| Australian Mounted Division | |
|---|---|
| Active |
Imperial Mounted Division 1917 Australian Mounted Division 1917–1919 |
| Country |
 Australia Great Britain France |
| Type | Division |
| Role | Mounted infantry Australian light horse yeomanry cavalry |
| Part of |
Desert Column Desert Mounted Corps Egyptian Expeditionary Force |
| Anniversaries | 31 October Beersheba Day |
| Equipment | Horse rifle and bayonet (Yeomanry armed with swords) 1916–1918. After the Yeomanry were sent to the Western Front, from mid-1918 a sword was added to the Light Horse along with Mixte de Cavalerie du Lavant Regiment |
| Engagements |
|
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Major General Henry West Hodgson (1917–1919) |
| |||||
The Australian Mounted Division originally formed as the Imperial Mounted Division in January 1917, was a mounted infantry, light horse and yeomanry division. The division was formed in Egypt, and along with the Anzac Mounted Division formed part of Desert Column, Egyptian Expeditionary Force in World War I. The division was originally made up of the Australian 3rd Light Horse Brigade, (formerly Anzac Mounted Division) the reconstituted 4th Light Horse Brigade, and two British yeomanry brigades; the 5th Mounted Brigade and 6th Mounted Brigade.[1]
History[]
During the First Battle of Gaza, the division (as the Imperial Mounted Division) provided protection from counter-attack on the eastern flank while the main infantry assault was underway. The brigades became the rearguard during the withdrawal from Gaza after the attack was called off.
Composition[]
The core brigades of the division were:
3rd Light Horse Brigade[]
- 8th Light Horse Regiment (Victoria, Australia)
- 9th Light Horse Regiment (Victoria and South Australia)
- 10th Light Horse Regiment (Western Australia)
4th Light Horse Brigade[]
- 4th Light Horse Regiment (Victoria)
- 11th Light Horse Regiment (Queensland and South Australia)
- 12th Light Horse Regiment (New South Wales)
5th Mounted Brigade (January 1917 – April 1918)[]
|
5th Mounted Brigade
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The British 5th Mounted Brigade (formerly the 1st South Midland Mounted Brigade[3]) joined from Corps Troops in January 1917 on formation of the division.[4] With the division, it took part in the First and Second Battles of Gaza.[5]
The brigade remained with the division when it was renamed Australian Mounted Division on 30 June 1917. It then took part in the Third Battle of Gaza including the Capture of Beersheba and the Battle of Mughar Ridge. It also resisted the Turkish counter-attacks in the Turkish Defence of Jerusalem.[5]
Three of the brigade's squadrons took part in the Charge at Huj, the last British cavalry charge against enemy guns.
In March 1918, the 2nd Indian Cavalry Division was broken up in France. The Canadian (Canadian Cavalry Brigade) and British units (7th Dragoon Guards, 8th Hussars and N and X Batteries, RHA) remained in France and the Indian elements were sent to Egypt.[6]
By an Egyptian Expeditionary Force GHQ Order of 12 April 1918, the mounted troops of the EEF were reorganised when the Indian Army units arrived in theatre. On 24 April 1918, the 2nd Mounted Division[lower-alpha 1] was formed[7] on the Indian Establishment;[lower-alpha 2][8] 5th Mounted Brigade was merged with elements of the 3rd (Ambala) Cavalry Brigade and assigned to the new division.[9][lower-alpha 3]
6th Mounted Brigade (January 1917 – June 1917)[]
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6th Mounted Brigade
|
The British 6th Mounted Brigade (formerly the 2nd South Midland Mounted Brigade[3]) joined from the Western Frontier Force in January 1917 on formation of the division.[4] With the division, it took part in the First and Second Battles of Gaza.[5] The complete brigade was transferred to the newly formed Yeomanry Mounted Division on 27 June 1917, joining it at el Maraqeb.[11]
5th Light Horse Brigade (from mid-1918)[]
- 14th Light Horse Regiment
- 15th Light Horse Regiment
- 16th Regiment Mixte de Marche de Palestine et Syrie (also known as the 1er Régiment Mixte de Marche de Cavalerie du Lavant)
British 19th Horse Artillery Brigade[]
HAC 13-pounders March 1918
- 1st Nottinghamshire Battery Royal Horse Artillery (RHA) (known as Notts RHA)
- 1/1st Berkshire Battery RHA
- A Battery Honourable Artillery Company (HAC)
- B Battery HAC
- Brigade Ammunition Column
Each battery was equipped with four Ordnance QF 13 pounder field guns.[12]
Light Horse Field Ambulance[]
- Australian Light Horse Field Ambulance
- 3rd Light Horse Field Ambulance
- 4th Light Horse Field Ambulance
See also[]
Notes[]
- ↑ Not to be confused with the original 2nd Mounted Division which served dismounted in Gallipoli.
- ↑ British Indian Army standard whereby brigades only retained one British regiment or battalion and most support units were Indian (artillery excepted).
- ↑ Later, the brigade was redesignated as 13th Cavalry Brigade and the division as 5th Cavalry Division.[9]
References[]
- ↑ Falls 1930 Vol. 1, pp. 273–4
- ↑ Perry 1992, p. 54
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 James 1978, p. 36
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Perry 1992, p. 55
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Perry 1992, p. 56
- ↑ Perry 1993, p. 20
- ↑ Perry 1993, p. 28
- ↑ Perry 1993, p. 27
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Perry 1993, p. 26
- ↑ Becke 1936, p. 32
- ↑ Becke 1936, p. 33
- ↑ Farndale 1988, p. 95
Bibliography[]
- Becke, Major A.F. (1936). Order of Battle of Divisions Part 2A. The Territorial Force Mounted Divisions and the 1st-Line Territorial Force Divisions (42–56). London: His Majesty's Stationery Office. ISBN 1-871167-12-4.
- Falls, Cyril; MacMunn, George (1930). Military Operations Egypt & Palestine From the Outbreak of War With Germany to June 1917. Official History of the Great War Based on Official Documents by Direction of the Historical Section of the Committee of Imperial Defence. 1. London: HM Stationery Office. OCLC 610273484.
- James, Brigadier E.A. (1978). British Regiments 1914–18. London: Samson Books. ISBN 0-906304-03-2.
- Jones, Ian (1987). The Australian Light Horse. Australians at War. Australia: Time-Life Books. OCLC 18459444.
- Farndale, General Sir Martin (1988). History of the Royal Regiment of Artillery: The Forgotten Fronts and the Home Base 1914–18. Woolwich: The Royal Artillery Institution. ISBN 1-870114-05-1.
- Massey, William T. (1920). Allenby’s Final Triumph. London: Constable & Co..
- Perry, F.W. (1992). Order of Battle of Divisions Part 5A. The Divisions of Australia, Canada and New Zealand and those in East Africa. Newport: Ray Westlake Military Books. ISBN 1-871167-25-6.
- Perry, F.W. (1993). Order of Battle of Divisions Part 5B. Indian Army Divisions. Newport: Ray Westlake Military Books. ISBN 1-871167-23-X.
- Preston, R.M.P. (1921). The Desert Mounted Corps: An Account of the Cavalry Operations in Palestine and Syria 1917–1918. London: Constable & Co.. OCLC 3900439.
External links[]
The original article can be found at Australian Mounted Division and the edit history here.