171st Siege Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery
171st Siege Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery, was a World War I unit of Britain’s Royal Garrison Artillery. It fought on the Western Front and the Italian Front, taking part in the battles of Arras and Passchendaele, and helping to repel the Austro-Hungarian offensives before playing a key role in the final victory at Vittorio Veneto. The battery was formed at Pembroke Dock in West Wales on 13 June 1916, under Army Council Instruction 1239. Its cadre came from the Pembroke Royal Garrison Artillery (a Territorial Force unit), with three officers and 78 men, plus Regulars and New Army recruits to fill the rest.
Western Front service
171st Siege Battery sailed to the Western Front on 16 September 1916, equipped with four 6-inch 26 cwt howitzers. It joined 49th Heavy Artillery Group in the Second Army, then moved to 43rd HAG with the Fifth Army. The Fifth Army fought in the late stages of the Battle of the Somme and then in early 1917 as the German army retired to the Hindenburg Line.
During the Arras Offensive of April–May 1917, the battery fought around Bullecourt and Lagnicourt. The Second Battle of Bullecourt began on 13 May with heavy counter-battery fire but the German guns later inflicted heavy losses as they moved into new positions. Bullecourt finally fell on 17 May. On 29 June 1917, 171st Siege Battery was joined by a section from 368th Siege Battery, bringing its strength toward six 6-inch howitzers, though the additional guns did not necessarily all arrive. The battery joined 40th Heavy Artillery Group on 7 July 1917.
In the long artillery duel of July 1917 in preparation for the Third Ypres Offensive, the battery and others struggled with movement and visibility. It then moved among several Heavy Artillery Groups (including XVII Corps, 21st HAG, 27th HAG) and eventually to 70th HAG with the Fifth Army, later transferring to the Second Army as the offensive continued into the autumn.
The Passchendaele battles (Third Battle of Ypres) saw British batteries exposed to counter-battery fire from the Passchendaele Ridge while the guns themselves sank into mud and faced difficult supply lines. The offensive drained away in the autumn and winter of 1917.
Italian Front service
Following the Caporetto disaster, 171st Siege Battery was chosen for reinforcement and departed by rail with 15th Heavy Artillery Group on 15 December 1917, arriving in Italy a few days later. By 6 January 1918, 15th HAG was with the First Italian Army in the north, though it saw little notable action in the winter. The battery was transferred to the 94th HAG under Italian command on 12 January 1918 and returned to 15th HAG on 30 March 1918.
In February 1918, heavy artillery brigades in Italy became permanent RGA brigades. The 15th Brigade then included the 155th battery and the 197th (another 6-inch howitzer battery). After a planned Allied offensive in Italy was postponed, the Austrians attacked along the Brenta in June 1918. The 15th Heavy Artillery Group supported counter-battery fire and helped destroy Austrian guns on the Asiago plateau during the Second Battle of the Piave River, which began on 15 June 1918.
Final offensive and victory
In October 1918 the Allies prepared a final, major assault in Italy. The British heavy guns were quietly moved into position. The main offensive began with the Piave crossing on 27 October 1918, and by 29 October a bridge was ready for the guns to cross. By 1 November the Austrian army had collapsed, and the Armistice of Villa Giusti was signed on 3 November 1918, effectively ending the war in Italy.
Disbandment
171st Siege Battery was disbanded in 1919.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 07:51 (CET).