O Battery (The Rocket Troop) Royal Horse Artillery

O Battery (The Rocket Troop) Royal Horse Artillery Active the past to the present Country United Kingdom Branch Army Type Artillery Part of 1st Regiment Royal Horse Artillery

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O Battery Royal Horse Artillery are the Headquarters Battery of the British Army's 1st Regiment Royal Horse Artillery They are currently based in Assaye Barracks in Tidworth.

Current role

Provide support to 1st Regiment Royal Horse Artillery. Logistics/clerical/Command & control, a Meteorological Troop and a Radar Troop.

Battery structure

The Commanding Officer and the hierarchy of 1st Regiment Royal Horse Artillery are all administered within O Battery.

History

General Congreve had developed the Congreve rocket, and in 1813 two troops of Artillery were raised. One of these was disbanded in 1816, but the 2nd Troop absorbed most of the soldiers.

• 1813 - The Battery fought as the only British Army unit present at the Battle of Leipzig. They were attached to the bodyguard of Bernadotte, Crown Prince of Sweden. During the battle Captain Richard Bogue, the troop Commander was killed in action. The troop were awarded the battle honour Leipzig but this ceased, when the Royal Regiment of Artillery were awarded the battle honour Ubique. During the Eve of Battle Dinner (17 October) the Battery toasts "the King" [of Sweden] with akvavit and on the anniversary of the battle the reigning monarch of Sweden sends greetings to the battery.
• 1815 - The Battery fought with its rockets at the Battle of Waterloo.
• 1854 - The Battery fought with its rockets at the Battle of Inkermann

During the Crimean War, Second Afghan War, the Boer War and World War I and World War II the troop fought as a normal gun battery.

Cold War

• 1951 - The Battery served with 2nd Regiment, Royal Horse Artillery in BAOR.
• 1958 - The Battery deployed to Malaya, as an independent Gun Battery.
• 1961 - The Battery moved to Colchester.
• 1964 - The Battery was deployed to Cyprus as part of UNFICYP.

Recent and current conflicts

• 1972/1973/1975/1977/1987/1993 - The Battery deployed to Northern Ireland under Operation Banner
• 1978 - The Battery moved to Dortmund.
• 1980 - The Battery moved to Larkhill, as part of the AMF(L)
• 1982 - The Battery moved to Münster
• 1989 - The Battery deployed to Cyprus as part of UNFICYP
• 1990 - The Battery deployed to the Persian Gulf on Operation Granby

The troop merged with Headquarters Battery in 1993 to form O Headquarters Battery (The Rocket Troop) Royal Horse Artillery.

Balkan Wars

• 1994 - The Radar Troop deployed to the Former Republic of Yugoslavia as part of UNPROFOR
• 1996 - The Battery deployed with 1st Regiment, Royal Horse Artillery to Bosnia.
• 1998 - Once again, the Battery deployed with 1st Regiment Royal Horse Artillery to Bosnia.
• 2000 - The Battery deployed with 1st Regiment Royal Horse Artillery to the Balkans, as the Pan Balkans Regiment.
• 2002 - The Battery deployed to the Balkans for a final time.

Operation TELIC in Iraq

Main article: Op Telic

• 2004 - The Battery deployed on Op Telic 4
• 2007 - The Battery deployed on Op Telic 10

See also

• British Army
• Royal Artillery
• Royal Horse Artillery
• List of Royal Artillery Batteries

References

O Battery History