Description
Title: 12th Light Horse Regiment, 4th Light Horse Brigade Embarkation Rolls
Author: Smith, Neil
Condition: Mint
Edition: 1st Edition
Publication Date: 200
ISBN: N/A
Cover: Soft Cover without Dust Jacket – 51 pages
Comments: The embarkation rolls of the 12th Light Horse Regiment AIF.
It was 1915 when 12 Australian Light Horse Regiment was formed at Holsworthy (NSW) and many of the recruits were ‘natural soldiers’ – good shots, horsemen and well acquainted with living in the open.
By June they were ready to sail to Egypt, where they received extra training, before going into action without horses (as infantry) at Gallipoli.
By February 1916, the regiment had been reinforced and remounted in Egypt, before joining the main Australian Light Horse force to help eject the Turks and their German support from the Sinai, Palestine and Arabia.
The men endured intense heat, frequent thirst, limited shelter and lack of success against the stubborn Turkish defences at Gaza, then played the leading role in an action that turned the tide of the campaign and secured one of Australia’s greatest Battle Honour – the charge on Beersheba.
In one of the greatest Australian feat of arms, the 12th and 4th regiments, did a ‘Charge of the Light Brigade’ and rode into the mouths of the Turkish guns. The wild, almost reckless charge swept into the town and overwhelmed the defences and the greater part of the enemy immediately surrendered.
After Beersheba, the regiment took part in actions during the advance through Palestine and on to Damascus. The regiment returned to Australia in August 1919 and passed into the annals of Australian military history.
