Australian Mounted Division
Encyclopedia
The Australian Mounted Division was a mounted infantry (light horse) division
formed in Egypt
during World War I
. When the British
forces in the Middle East
expanded in late 1916, a second mounted division was created called the Imperial Mounted Division. It originally comprised the Australian 3rd Light Horse Brigade
(from the Anzac Mounted Division
) and the reconstituted Australian 4th Light Horse Brigade
as well as two British mounted brigades. After protests from the Australia
n government, the division was renamed in June 1917 when one of the British brigades was detached.
, 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.
3rd Light Horse Brigade
4th Light Horse Brigade
Each battery equipped with 4 Ordnance QF 13 pounder
field guns.
Originally the division also contained the British 6th Mounted Brigade. In mid-1918 the British 5th Mounted Brigade was detached and the Australian 5th Light Horse Brigade
(containing the 14th
and 15th Light Horse Regiments as well as a French
cavalry regiment) joined the division.
Division (military)
A division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of between 10,000 and 20,000 soldiers. In most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades, and in turn several divisions typically make up a corps...
formed in Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. When the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
forces in the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
expanded in late 1916, a second mounted division was created called the Imperial Mounted Division. It originally comprised the Australian 3rd Light Horse Brigade
3rd Light Horse Brigade
The 3rd 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....
(from the Anzac Mounted Division
Anzac 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...
) and the reconstituted Australian 4th Light Horse Brigade
4th Light Horse Brigade
The 4th Light Horse Brigade was a mounted infantry brigade of the First Australian Imperial Force serving in the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I. The brigade was formed in March 1915 and shipped to Egypt without their horses and was broken up in Egypt in August 1915...
as well as two British mounted brigades. After protests from the Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n government, the division was renamed in June 1917 when one of the British brigades was detached.
History
During the First Battle of GazaFirst Battle of Gaza
The First Battle of Gaza was fought in and around the town of Gaza on the Mediterranean coast in the southern region of Ottoman Palestine on 26 March 1917, during World War I...
, 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.
3rd Light Horse Brigade3rd Light Horse BrigadeThe 3rd 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....
- 8th Light Horse Regiment (Victoria, Australia)
- 9th Light Horse Regiment (Victoria and South AustraliaSouth AustraliaSouth 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...
) - 10th Light Horse Regiment (Western AustraliaWestern AustraliaWestern Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
)
4th Light Horse Brigade4th Light Horse BrigadeThe 4th Light Horse Brigade was a mounted infantry brigade of the First Australian Imperial Force serving in the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I. The brigade was formed in March 1915 and shipped to Egypt without their horses and was broken up in Egypt in August 1915...
- 4th Light Horse Regiment (Victoria)
- 11th Light Horse Regiment (QueenslandQueenslandQueensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
and South Australia) - 12th Light Horse Regiment (New South WalesNew South WalesNew South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
)
5th Mounted Yeomanry Brigade
- 1/1 Warwickshire YeomanryWarwickshire YeomanryThe Warwickshire Yeomanry was a yeomanry regiment of the British Army, first raised in 1794, which served as a cavalry and dismounted infantry regiment in the First World War and as a cavalry and an armoured regiment in the Second World War, before being amalgamated into The Queen's Own...
- 1/1 Royal Gloucestershire HussarsRoyal Gloucestershire HussarsThe Royal Gloucestershire Hussars was a unit of the British Army.Raised in 1795 following William Pitt's 1794 order to raise volunteer bodies of men to defend Great Britain, through various re-organisations, the Royal Gloucestershire Hussars remain today on the establishment of the Territorial...
- 1/1 Queen's Own Worcestershire HussarsQueen's Own Worcestershire Hussars-History:The Queen's Own Worcestershire Hussars were formed in 1794, as the Worcestershire Yeomanry, when King George III, was on the throne, William Pitt the Younger was the Prime Minister of Great Britain, and across the English Channel, Britain was faced by a French nation that had recently...
British 19th Horse Artillery Brigade
- 1/1 Nottinghamshire Battery RHARoyal Horse ArtilleryThe regiments of the Royal Horse Artillery , dating from 1793, are part of the Royal Regiment of Artillery of the British Army...
- 1/1 Berkshire Battery RHA
- A Battery HACHonourable Artillery CompanyThe Honourable Artillery Company was incorporated by Royal Charter in 1537 by King Henry VIII. Today it is a Registered Charity whose purpose is to attend to the “better defence of the realm"...
- B Battery HAC
- Brigade Ammunition Column
Each battery equipped with 4 Ordnance QF 13 pounder
Ordnance QF 13 pounder
The Ordnance QF 13-pounder quick-firing field gun was the standard equipment of the British Royal Horse Artillery at the outbreak of World War I.-History:...
field guns.
Light Horse Field Ambulance
- Australian Light Horse Field Ambulance
- 3rd Light Horse Field Ambulance
- 4th Light Horse Field Ambulance
Originally the division also contained the British 6th Mounted Brigade. In mid-1918 the British 5th Mounted Brigade was detached and the Australian 5th Light Horse Brigade
5th Light Horse Brigade
The 5th Light Horse Brigade was a mounted infantry brigade of the First Australian Imperial Force, formed in Palestine in July 1918 they served in the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I in the Sinai and Palestine Campaign, as part of the Australian Mounted Division...
(containing the 14th
14th Light Horse Regiment
The 14th Light Horse Regiment was a mounted infantry or light horse unit of the Australian Army. The unit takes its lineage from units raised as part of the colonial forces of the state of Queensland in 1860 and served during the Second Boer War and World War I...
and 15th Light Horse Regiments as well as a French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
cavalry regiment) joined the division.
Battles
- First Battle of GazaFirst Battle of GazaThe First Battle of Gaza was fought in and around the town of Gaza on the Mediterranean coast in the southern region of Ottoman Palestine on 26 March 1917, during World War I...
- Second Battle of GazaSecond Battle of GazaThe 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...
- Third Battle of GazaThird Battle of GazaThe 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...
- Battle of Beersheba
- Battle of Jerusalem (1917)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...
- Battle of Megiddo (1918)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...