11th Light Horse Regiment (Australia)

11th Light Horse Regiment
First World War North African Campaign Gallipoli campaign Sinai and Palestine Campaign
Damascus 1918
Insignia
Unit colour patch

The 11th Light Horse Regiment was a

Formation

The 11th Light Horse Regiment was raised in Queensland and South Australia, and came together in Brisbane in May 1915.^[1] Light horse regiments normally comprised twenty-five officers and 497 other ranks serving in three squadrons, each of six troops.^[2] Each troop was divided into eight sections, of four men each. In action one man of each section, was nominated as a horse holder reducing the regiment's rifle strength by a quarter.^[3] Once formed the regiment was assigned to the 4th Light Horse Brigade.^[1]

All

Aden

The 11th Light Horse Regiment divided into two contingents sailed for the Middle East in June 1915. The first group were diverted to Aden to assist the small British garrison against an expected assault from Ottoman forces. The attack did not materialise and the regiment's contingent re-embarked in July 1915, never having seen any action.^[1]

Gallipoli campaign

When the Australian infantry units were dispatched to Gallipoli, it was thought the terrain was unsuitable for mounted troops, and the light horse regiments remained in Egypt. However, heavy casualties amongst the Australian infantry resulted in the deployment of the 4th Light Horse Brigade as reinforcements in August 1915.^[1] The 4th Light Horse Brigade was subsequently disbanded.^[6] On arrival, the regiment was split up to reinforce other light horse regiments that had landed earlier that were understrength. The regiment's A Squadron served with the 2nd Light Horse Regiment, B Squadron the 5th Light Horse Regiment, and C Squadron to the 9th Light Horse Regiment.^[1]

Sinai and Palestine campaign

When the British forces were withdrawn from Gallipoli, the 11th Light Horse Regiment was reformed in Egypt. Their first deployment was in defence of the

When Gaza was captured in November 1917, the Ottoman forces withdrew into Palestine, and the 11th were involved in the pursuit. They then spent the early months of 1918, training and resting. At this time, the regiment's numbers were bolstered by the 20th Reinforcements contingent which consisted of around thirty young Indigenous Australians, mostly from Queensland. This group became known as the Queensland Black Watch.^[9]

The regiment then moved to the

In August 1918, the regiment was issued with the traditional cavalry sabre and training began in cavalry tactics, so they were ready to resume the British advance in September. Advancing along the coast, the 11th Light Horse took part in the battle of Samakh on 25 September. The regiment first charged the Ottoman defences on horseback using their sabres, then dismounted and cleared the town with their rifles and bayonets.^[1] The Ottoman Empire signed the Armistice of Mudros on 30 October 1918, and the war in the Middle East ended. However, the regiment had to return to Egypt, where rioting had started in March 1919. Finally, in July 1919, the regiment sailed for Australia. The war cost the regiment over 100 per cent casualties, with 95 killed and 521 wounded.^[1]

Perpetuation

In 1921, Australia's part-time military forces were re-organised to perpetuate the numerical designations of the AIF following its demobilisation.^[10] Through this process, the 11th Light Horse was re-raised as a Citizens Forces unit within the 1st Military District in the Darling Downs region of Queensland, drawing lineage from several previously existing units through which it could trace its history back to the 14th Australian Light Horse Regiment (Queensland Mounted Infantry), which had been formed in 1903.^[11]

This unit remained in existence throughout the inter-war years, and in December 1941 it was converted into a motor regiment, adopting the designation of the "11th Motor Regiment (Darling Downs Light Horse)(QMI)". In 1943, the regiment was re-designated the "11th Australian Motor Regiment" and was gazetted as an AIF unit,

The 11th Light Horse regiment was awarded the following battle honours:

• Damascus 1918^[1]

• Lieutenant Colonel William Grant DSO^[15]
• Lieutenant Colonel John William Parsons DSO,
  VD^[16]
• Lieutenant Colonel Percival John Bailey DSO[17]

References

Citations

Bibliography

• Bou, Jean (2010). Light Horse: A History of Australia's Mounted Arm. Port Melbourne, Victoria: Cambridge University Press.
  ISBN 978-0-52119-708-3
  .
• Falls, Cyril; MacMunn, G. (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. Vol. 1. London: HM Stationery Office.
  OCLC 610273484
  .
• Festberg, Alfred (1972). The Lineage of the Australian Army. Melbourne, Victoria: Allara Publishing.
  ISBN 978-0-85887-024-6
  .
• Finlayson, David (2012). Green Fields Beyond. Canberra, Australian Capital Territory: Department of Veterans' Affairs.
  OCLC 799180097
  .
• ISBN 978-0-521-69791-0
  .
• OCLC 220901683
  .
• ISBN 978-1-74246-894-5
  .

• Hammond, Ernest W. (1942). History of the 11th Light Horse Regiment, Fourth Light Horse Brigade, Australian Imperial Forces, War 1914–1919. Brisbane, Queensland: William Brooks & Co.
  OCLC 220108002
  .