"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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Tuesday, 9 September 2008
The Battle of Bitapaka, New Guinea, 11 September 1914, Burnell's Photographic Essay, 1914, Part 3 Topic: BatzNG - Bitapaka
The Battle of Bitapaka
New Guinea, 11 September 1914
Burnell's Photographic Essay, 1914, Part 3
A pictorial essay published shortly after the capture of German New Guinea put together by F.S. Burnell. While the book is unabashed propaganda, the photographs in it at times illustrate aspects of the expedition and Rabaul. The following are pictures from the book.
F.S. Burnell, How Australia took German New Guinea - An Illustrated Record of the Australian Naval & Military Expedition Force, Sydney, 1915.
Germans marching into Herbertshohe to effect their surrender.
Germans parade at Herbertshohe prior to their surrender.
German POW's preparing for transport to their internment camp.
Brigade Major FB Heritage reading the Proclamation.
From left to right: Captain Stevenson, RAN, (of Berrima), Surgeon Colonel Howse, VC, PMO, Captain Travers, Intelligence Officer, Lieutenant Basil Holmes, ADC, Colonel Paton, commander at Rabaul, Lieutenant Whittle, RAN, Naval Intelligence Officer, the Trumpeter, Colonel William Holmes, DSO, VD, Brigadier, Brigade Major FB Heritage.
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 - The following officers of the 9th Light Horse Regiment - Captain Follitt, Medical Officer; Lieutenants Chanter, Pender, Dean, Phyllis and Darley, Quartermaster - total 6 and 97 Other Ranks marched in this morning.
Suffolks Infantry marched out - 2 Officers, 167 Other Ranks, total 169.
158 Lance Corporal McDonald, Arthur Elliot, 32, Died of wounds.
9th Light Horse Regiment Routine Order No. 9
Para 182. Bomb Fuses. All bombs when stored in the trenches should have the safety fuse, if protruding, covered with a cartridge case [.303] to preserve the fuse from any flash through exploding bomb or shell.
Para 184. Water Fatigues. Parties drawing water are to be paraded at 1430 daily under an NCO or at any other time arranged by the Quartermaster. The regulation issue is one gallon per capita.
Para 187. Dispositions. The allotment of trenches is as follows; A No. 1 Post from West Point north east intersecting old Turkish trenches to junction of old trench; 10th Light Horse Regiment - Strength during occupation, three Officers, 100 Other Ranks and one section 8th Light Horse Regiment Machine Guns. No. 2 Post on the left of No. 1 Post to old F now called East Point - 9th Light Horse Regiment. Strength at night time, six Officers and 140 Other Ranks and two sections, [9th and 10th Light Horse Regiments] Machine Guns. Troops in occupation of trenches will continue to improve and make them good.
27. Firing Line. Old No.3 Section of the fire trench will be held by A, B, and C, Squadrons with two Officers and 56 Other Ranks. The remainder of the line will be supplied by D Squadron as follows: No. 4 Post, 2 Officers and 41 Other Ranks; No. 5 Post, 1 Officer and 25 Other Ranks; F and G Posts, 1 Officer and 20 Other Ranks; Total, 4 Officers and 86 Other Ranks.
28. Patrols. Sergeant Gordon is detailed to guide the patrols furnished by the 8th Light Horse Regiment to their positions tonight.
1916
Saturday, September 9, 1916
9th Light Horse Regiment Location - Hod Nabit
9th Light Horse Regiment War Diary - Carrying out Routine Work.
On alternate days, one Squadron takes over line of Outposts running from Bayed to Bada and thus connecting with the Imperial Camel Corps on right and New Zealand Mounted Rifles on left.
1917
Sunday, September 9, 1917
9th Light Horse Regiment Location - Abasan el Kebir
9th Light Horse Regiment War Diary - Church Parades cancelled owing to terrific dust.
1918
Monday, September 9, 1918
9th Light Horse Regiment Location - Ludd area
9th Light Horse Regiment War Diary - Syllabus of training for week ending 14th September 1918 issued.
Swordsmanship classes for all ranks commenced.
General health of Regiment now improving. Influenza epidemic has considerably lessened. Evacuations down to about four per day.
1919
Tuesday, September 9, 1919
9th Light Horse Regiment Location - Adelaide
9th Light Horse Regiment War Diary - Regiment disbanded.
Diaries of AIF Servicemen, Bert Schramm, 9 September 1918 Topic: Diary - Schramm
Diaries of AIF Servicemen
Bert Schramm
9 September 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:
9th Light Horse Regiment War Diary - Syllabus of training for week ending 14th September 1918 issued. Swordsmanship classes for all ranks commenced. General health of Regiment now improving. Influenza epidemic has considerably lessened. Evacuations down to about four per day.
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:
22nd Corps Cavalry Routine Order 566, 31 January 1918, p. 1. 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 566, 31 January 1918
22nd Corps Cavalry Routine Order 566, 31 January 1918, p. 1.
Gallipoli Signal No. 5, 29 June 1915 Topic: AIF - 3B - 3 LHB Sigs
One of the most complete set of Light Horse unit signals at Gallipoli belongs to the 3rd Light Horse Brigade. Signals provide a window into the unvarnished form of history. These are the comments made by people who had important needs that required immediate attention. As such, they tell a story about a campaign that existed before the occurence of the newspaper reports leading to the Official Histories and all the other works that followed. Since they do not originate in a vacuum, it is the immediacy of the signal in a dense communication transfer that gives it a unique currency. It is a moment in time. We need all the other items such as the War Diary, Routine Orders and lastly, the published books to get a fully appreciation of the humble signal.
To ensure that this appreciation is available to many, over the coming months, a series of signals will be posted commencing from April till December.
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