Australian Army Museum of Western Australia > Records

World War 1, South West Asia, Sinai, Rafa, 10 Light Horse, 1917

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Overview

10 Light Horse moving to the attack on Rafa, 9 January 1917

Historical information

10 Light Horse was raised as a squadron, then a regiment in October 1914.and formed part of the 3rd Light Horse Brigade in Egypt. The Regiment served dismounted in Gallipoli and fought at the charge at the Nek on 7 August 1915, and at Hill 60 on 29-30 August. The only Victoria Cross awarded to a Light Horseman recognised the valour of Lieutenant Hugo Throssell at Hill 60.
After Gallipoli the Regiment was bought up to strength to defended Egypt from the Ottoman Army advancing on the Suez Canal. Through 1916 they drove the Turks across the deserts of Sinai, participating in the battles of Romani and Magdhaba.
In 1917 as part of the Desert Column they advanced into Palestine and participated in the bloody battles to break the Gaza-Beersheba line and helped capture Jerusalem. They participated in the Es Salt Raid in May 1918. In August they were equipped with swords and retrained as cavalry. In this role they took part in the rout of the Ottoman army in the Jordan Valley, a campaign the light horse referred to as "The Great Ride". In September the 10th was the first formed regiment to enter Damascus.
Turkey surrendered on 30 October 1918. After the end of the war, the regiment saw action in putting down the Egyptian uprising of 1919. The Regiment was one of the few to return home as a formed unit.

Details

Registration number

cwa-org-32-55-960

Inscriptions and markings

The Battle of Rafa, on 9 January 1917, was the third and final battle to complete the recapture of the Sinai Peninsula by British forces during the Sinai and Palestine campaign of World War 1. The Desert Column of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF) attacked an entrenched Ottoman Army garrison at El Magruntein to the south of Rafah, close to the frontier between the Sultanate of Egypt and the Ottoman Empire. The attack marked the beginning of fighting in the Ottoman territory of Palestine

Contextual Information

From currently unattributed album of 10 Light Horse photographs with contemporary and post war annotations

Geotag

31.27583432346, 34.232314662386

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Links to additional resources

Battle of Rafah

Australian Army Museum of Western Australia

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