3rd Light Horse Regiment (Australia)
Encyclopedia
The 3rd Light Horse Regiment was a mounted infantry
regiment
of the Australian Army
during the First World War. The regiment was raised in September 1914, and by December as part of the 1st Light Horse Brigade
had moved overseas. During the war the regiment only fought against the forces of the Ottoman Empire
, in Egypt, at Gallipoli, on the Sinai Peninsula, and in Palestine and Jordan. After the armistice the regiment eventually returned to Australia in March 1919. For its role in the war the regiment was awarded nineteen battle honours.
, South Australia
and in Hobart
,Tasmania
. It had an establishment of twenty-five officers and 497 other ranks
serving in three squadrons, each of six troop
s.
Once formed the regiment was assigned to the 1st Light Horse Brigade
serving alongside the 1st and 2nd
Light Horse Regiments.
All Australian Light Horse regiments used cavalry unit designations, but were mounted infantry
armed with rifles, not swords or lances, and mounted exclusively on the Australian Waler horse
.
. Until May 1915, when they left for the Gallipoli campaign with the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps
(ANZAC).
peninsula on 12 May 1915. Here regiment fought in the Landing at Anzac Cove
, and the Battle of Sari Bair
, but spent most of the campaign in a defensive posture. The regiment left Gallipoli for Egypt in December 1915, by which time they had earned four battle honours.
, responsible for the defence of the Suez canal from raiding Senussi
arabs. The on 4 August 1916, they fought in the Battle of Romani
, before being withdrawn to rest and refit. The regiment rejoined the brigade in November and took part in the battles of Maghaba and Rafa
in December 1916 and January 1917. The was followed by defeat in the second battle of Gaza
in April 1917, and the successful Battle of Beersheba and the third battle of Gaza
in October and November.
The regiment followed up the retreating Ottoman forces and fought in the battle of Mughar Ridge
the battle of Nebi Samwill, the battle of Jerusalam
, the battle of Jaffa
, the capture of Jericho
, the attack on Amman
, the attack on Es Salt
and finally in September and October 1918 the battles and Megiddo and Nablus
.
The Ottoman Empire signed the Armistice of Mudros
on 30 October 1918, and the regiment sailed for Australia in March 1919. Their campaigns in the First World War had cost them 158 men killed and 653 men wounded.
Defence at ANZAC
Suvla
Sari Bair
Gallipoli 1915–1916Egypt 1915–1917
Romani
Magdhaba-Rafah
Gaza-Beersheba
El Mughar
Nebi SamwillJerusalem
Jaffa
Jericho
Jordan (Es Salt)
Jordan (Amman)
Megiddo
Nablus
Palestine 1917–1918
Mounted infantry
Mounted infantry were soldiers who rode horses instead of marching, but actually fought on foot . The original dragoons were essentially mounted infantry...
regiment
Regiment
A regiment is a major tactical military unit, composed of variable numbers of batteries, squadrons or battalions, commanded by a colonel or lieutenant colonel...
of the Australian Army
Australian Army
The Australian Army is Australia's military land force. It is part of the Australian Defence Force along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. While the Chief of Defence commands the Australian Defence Force , the Army is commanded by the Chief of Army...
during the First World War. The regiment was raised in September 1914, and by December as part of the 1st Light Horse Brigade
1st Light Horse Brigade
The 1st Light Horse Brigade was a mounted infantry brigade of the First Australian Imperial Force which served in the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I. The brigade first saw action during the Dardanelles Campaign in the Battle of Gallipoli. After being withdrawn to Egypt in February 1916 they...
had moved overseas. During the war the regiment only fought against the forces of the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
, in Egypt, at Gallipoli, on the Sinai Peninsula, and in Palestine and Jordan. After the armistice the regiment eventually returned to Australia in March 1919. For its role in the war the regiment was awarded nineteen battle honours.
Formation
On 17 August 1914, the 3rd Light Horse Regiment was raised in AdelaideAdelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
, South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
and in Hobart
Hobart
Hobart is the state capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Founded in 1804 as a penal colony,Hobart is Australia's second oldest capital city after Sydney. In 2009, the city had a greater area population of approximately 212,019. A resident of Hobart is known as...
,Tasmania
Tasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
. It had an establishment of twenty-five officers and 497 other ranks
Other Ranks
Other Ranks in the British Army, Royal Marines and Royal Air Force are those personnel who are not commissioned officers. In the Royal Navy, these personnel are called ratings...
serving in three squadrons, each of six troop
Troop
A troop is a military unit, originally a small force of cavalry, subordinate to a squadron and headed by the troop leader. In many armies a troop is the equivalent unit to the infantry section or platoon...
s.
Once formed the regiment was assigned to the 1st Light Horse Brigade
1st Light Horse Brigade
The 1st Light Horse Brigade was a mounted infantry brigade of the First Australian Imperial Force which served in the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I. The brigade first saw action during the Dardanelles Campaign in the Battle of Gallipoli. After being withdrawn to Egypt in February 1916 they...
serving alongside the 1st and 2nd
2nd Light Horse Regiment (Australia)
The 2nd Light Horse Regiment was a mounted infantry regiment of the Australian Army during the First World War. The regiment was raised in September 1914, and by December as part of the 1st Light Horse Brigade had moved overseas. During the war the regiment only fought against the forces of the...
Light Horse Regiments.
All Australian Light Horse regiments used cavalry unit designations, but were mounted infantry
Mounted infantry
Mounted infantry were soldiers who rode horses instead of marching, but actually fought on foot . The original dragoons were essentially mounted infantry...
armed with rifles, not swords or lances, and mounted exclusively on the Australian Waler horse
Waler horse
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...
.
Departure for Egypt
In October 1914 the regiment left Australia arriving in Egypt in December. Here they took part in the North African campaign defending the Suez canalSuez Canal
The Suez Canal , also known by the nickname "The Highway to India", is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. Opened in November 1869 after 10 years of construction work, it allows water transportation between Europe and Asia without navigation...
. Until May 1915, when they left for the Gallipoli campaign with the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps
Australian and New Zealand Army Corps
The Australian and New Zealand Army Corps was a First World War army corps of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force that was formed in Egypt in 1915 and operated during the Battle of Gallipoli. General William Birdwood commanded the corps, which comprised troops from the First Australian Imperial...
(ANZAC).
Gallipoli
The regiment left their horses in Egypt, and arrived at the GallipoliGallipoli
The Gallipoli peninsula is located in Turkish Thrace , the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles straits to the east. Gallipoli derives its name from the Greek "Καλλίπολις" , meaning "Beautiful City"...
peninsula on 12 May 1915. Here regiment fought in the Landing at Anzac Cove
Landing at Anzac Cove
The landing at Anzac Cove was part of the amphibious invasion of the Gallipoli Peninsula by Australian and New Zealand forces on 25 April 1915. The landing, north of Gaba Tepe on the Aegean coast of the Peninsula, was made by soldiers of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps and was the first...
, and the Battle of Sari Bair
Battle of Sari Bair
The Battle of Sari Bair , also known as the August Offensive, was the final attempt made by the British in August 1915 to seize control of the Gallipoli peninsula from the Ottoman Empire during First World War.The Battle of Gallipoli had raged on two fronts, Anzac and Helles, for three months since...
, but spent most of the campaign in a defensive posture. The regiment left Gallipoli for Egypt in December 1915, by which time they had earned four battle honours.
Sinai and Palestine Campaign
Back in Egypt, the regiment still with the 1st Light Horse Brigade, became part of the ANZAC Mounted DivisionAnzac Mounted Division
The ANZAC Mounted Division was a mounted infantry and mounted rifles division formed in March 1916 in Egypt during World War I following the Battle of Gallipoli when the Australian and New Zealand regiments returned from fighting dismounted as infantry...
, responsible for the defence of the Suez canal from raiding Senussi
Senussi
The Senussi or Sanussi refers to a Muslim political-religious order in Libya and the Sudan region founded in Mecca in 1837 by the Grand Senussi, Sayyid Muhammad ibn Ali as-Senussi. Senussi was concerned with both the decline of Islamic thought and spirituality and the weakening of Muslim political...
arabs. The on 4 August 1916, they fought in the Battle of Romani
Battle of Romani
The Battle of Romani was fought east of the Suez Canal, near the Egyptian town of Romani and the site of ancient Pelusium on the Sinai Peninsula during the First World War...
, before being withdrawn to rest and refit. The regiment rejoined the brigade in November and took part in the battles of Maghaba and Rafa
Battle of Magdhaba
The Battle of Magdhaba took place on 23 December 1916 south and east of Bir Lahfan in the Sinai desert, some inland from the Mediterranean coast and the town of El Arish...
in December 1916 and January 1917. The was followed by defeat in the second battle of Gaza
Second Battle of Gaza
The Second Battle of Gaza, fought in southern Palestine during the First World War, was another attempt mounted by British Empire forces to break Ottoman defences along the Gaza-Beersheba line...
in April 1917, and the successful Battle of Beersheba and the third battle of Gaza
Third Battle of Gaza
The Third Battle of Gaza was fought in 1917 in southern Palestine during the First World War. The British Empire forces under the command of General Edmund Allenby successfully broke the Ottoman defensive Gaza-Beersheba line...
in October and November.
The regiment followed up the retreating Ottoman forces and fought in the battle of Mughar Ridge
Battle of Mughar Ridge
The Battle of El Mughar Ridge , took place on 13 November 1917 during the Sinai and Palestine Campaign of the First World War...
the battle of Nebi Samwill, the battle of Jerusalam
Battle of Jerusalem (1917)
The Battle of Jerusalem developed from 17 November with fighting continuing until 30 December 1917 during the Sinai and Palestine Campaign of World War I...
, the battle of Jaffa
Battle of Jerusalem (1917)
The Battle of Jerusalem developed from 17 November with fighting continuing until 30 December 1917 during the Sinai and Palestine Campaign of World War I...
, the capture of Jericho
Capture of Jericho (1918)
The Capture of Jericho occurred between 19–21 February 1918 to the east of Jerusalem during the Sinai and Palestine Campaign of World War I. Fighting took place in an area bordered by the Bethlehem to Nablus road in the west and the Jordan River in the east and north of a line from Jerusalem to the...
, the attack on Amman
First Transjordan attack on Amman (1918)
The First Transjordan attack on Amman was part of the Sinai and Palestine Campaign of World War I. Between 21 and 30 March 1918, three separate engagements occurred which together form the First Transjordan attack...
, the attack on Es Salt
Second Transjordan attack on Shunet Nimrin and Es Salt (1918)
Officially known by the British as the Second attack at Es Salt and by the Germans as the Second Battle of the Jordan, the Second Transjordan attack on Shunet Nimrin and Es Salt was fought between 30 April and 4 May 1918 in the Middle East during the Sinai and Palestine Campaign of World War I...
and finally in September and October 1918 the battles and Megiddo and Nablus
Battle of Megiddo (1918)
The Battle of Megiddo took place between 19 September and 1 October 1918, in what was then the northern part of Ottoman Palestine and parts of present-day Syria and Jordan...
.
The Ottoman Empire signed the Armistice of Mudros
Armistice of Mudros
The Armistice of Moudros , concluded on 30 October 1918, ended the hostilities in the Middle Eastern theatre between the Ottoman Empire and the Allies of World War I...
on 30 October 1918, and the regiment sailed for Australia in March 1919. Their campaigns in the First World War had cost them 158 men killed and 653 men wounded.
Commanding Officers
- Lieutenant-Colonel Frank Milton Rowel
- Lieutenant-Colonel George John Bell
- Lieutenant-Colonel David Fulton
Battle honours
ANZACLanding at Anzac Cove
The landing at Anzac Cove was part of the amphibious invasion of the Gallipoli Peninsula by Australian and New Zealand forces on 25 April 1915. The landing, north of Gaba Tepe on the Aegean coast of the Peninsula, was made by soldiers of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps and was the first...
Defence at ANZAC
Landing at Anzac Cove
The landing at Anzac Cove was part of the amphibious invasion of the Gallipoli Peninsula by Australian and New Zealand forces on 25 April 1915. The landing, north of Gaba Tepe on the Aegean coast of the Peninsula, was made by soldiers of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps and was the first...
Suvla
Landing at Suvla Bay
The landing at Suvla Bay was an amphibious landing made at Suvla on the Aegean coast of Gallipoli peninsula in the Ottoman Empire as part of the August Offensive, the final British attempt to break the deadlock of the Battle of Gallipoli...
Sari Bair
Battle of Sari Bair
The Battle of Sari Bair , also known as the August Offensive, was the final attempt made by the British in August 1915 to seize control of the Gallipoli peninsula from the Ottoman Empire during First World War.The Battle of Gallipoli had raged on two fronts, Anzac and Helles, for three months since...
Gallipoli 1915–1916Egypt 1915–1917
First Suez Offensive
The First Suez Offensive took place between the Ottoman Empire and the British Empire in the Sinai and Palestine Campaign of World War I...
Romani
Battle of Romani
The Battle of Romani was fought east of the Suez Canal, near the Egyptian town of Romani and the site of ancient Pelusium on the Sinai Peninsula during the First World War...
Magdhaba-Rafah
Battle of Magdhaba
The Battle of Magdhaba took place on 23 December 1916 south and east of Bir Lahfan in the Sinai desert, some inland from the Mediterranean coast and the town of El Arish...
Gaza-Beersheba
Third Battle of Gaza
The Third Battle of Gaza was fought in 1917 in southern Palestine during the First World War. The British Empire forces under the command of General Edmund Allenby successfully broke the Ottoman defensive Gaza-Beersheba line...
El Mughar
Battle of Mughar Ridge
The Battle of El Mughar Ridge , took place on 13 November 1917 during the Sinai and Palestine Campaign of the First World War...
Nebi SamwillJerusalem
Battle of Jerusalem (1917)
The Battle of Jerusalem developed from 17 November with fighting continuing until 30 December 1917 during the Sinai and Palestine Campaign of World War I...
Jaffa
Battle of Jerusalem (1917)
The Battle of Jerusalem developed from 17 November with fighting continuing until 30 December 1917 during the Sinai and Palestine Campaign of World War I...
Jericho
Capture of Jericho (1918)
The Capture of Jericho occurred between 19–21 February 1918 to the east of Jerusalem during the Sinai and Palestine Campaign of World War I. Fighting took place in an area bordered by the Bethlehem to Nablus road in the west and the Jordan River in the east and north of a line from Jerusalem to the...
Jordan (Es Salt)
Second Transjordan attack on Shunet Nimrin and Es Salt (1918)
Officially known by the British as the Second attack at Es Salt and by the Germans as the Second Battle of the Jordan, the Second Transjordan attack on Shunet Nimrin and Es Salt was fought between 30 April and 4 May 1918 in the Middle East during the Sinai and Palestine Campaign of World War I...
Jordan (Amman)
First Transjordan attack on Amman (1918)
The First Transjordan attack on Amman was part of the Sinai and Palestine Campaign of World War I. Between 21 and 30 March 1918, three separate engagements occurred which together form the First Transjordan attack...
Megiddo
Battle of Megiddo (1918)
The Battle of Megiddo took place between 19 September and 1 October 1918, in what was then the northern part of Ottoman Palestine and parts of present-day Syria and Jordan...
Nablus
Battle of Megiddo (1918)
The Battle of Megiddo took place between 19 September and 1 October 1918, in what was then the northern part of Ottoman Palestine and parts of present-day Syria and Jordan...
Palestine 1917–1918
Sinai and Palestine Campaign
The Sinai and Palestine Campaigns took place in the Middle Eastern Theatre of World War I. A series of battles were fought between British Empire, German Empire and Ottoman Empire forces from 26 January 1915 to 31 October 1918, when the Armistice of Mudros was signed between the Ottoman Empire and...
Further reading
- N.C. Smith, The Third Australian Light Horse Regiment 1914-1918: A short history and listing of those who served