History of the 101st Medium Battery

Extract from RAA Liaison Letter 2004 - Spring Edition
Original Text by Major J.H. Phillips and Lieutenant D.M. Forster in 1975
Additional Text ‘1976 to Present Day’ Added by Various Authors

Introduction

In writing the history of an organisation, which has been in existence for a relatively short period of time, one is confronted with several difficulties including those of relevance and balance. In the case of 101st Medium Battery there are also the problems of the actual origin of the Battery, a lack of accurate records; and conflicting reports from former members of the battery. We seek, therefore, not to recount the Battery's history in detail, but to establish a record of its major activities and movements. It has been argued that the 101st Howitzer Battery, formed during World War One, could be classified as a forerunner of the present battery. This is a tenuous argument owing to the extensive renumbering and re-designation of units between 1935 and 1960 and the lack of official recognition of the linkage.
Direct linage is always a controversial issue but it’s safe to say that today's Gunners, have embraced and maintained the Gunner history of their ANZAC forebears by embracing the rich history forged on the battlefields of the First and Second world wars. 

101st Howitzer Battery

The Battery was raised at Tel-el-Kebir on 8th March 1916 from members of the 1st Field Artillery Brigade who had served at Gallipoli. The Battery then became part of the 21st Howitzer Brigade. The Battery first saw action in France on 15th May 1916 at a small village called Laventie and remained in the line until 2nd July 1916. After relief they became part of the 1st Field Artillery Brigade which then consisted of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Field Battery's. 101st Howitzer Battery then saw continuous action until 3rd October 1918 at such places as Pozieres, Ypres, Flers, Lagincourr. Velu Wood, Passchendaele, Messines, Villers-Brettoneaux and Villeret.

At Lagincourt, when the Germans attacked, the guns of the other batteries of the 1st Field Artillery Brigade were temporarily abandoned. However, 101st Howitzer Battery remained in action throughout the whole of the enemy advance. After a counter-attack, the enemy was repulsed and the remainder of the brigade's guns were brought into action again. At Villeret on 29th September 1918, the 1st Field Artillery Brigade was part of the support for the 30th (US) Division and 5th (Australian) Division, which attacked the Hindenburg line, and on 3rd October 1918, it provided support to the 2nd Division attack on the Ramincourt-Weincourt-Beaurevoir line. In the last nine months of action, 101st Howitzer Battery fired a substantial percentage of the 1st Field Artillery Brigades 250,000 rounds.

The Battery was disbanded in 1919, but raised again in the early 1920's as a militia unit in the Newcastle area. There is no record of overseas participation by this unit in World War Two and it was disbanded in 1946.

Formation of the 101st Field Battery

In terms of strict historical legitimacy the Battery was renumbered in 1957 from 104th Locating Battery which, in turn, descended from 'C' Observation Troop formed in 1949 as a foundation member of 1st Field Regiment. The actual date of formation of the Battery as a Field Battery is a continuing argument, however it was formed at Holsworthy as part of 1st Field Regiment in 1957. The Battery was equipped with 25 pounder guns and participated in a number of exercises with the 1st Infantry Brigade Group during 1958. In early 1959 the Battery was warned for service in Malaya.

Malaya 1959 - 1961

The Battery moved to Malaya in September 1959 on the MV 'Flaminia' and took over from ‘A’ Field Battery in Butterworth on 1st October 1959. The first task given the Battery was to convert from 25 pounder guns to 4.2 inch mortars in 10 days against a possible contingency in Laos. For the remainder of the tour the Battery was organised into two elements, an eight gun field battery of two troops and a light battery of six mortars. The light battery remained on a continuous state of readiness to move.

After a short period of intensive training the Battery was deployed on Operation Jaya on 4th November 1959. The Battery supported the 1/6 Ghurka Rifles and 1/3 East Anglians, and fired 8064 round 25 pounder and 1231 rounds 4.2 inch mortar. Prior to the end of the emergency in August 1960, the Battery was engaged in a variety of activities including; operations in support of 1st Battalion Royal Australian Regiment (1 RAR) and 13/18 Hussars; deployments for harassing fire in support of Special Branch and attachments as infantry to the 1/3 Anglians to carry out patrolling and ambushing tasks. At the end of the emergency the Battery moved to Malacca to join 26th Field Regiment Royal Artillery at Terendak Camp. At this time the organisation was changed to the British six gun battery establishment with 25 pounder and 4.2 inch mortars as alternative equipments. The time at Malacca was devoted to training for a role with the British Commonwealth Strategic Reserve as part of 28th Brigade Group. Apart from normal training much time was spent on air mobility and mobilisation exercises. In April 1961 the Battery was mobilised for operations in Laos. The harbour party departed for Singapore two hours and eighteen minutes after the warning order was received but the operation was called off by the Australian Government prior to the departure of the Battery. From April until the departure for Australia in October the Battery continued its training with the Brigade. The major activity being Exercise Trinity Angel. The Battery also represented the Australian Army at the Queen's Birthday Parade at Jesselton in North Borneo for which it received much praise. On being relieved by 103rd Field Battery in October the Battery returned to Australia to join 4th Field Regiment at Wacol in Brisbane.


Wacol 1962 - 1965

After a period of disruption caused by leave and the posting of a large proportion of the Battery, training was resumed in earnest in early 1962. The major exercise held was 'Southerly Buster', a CRA's exercise, held at Tianjara. In July 1962 the 25 pounder, which had been the Battery's major equipment since 1957 was replaced by the 105mm L5 pack howitzer. Throughout 1962 and 1963 the Battery participated in many exercises including all major army exercises such as 'Nutcracker' and 'Sky High'. In early 1965 105th Field Battery was warned for service in South Vietnam and on departure in September it took a large number of the soldiers and non-commissioned officers from 101st Field Battery. This created some problems for training but in January 1966 the Battery was warned to relieve 105th Field Battery and intensive training began in February.


South Vietnam 1966 - 1967

The Battery remained short of personnel until May when 40 National Servicemen marched in, the first to be trained under the recently introduced scheme. Training culminated in August with an exercise conducted by the Commanding Officer 4th Field Regiment at Shoalwater Bay to test the efficiency of the Battery for operations.

The Battery arrived at Nui Dat on 20th September 1966 and after relieving 105th Field Battery went into general support of the Task Force. A position was occupied on the task force perimeter to the west of Route 2 and for the first five weeks they were employed on harassing and interdiction tasks, support of operations close to the base and in preparation of the battery area.

In November 1966 the Battery deployed on its first operation north of the Nui Dat base in support of 6th Battalion Royal Australian Regiment (6 RAR). Operation Ingham was a search and clear operation and necessitated two deployments, which were done by reconnaissance parties in armoured personnel carriers (APC), and the gun group moving by helicopter. The operation gave the detachments their first experience of operating with the Chinook helicopter. The operation concluded in early December and the Battery returned to Nui Dat.

On 6th December 1966 the Battery was put in direct support of 6 RAR and 161st Field Battery RNZA became general support battery. This affiliation remained in force until the departure of 6 RAR for Australia in May 1967. The remainder of the tour is best described by a short explanation of selected operations conducted, which demonstrate the variety of activities:

Wacol 1968

Many members of the Battery were posted on return and until mid 1968 there were very few opportunities to carry out extensive training. However from July 1968 activities increased and by April1969 the Battery was ready for its second tour which commenced on 11th May 1969.


South Vietnam 1969 - 1970

As with the first tour, the Battery was to be in direct support of 6 RAR. Prior to departure from Australia, it had exercised with 6 RAR at Shoalwater Bay, so the normal 'affiliations' and 'team spirits' had been strongly established. This working relationship was to prove of immense value in the months ahead in

South Vietnam. After the initial working up training at Nui Dat, on 30th May the Battery deployed on its first operation, Operation Lavarack to Fire Support and Patrol Base Virginia. This operation was to be typical of the majority of operations the Battery experienced during its tour. It involved the Battery being deployed in the fire support and patrol base, along with the supported infantry battalion headquarters and support company personnel plus elements of cavalry, tanks and engineers as required. This required the

Battery to be responsible for part of the base perimeter defence. This was somewhat of a change to the previous tactical procedures involved in deploying artillery in counter revolutionary warfare. A rifle company was no longer being deployed for the immediate protection of the fire support base, and maximum advantage was being gained from the direct firing, anti-personnel capability of the artillery. The operation was to last for four weeks, and throughout the tour, a pattern developed of four weeks operation, two weeks Nui Dat defence'. Naturally this changed if the tactical situation demanded otherwise.

Operation Lavarack saw the arrival of the wet season - a season much more severe than the similar season in Australia. The gunners quickly learned to live in the mud, and found out what drainage problems really were, and how to overcome them. This first operation was possibly the most interesting
and rewarding of the tour, as during it, the Battery put the finishing touches to technical skills and local defence skills.

From July to September Operations Mudingburra and Burnham were completed. During Operation Mudingburra use was made of general support artillery from 155mm, 8 inch and 175mm howitzers of the US Army. This operation required extensive searching of the Long Hai Hills in the south of Phuoc Tuy Province, and the heavier artillery was used to great effect in destruction missions against known caves and tunnels.

October and November saw the start of the dry season, and the Battery deployed by Chinook into Fire Support and Patrol Base Discovery for Operation Ross. This operation involved 6 RAR in search and
clear operations along the Song Rai River, and it proved to be a comparatively quiet operation from the gunners point of view. In late November as a result of reliable intelligence information, it was decided to redeploy the battalion group from 'Discovery' to Fire Support and Patrol Base Picton in the north of the province as part of Operation Marsden. This redeployment was completed by road, and was the Battery's only experience of conventional fire and movement during the tour. It involved the 'Leapfrogging' of the two sections of guns, accompanied by tanks, cavalry and air support. Operation Marsden proved to be a very active one, and possibly one of the major successes of the whole war in South Vietnam. 6 RAR was highly successful in locating an extensive hospital and medical installation during the operation, and many tons of medical and dental supplies were recovered.

The majority of artillery fire used during this operation required high angle, as enemy contacts were invariably made deep in the re-entrants of the Nui May Tao Mountains, and severe cresting problems were encountered with low angle fire.

During January and February 1970 Operation Napier was conducted, with the guns occupying Fire Support and Patrol Base Peggy. March and April saw the final Operation Townsville. Several section gun positions were occupied during this operation to ensure that the ground troops always had artillery fire
coverage.

The Battery returned to Nui Dat on 13th April from Operation Townsville and conducted its final administrative arrangements prior to return to Australia. It departed for home on 8th May 1970.


Post Vietnam 1971 - 1975

The Battery returned to Enoggera in May 1970 and suffered the customary wind-down after a Vietnam tour. Limited training was conducted with an average battery strength of 35 until April 1971 when the influx of soldiers and non-commmissioned officers began in preparation for the proposed tour of
Vietnam in 1972-1973.

A number of exercises were carried out with 9 RAR and by August a very close working relationship had been established. However in September the Regiment was told that they would not be going as the commitment to Vietnam was to end.

1972 and 1973 saw the Battery reach an all time low in numbers with postings and the cessation of National Service but a number of exercises were held at regimental and battalion level.

1974 and 1975 were successful years in that the Battery again built up to full strength and a variety of exercises allowed a satisfactory degree of expertise to develop in many of the drills, procedures and peculiarities of limited warfare which had been shelved during the period of the commitment to South Vietnam.


1976 - Present Day

1976 and 1977 the battery was involved in a number of exercises aimed at continental defence, the majority being held in Tin Can Bay (Wide Bay Training Area). 1979 saw the battery involved in the first Commander Divisional Artillery Assessment and later, that year six members of the Battery were sent on Operation Damon, a peacekeeping monitoring force to Zimbabwe (Rhodesia). 1981 saw deployment on Kangaroo 81 as the direct support battery to 2nd/1st Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment.

1982 was the year of the Commonwealth Games in Brisbane. The 101st Field Battery had the honour of proving a 21 gun salute at both the opening and closing ceremonies. 6th December 1982 saw the official opening of the new battery facilities as part of the new 1st Field Regiment home known as Barce Lines at Enoggera Barracks. The battery moved to Wacol to Enoggera in early 1983.
1987 was a year of extremes, an exercise in the cold and wet of Tasmania followed by Exercise Diamond Dollar in the dust and heat of Cape York in Northern Australia. In 1988 the battery travelled overseas for five weeks for an exchange exercise with 161st Field Battery Royal New Zealand Artillery.

In mid 1997 101st Field Battery was embedded into 6th Battalion Royal Australian Regiment (6 RAR) as part of the Restructuring The Army (RTA) Trial. The Battery was renamed Fire Support Company and formed the Direct and Indirect Offensive Support capability of 6 RAR. The Company consisted of four x 155mm M198, two x 105mm L119, two x ANTPQ 36 radars, one x AMS detachment and four x LAV 25 (original trial vehicle).

During the initial part of the trial the Fire Support Company gunline operated as independent troops of two guns supporting individual infantry companies whilst maintaining the ability to mass six guns when required. During the last year of the trial the gunline operated as a 'normal' Battery, however, it still retained its mixed equipment's that provided some interesting computation issues. Whilst the trial was successful, the concept of embedding was shelved. At the conclusion of the trial in 1999 the sub-unit returned to 1st Field Regiment briefly where it was re-designated 101st Medium Battery. Shortly afterwards it was allocated as a sub-unit of 8th/12th Medium Regiment and was relocated to Robertson Barracks, Darwin to join its new Regiment.

The Battery Badge

As a result of a Battery competition and lengthy consideration, the symbol of a war hammer from Scandinavian mythology was adopted as the Battery badge. The story of the hammer is that it was wielded by the god Thor and was the major protection of the gods against their enemies. It was a weapon that was hurled through the air and according to legend it would hit anything at which it was thrown. The hammer was named MJOLLINER (pronounced MOLL/NAIR) which has been translated as 'to crush from the sky'.

Documented History by Captain (Retd) Kevin Salter

On the 2nd March 2008 Captain (Retd) Kevin Salter published a history of the Battery inclusive of maps.  To view the document Click Here