somme offensive. Moved to Martinsart and came into action 15 July 1916. Supported the successful attack on Thiepval in September (see “legacy” below). Moved to Engwlbelmer and came into action 7 October 1916. Remaoined until 18 February 1917 when mopved to Bois de la Haie. Fired in support of successful attack on Vimy Ridge in April 1917. Relocated to Souchez on 30 April and its said to have destroyed the church at Avion, used as an enemy observation post. In August 1917 fired in support of successful attack on Hill 70. Moved to Angres for repairs later in the month. Relocated and came into action at Gouzeaucourt 14 November 1917 and fired in the Battle of Cambrai. German counterattack forced gun team to begin to disarm and abandon the gun, but a British counterattack restored the situation and it came back into action. Hurried efforts to demount the gun and withdraw in the face of enemy offensive on 21 March 1918 ran into transport difficulties that eventually caused loss of the gun. Gun crew managed to withdraw via Corbie to Amiens. Replacement gun could not arrive from England untl 12 July 1918, when it was met at Authie. Relocated to Hermies on 22-23 September (efforts were made to received the lost equipment from March, but to no avail) and fired in support of attacks on the Hindenburg Line. Moved to Villecholles on 2 October and soon afterwards to Lealvillers, where it parked, having fired its final shots of the war. |
| 2 | Embarked at Southampton on 15 February 1915. |
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| 5 | Landed in France 11-13 December 1915 but did not fire its first round until 24 June 1916. Saw action during the Battle of the Somme and at Arras. In action again during the Battle of Messines, then at Nieuwpoort and Diksmuide. War diary covers period up to 28 February 1918. |
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| 11 | Landed at Boulogne from ship “Archimedes” on 2 July 1916 and proceeded to Caestre. Moved to Erquinghem-Lys on 11 October 1916 and oon after went on to Neuve Eglise (Nieuwkerke). On 7 January 1917 received orders to dismount the gun and relocate. Went via Locon and Estree-Cauchie to Bois de la Haie. During early April, fired on targets in Thelus area at start of Battle of Vimy Ridge. Moved to Roclincourt on 16 April and fired on targets at Arleux and Oppy. Between 30 June and 9 July 1917, moved to Flanders, reaching Steenvoorde and then into position . Fired on targets in Saint-Julien area in preparation for Third Battle of Ypres. Moved gun several imes as advance progressed. Sustained heavy casualties for a unit of this type, during September 1917. Gun overhauled during January and February 1918, after intensive use during Ypres offensive. Moved to Wormhoudt on 12 April and went on to position near Poperinghe during June. Fired on Kemmel. Gun withdrawn to worlshop at Steenvoorde due to barrel scoring, and crew temporarily went to work with other units. On 8 October 1918, formed 2nd Siege Battery RMA with 12 Gun. New guns were taken over on 17 October. The battery arrived at Poperinghe on 10 November and next morning moved to Bisseghem. |
| 12 | Landed at Boulogne on 10 September 1916 and proceeded to mount the gun in Mametz Wood, Somme. Came into action until gun was moced to Englebelmer on 14 October. Participated in the Battle of the Ancre.In January 1917 moved to Bois de la Haie, from where it participated in the Battle of Vimy Ridge, firing on targets in area of Givenchy-en-Gohelle. Moved to Thelus and then Roclincourt as fighting continued and position was advanced. In July 1917, relocated to the west of Ypres in the build up for the forthcoming offensive, but on 10 July it sustained casualties and damage to gun mounting and transport. Position was changed, and gun came into action on 24 July. As the advance continued, gun relocated to northeast of Ypres by 14 September 1917. Position was changed several times during next few weeks, during which gun fired in support of several attacks including those on Passchendaele. Gun overhauled in December 1917. Very little firing over the next months. German Lys offensive caused move to Abeele via Wormhoudt and Esquelbecq in April 1918. On 10 July, an enemy shell hit a barn where men were at dinner, killing a total of 12 and wounding another 8 men. Fired in support of attacks by Belgian Army in late September 1918. On 8 October 1918, formed 2nd Siege Battery RMA with 11 Gun. New guns were taken over on 17 October. The battery arrived at Poperinghe on 10 November and next morning moved to Bisseghem. |
Source: Brigade war diaries can be seen at the National Archives, in document reference ADM137/3072 and 3073. Each gun has separate diary abut the do not begin until August 1915.
Major (Temporary Brigadier-General) Frederick William Lumsden VC DSO who had originally commanded Number 1 Gun in France, was killed in action on 4 June 1918 while in command of 14th Infantry Brigade. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Order four times during the Great War, and earned his Victoria Cross in June 1917. He was aged 47 and had been with the Royal Marine Artillery for 28 years.
Legacy
It is of interest that when the land was being prepared for the construction of the Visitor Centre at Thiepval on the Somme (opened 2004), an unexploded RMA 15-inch shell was among the tons of debris removed from site.