"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.
Monday, 7 July 2008
March Past, Melbourne, 24 September 1914 Topic: Gen - St - Vic
March past by the 4th Light Horse Regiment in Melbourne, 1914.
March past by the 4th Light Horse Regiment.
[From: The Australasian, 3 October 1914, Photograph Supplement, p. 5.]
On 24 September 1914, the infantry and light horse formations training at Broadmeadows organised a march through Melbourne. Below is a picture of the 4th Light Horse Regiment, part of the the 1st Contingent, marching past the Federal Parliament building on a rain soaked Melbourne day.
One of the most important and authoritative books that was written by Lieutenant Colonel Hüseyin Hüsnü Emir, Turkish General Staff, a Turkish officer at the centre of major historical events in Palestine from 1917 to 1917. The book he wrote was called Yilderim which translates into English as either "lightning" or "thunderbolt". This was the name given to the Army formed under the command of General Falkenheyn in 1917. It fought in Palestine until the cessation of hostilities.
The book was 1st published in 1922 in Ottoman Script by the Turkish General Staff War History Department in Ankara. At that time, Turkey was in a state of internal chaos. Mustafa Kemal Pasha was still fighting against the Greeks and British. Hüsnü completed his book on 1 May 1921 in occupied Istanbul and joined the National forces of Mustafa Kemal Pasha in Anatolia with the manuscript. The 2nd edition was published in 2002. The translation presented here comes from the 1st edition.
Every day, one page of the book will be posted. This way, researchers unable to access this valuable resource will be able to see the war as it was fought on the other side of the trench, an important element in producing a balanced account of a particular action.
Colonel Husni, Yilderim, Preface
[Click on page for a larger print version.]
Note: Additional information about Hüsnü was kindly provided by the Turkish author, Tosun Saral. Many thanks to his kind assistance.
Diaries of AIF Servicemen, Bert Schramm, 7 July 1918 Topic: Diary - Schramm
Diaries of AIF Servicemen
Bert Schramm
7 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.
3rd Light Horse Brigade War Diary - Visited No 2 Post with Brigadier [Colonel Smyth].
General Godley Road to be widened to permit guns to be taken to this flank.
Visited Colonel Hughes on "Gascon" Hospital Ship - conferred on several Brigade matters.
Wrote to Australia and New Zealand division asking for cable to be sent for Lieutenant Thorne as soon as possible. He has replaced 8th Light Horse Regiment Crowl killed.
9th Light Horse Regiment War Diary - Routine work.
Training consisting of Rifle exercises and musketry and mounted work.
Patrols and outposts carried on as in previous week
1917
Saturday, July 7, 1917
9th Light Horse Regiment Location - Abasan el Kebir
9th Light Horse Regiment War Diary - The Regiment undertook routine work for the day.
Scott, Lieutenant Colonel WH, DSO, having returned from hospital resumes command of the Regiment, Daly, Major TJ, resuming duties as second in command and Parsons, Major HM, returning to “A” Squadron.
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.
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.
