"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
The Australian Light Horse Studies Centre aims to present an accurate history as chroniclers of early Australian military developments from 1899 to 1920.
The Australian Light Horse Studies Centre site holds over 12,000 entries and is growing daily.
Contact:Australian Light Horse Studies CentreLet us hear your story:
You can tell your story, make a comment or ask for help on our Australian Light Horse Studies Centre Forum called:
WARNING: This site contains: names, information and images of deceased people; and, language which may be considered inappropriate today.
Sunday, 6 July 2008
Turkish understanding of projected Allied attacks, August 1917 Topic: BatzP - Beersheba
Below is a fascinating and prescient Turkish telegram extracted from Colonel Hüsnü’s book, Yilderim.
Copy of the Translated Intelligence Assessment
Transcription of the Intelligence Assessment
"If the enemy advances on Tel el Far - Kuz el Basel it will be confronted by the 16th Division at Tel el Sharia and we shall take advantage of any opportunity created by this efficient division which is well placed."
.....
"At present I am of the opinion that the enemy will make Gaza his main objective since the topography of the ground renders this part of our front the weakest part of our line. On the other hand it is peculiarly favourable to the enemy if he adopts the "barrage" method of fire in vogue in Europe, as he can concentrate superior fire from land and sea. To prevent our reinforcing Gaza, it is probable that a general attack will be made along the Gaza - Tel el Sharia front combined with an enveloping movement with mounted troops round our left flank. To facilitate the envelopment an attack on Beersheba is possible as a preliminary."
The above is a translation of a telegram sent to the GOC of the Turkish 4th Army on 16 August 1917. Essentially, it summarises what they suspect will be the Allied offensive strategy for taking Gaza. In terms of anticipation, the assessment turned out to be completely correct in every aspect.
Harold Spence wrote this amusing vignette about his time in the Jordan Valley. It was a tough place for the Light Horse with temperatures hovering around 45C daily, mararia breeding in the rivers and Turks attacking on a regular basis. It was the setting for some larconic humour. This item was penned for the August edition of the Ki-ora Coo-ee.
Ki-Ora Coo-Ee, August 1918, p. 15. [Click on article for larger print version.]
Here are the brief biographical notes on Spence extracted from the ADFA AIF Project.
Religion Church of England Occupation Station overseer Address Cobden, Victoria Marital status Single Age at embarkation 30 Next of kin Mother, Mrs Elizabeth Spence, Cobden, Victoria Enlistment date 17 July 1915 Rank on enlistment Private Unit name 12th Light Horse Regiment, 5th Reinforcement AWM Embarkation Roll number 10/17/2 Embarkation details Unit embarked from Sydney, New South Wales, on board HMAT A32 Themistocles on 5 October 1915 Rank from Nominal Roll Private Unit from Nominal Roll 12th Light Horse Regiment Fate Returned to Australia 23 December 1918
Blackboy Hill Camp, September 1914 Topic: Gen - St - WA
Below are a series of photographs that appeared in the Western Mail detailing activities undertaken by the Light Horse squadron at the beginning.
1. Mounting the guard at the camp.
Western Mail, 25 September 1914, p. 23.
This fellow looks very serious with his rifle and bayonet as he stands guard outside a tent. There is nothing to indicate the value of the tent nor does it look like the camp entrance so I am not quite sure what the fellow is guarding. Possibly one for the camera. The fellow in the photograph is an infantry man.
2. Horseback wrestling.
This was a very popular sport which carried with it the benefit of practising the art of staying in the saddle despite adversity.
Western Mail, 25 September 1914, p. 23.
The horse on the left does not look like it is enjoying the game while the horse to the right seems to be thinking about having a nap.
3. Kitchen duties.
An army marches on its stomach and Blackboy Hill was no exception. This is the ubiquitous scene at every camp. Some poor fellow peeling spuds.
Western Mail, 18 September 1914, p. 24.
Another bag of spuds to go. If you look at the fellow's shirt, you can see a chain lanyard leading to his left breast pocket - I suspect that is his pocket watch.
Diaries of AIF Servicemen, Bert Schramm, 6 July 1918 Topic: Diary - Schramm
Diaries of AIF Servicemen
Bert Schramm
6 July 1918
Bert Schramm
2823 Private Herbert Leslie SCHRAMM, a 22 year old Farmer from Whites River, South Australia. He enlisted on 17 February 1916; and at the conclusion of the war Returned to Australia, 10 July 1919.
During part of the course of his military service with the AIF, Bert Schramm kept a diary of his life. Bert was not a man of letters so this diary was produced with great effort on his behalf. Bert made a promise to his sweetheart, Lucy Solley, that he would do so after he received the blank pocket notebook wherein these entries are found. As a Brigade Scout since September 1918, he took a lead part in the September Offensive by the Allied forces in Palestine. Bert's diary entries are placed alongside those of the 9th Light Horse Regiment to which he belonged and to the 3rd Light Horse Brigade to which the 9th LHR was attached. On this basis we can follow Bert in the context of his formation.
The Diaries
The complete diary is now available on the Australian Light Horse Studies Centre Site at:
Nominal Roll, AWM133, Nominal Roll of Australian Imperial Force who left Australia for service abroad, 1914-1918 War.
War Diaries and Letters
All War Diaries and letters cited on this site should be read in conjunction with the Australian Light Horse Studies Centre, War Diaries and Letters, Site Transcription Policy which may be accessed at:
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 War Diary - Routine training and patrol work.
Two hours training carried out daily.
1917
Friday, July 6, 1917
9th Light Horse Regiment Location - El Shellal
9th Light Horse Regiment War Diary - The Regiment formed up at 1230 in readiness to move out and the 6th Light Horse Regiment took over the camp - all tents being left standing.
Joined the remainder of the Brigade and proceeded to camp left by New Zealanders south of Abasan el Kebir.
The Australian Light Horse Studies Centre is a not for profit and non profit group whose sole aim is to write the early history of the Australian Light Horse from 1900
- 1920. It is privately funded and the information is provided by the individuals within the group and while permission for the use of the material has been given for this
site for these items by various donors, the residual and actual copyright for these items, should there be any, resides exclusively with the donors. The information on
this site is freely available for private research use only and if used as such, should be appropriately acknowledged. To assist in this process, each item has a citation
attached at the bottom for referencing purposes.
Please Note: No express or implied permission is given for commercial use of the information contained within this site.
A note to copyright holders
The Australian Light Horse Studies Centre has made every endeavour to contact copyright holders of material digitised for this blog and website and where
appropriate, permission is still being sought for these items. Where replies were not received, or where the copyright owner has not been able to be traced, or where
the permission is still being sought, the Australian Light Horse Studies Centre has decided, in good faith, to proceed with digitisation and publication. Australian Light
Horse Studies Centre would be happy to hear from copyright owners at any time to discuss usage of this item.