Well, this makes a change, me asking for help with a term, instead of replying to requests Has anyone come across reference to a Young Barrage, or more importantly, does anyone know what one was? I have found a number of references to this form of Barrage, but in each case the context is different. Thanks for any help. Phil
Hi Phil Might it have something to do with the time the barrage takes place? (ie early in the day) I ask this because two of the references I've found to "young barrage" have them occuring in the morning. History of Co. B, 1st Battalion, 356th Infantry, 89th Division (World War I) The Company was in the trenches just to the west of Xivray and at 4:00 A.M. on August 19th, a young barrage was thrown on Xivray and the trenches just behind by the Germans. CHAPTER 35 — Tiger Country | NZETC and in the morning took over from Laurie's tanks, pushing along the ridge from the Villa Bonazza. Dodging mines and a demolition in the road, 7 Troop advanced past another mansion which crowned the point of the ridge, fired a young barrage to help D Company, 28 Battalion, on to the next ridge, then followed up and covered the Maoris as they probed further Hopefully you find more information elsewhere. Cheers Mark
Mark I like your reasoning, and knowing the Royal artillery, it is quite possible, but as you suggest, I will continue to search and report back. Phil
Could it be a gas or gas/HE barrage? The technique isn't necessarily a British one. From The Compensations of War: The Diary of an Ambulance Driver During the Great War in Oct 1918: http://www.ww2talk.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=96203&stc=1&d=1356729198 That might explain why the term was not in vogue in the Second World War?
Another gas-bearing Young Barrage attributable to the Hun from The War Book of the One Hundred and Sixth Regiment Field Artillery, United States Army, 1917-1919: "In the meantime, the rest of the immortals moved to a shack in the quarries. When darkness came Fritzy decided to 'fini' the affair, and sent so many gas shells over simultaneously that they neutralized each other. In this young barrage. Observers Rose, Armitage and Peterson made their way to the post. The punctuation is debatable, probably an OCR error.
Or it could be derived from the method of calculating the barrage, as In the Trenches 1914-18 attributes the invention of the gunners' director/plotting board to an infantryman! http://www.ww2talk.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=96205&stc=1&d=1356731805 http://www.ww2talk.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=96204&stc=1&d=1356731805 All very interesting, but it doesn't explain why the name was applied to incoming German barrages...
Or it could be derived from the method of calculating the barrage, as In the Trenches 1914-18 attributes the invention of the gunners' director/plotting board to an infantryman! All very interesting, but it doesn't explain why the name was applied to incoming German barrages... I've no idea where long quote about Young comes from, it makes some amazing claims that bear no relation to the well established facts. Underinformed exaggeration is probably the most charitable comment. See the 1915 sects on sound ranging and flash spotting at ARTILLERY INTELLIGENCE AND COUNTER-BATTERY
At risk of confusing the issue further there's a reference in one of my Dad's letters home in 1940. He was working in a heavy AA battery and I infer that it involves un-aimed fire at the predicted track of a raid (not a specific aircraft). Sadly it's too late to ask him. Exerpt follows: "There's nothing very difficult about gun laying on predictor at night, but you have to be as quick as hell, and being dark makes it a bit tricky. We stay down in the dug-out until we get the call “Stand by for 'Young’ barrage” and the guns have to fire 50 seconds from that time, or GPO [Gun Position Officer] cancels the shoot. You may be interested to know how this is arranged. First to report hostiles on the way are motor boats in the Channel, whose listening apparatus sets are so sensitive that they can report the planes massing for take off on the French airfields . This is flashed to our GOR (Gun Operations Room) at ---! They plot the course of the plane and give us the number of a square on a graticule map which the plane is approaching, also height of plane, and exact time when it will be at that certain point! Our Gun Position Officer measures the angle from Battery position to point of fire on square, shouts, say 'Bearing 110 degrees' Yours truly traverses like mad and fixes bearing by torchlight, and this simultaneously operates electrical pointers on the guns which the gun layers follow, and the guns swing round with the predictor. At the same time an elevation is called 'Q.E (Quadrant Elevation) 65 degrees' layer for Q.E. elevates, and the guns follow. Then Fuze, for height, (1,000ft per fuze length) say 12, which is shouted to the guns, and which fuze setter fixes on his projectile. Predictor members report as soon as they are finished - 'Bearing one-one-one set' 'Q.E. Six-five set' 'Fuse one-two set' 'Fire' Wham! Up they go! 'Battery stand easy' and down we go again to resume our arguments about one's favourite film actress! There's also a big dixie of cocoa on the stove, and some meat pies, if we're lucky."
There is no mention of the term in either Routledge's History of AA or in Pemberton "development of artillery tactics and equipment." (1951) There is a reference on both books to "Geographical" barrages to force an enemy aircraft to fly through a path of shell bursts. I wonder wonder if a "Young " barrage isn't a contemporary unofficial name for a "Geographical barrage? The circumstances under which the Gunners developed barrages might make this a reasonable hypothesis. At the start of the Second World War the plan was not to waste shells on anything other than aimed fire. However, after the start of the Blitz there was an urgent demand to fire some sort of barrage to reassure the public. If this could not wait for for an RA approved barrage to be designed, then its possible that someone called "Young" drew up a barrage which fired in a pattern of shells in the rough direction of an enemy attack in the hope that an aircraft would fly into a shell burst. Its just a theory.
I think you must be right. The only other option is if there's a reference in the 'Textbook of Anti-Aircraft Gunnery' (WO, 1924-25) - has anyone seen a copy? The excerpt I quoted was from late 1940 - before the introduction of the GL1 E/F radar which made aimed blind fire possible for the first time. Success was rare but not unknown: "I was in action all last night on the predictor for the first time, and we bagged a Jerry! I was layer for bearing. It was one of the most exciting nights of my life, I think. We were busy all night, and put up some lovely barrages. The one that got him was a beauty, all guns fired simultaneously, and we heard him losing height immediately the shells burst." This was probably a Heinkel 111 damaged by AA fire on the night of 19th / 20th November 1940, which then hit a balloon cable and crashed at Beckton Marshes Essex. All five crew members were killed.
