"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
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Friday, 9 January 2009
The Battle of Rafa, Sinai, 9 January 1917, 1st Light Horse Regiment, Roll of Honour Topic: AIF - 1B - 1 LHR
The Battle of Rafa
Sinai, 9 January 1917
1st Light Horse Regiment
Roll of Honour
Poppies on the Roll of Honour, Australian War Memorial, Canberra
The Roll of Honour contains the names of all the men from the 1st Light Horse Regiment, AIF known to have given their lives during the Battle of Rafa, Palestine, 9 January 1917.
Roll of Honour
Jack LAW, Killed in Action, 9 January 1917.
Edwin Alexander LEESE, Killed in Action, 9 January 1917.
Francis Theodore STANTON, Died of Wounds, 11 January 1917.
Walter Arthur WALLER, Died of Wounds, 10 January 1917.
The Battle of Magdhaba, Sinai, December 23, 1916, 1st LHR, AIF, War Diary Account Topic: AIF - 1B - 1 LHR
The Battle of Magdhaba
Sinai, 23 December 1916
1st LHR, AIF, War Diary Account
War Diary account of the 1st LHR, AIF.
The transcription:
22 December 1916
Regiment moved out 1830 for Magdhaba 23 miles
23 December 1916
Attacked Turkish position at 0630, "A" Squadron escorted Ayrshire Battery, "B" Squadron reserve and "C" Squadron reinforced right flank at 1500. Turks surrendered with following war material - 4 mountain battery guns, 2 boxes spare parts, 1 stretcher, 34 bags containing small arms ammunition, bandoliers, bayonets and shovels, 1 box component parts, oil engine, 7 boxes small arms ammunition, 13 Turkish fantasses, 1 box machine gun belt, 712 rifles, delivered by Colonel Granville to Headquarters.
24 December 1916
Headquarters and "C" Squadron remained at Magdhaba to clear battle field, bury the dead and destroy all material not transported. "A" Squadron returned as escort to Ayrshire Battery, "B" Squadron with Brigade, "C" Squadron with Headquarters escorted camels as per list during night of 24/25 December. Casualties nil.
The Battle of Magdhaba, Sinai, December 23, 1916, 1st LHR, AIF, Unit History Account Topic: AIF - 1B - 1 LHR
The Battle of Magdhaba
Sinai, 23 December 1916
1st LHR, AIF, Unit History Account
Map of the 1st LHR participation in the Sinai Campaign, 1916-17
[From: Vernon, The Royal New South Wales Lancers 1885-1985, p. 105.]
[Click on map for larger version.]
PV Vernon's 1985 centenary celebration of the Royal New South Wales Lancers included a section on the work performed by the 1st Light Horse Regiment during the Great War. The pages specifically related to the Battle of Magdhaba are extracted below.
Vernon, PV, editor, The Royal New South Wales Lancers 1885-1985, (Sydney 1986), pp. 115 - 116
On the evening of December 22 the regiment moved out for Magdhaba, a fortified military post 23 miles east of el Arish. Captain Weir was now adjutant again A Squadron was detached as escort to the Ayrshire Battery, B was in reserve and "C" in the main body, being used in the later part of the fight to reinforce the right flank. The position was attacked at 6.30 am. after a long night march, rations for horse and man being drawn on the march about four miles from the el Arish wady. The enemy held out nearly all day, being sited in a number of redoubts, but by a few minutes after 4 o'clock the last redoubt had fallen to Chauvel's force, which in this fight consisted of the 1st and 3rd Australian Light Horse Brigades, the New Zealand Mounted Rifles and Imperial Camel Brigades, Inverness and Somerset Batteries and the Hong Kong and Singapore Battery. The enemy surrendered four mountain guns, hundreds of rifles and much ammunition and other material.
Headquarters and "C" Squadron remained all night to clear the battlefield, bury the dead and destroy all material not transportable. Two of the Turkish doctors helped with the wounded, and before the squadron left the fire stick was put into all the buildings.
Christmas Day was spent in resting after the scrap, and the next day General Sir Philip Chetwode, commanding the Desert Column, paraded the Anzac Division and thanked all ranks for their work. It was bitterly cold at this time and rain fell nearly every day. The men had not yet been issued with bivvy sheets, so the Turks' bivvy sheets proved very useful. A patrol in Wady el Arish under Lieutenant Gray, sent to bring back a sand cart left by the medical corps, took six Turks, evidently stragglers from Magdhaba.
The Battle of Beersheba, Palestine, 31 October 1917, 1st ALHR, AIF, War Diary Account Topic: AIF - 1B - 1 LHR
The Battle of Beersheba
Palestine, 31 October 1917
1st LHR, AIF, War Diary Account
War Diary account of the 1st LHR, AIF.
The transcription:
31 October 1917
Arrived at a point half a mile south of Khasam Zanna at 1030 and were then detailed to take up a position on left flank of Inverness Battery which came into position just North of "K" in Khasam at 1100 and to watch left flank of 2nd and 3rd Regiments attacking Tel el Saba.
During this period our advanced troops were heavily shelled.
At 1610 orders were received to attack on line 970 inclusive to Mosque inclusive which line was made good, orders were then received to hold the line for the night and strengthen the position as much as possible.
"A" Squadron under Major A A White MC and "B" Squadron under Captain ES Kater held the line, with two troops of "C" Squadron under Captain FM Mack in Reserve. A few enemy cavalry approached our line during the night but retired on being fired on, one enemy cavalryman being killed.
The Australian Mounted Division attacked on our left with the 3rd LH Brigade on our right, we captured 90 prisoners including 11 officers. Our casualties 2 Other Ranks killed - 1 other rank wounded.
At 1630 two enemy aeroplanes bombed "A" Echelon Transport our casualties 1 Other Rank killed, Second Lieutenant WG Drummond and 8 Other Ranks wounded. 17 draught and 3 riding horses killed. During the day 2 riding horses were killed by shell fire.
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