Topic: AIF - 2B - 5 LHR
5th LHR, AIF
5th Australian Light Horse Regiment
Outline
5th Light Horse and the Koala Mascot
[From: The Queenslander, 19 December 1914, p. 23.]
Formation
The 5th Light Horse Regiment was formed as part of the 2nd Light Horse Brigade, 2nd Contingent and attached to the Australian Division. Recruits went to the Enoggera Training Camp to the west of Brisbane, Queensland, on 18 August 1914. The recruits were drawn from the four main Militia Regiments within the 1st Military District which incorporated all of Queensland, Darwin and Northern New South Wales. The men from New South Wales found themselves mainly in "B" Squadron. Many of the men went from the Light Horse Militia formation into the AIF Light Horse.
"A" Squadron recruited mainly from:
1st Light Horse Regiment (6 men).
"B" Squadron recruited mainly from:
3rd Light Horse Regiment (6 men)
4th Light Horse Regiment (6 men)"C" Squadron recruited mainly from:
2nd Light Horse Regiment (6 men); and,
27th Light Horse Regiment (5 men).
Training
[Click on page for larger version.]
Training of the 5th Light Horse Regiment occurred at Enoggera Training Camp from August until September 1914.
Embarkation
The 5th Light Horse Regiment entrained from Newmarket Station, Brisbane, 12 December 1914, and travelled to Liverpool Camp, Sydney where they remained until embarkation details were finalised. Embarkation of the 5th Light Horse Regiment occurred by the HMAT A34 Persic from Sydney, New South Wales, on 21 December 1914 .
[See: His Majesty's Australian Transports [HMAT] Ships, A34.]
The HMAT A34 Persic embarked from Sydney, New South Wales, on 21 December 1914 with the bulk of the Regiment.
An advance party was despatched on the HMAT A44 Vestalia. The advanced party contained the full complement of "A" Troop from "B" Squadron. In addition, all officer's batmen were included in the party. The advance party had 26 men from the 1st Reinforcements attached for embarkation.
The 5th Light Horse Regiment sailed to Egypt and disembarked on 1 February 1915.
Colour Patch
Initially, the only colour separation of the various Australian mounted troops was by use of the pennant. The marker pennants were carried on poles to mark lines troop lines in camps in Egypt. They were not lance pennants as the Australian lancers had red over white pennants on their lances.
While this pennant was useful in distinguishing horse and troop lines, it failed to identify the individual with a unit. The AIF 1st Australian Division Standing Orders issued in December 1914 ordered the Australian Light Horse Regiments to wear a 4 inch wide [10.2cm] blue armband with the regiment name marked on the band in black lettering.
The earlier systems proved to be ineffective so to assist with identification of the men in the various units within the AIF, Divisional Order No 81 (A) Administration was issued at Mena on 8 March 1915 detailing the Colour Patch for the 5th Light Horse Regiment as others received their colours. The colour patch was made of cloth 1¼ inches wide and 2¾ inches long and worn on the sleeve one inch below the shoulder seam. The colour patch for the 5th Light Horse Regiment was light blue over red.
The 5th Light Horse Regiment carried the red Brigade colour as the lower triangle part of the colour patch, while the light blue unit colour was on the top. This is illustrated with the above presentation.
Gallipoli
As mounted troops, the Light Horse was considered to be unsuitable for work in Gallipoli. The mounted troops volunteered to operate as infantry and thus were sent to Gallipoli with the 5th Light Horse Regiment landing on 20 May 1915. The Regiment was only deployed on defensive activities throughout the stay at Gallipoli. On 29 August 1915, the Regiment received another squadron as reinforcements. "B" Squadron, 11th Light Horse Regiment was absorbed and renamed as "D" Squadron, 5th Light Horse Regiment. The 5th Light Horse Regiment left the peninsula on 20 December 1915.
Defence of Egypt
After the return to Egypt, the 5th Light Horse Regiment reformed and re-equipped. The reorganisation of the Light Horse led to the formation of the ANZAC Mounted Division to which the 5th Light Horse Regiment became a foundation member.
On 28 February 1916, the 5th Light Horse Regiment moved to join its parent brigade, the 2nd Light Horse Brigade, which was taking part in the defence of the Suez Canal. The work was hot and monotonous. They remained here until moved to the Romani region to bolster the defence of that area.
Sinai
The 2nd Light Horse Brigade played an important role in beating back the Turkish invasion of the Suez Canal zone at Romani. Now known as the Battle of Romani which lasted from 4-6 August which was quickly followed by the Battle of Katia and then Bir el Abd on 9 August. All the actions in which the 5th Light Horse Regiment finally led to the defeat of the Ottoman Canal Expeditionary force and its retreat to Bir el Mazar.
Over the next few months, the 5th Light Horse Regiment took part in the Allied advance over the Sinai leading to the fall of Bir el Mazar, then El Arish followed by Bir el Magdhaba and finally Rafa in January 1917. The Ottoman forces were expelled from the Sinai and were poised to be tackled in Palestine.
Palestine
On 27 March 1917, the 5th Light Horse Regiment took an adventurous role during the First Battle of Gaza. While involved in street fighting as a prelude to taking the city, the 5th Light Horse Regiment received the order to withdraw and return to the starting line. Grudgingly they did so but realised the Turks has snatched victory out of the jaws of defeat.
The 5th Light Horse Regiment took no part in the Second Battle of Gaza on 19 April 1917.
The 5th Light Horse Regiment took part in the Battle of Beersheba and then the follow up actions that lasted until early January 1918. After the fall of Jerusalem the 5th Light Horse Regiment moved to the Jordan Valley and took parts in operations in this region. This included the taking of Jericho, the attack on Amman during 27 March - 2 April 1918 and Es Salt Raid of 30 April – 4 May 1918.
At the opening of the final Allied offensive on 19 September 1918, the 5th Light Horse Regiment took part in the invasion of the Moab hills for the third time. This time Amman was captured. During this time the 5th Light Horse Regiment took part in one of the more unusual actions during the Great War. On 29 September 1918, two squadrons surrounded the town of Ziza which held 4,500 Turkish troops. The Turkish commander agreed to surrender the following day as they were concerned that the Arab guerrillas in the distance would take the town and slaughter everyone in it. The 5th Light Horse Regiment agreed to protect the Turkish garrison and so that night, both Turk and Australians joined to defend against a foe. In the morning, true to their word, the Turkish garrison surrendered all their weapons and went into captivity.
Finally, the Ottomans called for an Armistice on 30 October 1918.
Return to Australia
After the conclusion of hostilities, the 5th Light Horse Regiment was marked to return to Australia. Prior to that action, one of the saddest actions occurred for the Australian Lighthorsemen, they had to farewell their best friends, the horses. All the Light Horse unit horses' health was ascertained with the fit horses being transferred to the Indian Cavalry while those in poor condition were destroyed by the Veterinary units.
On 13 March 1919 the 5th Light Horse Regiment was deployed to assist in suppressing the Egyptian Uprising. When the revolt collapsed, the 5th Light Horse Regiment embarked on the 28 June 1919 for the long voyage to Australia where the unit was disbanded.
Commanding Officers
Lieutenant Colonel Hubert Jennings Imrie Harris
Lieutenant Colonel Lachlan Chisolm Wilson
Lieutenant Colonel Donald Charles Cameron
Decorations earned by the 5th Light Horse Regiment
- 1 CB - Companion of The Most Honourable Order of the Bath
- 3 CMG - Companion in The Most Distinguished Order of St. Michael and St. George
- 4 DSO - Distinguished Service Orders
- 9 MC - Military Crosses
- 1 CBE - Companion of the Order of the British Empire
- 6 DCM - Distinguished Conduct Medals
- 18 MM- Military Medals
- 1 MSM - Meritorious Service Medal
Campaigns
Gallipoli
- Anzac
- Defence at Anzac
- Suvla
- Sari Bair
- Gallipoli 1915-1916
Egypt
- Defence of Egypt
Sinai
- Romani
- Magdhaba
- Rafa
Palestine
- First Battle of Gaza
- Third Battle of Gaza
- Beersheba
- El Mughar
- Nebi Samwill
- Jerusalem
- Jaffa
- Jericho
- Amman
- Es Salt
- Megiddo
- Nablus
- Palestine 1917-1918
Casualties suffered by the 5th Light Horse Regiment
- 137 killed
- 708 wounded
War Diary
The Australian War Memorial has put these on line and may be accessed here:
5th Light Horse Regiment War Diaries.
Embarkations:
The following list details all the embarkations in support of the 5th Light Horse Regiment, AIF, during the Great War. Each entry details the individual soldier's: rank on embarkation; full name; Declared age; last occupation held; last address as a civilian; enlistment Date; and, ultimate fate. Each man is linked to a brief military biography where ever possible. One interesting point is that many of the men listed in the embarkation roll for the 5th Light Horse Regiment ended up in a different unit altogether. This list details the men's starting point in the AIF.
| Regimental Headquarters Section | Sydney, New South Wales on board HMAT A34 Persic 21 December 1914 |
| "A" Squadron | Sydney, New South Wales on board HMAT A34 Persic 21 December 1914 |
| "B" Squadron | Sydney, New South Wales on board HMAT A34 Persic 21 December 1914 |
| "C" Squadron | Sydney, New South Wales on board HMAT A34 Persic 21 December 1914 |
| Machine Gun Section | Sydney, New South Wales on board HMAT A34 Persic 21 December 1914 |
| Vestalia Goup | Sydney, New South Wales on board HMAT A44 Vestalia 19 December 1914 |
| 1st Reinforcements | Sydney, New South Wales on board HMAT A44 Vestalia 19 December 1914 |
| 2nd Reinforcements | Brisbane, Queensland on board HMAT A53 Itria 9 February 1915 |
| 3rd Reinforcements | Brisbane, Queensland on board HMAT A53 Itria 9 February 1915 |
| 4th Reinforcements | Brisbane, Queensland on board HMAT A15 Star of England 8 April 1915 |
| 5th Reinforcements | Newcastle, New South Wales on board HMAT A57 Malakuta 17 May 1915 |
| 6th Reinforcements | Brisbane, Queensland on board HMAT A63 Karoola 12 June 1915 |
| 7th Reinforcements | Brisbane, Queensland on board HMAT A9 Shropshire 20 August 1915 |
| 8th Reinforcements | Brisbane, Queensland on board HMAT A55 Kyarra 10 August 1915 |
| 9th Reinforcements | Brisbane, Queensland on board HMAT A1 Hymettus 17 September 1915 |
| 10th Reinforcements | Brisbane, Queensland on board HMAT A69 Warilda 5 October 1915 |
| Sydney, New South Wales on board HMAT A47 Mashrobra 4 October 1915 Sydney, New South Wales on board SS Hawkes Bay 21 October 1915 | |
| Sydney, New South Wales on board HMAT A23 Suffolk 30 November 1915 Sydney, New South Wales on board SS Hawkes Bay 21 October 1915 | |
| 13th Reinforcements | Brisbane, Queensland on board HMAT A55 Kyarra 3 January 1916 |
| 14th Reinforcements | Brisbane, Queensland on board HMAT A62 Wandilla 31 January 1916 |
| 15th Reinforcements | Sydney, New South Wales on board HMAT A67 Orsova 11 March 1916 |
| 16th Reinforcements | Sydney, New South Wales on board HMAT A47 Mashobra 5 April 1916 |
| 17th Reinforcements | Sydney, New South Wales on board HMAT A10 Karroo 5 May 1916 |
| 18th Reinforcements | Brisbane, Queensland on board HMAT A16 Seang Choon 4 May 1916 |
| 19th Reinforcements | Sydney, New South Wales on board RMS Mongolia 8 July 1916 |
| 20th Reinforcements | Sydney, New South Wales on board RMS Malwa 22 July 1916 |
| 21st Reinforcements | Sydney, New South Wales on board HMAT A58 Kabinga 12 September 1916 |
| 22nd Reinforcements | Brisbane, Queensland on board HMAT A43 Barunga 26 October 1916 |
| 23rd Reinforcements | Melbourne, Victoria on board HMAT A42 Boorara 10 May 1917 |
| 24th Reinforcements | Brisbane, Queensland on board HMAT A1 Hymettus 3 February 1917 |
| 25th Reinforcements | Sydney, New South Wales on board RMS Karmala 3 February 1917 |
| 26th Reinforcements | Melbourne, Victoria on board HMAT A42 Boorara 10 May 1917 |
| 27th Reinforcements | Sydney, New South Wales on board HMAT A15 Port Sydney 9 May 1917 |
| 28th Reinforcements | Sydney, New South Wales on board HMAT A15 Port Sydney 9 May 1917 |
| 29th Reinforcements | Sydney, New South Wales on board HMAT A55 Kyarra 3 September 1917 |
| 30th Reinforcements | Sydney, New South Wales on board RMS Ormonde 2 March 1918 |
See: Troop transport ships for information and photographs about the various ships employed in transporting the troops to Egypt.
Further Reading:
5th Australian Light Horse Regiment, AIF
5th Australian Light Horse Regiment, Roll of Honour
Battles where Australians fought, 1899-1920
Citation: 5th Australian Light Horse Regiment, AIF, Outline
