Royal Regiment of Australian Artillery - History Overview

Introduction

For as long as men have fought battles they have tried to throw a bigger stone, a bigger spear, and a bigger and ‘deadlier' arrow than their adversaries. Thus the history of artillery goes back to the days of the catapult and ballista.

Early History and Gun Development

In the thirteenth century Europe, the word ‘artillery' meant bows and arrows, and until the mid sixteenth century any weapon discharging a projectile of any kind was a piece of artillery.

In 1242, Roger Bacon, an English friar introduced gun powder to Europe. In 1313, Berthold Schwartz, a German monk found by accident that when a mixture similar to Bacon's gun powder was ignited in a container with one end open, it was capable of hurling objects through the air over long distances.

The forerunners of our modern guns were manufactured in Ghent immediately after Schwartz had made his discovery public.

One of these guns was sent to England in 1314. Such guns were called ‘Vasi' or ‘Pot De Fer'. Arrows were shot out of a vase shape receptacle into which gun powder had been placed and then fired by means of a hot iron applied to a touch hole. For the next one hundred and forty years, the objects fired from these weapons were generally stones, but even these were capable of turning the tide of battle. The most notable battles involving these weapons during this period were:

  • 1346. The Battle of Crecy was the first recorded battle in which the English used artillery. The weapon was the ‘Crecy Bombard'. At this stage of development, the effect of such guns was moral rather than destructive.
  • 1415. King Henry V personally sited the British guns at the iege of Harfleur. This siege was successful due mainly to the results of the gunfire, and although it was three hundred and one years before the official formation, it marked the advent of the Royal Artillery.
  • 1453. Mahomet 11 at the Siege of Constantinople, Turkey, deployed a bronze cannon of 25 inch calibre, weighing nineteen tons and capable of firing seven 600 pound stones each day over a distance of one mile. In the same year, the first ordnance factory was built in England. This factory produced iron projectiles.
  • 1471. During the War of the Roses, The Army of Edward IV was out-numbered by the Earl of Warwick; However, by the judicious use of his guns Edward IV pierced the Lancastrain defences of the Earl of Warwick and allowed the Yorkist's to ‘tour' through ‘Horse and Foot'.
  • 1483. Ralph Bigod was appointed as the first Master of Ordinance in England.

During the reign of Henry VII the first permanent artillery appeared in England, when he created the Master Gunner of the Tower of London. The jurisdiction of the Master Gunner covered ‘All places within our Kingdom of England and Elsewhere'.

During the next two hundred and fifty years, major scientific and technical advances were made and the first reference books on the use of artillery were produced. The principle developments of this period were:

  • Increased rate of fire by use of the cartridge.
  • Elevation of the piece by the use of an elevation screw.
  • Handling of the ordnance made easier by the employment of the trail wheel.
  • The establishment of the Royal Laboratory at WOOLWICH.
  • The first major tactical change was made in the use of Artillery, Heavy Artillery and Field Artillery by being divided into two separate groups.

Prior to 1716 there was no permanent organisation of Artillery. Men for the service of the Ordnance in an expedition or campaign were raised as the occasion required and formed the personnel of what styled a ‘Trayne of Artillery'. At the conclusion of hostilities, they were disbanded.

On the 26th of May 1716, the Duke of Marlborough, under Royal Warrant, formed the Regiment of Artillery, comprising two companies. This to date is accepted as the ‘birth' of the Regiment as we know it today. Six years later, in 1722, the title Royal was added.

Developments of the Gun, Ammunition and Artillery Tactics.

During the next one hundred and fifty years, the following developments of the gun, ammunition and artillery tactics took place:

  • 1759. Three British artillery companies participated in the Battle of Minden. The commanders of these companies devised an organisation and mobile tactics, which stood the test of time. They pooled their mixed bag of guns and sorted them out by calibre to form a heavy brigade and two light brigades. They also mounted the drivers to achieve greater mobility.
  • 1784. Henry Shrapnel developed the ‘spherical case, of a hollow shell containing a fuse, a quantity of shot and a small charge of powder.'
  • 1793 – 1815. William Congreve developed the tangent sight and the single block trail. He also developed rockets, which had a range of three miles, with both shrapnel and incendiary rounds. The British success with this weapon led to the addition of rocket batteries to artillery units and the formation of rocket corps in most European Armies. The British rockets were used in many battles during the Napoleonic Wars.
  • 1807. Forsyth discovered a powder, which could be fired by concussion.
  • 1849. Captain Boxer introduced the time fuse.
  • 1854. Armstrong developed a rifled piece. This was a polygrooved bore; the projectile was elongated, slightly larger than the core and covered in lead to allow it to pass up the bore. Whitworth also introduced a similar system. Both these guns were breech loaded.
  • 1864. A move was made back to muzzle loaders. In 1879 the British text book of Rifled Ordnance stated:‘Unless there is considerable improvement made in breech loaders, it does not seem likely that we shall adopt this system or loading instead of that which gives such great strength, security combined with accuracy and rapidity of fire in our muzzle loading gun.'
  • 1878. A copper cup was placed between the cartridge and the base of the projectile. This was later fitted to the projectile and was found to impart spin as well as increasing the range of the projectile. In turn this lead to a reversion of polygroove rifling.

History of the Australian Artillery.

The history of the Regiment began with the raising of militia, volunteer and permanent Artillery forces in the Australian colonies prior to Federation.


Militia and Volunteers

The following States raised volunteer artillery units in the years indicated:

  • New South Wales 1853,
  • Victoria 1854,
  • South Australia 1854,
  • Tasmania 1859,
  • Queensland 1862, and
  • Western Australia 1872.

Prior to 1855 Artillery in the Colony of Australia was comprised entirely or permanent forces provided by England. In 1855 volunteer Artillery units were formed in Sydney, Wollongong, and Newcastle, and were later introduced into the other states. In Western Australia, the Artillery developed from a cavalry troop.

By 1870 the last of the imperial regiments and battalions from ENGLAND had been withdrawn from the Colony. It was obvious to the people of the Colony that some form of regular force was required. On the 1st of August 1871, the first Australian Permanent Artillery force was raised.

It must be noted here that A Field Battery was not the first permanent Artillery unit raised. This distinction, as stated in the official history of the Australian Artillery, 'The Gunners" by David Horner, can be claimed by the 'Victorian Artillery Corps', which was established in 1870. It continued as a permanent Artillery unit till its disbandment in 1881. '‘A' Battery of the NSW Artillery was raised on the 1st of August 1871,with it's headquarters at Dawes Point, Sydney. By 1877 this force had been increased to three batteries.

Permanent

The following States raised permanent batteries in the years indicated:

  • Victoria 1870,
  • New South Wales 1871,
  • South Australia 1882,
  • Queensland 1885, and
  • Tasmania 1886.

The ‘Royal Australian Artillery' came into being on the 24th of August 1899. The permanent artillery forces of New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria, each designated as Regiment, comprised the Royal Australian Artillery as of that date.

In 1885 The British Army suffered reverses in the Egyptian Sudan Campaign. On the 12th of February, 1885, NSW Attorney-General Daley, offered the British Government ‘Two batteries of permanent field artillery with 10 16-pounder guns properly horsed, and also an effective and disciplined battalion of infantry 500 strong.' One battery was accepted and on the 3rd of March 1885, the first Australian force for overseas service sailed on the ships ‘Iberia' and ‘Australasian' from Circular Quay. The force comprised ‘A' Field Battery and some infantry. By the 31st of March 1885, all troops had disembarked at Suakin, Egypt. Although involved in only minor skirmishes in the Sudan, the artillery can claim the distinction of having provided the first Australian unit to serve overseas.
School of Gunnery Established

In the same year, 1885, the School of Gunnery was established at Middle Head, Sydney.

By 1899 the three eastern states of Australia, had well established permanent artillery forces and in the 14th of July 1899, they were designated Royal Australian Artillery, New South Wales Regiment, Queensland Regiment and Vuctorian Regiment respectively.

In 1900 ‘A' Battery was again at sea in the ‘Warrigal', disembarking at Capetown on the 5th of February, to take part in the South African War. During this campaign, the battery saw much action and at times had sections operating up to three hundred and sixty miles apart. On the15th of September 1901, ‘A' Battery returned to Australia. In recognition of the services of the Australian Artillery in this war, an ‘HONOURABLE INSIGNIA' was presented to the Royal Australian in 1904. In 1909 the title was changed from ‘HONOURABLE INSIGNIA' to the ‘KING'S BANNER', and as such, is now accorded the same ceremony as the ‘QUEEN'S COLOURS' of the Infantry.

With the event of Federation in 1901, all permanent forces in the Commonwealth of Australia were combined.

Post Federation History of the Royal Australian Artillery

After Federation, State Volunteer and Militia Artillery Forces were designated 'Australian Field Artillery and Australian Garrison Artillery'. .On 1 July 1902, the Permanent Artillery was designated the ' Royal Australian Artillery Regiment'. Permanent Force Artillery was redesignated 'Royal Australian Garrison Artillery and Royal Australian Field Artillery' on 25 April 1911

In World War 1, while the permanent and militia forces were retained for home service, Australia raised the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) for service overseas. Volunteers were enlisted from the permanent and militia forces, as well as the civil community. Garrison Artillery forces were initially precluded from enlisting, but after the defeat of the German Pacific Fleet, some Garrison Gunners were permitted to form Permanent Military Force Siege batteries for service in France. Overall, Australia raised sixty Field, twenty Howitzer and two Siege batteries, along with associated Brigade structures and the Artillery staffs on Division and higher headquarters. Units saw action in Egypt, and on Gallipoli and the Western Front. AIF units were disbanded at the end of the war, leaving permanent and militia forces to again comprise the Artillery component of the Army.

On 1 July 1927, separate titles were discarded and the original title of 'Royal Australian Artillery' was adopted. Citizen forces, the militia, adopted the 'Royal' title on 31 January 1936.

In World War 2, the Government again used permanent and militia forces for home defence. It raised the Second AIF for service overseas. This principal was modified after Japan's entry into the war by defining some Australian protectorates to be encompassed by the term Australia, thus allowing the use of militia forces in their defence.

During the war, Australian Gunners saw service in North Africa, Greece, Crete, Syria , Malaya, Timor, New Guinea, Borneo and the South-West Pacific. Besides the more traditional Field Artillery, World War 2 saw the introduction on war service of Anti-Aircraft, Anti-Tank and Survey units, along with the introduction of radar elements to assist both the Coastal and Air-defence Branches.

At the end of the war the Second AIF was disbanded, and the structure of the Army was again based around permanent and militia forces. In 1948 a decision was taken to raise the Australian Regular Army as the permanent force, with the Citizen Military Forces comprising the militia.

On 15 September 1949 the Permanent and Militia components of the Regiment were granted the common title of the Royal Australian Artillery, In 1962, the RAA was redesignated ‘the Royal Regiment of Australian Artillery'.

World War II, 1939 – 1945

World War II, 1939 – 1945 saw a rapid expansion of the Royal Australian Artillery and the development of new equipment and tactics. Apart from the militia units already in existence, which commenced full time service, many AIF units were

Re-raised. These units originally manned a wide variety of equipment ranging from 18-pounder guns and 4.5inch howitzers to searchlights and sound ranging recorders. On deployment overseas in the MIDDLE EAST and MALAYA, these guns were replaced by the famous 25-pounders which saw service on all World War II battlefields.

EL Alamein was one of the great artillery battles of World War II. Control of artillery was centralised at the highest level and the fire of the maximum possible number of guns was concentrated to support the Infantry. Counter battery fire was organised to an extent previously unknown, and Divisional and Corps concentrations were fired at a few minutes notice. For all these activities, immense preparations were necessary, yet deception and originality achieved tactical surprise. The artillery battle commenced at 2140 hours on the 23rd of October 1942, when 834 field guns and 48 medium guns opened fire. During the next 12 days of the battle, over one million rounds were expended, destroying the enemy's guns, tanks, fortifications, supplies and will to fight. The artillery in the Battel of El Alamein was a most decisive factor in the eventual defeat of Rommel's Forces.

Irrespective of where the Royal Australian Artillery served in World War II, from Syria to Fort Scratchley; it served with distinction and upheld the proud traditions, which have been inherited from the Royal Regiment of Artillery. The courage and devotion to duty Lieutenant A.R.Cutler while winning the Victoria Cross in Syria in 1942 was typical of the overall devotion of gunners to their guns. Notes on the Australian Divisional Artillery units, which served in World War II, are listed later in this brochure.

Since Federation, Australia's peacetime defence has been based on a small permanent military force supported by a large part-time force. During the period between World War I and World War II, the Militia was raised as a result of the Universal Training Scheme. Many Militia artillery units had nurtured the enthusiastic and devoted citizen soldier who volunteered for service with the AIF at the outbreak of World War II. Other units which had a high percentage of personnel engaged in key war industries were not mobilised until the Australian mainland was threatened.

1948 saw the raising of a new part-time army, the Citizen Military Forces or CMF. As its initial strength was derived principally from ex-members of war time forces, the unit designations and affiliations were those of war time units. In 1975 the CMF was re-named the Army Reserve (ARES). Today, the ARes is a purely volunteer force. The aim of this force is to acquire a standard of training that would allow them to be ready for war within a short time after mobilisation.

Following the cessation of hostilities in 1945, the Royal Australian Artillery permanent forces were reduced to minor units. In 1949, 1st Field Regiment was raised at North Head as a regular unit. So began the steady expansion of regular Regiments and Batteries.

In 1950, by Royal Warrant, the motto of the Royal Regiment was given to the Royal Australian Artillery.

Since World War 2, Artillery units or sub-units have provided fire support in Malaya, Borneo, South Vietnam and the Gulf War. The Regiment provided personnel but not units in the Korean War 1951-53, and has provided sub-units and personnel for general duties on United Nations or Multi-National Force deployments to Somalia, Rwanda, Cambodia, Bougainville and East Timor.


Reference Sources:

History. David Horner's book The Gunners should be regarded as an authoritative publication when researching the history of The Regiment.

Customs and Traditions. Many aspects of the customs and traditions of the Regiment are covered in these Orders. Warrant Officer Class One Christopher Jobson's book Royal Regiment of Australian Artillery Customs and Traditions should also be regarded as an authoritative publication concerning RAA Customs and Traditions

On reading the RRAA history, you might be further interested in knowing some of our Customs and Traditions and where they come from by opening the following Powerpoint presentation or going to ADEL for a deeper read.

Customs & Traditions - School of Artillery Presentation


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Current Colour Patches




11 FD REGT

131 DIV LOC BTY

16 AD REGT

16 FD BTY





1st FD REGT

23 FD REGT

4 FD REGT

48 FD BTY





7 FD BTY

7 FD REGT

8/12 MDM REGT

HOR(ex DARTY-A)

History of Colour Patches

Background

Colour patches were worn on uniform by the Australian Army in the period 1915–49 through two world wars and the periods of peace between and after. In their shape and colour combinations they are believed to be a uniquely Australian innovation.

Whilst the majority of units within divisions wore patches unique to each unit, outside divisions many patches were worn collectively by units of the same corps within the same higher formation or by non-corps units commanded by a higher headquarters. In this sense, the 1915–49 colour patches were not truly ‘unit' colour patches.

The wearing of the 1915–49 colour patches was reintroduced in 1987 primarily on the basis of fostering the Army's heritage, through unit lineage and similarity of roles to units of 1915–49 which had approved colour patches. Those patches authorised since 1987 are, with the exception of some divisional troops units, are specifically ‘unit' colour patches, being unique to each unit authorised to wear
one.

1.4 The record of the Army colour patch system employed in the period 1915–49 is ‘The Army Colour Patch Register 1915–49' (ACPR). This was issued by Assistant Chief of the General Staff—Materiel in 1993 down to and including brigade headquarters and equivalent level, to Head of Corps (HOC) and Army school level. The Register contains copies of all authorities for colour patches issued in the period 1915–49. It is the authoritative base for the granting of entitlements for the wearing of Series I colour patches.

Introduction of New Patches

The nature of the order of battle in the early 1990s was such that only about 25 per cent of units, regular and reserve, had lineage and similarity of role to 1915–49 units and were able to claim those patches. At the same time only a relatively small number of units had unique unit badges by which to be identified.

Because of these circumstances, the number of units unsuccessfully seeking approval for colour patches and the apparent need for a system of unit identification particularly in case of expansion, a second ‘series' of colour patches was designed. These would complement the 1915–49 series to provide every unit of the Army with its own unit colour patch regardless of the size of the order of battle. The Chief of the General Staff Advisory Committee approved the concept in 1994 and introduction was effected in 1995.

Unit Colour Patch Sysyem Concept

The concept of the unit colour patch system is based on the following themes:

a. The heritage for the Australian Army in maintaining and developing the colour patch system introduced and worn by the 1st AIF in World War I and the whole Army from 1921, through World War II to 1949.

b. The importance of the identification of each unit of the Army (headquarters, unit and independent minor unit commanded by a field-grade officer) for unit morale as well as control purposes.

c. The capability of the Series I system including logical but limited extensions, with Series II to provide for a major expansion in the event of a defence emergency. This theme acknowledges the precedent of Australian Army strength and the number of divisions raised in World War II from a population of seven million.