Army Group Royal Artillery

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An Army Group Royal Artillery (AGRA) was a

Army corps
, an AGRA provided the medium and heavy artillery to higher formations within the British Army.

Background

The

Army Corps. Despite much debate, no higher organisational command structure was evolved.[1]

By the time of the

Western Desert Campaign
.

Concept

The AGRA concept was developed during Exercise Bumper held in the UK in 1941, organised by General Alan Brooke (a gunner), the commander of Home Forces, with Lieutenant-General Bernard Montgomery as chief umpire.[2][3] This large anti-invasion exercise tested many of the tactical concepts that would be used by the British Army in the latter stages of the war. The RA developed what became the AGRA, a powerful artillery brigade, usually comprising three medium regiments and one field regiment, which could dominate the battlefield and have the fire power for counter-battery bombardments.[4]

AGRAs were improvised until 26 November 1942, when they were officially sanctioned, to consist of a commander and staff to control non-divisional artillery.[5]

Service

AGRAs made their debut with

Mediterranean Theatre of Operations and the concept was adopted during the North West Europe and Far East campaigns.[6][7]

An AGRA usually had three medium artillery regiments, one heavy artillery regiment and one field artillery regiment. It was commanded by a brigadier and was transferred at need from corps to corps within an army.

Straits of Messina from Sicily or in Operation Undergo, the battle for Calais in 1944. As the British Army manpower shortage developed, the weight of fire that an AGRA could add to an attack became increasingly important.[9]

AGRAs were not originally provided with their own Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME) workshops, and experience proved that this was a mistake in theatres with limited support services, such as the Italian Front. Switching large groupings of artillery from one corps to another put immense strain on the corps' own REME, and later the AGRAs in Italy were provided with their own workshops, though not specifically attached to any particular AGRA.[10]

Commonwealth AGRAs

Canadian corps artillery was also referred to as an AGRA and was composed of units of the

Royal Canadian Artillery as well as the Royal Artillery.[11] Canada had two AGRAs in the Second World War, one in Italy as part of I Canadian Corps and North West Europe from March 1945 and the other only in North West Europe with II Canadian Corps.[12]

After the war, 59th AGRA appears to have been transferred to the British Indian Army in 1946, becoming 59 Army Group Royal Indian Artillery, retitled 2 Army Group RIA the following year. At Independence in 1947, the order of battle of the RIA included 1 AGRIA, 2 AGRIA and 11 AGRIA (AA).[13] There were at least three Royal Pakistan Artillery AGRAs - 1, 2, and 3 AGRPAs. 5 Heavy AA Regiment Indian Artillery, on transfer to Pakistan, became part of 2 AGRPA.

List of AGRAs during the Second World War

Where known, with area of operation and dates formed and disbanded.

The

Siege of Dunkirk in 1944–45, controlling field and medium artillery as well as AA units firing in both the AA and medium roles.[32]

List of postwar AGRAs

After the Second World War, AGRAs were mainly used to control

Territorial Army (TA) units, particularly AA units that did not form part of Anti-Aircraft Command. Later, a few were created in the regular Army for the British Army of the Rhine
(BAOR).

Notes

  1. ^ Farndale, Western Front, Annex E.
  2. ^ Bryant, pp. 256–258.
  3. ^ Doherty, p. 35.
  4. ^ Farndale, Years of Defeat, p. 99.
  5. ^ Molony, Vol V, p. 451.
  6. ^ Fraser, pp. 251, 322.
  7. ^ a b c d e Farndale, Far East.
  8. ^ Jones.
  9. ^ Fraser, p. 322.
  10. ^ Molony, Vol VI, Pt I, p. 456.
  11. ^ Falconer.
  12. ^ Dickers.
  13. ^ Kempton, p. 49.
  14. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an Frederick, pp. 965–6.
  15. ^ 1st AGRA at RA 39–45
  16. ^ 2nd AGRA at RA 39–45
  17. ^ a b c d e f g Ellis, Appendix IV.
  18. ^ 3rd AGRA at RA 39–45
  19. ^ 4th AGRA at RA 39–45
  20. ^ 5th AGRA at RA 39–45
  21. ^ 6th AGRA at RA 39–45
  22. ^ 7th AGRA at RA 39–45
  23. ^ 8th AGRA at RA 39–45
  24. ^ 9th AGRA at RA 39–45
  25. ^ 10th AGRA at RA 39–45
  26. ^ 11th AGRA at RA 39–45
  27. ^ 17th AGRA at RA 39–45
  28. ^ 17th AGRA at RA 39–45
  29. ^ 59th AGRA at RA 39–45
  30. ^ a b Routledge, p. 249.
  31. ^ 2nd Canadian Army Group RCA at RA 39–45
  32. ^ Routledge, p. 323.
  33. ^ a b c d AA Brigades at British Army 1945 on. Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine
  34. ^ Lord & Watson, p. s90.
  35. ^ RA Formation badges at British Badge Forum.
  36. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u AGRAs at British Army 1945 on. Archived 3 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine
  37. ^ a b c d Routledge, Table LXXV, p. 442.
  38. ^ Lord & Watson, p. 89.
  39. ^ Routledge, p. 434.
  40. ^ 7th AGRA at RA 39–45, accessed 30 March 2016 Archived 23 November 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  41. ^ Routledge, p. 440.
  42. ^ The British Army in Germany: An Organizational History 1947-2004, By Graham Watson, Richard A. Rinaldi, 28.
  43. ^ Watson and Rinaldi, p. 77
  44. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Lord & Watson, pp 197–201.
  45. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Watson.
  46. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Litchfield, Appendix 5.

References

External links
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