Hi Everyone,
October 31st marks an important day in Australian military history - The Battle of Beersheba took place on 31st October 1917, as part of the Sinai and Palestine campaign during World War I. The Australian 4th Light Horse Brigade, under Brigadier General William Grant, charged more than four miles at the Turkish trenches, overran them and captured the wells at Beersheba.
The 4th Light Horse Brigade, commanded by Brigadier General William Grant, contained the 4th (Victorian), 11th (Queensland and South Australia) and 12th (New South Wales) Light Horse Regiments. The 11th was dispersed but the 4th and 12th were quickly ready to make the charge.
The regiments commenced the charge at 4.30pm, the 12th on the left and the 4th on the right. They advanced by squadrons (ie., 3 waves) with about 500 yards between squadrons. The 11th Regiment and the 5th Mounted Brigade followed more slowly to the rear and the British 7th Mounted Brigade, which was attached to the Desert Mounted Corps headquarters, also approached from the south.
The Turkish defenders opened fire with shrapnel from long range but it was ineffective against the widely spaced horsemen. Machine guns that opened fire were quickly destroyed by a battery of horse artillery. When the line of horsemen got within range of the Turkish riflemen in the trenches, they started to take casualties but the defenders failed to allow for the speed of their approach so once they were within half a mile of the trenches, the defenders’ bullets started passing overhead as they forgot to adjust their sights.
The light horsemen jumped the front trenches and dismounted behind the line where they fixed bayonets and engaged the Turks who were in many cases so demoralised that they quickly surrendered. One Australian who was dazed after having his horse shot from under him, recovered to find his five attackers with their hands up, waiting to be taken prisoner.
The later waves continued through the town which the Turks were abandoning in a panic. The charge was finally halted on the far (north west) side of Beersheba where the light horsemen encountered more Turkish defences. Isolated resistance in the town continued for a little while but by nightfall, the remainder of the garrison had been captured. The Turks had attempted to torch some buildings and blow up the railway but the majority of the wells (15 out of 17) were captured intact. Also, a heavy rainfall left temporary pools of water on the ground, allowing the horses to drink.
In the capture of Beersheba, the 4th Light Horse Brigade took 38 officers and 700 other ranks prisoner as well as four field guns. In the two regiments, only 31 men were killed (including two officers) and only 36 men wounded (including eight officers).
For those interested in the charge, it is mentioned in several Light Horse unit histories from World War 1. Check out our stocklist here for the list of titles.
And remember, if you are chasing a particular unit history, drop us an email or give us a call.
Regimental Books Staff
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