Q (Sanna's Post) HQ Battery RA
Encyclopedia
Introduction
Q/HQ Battery is the Headquarters BatteryArtillery battery
In military organizations, an artillery battery is a unit of guns, mortars, rockets or missiles so grouped in order to facilitate better battlefield communication and command and control, as well as to provide dispersion for its constituent gunnery crews and their systems...
of 5th Regiment Royal Artillery
5th Regiment Royal Artillery
5th Regiment Royal Artillery is a regiment of the Royal Artillery in the British Army. It currently serves in the Surveillance and Target Acquisition role equipped with various weapon locating equipment using radars and acoustic sound ranging, it also provides Special Observation Post...
in the Royal Artillery
Royal Artillery
The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery , is the artillery arm of the British Army. Despite its name, it comprises a number of regiments.-History:...
. It currently serves in the Surveillance and Target Acquisition
Surveillance and Target Acquisition
For Artillery STA, see belowSurveillance and Target Acquisition is a military role assigned to units and/or their equipment. It involves watching an area to see what changes and then the acquisition of targets based on that information....
role and is equipped with various weapon platform locating equipment using radars and acoustic sound ranging assets.
The name Sannas Post was taken following the actions of the Battery during an engagement at Sanna's Post
Sanna's Post
-References:* Three Years War, by Christiaan Rudolf De Wet, 1st American Edition, published by Charles Scribner's Sons in 1902* The Great Boer War, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, originally published in 1902; republished by IndyPublish.com in 2002, ISBN 1-4043-0472-X* Goodbye Dolly Gray: The Story of...
during the Second Boer War
Second Boer War
The Second Boer War was fought from 11 October 1899 until 31 May 1902 between the British Empire and the Afrikaans-speaking Dutch settlers of two independent Boer republics, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State...
.
Battery history
Q (Sanna's Post)/HQ Battery was originally formed on the 1st of March in 1824, in Poona IndiaIndia
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
as 3rd Troop, The Bombay Horse Artillery. Between 1838 and 1857 the Troop saw action in the first Anglo-Afghan War
First Anglo-Afghan War
The First Anglo-Afghan War was fought between British India and Afghanistan from 1839 to 1842. It was one of the first major conflicts during the Great Game, the 19th century competition for power and influence in Central Asia between the United Kingdom and Russia, and also marked one of the worst...
, the First Anglo-Sikh War
First Anglo-Sikh War
The First Anglo-Sikh War was fought between the Sikh Empire and the British East India Company between 1845 and 1846. It resulted in partial subjugation of the Sikh kingdom.-Background and causes of the war:...
, the Second Anglo-Sikh War
Second Anglo-Sikh War
The Second Anglo-Sikh War took place in 1848 and 1849, between the Sikh Empire and the British East India Company. It resulted in the subjugation of the Sikh Empire, and the annexation of the Punjab and what subsequently became the North-West Frontier Province by the East India Company.-Background...
,, and the Anglo-Persian War
Anglo-Persian War
The Anglo-Persian War lasted between November 1, 1856 and April 4, 1857, and was fought between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Persia . In the war, the British opposed an attempt by Persia to reacquire the city of Herat...
. In 1858 the Battery saw service during the Indian mutiny
Indian Rebellion of 1857
The Indian Rebellion of 1857 began as a mutiny of sepoys of the British East India Company's army on 10 May 1857, in the town of Meerut, and soon escalated into other mutinies and civilian rebellions largely in the upper Gangetic plain and central India, with the major hostilities confined to...
.
In 1862 the Battery was renamed C Battery, 4 Horse Brigade Royal Artillery and in 1864 became a Royal Horse Artillery Battery as C Battery, F Brigade RHA. Between 1864 and 1889 the Battery's title changed a further 5 times. In 1889 the Battery assumed the title of Q Battery Royal Artillery.
The Battery next saw service in the Boer war between 1899 and 1901. On 31 March 1900 the Battery had its finest hour when it saved its guns and the majority of General Broadwater's force from a vicious Boer ambush at Koorn Spruit, near Sanna's Post. As the Battery galloped away to the rear in line, the Boers, seeing that part of their prey was escaping, opened fire with rifles from the edge of the Spruit. Q Battery's guns were severed for four hours in that exposed position, subjected all the time to continuous rifle fire at 1,000 yards range - it must be remembered that at the time the guns had no shields! The Battery fought with such collective gallantry and skill that Field Marshal Lord Roberts VC, directed that 4 Victoria Crosses should be awarded to the Battery,one to an officer, one to an NCO, one to a Gunner & one to a Driver. It is the most highly decorated action in the history of the Royal Regiment of Artillery. In addition 3 Distinguished Conduct Medals were also awarded. In 1926 the Battery was granted the honour title "Sanna's Post".
During the First World War the Battery saw continuous action on the western front. At the end of the Great War the Battery's name changed again twice before being renamed Q Battery Royal Field Artillery in 1924.