General News
31 October, 2026
Looking back at Sinai, Palestine campaigns
The Sinai and Palestine Campaign was fought from January 28, 1915, to October 31, 1918, by mounted units in the deserts of Egypt, continuing the fight against the Ottoman Army after the withdrawal from Gallipoli, when most of the AIF was sent to the Western Front.
The Sinai and Palestine Campaign was fought from January 28, 1915, to October 31, 1918, by mounted units in the deserts of Egypt, continuing the fight against the Ottoman Army after the withdrawal from Gallipoli, when most of the AIF was sent to the Western Front.
The campaign’s most prominent battles include the Battle of Romani, the Battles of Gaza, the Battle of Jerusalem, Trans-Jordan raids, the Battle of Megiddo, the Capture of Damascus and the armistice of Mudros.
The Middle Eastern theatre of WWI was characterised by open warfare and mounted operations rather than offensives directed at trench lines.
The Australian Light Horse were a core part of the Anzac Mounted Division and became some of the most recognised and feared infantry of the First World War.
Australia initially promised four light horse regiments (2000 men) to the British cause, but by the end of the war, 16 regiments would be in action.
Young countrymen flocked to join what was seen as the national arm of Australia’s defence.
Recruits took riding tests that usually involved jumping a fence bareback, as well as strict medical tests.
The Army preferred Waler horses because they were well suited to desert conditions, could carry heavy loads, and go longer without water.
Light horsemen typically fought in a dismounted role, riding in sections of four men, with three dismounting to engage with the enemy on foot, while the fourth held the reins of the horses in his section.
The use of horses made the force more mobile and faster than infantry units and horse-drawn artillery.
The Battle of Romani, fought from August 3 to 5, 1916, stopped the Ottoman threat to the Suez Canal and marked the beginning of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force’s drive out of Egypt and into Palestine.
Major-General Harry Chauvel’s Anzac Mounted Division was dispersed in position along the Romani tableland when, in the initial phase of the attack, 500 light horsemen from the 1st Light Horse Brigade held off a surprise attack by roughly 8,000 Ottoman troops.
Over August 4 and 5, the rest of the Anzac Mounted Division, including the 2nd and 3rd Light Horse Brigades, alongside the New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade and British infantry, joined the fight.
Over the course of the battle, around 6,000-10,000 Allies fought against 16,000 Ottoman attackers, of whom the Australians sustained 623 casualties, including 104 killed in action.
The Ottoman threat to the Suez Canal ended with the Allied victory at Romani in August 1916, enabling the Australians and other units in the EEF to advance into Ottoman territory.
The heroic feats of the Australian Light Horse at the Battle of Beersheba have gone down in history as Australia’s last great cavalry charge, a testament to the courage and endurance of the young countrymen.
The town of Be’er-Sheva was significant because it housed the ancient wells of Abraham and had an ‘unlimited’ supply of water.
It also allowed the Allies to break the Ottoman line and advance on to Palestine.
British Field Marshal Edmund Allenby conceived a plan to deceive the enemy that they would be attacking Gaza while the main force was to attack Beersheba in the east, before cutting across behind Gaza.
After three sleepless nights trekking through the desert with little water (many horses went 48 hours without water and some up to 60 hours), the 4th and 12th Light Horse regiments made it to Beersheba.
After battles that ran all day, capturing Beersheba by nightfall was crucial, and time was running out, leaving no option but to charge the enemy cavalry-style rather than dismount and advance on foot as usual.
At dusk, Brigadier William Grant personally addressed the 12th Light Horse Regiment, saying: “Men, you’re fighting for water. There’s no water between this side of Beersheba and Esani. Use your bayonets as swords. I wish you the best of luck.”
The charging force of 800 men (12th and 4th Light Horse Regiments with the 11th following in reserve) set off across 6km of open ground in the full face of Turkish rifle and artillery fire, first at a trot, then a canter and finally a full-blown charge.
They wielded their bayonets and yelled as they went.
It took less than an hour for the Allies to overwhelm the Turks and capture Beersheba.
Miraculously, only 31 Light Horsemen were killed, with a further 36 wounded, and a total of 70 horses killed, with over 60 wounded.
Over 1000 Turkish prisoners were taken.
The battle's success sent fear into the Germans and Turks, and one captured German staff officer concluded, “They are not soldiers at all; they are madmen.”
The 4th Light Horse Regiment was raised in Victoria, with many young men flocking from the Wimmera to enlist.
Second Lieutenant Francis James Burton of Nullan enlisted in the 4th Light Horse Regiment on August 22, 1914, and was killed in action at Beersheba on October 31, 1917.
Published in the Hopetoun Courier on February 15, 1918, was a letter from Captain Frank Phillips of Minyip to Mrs F. Burton, a tribute to her son.
“We were shown Beersheba at 4pm on 31-10-1917, and were told it must fall that night.
It fell! And Frank was part of the price of the victory.
We charged on our horses and went over in three glorious lines.
Frank was in the front line of our sector; I was in the third.
The front line (under Captain James Lawson) bore the fighting and cleared the way.
Frank fell at the head of his men and died almost at once.
A stretcher-bearer stopped to attend him, and Frank said (his last words), “Go on, leave me, I’m done” - typical of him - always others first.
The following day, I went back over the battlefield and saw Frank’s body.
The day before the attack, Frank said to me, “Flippy, I reckon I’m going to get a ‘ping’ tomorrow.”
A common misconception is that after the war, all Walers were shot by their riders, but this is not completely the case.
The Australian government had quarantine concerns, so, for fear of disease, it did not allow any horses to be brought home.
The best horses went to Britain for breeding or as cavalry; others were sold to the British Army and went on to serve in India, and some were sold to Belgian farmers or as horsemeat.
All horses over the age of 12 and those that were sick or injured were systematically shot.
Of the 136,000 Walers sent from Australia, 40,000 took part in the campaign.
Out of 136,000 Walers, only one horse returned home to Australia.
Their rider allegedly destroyed only 250 without permission, for fear of mistreatment if they were sold to local farmers.
Around 20,000 Light Horsemen served during the course of the campaign, with total Australian casualties in the EEF, including the Australian Light Horse, being just over 4,000, with 574 killed in action and another 288 dying of their wounds.
The campaign ended on October 31, 1918, a few weeks after the capture of Damascus.
In all, the Allies drove the Turks back some 1000km between 1915 and 1918.
The success of the campaign ultimately led to the downfall of the Ottoman Empire and the creation of modern-day countries like Turkey in 1922.
A collection of local Light Horse artefacts will be on display for the public in the James McMillan room at the Horsham RSL on Saturday, October 31, from 10am-2pm.