In 1873 the 1st Worcestershire AVC was attached to it, and the following year the 1st Administrative Brigade, Monmouthshire Artillery Volunteers was formed, comprising the two units, with its headquarters (HQ) at Newport and Lyne in command.

In October the batteries were re-armed with modern 18-pounder guns and on 8 November they handed over their obsolescent 15-pounders to the 2nd Line unit, which had just arrived at Bedford.

[19][20][23][26][27] 53rd (Welsh) Divisional Artillery was now ordered to France to join the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) on the Western Front.

The First Battle of Gaza began during the night of 25/26 March when 53rd (W) Division advanced 12 miles (19 km) to cross the Wadi Ghuzzeh, with CCLXVI Bde following 158th (North Wales) Infantry Brigade.

Despite the darkness and morning fog – 158th Brigade lost its way and arrived late – the infantry were in position by 08.30 and at 10.10 CCLXVI Bde opened fire on Ali Muntar.

The bombardment was begun by the heavy artillery and warships offshore, then the 4.5-inch howitzers began firing gas shells against Turkish batteries.

However, it could not push straight on to the redoubt on the ridge because the artillery support was too weak (the gas shelling was ineffectual) and the neighbouring division was badly held up.

The artillery batteries were regularly ordered to fire test rounds at specified map coordinates to prove their readiness for defensive fire[33][34][35] Although the War Office was unable to provide more divisions for the EEF, it could send guns: 53rd (W) Division's batteries were temporarily brought up to a strength of eight rather than six guns, until further troops arrived.

XX Corps, including 53rd (W) Divisional artillery, moved into position during the night of 30/31 October to capture Beersheba, and the bombardment began at 05.55.

It was a difficult march over broken country in hot weather and CCLXVI Bde, escorted by 5th Battalion, Royal Welsh Fusiliers (RWF), made a wide movement out to the east where there was a track over comparatively flat ground.

Over following days 53rd (W) Division kept up pressure on the enemy in the hills so that the EEF could roll up the main trench lines (the Battle of Hareira and Sheria).

The guns had been dragged into position using double horse teams, and simply lined up alongside batteries that had already registered their targets.

The division moved on to attack Ras ez Zamby and White Hill on 21 December, with CCLXVI Bde participating in a preliminary bombardment and then a lifting barrage at 05.15.

[46][47][48] When the weather improved in February 1918, XX Corps advanced to the Capture of Jericho, but the ground was so bad that one field battery took 36 hours to cover 8 miles (13 km).

The leading battalions began crossing the wide Mo man's land at 02.00, but the guns remained silent while the infantry picked their way forward in fog.

[49][50][51] CCLXVI Brigade moved down to the Jordan Valley with 158th Infantry Bde in late March to cover the EEF's First Transjordan raid, then rejoined the rest of the division at Ramallah at the beginning of April.

[52] The EEF was now required to send urgent reinforcements to the Western Front where the German spring offensive threatened a breakthrough.

In the summer of 1918 the 53rd Division was 'Indianised', with three quarters of the infantry battalions replaced by others drawn from the British Indian Army, but this did not affect the divisional artillery, which retained its composition to the end of the war.

The 3rd Battalion, 152nd Punjabis, had the severest fighting in attempting to capture Malul at the end of 'Nairn Ridge': in this area the Turks did not actually occupy their trenches, so the bombardment was ineffective.

This disaster to the Turks that probably contributed to the division's easy advance that evening, when Malul was secured, allowing the guns to move forward.

Training of the units was made difficult by the lack of arms and equipment, and the requirement to provide drafts to the 1st Line overseas.

Partial mechanisation was carried out from 1927, but the guns retained iron-tyred wheels until pneumatic tyres began to be introduced just before World War II.

[68] One of the lessons learned from the Battle of France was that the two-battery organisation did not work: field regiments were intended to support an infantry brigade of three battalions.

[81][82] On 12 September 83rd Regiment moved into the outskirts of Antwerp, where they were treated with hospitality by the liberated inhabitants, even while engaging enemy targets round the docks in grain elevators, tall buildings and hotels.

[83][86] During an attack on Reusel on 25 September, Capt Frank Smith of 133rd Fd Rgt with his signaller accompanied a company of 6th RWF as FOO.

The attack on s'Hertogenbosch (Operation Alan) began at 06.30 on 22 October, the infantry of 160th Bde advancing behind a timed artillery programme, after which the guns moved forward.

[83][86][93] On 3 December the guns supported 15th (S) Division in Operation Guildford to clear the banks of the Maas up to Blerick, opposite Venlo.

[86] The Battle of the Reichswald (Operation Veritable) opened at 05.00 on 8 February with the heaviest concentration of artillery employed by the British Army so far in the war.

After a pause and dummy attack at 07.40 to induce the Germans to man their guns, the Counter-battery fire was resumed and a barrage was laid down to protect the assaulting columns.

83rd and 133rd (Welsh) Field Regiments were placed in suspended animation in British Army of the Rhine in 1946, on 21 June and 4 April respectively; when the TA was reformed on 1 January 1947 133rd was formally disbanded.