The Charge at Beersheba - 31 October 1917
The historic and unconventional charge at Beersheba by the 4th Australian Light Horse Brigade, led by the 4th and 12th Australian Light Horse (ALH) Regiments, was an integral part of the final phase of the third Battle of Gaza in Palestine, directed by the British.
Beersheba was a strategic site for the Allied forces, needed to secure the Sinai Peninsula and maintain access to the Suez Canal shipping channels. It also had numerous wells, which were essential to cater to the high volume of mounted troops and horses who would need to move through the area.
On the afternoon of 31 October 1917, Lieutenant General Sir Harry Chauvel, commander of the Desert Mounted Corps, ordered the 4th Light Horse Brigade to attack the Turkish trenches near the front of the town, as they were not protected by barbed wire. The brigade, under the leadership of Brigadier General William Grant, rode across the open plain towards the Turkish line, using the bayonets from their rifles like swords, in an unusual 'cavalry-style' approach.
The Turkish defended their positions with machine guns and artillery but were soon overwhelmed by the speed and style of the assault. Some light horsemen from the 4th ALH Regiment dismounted and fought at the trenches, while others from the 12th ALH Regiment rode on to successfully secure the town itself, and its important water supply.
This now famous charge resulted in the death of 31 light horsemen and around 70 horses. It is remembered on several war memorials across NSW, including the large-scale Australian Light Horse Sculpture Parade on the Westlink M7 Motorway, near Eastern Creek in Western Sydney. This abstract artwork features dozens of red poles, arranged in straight rows, representing the light horsemen on parade. In recognition of the loss they felt for their faithful companions, there are no horses represented in the memorial.
On the other side of the city this relationship is honoured in another way. The Horses of the Desert Mounted Corps Memorial, at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney's CBD, is a well-known tribute to the more than 120,000 horses who served in the Great War, but did not return. It is a sandstone-block wall, bearing a cast-bronze relief sculpture of a light horseman leading three horses. It was unveiled on Anzac Day, 25 April 1950 by Lady Chauvel, wife of the late Sir Harry Chauvel. Inscribed alongside the artwork are the words:
Erected by members of The Desert Mounted Corps and friends to the Gallant Horses who carried them over Sinai Desert into Palestine 1915–1918
They suffered wounds thirst, hunger and weariness almost beyond endurance but never failed. They did not come home. We will never forget them.
The Register holds numerous records of memorials dedicated to the First World War and the Australian Light Horse. Search the NSW War Memorials Register for memorials today.
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Read more about the Charge at Beersheba on the Australian War Memorial's website.
Image captions:
- Australian Light Horse Sculpture Parade, Light Horse Interchange Memorial. Photograph provided by Ian R Stehbens, 2020.
- Horses of the Desert Mounted Corps Memorial. Photograph taken by the NSW War Memorials Register, 2021.
- Close-up of relief sculpture on the Horses of the Desert Mounted Corps Memorial. Photograph taken by NSW War Memorials Register, 2012.