Fall of Beersheba The Australians suffered 67 casualties. Two officers and 29 other ranks were killed, and 8 officers and 28 other ranks wounded. The fall of Beersheba opened the way to outflank the Gaza—Beersheba Line.
31 light horsemen were killed in the charge and 36 were wounded.
Decisive victory at Beersheba fell to one of the last great charges of mounted troops in history. As Australian Light Horse Divisions captured the town and secured crucial water wells, their success also marked the beginning of the end of the war in the Middle East.
On this day in 1917, the cavalry charge of the Australian 4th Light Horse Brigade broke through Turkish defences to capture the town of Beersheba. This was of great strategic importance as it cleared the way for the British to advance on Gaza, which they had failed to capture on two previous occasions during 1917.
Over 1000 Turkish prisoners were taken. 31 men from the Light Horse were killed, 36 were wounded, 70 horses killed with over 60 wounded. The British lost 171 troops killed in action earlier in the day attempting to take Beersheba. Ottoman casualties are believed to be about 1000 (killed and wounded).
In the Battle of Beersheba, the light horsemen rode in with their bayonets. Their rifles were slung over their backs. In 1918, some regiments were issued with sabres so they act like cavalry, but mostly they dismounted to fight. The Australians served alongside British and Indian cavalry units in many operations.
Beersheba is first mentioned as the site where Abraham, founder of the Jewish people, made a covenant with the Philistine king Abimelech of Gerar (Genesis 21). Isaac and Jacob, the other patriarchs, also lived there (Genesis 26, 28, 46).
Late on 31 October 1917 the 4th Light Horse Brigade was ordered to gallop towards Beersheba and seize the town. Two regiments, the 4th and the 12th, made the charge. This bold and successful move was one of the last major cavalry charges in history.
The last cavalry charge made on horseback by the U.S. Army took place in 1942, when the United States fought the Japanese army in the Philippines. After that, the mounted cavalry was replaced by tanks.
According to the Hebrew Bible, Abraham's well was seized by Abimelech's men (Genesis 21:25), and Isaac's servants also dug a well at Beersheba (Genesis 26:25). The well is near the Old City of Beersheba and a wadi, Nahal Be'er Sheva, on the road to Neve Noy.
An American aircraft carrier force, supported by Australian warships, HMAS Hobart and HMAS Australia moved into position to stop the Japanese.
Some 8,700 Australians lost their lives and some 18,000 were wounded during the campaign. The most successful operation of the campaign was the evacuation which ended on 19–20 December 1915, conducted under a well-planned deception operation.
A number of Australian light horse units are still in existence today, generally as Royal Australian Armoured Corps (RAAC) cavalry units.
The name Beersheba comes from the Hebrew Be'er Sheva, meaning well of seven or well of oaths.
A cavalry is a group of soldiers who fight on horses.
The Lighthorsemen is a 1987 Australian war film about the men of a World War I light horse unit involved in Sinai and Palestine campaign's 1917 Battle of Beersheeba. The film is based on a true story and most of the characters in the film were based on real people.
As dusk fell on the 31st of October 1917, the 4th Light Horse Brigade – bayonets in hand – launched a horseback charge to seize control of the crucial town of Beersheba from the Ottoman Empire.
Beersheba is home to Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. This city also serves as a center for Israel's high-tech and developing technology industry. The city has constructed over 250 roundabouts, earning its moniker as the "Roundabouts Capital of the Israel" and the largest number of roundabouts in the world.
Clearly, Abraham was not with her when she died; Genesis 23 unambiguously states this. The literal text explains that he traveled to Kiryat Arba/Hebron to mourn Sarah (Genesis 23:2).
The Battle in Brief
The charge of the 4th Australian Light Horse at Beersheba late in the afternoon of 31 October 1917, is remembered as the last great cavalry charge. The assault on Beersheba began at dawn with the infantry divisions of the British XX Corps attacking from the south and south-west.
Private Jordon lived just threemonths more, dying of tuberculosis or a broken heart or both, and he too lies in an unmarked grave, in Box Hill Cemetery. And all Australia's other military horses? Around 30,000 died in battle. Several thousand who lived to 12 years of age or suffered ill health were destroyed.
Over 22,000 Australians became prisoners of war of the Japanese in south-east Asia : Army (about 21,000); RAN (354); and RAAF (373). The Army prisoners were largely from the 8th Division captured at the fall of Singapore . Australian troops were also captured on Java, Timor, Ambon and New Britain.
While thousands rushed to volunteer, most of the men accepted into the Australian Imperial Force in August 1914 were sent first to Egypt, not Europe, to meet the threat which a new belligerent, the Ottoman Empire, posed to British interests in the Middle East and the Suez Canal.
The Most Deadly Battle In History: Stalingrad
The figures for the Battle of Stalingrad battle are shocking even by the standards of the other campaigns on this list. Running from August 23, 1942 to February 2, 1943, Stalingrad led to 633,000 battle deaths.