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100th Anniversary of the battleof Beersheba - Australian light horse

Discussion in 'Roll of Honor & Memories - All Other Conflicts' started by CAC, Oct 24, 2017.

  1. CAC

    CAC Ace of Spades

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    George Patton, lwd and TIRDAD like this.
  2. JJWilson

    JJWilson Well-Known Member

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    Incredibly brave men too charge into that amount of fire like that. I thought it would be a similar fate of the movie War Horse where the machine guns decimate the cavalry. Always great to learn about things I have not heard about before.
     
  3. CAC

    CAC Ace of Spades

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    The Aussies weren't given any water by the Brits (don't get me started) - and told that they had to march to Beersheba and then take the town (with the wells intact) if they wanted a drink! This is the desert we are talking about here! So it was the need and desire to water their horses that gave them steel...
     
    Last edited: Oct 24, 2017
  4. JJWilson

    JJWilson Well-Known Member

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    Well desperation will do that to ya. The last major Japanese assaults on Iwo Jima were to retake wells the U.S forces had secured early on.
     
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  5. TIRDAD

    TIRDAD Active Member

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    What a nice hat.

    what a nice topic.

    Thanks for sharing
     
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  6. lwd

    lwd Ace

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    The "Light Horsemen" is one of my favorite movies. Reasonably accurate historically I believe as well. Aside from Lawrence that campaign gets ignored a lot.
     
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  7. Terry D

    Terry D Well-Known Member

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    Magnificent though the final ALH charge was, they didn't win the battle all by themselves. It should also be remembered that the British infantry of XX Corps (60th and 74th divisions) and the NZ Mounted Rifles played major parts at Beersheba. The ALH might have been badly cut up by Turkish MGs if the Notts Battery RHA (TF) hadn't suppressed their fire. Amazingly, the whole Desert Mounted Corps lost less than 200 men.

    I have been to Beersheba, and the town is quite as interesting as the battle. It's a major city which doesn't feel like one; it's still nearly surrounded by the desert and the tall, modern apartment blocks seem very much out of place. It has more Black Jews (Falashas from Ethiopia, who tend to be poor) than other places in Israel, and they at least seem to belong. There is an old Arab-Turkish quarter, reminiscent of what the whole region must have been like 100 years ago. There is also an equestrian statue of Allenby, which is entirely appropriate, and a large Commonwealth war cemetery which is beautifully cared for. Australians, British, and Enzedders are buried there side by side.

    I visited Beersheba with a beautiful Israeli girl with whom I was very much in love. It didn't work out, alas. I still think of you, Meirav.
     
  8. CAC

    CAC Ace of Spades

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    Indeed certain MG nests and artillery positions to the sides were expertly taken out by commonwealth artillery...within seconds of them opening up. Should also be noted that the wells didn't hold much water in them either!
    All those beautiful horses you see are Australian Walers...
    Wiki:
    The Waler is an Australian breed of riding horses that developed from the horses that were brought to the Australian colonies in the 19th century. The name comes from their early breeding origins in New South Wales; they were originally known as New South Walers.

    These champion horses can go all day...indeed on the day of the charge the horses had walked all day -without water- and still had enough in the tank for a late afternoon gallop and charge! The CO knowing once they got there that they had to take the place before nightfall...they were given the order but the CO had decided to go before they received it.

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    From memory 68 of these lovely horses were killed in the charge...many just feet away from the trenches.
    Australia has always had strict laws regarding animals...these horses weren't allowed back in Australia, and were mostly given away to locals...most likely for farming or other work.

    These same laws almost put Johnny Depp in prison! For a "pirates of the Caribean" film he was doing at the Gold Coast in Queensland - he brought his two little dogs with him and didn't declare them (they would have been put in quarantine for at least two months) - The Minister got involved and gave Depp a way out...he had to make a video (ISIS style) saying how stupid he had been and that the laws are there for a good reason and that he wont do this again...and...we let him go.
     
    Last edited: Oct 25, 2017

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