"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.
Thursday, 14 August 2008
22nd Corps Cavalry Routine Order 543, 8 January 1918 Topic: AIF - Fr - 22 Corps
Apart from the War Diary which presents a reflected view of Regimental history, one of the best sources of understanding the immediate challenges facing a regiment is to be found in the Routine Orders. They are a wealth of detail.
In this case, the 22nd Corps Cavalry Routine Orders for 1918 have been highlighted to illustrate the tempo of this formation from the beginning of the year towards the end of the war. The aim is to illustrate the tumultuous year that followed ending in the defeat of Germany. Too little is known of the role regarding the Light Horse in the drama on the Western Front. This should address some shortfalls of information.
22nd Corps Cavalry Routine Order 543, 8 January 1918
22nd Corps Cavalry Routine Order 543, 8 January 1918, p. 1.
[Click on page for a larger print version.]
22nd Corps Cavalry War Diary entry, 8 January 1918
As can be seen, the brevity of the War Diary entry does not give the whole story of the regiment.
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 - Camped at Hod Nabit. Well of fair water sunk by engineers.
Men and horses resting.
1917
Tuesday, August 14, 1917
9th Light Horse Regiment Location - Tel el Marakeb
9th Light Horse Regiment War Diary - Range practice and lectures as per syllabus.
1918
Wednesday, August 14, 1918
9th Light Horse Regiment Location - Ain Ed Duk
9th Light Horse Regiment War Diary - The day was spent in laying out the camping area. All ranks greatly appreciated being near water also shower baths which had been erected by previous units.
Hargrave, Lieutenant LMS, MC; and, 41 Other Ranks marched out to report to 2nd Battalion British West Indies Regiment as close support troops in No 4 Sub Sector relieving personnel of 10th Light Horse Regiment.
Patrols were supplied on No 4 Sub Sector as per orders.
1919
Thursday, August 14, 1919
9th Light Horse Regiment Location - Adelaide
9th Light Horse Regiment War Diary - Regiment disbanded.
Diaries of AIF Servicemen, Bert Schramm, 14 August 1918 Topic: Diary - Schramm
Diaries of AIF Servicemen
Bert Schramm
14 August 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, 11 - 18 August 1918
[Click on page for a larger print version.]
Bert Schramm
Wednesday, August 14, 1918
Bert Schramm's Location - Ain Ed Duk, Jordan Valley, Palestine.
Bert Schramm's Diary - Arrived in camp about 4 am this morning and are camped near the water. A number of us have to go out in support to the B.W.I. tonight.
9th Light Horse Regiment Location - Ain Ed Duk, Jordan Valley, Palestine.
9th Light Horse Regiment War Diary - The day was spent in laying out the camping area. All ranks greatly appreciated being near water also shower baths which had been erected by previous units. Hargrave, Lieutenant LMS, MC; and, 41 Other Ranks marched out to report to 2nd Battalion British West Indies Regiment as close support troops in No 4 Sub Sector relieving personnel of 10th Light Horse Regiment. Patrols were supplied on No 4 Sub Sector as per orders.
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:
Report on reconnaissance to Muksheib by Capt Wearne, Page 1 Topic: AIF - DMC - Anzac MD
Report on reconnaissance to Muksheib by Capt Wearne, Page 1
Captain Albert Ernest Wearne was a key Brigade Scout for the 3rd LH Bde after the move to Serapeum on 28 February 1916. He was a skillful scout and the right choice for this new project involving the untried abilities of the Light Horse.
The aim of the expedition was to mount a reconnaissance overland to Wadi um Muksheib where earlier on in the year, the Turks were reported employing work parties to improve the water cisterns in the wadi’s catchment area. In addition they were ordered to inspect the water supply at Moiya Harab and El Hassif. Finally they were to report on their impressions of the land regarding distances and time required for travel, water supplies and other preparations necessary to move a large body of men across arid plains.
Two novelties were to be employed. The first was air support. An aircraft was allocated to fly in advance of the column. The pilot was given specific instructions to report on the countryside ahead of the column with a careful eye out for Turkish troops. This reduced the need for the column to send out advanced guards which then allowed the column greater speed and flexibility. The other novelty was the use of wireless. A radio transmitter was to be carried for the specific purposes of maintaining constant communication with the Anzac Mounted Division at the Canal.
By use of both technologies, it was hoped that mounted men could move rapidly because their need for supplies would be kept to a minimum. Such long-range reconnaissances then would have the ability to strike the Turks hard and disappear before the Turks were able to respond in any effective manner. Since they would have speed on their side, they could make their getaway in relative safety, always knowing the location of any pursuing enemy. If this could be achieved, a long-range raid could sever communication link over the Darb el Maghaza, the new route the Turks were developing, which ran through Bir el Jifjafa. Cutting off this route would restrict any further Turkish advances to the more established Darb el Sultani that followed the coast by way of Katia. The impact on British strategy would be huge, allowing the British to concentrate their defence of Egypt on a confined front.
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.