The History of the 33rd Divisional Artillery, in the War, 1914-1918.

by John Victor Macartney-Filgate

On Saturday, August 17th, the 119th and 120th Infantry Regiments of the 30th American Division relieved the infantry of the 33rd Division in the line, and the 156th and 162nd Brigades found themselves under the control of an American C.R.A. for the first time. It was a novel experience; the 33rd Divisional Artillery had at different times covered nearly half the British divisions in France; it had worked alongside the Belgians, and had supported and been controlled by the French on various occasions. Now the guns found themselves co-operating with the United States Army whose troops they covered for the remainder of the month.

On August 28th came a sudden change. After a period of artillery duels, of enemy bombardments on certain areas and of vigorous counter-battery work by both sides, there appeared the advance parties of the 330th and 331st Brigades (66th Divisional Artillery) who came to relieve sections of the 33rd Divisional Artillery. One section per battery moved out to the wagon-lines on Wednesday the 28th, and on the 29th/30th the relief was completed, the 156th Brigade marching back to wagon-lines in the Haandehote area, the 162nd to a camp near Houtkerque. By August 30th the concentration of the 33rd Divisional Artillery in the back area was complete, and on the evening of that day there came the warning order to prepare to entrain for the 3rd Army.

On August 31st-September 1st the brigades entrained—the 156th at Proven, the 162nd at Heidebeke and Waayenburg—and left for ever the dismal surroundings of the Ypres sector, where they had been for twelve long months. Down in the south, whither they were now going, the British offensive was in full swing; finished for ever was the stagnation of trench warfare. The batteries, after manfully holding the gate of the north, were about to be thrown into the great advance in the south which thrust the enemy back on to his own frontier, and were to take part in that wonderful pursuit which ended in victory for the Allied arms, bringing to a close the world-wide struggle of over four weary years.

CHAPTER XI.
THE BRITISH OFFENSIVE, SEPTEMBER—NOVEMBER 1918.
FINAL ADVANCE TO VICTORY ON THE 3RD ARMY FRONT.

Before the doings of the 33rd Divisional Artillery in the 3rd Army advance are followed, it will be wise to review the tactical situation on this part of the front from the opening of the British offensive on August 8th up to the point where the 156th and 162nd Brigades joined in the battle. Accordingly, the movements of the batteries in question must be left for a moment while the broad aspect of these operations is considered.

On August 8th Rawlinson's (4th) Army had opened the offensive with a brilliant victory between the Ancre and the Avre, and on the 21st Byng (3rd Army) extended the zone of attack northwards to beyond Albert. A succession of attacks from August 23rd onwards pushed the enemy back over the old Somme battlefields until, on the 31st, our troops had forced the crossing of the Somme at Clery and entered Péronne next day.

By September 6th, after constant attacks, Rawlinson's Army had penetrated seven miles to the east of Péronne, while Byng had reached the western edge of Havrincourt Wood. On the 7th the greater part of the wood was in our hands, and three days later the 3rd Army was beyond our original front line of March 21st. The result of these operations was that the Germans were forced back to the Siegfried line—a great defensive zone seven miles in depth and many times stronger than the Hindenburg line—with a few strong positions still held in front thereof, and, before the grand assault on the Siegfried line could take place, it was necessary that these few strong positions should be captured. To achieve this, Byng struck on September 12th with the IV. and V. Corps between Trescault and Havrincourt, capturing both villages and clearing the ground for the coming battle. On the 13th he made a further advance on the 3rd Army front between Havrincourt and Gouzeaucourt, and there now only remained the capture of certain strategical features, marked down for assault on the 18th, before the 3rd Army front would be ready to take part in Foch's supreme effort against the Siegfried line.

ORDER OF BATTLE.

September—November 1918.

H.Q.R.A.
C.R.A.		Brigade Major.	Staff Captain.
Brig.-Gen. G. H. W. Nicholson, C.M.G.		Major W. A. T. Barstow, D.S.O., M.C.	Capt. W. E. Bownass, M.C.
		Capt. S. D. Graham.
		Major C. E. Boyce, D.S.O.
156th Brigade.
Lieut.-Colonel B. A. B. Butler, D.S.O. (killed).
Major W. G. Sheeres, M.C.
Adjutant: Capt. H. W. Smail, M.C.
"A" Battery.	"B" Battery.	"C" Battery.	"D" Battery.
Major F. B. Carrell.	Major W. G. Sheeres, M.C.	Major Barker, D.S.O., M.C. (till end of September).	Major D. Jones, M.C.
Major K. W. Milne, M.C.		Capt. L. Vestey.
162nd Brigade.
Lieut.-Colonel W. R. Warren, D.S.O.
Adjutant: Capt. D. Strachan.
"A" Battery.	"B" Battery.	"C" Battery.	"D" Battery.
Major G. Fetherston, D.S.O, M.C.	Major H. C. Cory, M.C.	Major J. R. Barnes, M.C.	Major R. D. Russell, M.C.
Major S. G. Taylor, M.C.	Major Vaughan-Hughes, M.C.