Editing Ammunition column (section)

==The British Army and Dominion Artillery after May 1916==
On 13 May 1916, originating from BEF GHQ, orders were issued for the reorganization of Royal and Dominion/Indian Divisional Artillery establishments, they were to be restructured having four ‘mixed’ Artillery Brigades, to a standardized / universal establishment, each being allocated three Field Artillery Batteries and one Howitzer Battery.<ref>[https://www.academia.edu/3796262/Learning_from_the_Front_Tactical_Innovation_in_France_and_Flanders_1914-1915 Learning from the Front: Tactical Innovation in France and Flanders, 1914–1915, Bruce Ivar Gudmundsson, Wolfson College, University of Oxford, 2007. Reviewed 16.10.2015]</ref><ref>BEF GHQ Order of Battle: OB 818. (The NA Kew: File France WO 95/5467)</ref> This ‘operational decision’ additionally saw the abolition of the four integral ‘Brigade Ammunition Columns’ and they being broken up or absorbed into their supporting ‘Divisional Ammunition Column’.

Having to absorb three Field BACs and a Howitzer BAC, the DAC would take on additional authorized ammunition wagons, horses and personnel, and excess to establishment personnel would be moved as artilleryman to any of the sixteen gun/howitzer batteries, of the Division.  This ‘internal’ reassignment of BAC gunner officers and artilleryman was consistent with past practices, as since 1906, it was an established routine to consider ‘ammunition column’ personnel, as a manning reserve and a source of timely replacements for ‘casualties’ in their brigades batteries.<ref>Nicholson Page 163. See: [[G. W. L. Nicholson]], ''The Gunners of Canada. The History of the Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery'', Vol. 1, 1534{{snd}}1919, McClelland and Stewart, The RCA Association, Toronto,1967.</ref>

In the ‘new’ Divisional Artillery ‘universal establishment’ structure, the Divisional Ammunition Columns reorganized around a new supporting model, standing up a dedicated ‘A’ Echelon, and a supporting ‘B’ Echelon.  The ‘A’ Echelon comprised four ‘new’ Sections, now doing the work of the (four) Brigade Ammunition Columns, one for each of the Divisions mixed Artillery Brigades.  Each common A Section, had the same task of bringing forward ‘first-line’ artillery ammunition, and small arms ammunition, to the batteries of an affiliated Artillery and Infantry Brigade, as previously did a Field BACs.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=140723 |title=The Great War Forum, Discussion Bde and Div Ammunition Columns: 20 Jan 2102, Ammunition Columns in 'History of the Royal Artillery (Western Front). Reviewed 15.10.2015 |access-date=23 February 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160219162141/http://1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=140723 |archive-date=19 February 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

When the DACs absorbed the RFA BACs in May 1916, the DAC Establishment increased to 16 officers and about 800 men.  In January 1917, when the Divisional Artillery was reduced to two brigades, the numbers in the DAC were reduced to 15 and about 700, and later in 1917 to 15 and about 600. By Aug 1918 they had further reduced to 15 and 569.