"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.
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Friday, 11 July 2008
Tractor Park at el Gamli Topic: BatzP - Beersheba
Assembling all the supply services for the soon to happen October offensive in Palestine meant gaining the services of bulk supploy traction vehicles that could move tons of supplies over the desert sands with a certain amount of ease. The caterpiller tracked Tractors presented a suitable solution.
Tractor Park at El Gamli
[Click on picture for larger version.]
The tractors are all parked and lined with stores to enable the engineers to develop wells in the desert. To the left of the picture is a stand carrying corrugated iron, the main material for lining wells.
Another entry from the book written by Lieutenant Colonel Hüseyin Hüsnü Emir, called Yilderim. Every day, one page of the book will be posted. This is Page 4.
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 - Auckland Mounted Rifles, one wounded. 8th Light Horse Regiment, one wounded. Major Parsons to duty. Lieutenant AT Williams sick.
Turks attacked with bombs last night. Responded with a good deal of fire. They set alight to some bodies of Turk soldiers in front of us with bomb fire. This exploded cartridges on bodies and more additional waste fire.
Half company of Maoris into left of fire trenches. Some further retrenching in front. Turks continuing trenches towards "Monash Gully and strengthening approaches to Baby 700.
Heard heavily bombarded Gaba Tepe and Olive Yard.
One battleship with a dozen destroyers. Fixed star signal and lamp on No. 2 Sap to assist Navy in shelling Nek.
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
Wednesday, July 11, 1917
9th Light Horse Regiment Location - Abasan el Kebir
9th Light Horse Regiment War Diary - Squadrons paraded from 0900 to 1000 for preliminary musketry.
1918
Thursday, July 11, 1918
9th Light Horse Regiment Location - Talaat ed Dumm
9th Light Horse Regiment War Diary - In bivouac at Talaat ed Dumm. Orders received to lay out present site as permanent bivouac. Tents were issued and erected and roads made. Owing to hilly and stony nature of site this entailed much hard work.
1919
July 11, 1919
9th Light Horse Regiment Location - SS Oxfordshire
9th Light Horse Regiment War Diary - Check made of hammocks and blankets and messing gear issued.
Diaries of AIF Servicemen, Bert Schramm, 11 July 1918 Topic: Diary - Schramm
Diaries of AIF Servicemen
Bert Schramm
11 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:
Bert Schramm's Handwritten Diary, 7 - 12 July 1918
[Click on page for a larger print version.]
Bert Schramm
Thursday, July 11, 1918
Bert Schramm's Location - Cairo, Egypt.
Bert Schramm's Diary - Have been bugging around all day. Have a fair bit of business to do for others. But am going to have as much rest as possible while I am here and I will probably stay four days.
9th Light Horse Regiment War Diary
9th Light Horse Regiment Location - Talaat ed Dumm, Jordan Valley, Palestine.
9th Light Horse Regiment War Diary - In bivouac at Talaat ed Dumm. Orders received to lay out present site as permanent bivouac. Tents were issued and erected and roads made. Owing to hilly and stony nature of site this entailed much hard work.
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:
3rd LHFA, AIF, Map of the Belah Bombing Raid, 4 May 1917 Topic: AIF - 3B - 3 LHFA
3rd LHFA, AIF
3rd Light Horse Field Ambulance
Map of the Belah Bombing Raid, 4 May 1917
Progressive bombing movement during the Belah Raid, 4 May 1917
[Click on map for a larger version.]
The above diagram is a hand drawn map outlining the layout of the Belah encampment and detailing the progress of the bombing that evening.
The bombing raid upon the 3rd Light Horse Field Ambulance was detailed in a chapter from the 3rd Light Horse Field Ambulance history written by Captain Gerald Stuart and transcribed on this site.
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