"At a mile distant their thousand hooves were stuttering thunder, coming at a rate that frightened a man - they were an awe inspiring sight, galloping through the red haze - knee to knee and horse to horse - the dying sun glinting on bayonet points..." Trooper Ion Idriess
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The following entries are extracted and transcribed from the 9th Light Horse Regiment War Diary, the originals of which are held by the Australian War Memorial. There are 366 entries on this site. Each day has entries as they occurred from 1914 to 1919. In addition to the 9th Light Horse Regiment War Diary, when appropriate, entries from the 3rd Light Horse Brigade War Diary and other regiments with the Brigade will also appear. Entries from the unit history, Darley, TH, With the Ninth Light Horse in the Great War, Adelaide, Hassell Press, 1924 will also appear from time to time. The aim is to give the broadest context to the story and allow the reader to follow the day to day activities of the regiment. If a relative happened to have served in the regiment during the Great War, then this provides a general framework in which the individual story may be told.
9th Light Horse Regiment Location - Rhododendron Hill
9th Light Horse Regiment War Diary - No Entry.
1916
Saturday, September 23, 1916
9th Light Horse Regiment Location - Hod Amara
9th Light Horse Regiment War Diary - Routine work. Usual outposts, escorts, etc.
Captain Malcolm, NM, who was taken sick during Reconnaissance to Mazar and evacuated, seconded to Training Squadron vide AIF Egypt Order No. 5.
1917
Sunday, September 23, 1917
9th Light Horse Regiment Location - Um Urgan
9th Light Horse Regiment War Diary - Stood to arms 0430. Church Parade at 0700. “C” Squadron and two troops “A” Squadron moved out at 0430 and took up day outpost line.
Linacre, Lieutenant FJ; and, his troop had a prolonged skirmish with the Turkish cavalry patrols holding Hill 630. The enemy patrols were forced to retire and Hill 630 was occupied by Linacre, Lieutenant FJ; and, his troop for half an hour when he withdrew and the enemy reoccupied it.
Suter, 490 Sergeant J, with patrol of six Other Ranks were patrolling in vicinity of Point 720 when they were charged by a troop of enemy cavalry 25 strong. Suter, 490 Sergeant J, at 50 yards range shot their leading man with a revolver. The enemy troop then withdrew and dismounted and opened fire.
1918
Monday, September 23, 1918
9th Light Horse Regiment Location - El Affule
9th Light Horse Regiment War Diary - 0100 Regiment moved to El Affule aerodrome and bivouacked. Town guards, picquets and prisoner's escorts were supplied by Regiment. 0730 Moved into bivouac site in Sq O97 J23. Bleechmore, Major C, with 70 men from Regiment watered and escorted to Prisoner of War compound 4,000 prisoners.
3rd Light Horse Brigade War Diary - Dispositions remained unchanged. Two Squadrons of the 10th Light Horse Regiment were employed in escorting 4,000 prisoners taken by 4th Cavalry Division from Shutta to El Affule, where 9th Light Horse Regiment provided guards for them. The 10th Light Horse Regiment pushed a patrol out beyond Tumrah and Tel Abu el Taiyibeh, but found no signs of the enemy. The 8th Light Horse Regiment and four machine guns at Nazareth were disposed so as to cover the Tiberias and Acre roads, and found the necessary picquets and guards in the town to protect the captured material and maintain order. A patrol from this regiment to Kefr Kenna reported all clear, but refugees stated enemy were in strength at Tiberias.
1919
Tuesday, September 23, 1919
9th Light Horse Regiment Location - Adelaide
9th Light Horse Regiment War Diary - Regiment disbanded.
Another entry from the book written by Lieutenant Colonel Hüseyin Hüsnü Emir, called Yildirim. Every day, one page of the book will be posted. This is Page 77.
The following weeks will see the various pages from the Hotchkiss Portable Machine Gun Handbook, the official manual issued by the company for the use of troops in the field. The Hotchkiss Gun was introduced in the Light Horse formations during the early months of 1917. The introduction of this robust and portable gun gave the Light Horse Regiments additional mobile fire power which considereably added to their ability to sustain light combat situations and defend against vastly numerically superior forces. Apart from being an excellent weapon, it was in much demand by the Turkish forces who considered the capture of a Hotchkiss Gun well worth any risks involved in the process. This is a manual produced in 1917 and illustrates the method by which the Hotchkiss Gun was packed and moved throughout the Palestine campaign.
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