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Royal Horse Artillery
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The regiments of the Royal Horse Artillery (RHA), dating from 1793, are part of the Royal Regiment of Artillery (commonly termed Royal Artillery) of the British Army. Horses are still in service for ceremonial purposes but were phased out from operational deployment during the 1930s.
793, in the course of the French Revolutionary Wars, Great Britain and allied European powers declared war on France over French occupation of the Rhine delta and Antwerp.
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The regiments of the Royal Horse Artillery (RHA), dating from 1793, are part of the Royal Regiment of Artillery (commonly termed Royal Artillery) of the British Army. Horses are still in service for ceremonial purposes but were phased out from operational deployment during the 1930s.
History
In 1793, in the course of the French Revolutionary Wars, Great Britain and allied European powers declared war on France over French occupation of the Rhine delta and Antwerp. Britain remained in conflict with France for almost 22 years, during which time significant progress was achieved in artillery development. The first two troops of Horse Artillery (A –"the Chestnut Troop"–and B) were raised in January 1793 at Goodwood, Sussex, by the Master-General of Ordnance, the third Duke of Richmond, to provide fire support for the cavalry. They were joined by two more troops in November 1793. Each troop had six 6-pounder guns. All RHA personnel were mounted. Included in the establishment were 45 drivers and 187 horses, making it the first self-contained fighting unit of artillery.
Initially, horses were hired with civilian drivers. In 1794 a Driver Corps was raised which, however, did not formally become a unit of the Royal Artillery until after Waterloo. There were many disadvantages of the divided control until horses and drivers were organised into the RHA troops. Another development was the formation of a headquarter staff providing a channel between the regiment and the Board of Ordnance. Captain John Macleod was the first Brigade Major and became the first Deputy-Adjutant-General in 1795. By 1806, eleven troops had been formed, with ten companies of the Royal Irish Artillery incorporated, as the Seventh Battalion, after the union with Ireland in 1801.
The regiment wore light cavalry uniforms of blue with gold lace and red facings. Their overalls were grey with a red stripe and on their heads they wore the distinctive "Tarleton" helmets. If needed, they carried 1796 light-cavalry sabres.
The RHA has acquitted itself with unparalleled distinction in the great wars of two centuries, the Napoleonic Wars, the Indian Mutiny, the Crimean War, the Peninsular War, the Anglo-Zulu War, the Boer War, World War I and World War II.
In 1859, the term "battalion" was replaced by "brigade". (This in turn was replaced by "regiment" in 1939.) The five Horse Artillery brigades consisted of two batteries each. Between 1899 and 1924, the Royal Artillery was divided, with the creation of the Royal Field Artillery which utilised horse for its medium-calibre guns.
In the 1920s, development of trucks and track vehicles brought an end to operational use of horses. By 1927, medium artillery was drawn by tractors instead of heavy draught horses. By 1937, nine field brigades had been mechanised as well as a brigade of RHA. Today, the ceremonial King's Troop alone retains the glamour of the mounted batteries.
At the onset of World War II, recruits were instructed that . . .the role of the Royal Artilleryman is, as it has ever been, to fight his gun, forgetful of self, to the last round in support of other arms.
The RHA today
There are currently four separate regiments that wear the cypher (cap badge) of the RHA:
- King's Troop, Royal Horse Artillery is primarily a ceremonial unit and uses vintage 13-pounder guns for firing salutes. However, it also has an operational role as part of the territorial defence of the United Kingdom. The King’s Troop is located in St John's Wood, convenient for firing gun salutes in Hyde Park.
- 1st Regiment Royal Horse Artillery
- 3rd Regiment Royal Horse Artillery (The Liverpool and Manchester Gunners)
- Both 1RHA and 3RHA are armed principally with the AS90 155-mm armoured self-propelled gun.
- 7th (Parachute) Regiment Royal Horse Artillery - this was formed in 1962 from the 33rd Parachute Light Regiment Royal Artillery and served until 1977 as the artillery regiment of 16th Parachute Brigade. After a spell in Germany as a non-airborne unit, it returned to Aldershot where it joined 5th Airborne Brigade and once again assumed the airmobile role. It is currently part of 16th Air Assault Brigade based in Colchester, armed with the L118 105-mm light gun which is air-droppable from the C-130 Hercules.
Within the Royal Artillery structure, posting between the RA and the RHA is fairly common. However, the Royal Horse Artillery regiments are perceived as élite, and a posting to an RHA unit is regarded as a significant career advancement.
The Royal Horse Artillery has provided the Queen's Guard on three occasions:
- 1 RHA - January 1979
- 7 RHA - March 1989
- King's Troop - April 2007
The King's Troop provides the Queen's Life Guard in Whitehall for three weeks in August each year while the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment goes away for summer training.
Affiliations
Order of precedence
When on parade with its guns, the Royal Horse Artillery takes precedence over every other regiment and corps in the British Army, and parades at the right of the line. Otherwise, it immediately follows the Household Cavalry.
External links
- (Official MoD page)
- (Official MoD page)
- (Official MoD page)
- (Official MoD page)
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- —poem by Rudyard Kipling (1903) with explanatory notes
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