page_title: 39th (Deptford) Divisional Artillery
section_title: 137th (Deptford) Heavy Battery, RGA
hierarchical_section_title: 39th (Deptford) Divisional Artillery / 137th (Deptford) Heavy Battery, RGA
caption_attribution_description: English: IWM caption&#160;: THE BATTLE OF PASSCHENDAELE, JULY-NOVEMBER 1917. Men of the Royal Garrison Artillery (R.G.A.) moving a 60 pounder Mark I out of its emplacement to move it forward, Wieltje, 5 September 1917. Other photographs in this sequence&#160;: File:60-pounder gun at Wieltje Sep 1917 IWM Q 3020.jpg
context_page_description: The 39th (Deptford) Divisional Artillery was a Royal Artillery force raised as part of 'Kitchener's Army' in early 1915. Recruited in Deptford, South London, the units served with the 'Pals battalions' of the 39th Division on the Western Front for two years. They saw action at the Somme, Ypres, and the German Spring Offensive, including the Battle of the Avre, described as 'one of the finest artillery stories of the whole war'. The units then operated as an independent artillery formation during the Allied Hundred Days Offensive.
context_section_description: 137th (Deptford) Heavy Battery and its ammunition column were raised at Deptford as part of 39th Divisional Artillery in August 1915. It was taken over by the military authorities on 17 January 1916. By the time 39th Division embarked for France, the policy was to remove heavy batteries from infantry divisions and concentrate them into heavy artillery groups (HAGs). 137th Heavy Bty, equipped with four 60-pounder guns, went out to the Western Front in April 1916, joined I ANZAC Corps Heavy Artillery on 27 April but transferred to III Corps HA the next day. It was assigned to 22nd HAG with Fourth Army on 3 May, then to 34th HAG with Second Army on 9 June, and therefore missed the Battle of the Somme. However, because Second Army held the Ypres Salient, low-level trench warfare was constant.
caption: Moving a 60-pounder gun out of its emplacement, 1917.
exif: {"Image XResolution": "300", "Image YResolution": "300", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Centered", "Image Copyright": "Imperial War Museums"}