K Battery Royal Artillery K ( Hondeghem ) Battery is a battery of 5th Regiment Royal Artillery in the Royal Artillery . It currently serves in the Surveillance and Target Acquisition role and is equipped with various weapon platform locating equipment using radars and acoustic sound ranging assets . History . K Battery was formed by the East India Company as 2nd Troop Bengal Horse Artillery on the 4th of August 1809 in Acra , India , with the majority of the other ranks being British . This fact and that the Battery were all mounted to ensure greater maneuvrability , was unusual during this period . During the next 100 years the Battery came under command of the Bengal Horse Artillery then the Royal Horse Artillery and is now under command of the Royal Artillery . At outbreak of the war , K Battery was the current Riding Troop at St Johns Wood , and the Battery , joined 5th RHA serving alongside G Battery , as part of the BEF during the Fall of France , consisting of D , E and F Troops . It was during the retreat to Dunkirk in 1940 with the British Expeditionary Force , that During the Battery was to gain its honour title . With the British Expeditionary Force retreating towards the Belgium coast as the German forces streamed through Belgium , the small village of Hondeghem lay on one of the Germans ' main lines of advance and it became essential to hold it . However , the only troops available were K Battery , Royal Horse Artillery , and a detachment of 1 officer and 80 men of the 2nd Search Light Regiment . The Battery was armed with First World War Mark 11 , 18 pdr guns which had been modernised by the fitting of road wheels and pneumatic tyres . Two of the guns of ' F ' Troop were situated inside the village and the other two on the outskirts of the village . At about 07 : 30 on the morning of the 27th May the enemy , in the form of 6th Panzer Division , appeared and were engaged by the two outer guns . These guns destroyed several enemy vehicles and two or three tanks as they approached . An enemy tank closed on gun of J Sub Section firing its machine gun , the number 2 was killed . The tank then fired it main armament and scored a direct hit killing another member of the detachment and wounding Gunner Manning and Troop Sergeant Major Opie . Small arms fire poured into the gun pit wounding Gunner Manning again , but he gallantly insisted on remaining in action . The enemy tank was then engaged by the gun of I Sub Section just before it was destroyed while enemy infantry dashed in a captured the last few men of J Sub Section . Gunner Manning was taken to hospital by the Germans but died later of his injuries . The battle then surged into the streets of the village , with continuous , violent and sometimes confused street fighting was carried out for the next eight hours . The two remaining guns kept firing throughout at a very reduced range , as the Germans tried to establish machine guns in the upper windows of the houses . Throughout the day , as the battle continued , the guns were constantly being moved to fresh targets firing at 100 yards or less , but by 3pm the gun ammunition began running short , so the artillerymen used their rifles to fire at any Germans who showed their heads . Then at 4 : 15pm it was decided to try and save the last two guns and the survivors of the small force headed towards St Sylvestre , where the village was found to be occupied by the Germans with both infantry and medium tanks . It was now that the troop commander decided that the best course of action was to charge the enemy without delay . So at his command every man shouted at the top of their voice and assaulted the German position . The Germans lost their nerve and ran . After firing what little ammunition they had into the surrounding countryside , the little column resumed its retreat . The Battery had suffered heavy losses , with ' F ' Troop alone losing 45 men out of 63 . However , they were rewarded with Major Hoare being awarded the D . S . O . , Captain Teacher the M . C . , Battery Sergeant Major Millard receiving the D . C . M . , and Gunner Kavanagh was honoured with the M . M . In addition three men were Mentions - In - Despatches . After evacuation at Dunkirk the Battery was rebuilt , with men from it going to help form CC Battery , as part of the re - organisation of the Royal Artillery , with the battery consisting of D and E / F Troops . It then , served along with G Battery and CC Battery , in 5th RHA , originally sailing to the Middle East as part of 8th Armoured Division , before 5 RHA joined 7th Armoured Division . It served in North Africa , Italy and North West Europe .