5th Light Horse Brigade

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5th Light Horse Brigade
Sinai and Palestine Campaign
Insignia
Unit colour patch

The 5th Light Horse Brigade was a mounted infantry brigade of the

Victoria
until 1921 when its regiments were reorganised into cavalry brigades.

History

Early formation

The 5th Light Horse Brigade was initially raised as part of the militia in the early 1900s, being formed sometime between 1902 and 1905. That formation was raised in

Stanthorpe, Dalby, Roma and other smaller centres. In 1910, the brigade was reorganised when the 15th Light Horse Regiment (Queensland Mounted Infantry) was added. This unit was based further north around Rockhampton, Bowen, Mackay, Townsville and other smaller depots.[1]

By 1912, however, an Army wide reorganisation resulted in the brigade's constituent regiments being redesignated. The 13th Light Horse became the 2nd Light Horse Regiment (QMI), the 14th became the 3rd (Darling Downs) Light Horse Regiment and the 15th was split to provide troops for the 1st (Central Queensland) Light Horse Regiment, 27th (North Queensland) Light Horse Regiment and 4th (Hunter River Lancers) Light Horse Regiment; the last of these was based in New South Wales. Most of these regiments were reallocated to the re-constituted 1st Light Horse Brigade, with the 27th becoming a divisional cavalry regiment. The 5th Light Horse Brigade designation was then re-used for a formation based in Victoria, consisting of the 13th (Gippsland) Light Horse Regiment, the 15th (Victorian Mounted Rifles) Light Horse Regiment and the 16th (Indi) Light Horse Regiment.[1]

World War I

The 5th Light Horse Brigade crosses the Ghoraniyeh bridge, Jordan River, April 1918, during the Sinai and Palestine Campaign
The Australian Light Horse during World War I

At the outbreak of the war August 1914 the Australian Government decided to raise the

Sinai and Palestine Campaign.[4]

The 5th Light Horse Brigade was raised as an AIF formation late in the war, coming into being in Palestine in mid-1918 as part of the expansion and reorganisation of the

15th – as well as a French cavalry regiment and a New Zealand machine gun squadron.[7] The brigade's artillery support was provided by the British who assigned B Battery, Honourable Artillery Company.[8]

Barada Gorge where the 5th Light Horse Brigade attacked withdrawing Ottoman and German troops on 30 September 1918

For the offensive in Palestine, the brigade was assigned to the Australian Mounted Division.[9][10][11] Prior to their commitment to operations, the troopers were converted from cameleers and were issued swords and received cavalry training.[12] Having been formed late in the war, the 5th Light Horse Brigade's involvement in combat operations was limited to the final offensive of the war, which began with the Battle of Megiddo in late September 1918. During this offensive, the brigade took part in the Battle of Sharon and Battle of Tulkarm, taking a large number of prisoners to the west of the Samaria Ranges.[13] During operations to secure Damascus, the brigade took up positions overlooking the Barada Gorge, helping to cut off withdrawing Ottoman and German troops, and inflicting heavy casualties on them during an ambush on 30 September.[14] The brigade then spent the night there in freezing conditions before elements entered Damascus on 1 October.[15][16] For the remainder of the month, it was engaged in minor mopping up and patrol operations before joining the final stage of the campaign, which saw the brigade begin the advance towards Aleppo. The advance was short lived, as on 30 October the Ottomans surrendered, and the Armistice of Mudros came into effect, bringing an end to the fighting in the theatre.[17][18][19]

Disbandment and perpetuation

In the final months of 1918, the demobilisation process began, and the brigade spent Christmas around Homs, in Syria.

Egyptian revolt, undertaking patrols and carrying out internal security duties into May. Afterwards, the individual regiments and brigade headquarters returned stores and equipment and embarked for Australia around July 1919. The main body departed Suez on HMAT Dongola and the rear details followed on HMAT Burma,[22] after which they were disbanded.[17][18]

14th Light Horse Regiment on parade at Homs, Syria on Christmas Day 1918

Throughout late 1918 and early 1919, the process of demobilising the AIF continued, although this would not be complete until 1921.

Victoria.[25]

In the first couple of years after the war, plans were made to reorganise the home forces to meet the needs of peacetime while providing a strong base upon which to mobilise if necessary. By 1921, when the AIF was officially disbanded, plans were approved to raise two cavalry divisions, each of three brigades, utilising a mix of voluntary enlistment and compulsory service.

5th Cavalry Brigade was raised around Warrnambool, Bendigo and Ballarat consisting of the 4th, 17th and 19th Light Horse Regiments.[28]

Commander

During World War I, the brigade was commanded by the following officers:[16]

Composition

During World War I, the brigade consisted of the following units and subunits:[29]

See also

References

Citations

  1. ^ a b Hall 1968, pp. 61–71.
  2. ^ Grey 2008, p. 85.
  3. ^ Bou 2010a, pp. 99 & 141.
  4. ^ Bou 2010a, pp. 145 & 163.
  5. ^ Hall 1968, pp. 43–45.
  6. ^ Bou 2010b, pp. 103–104.
  7. ^ Bou 2010b, pp. 103–105.
  8. ^ a b "5th Australian Light Horse Brigade". Australian Light Horse Studies Centre. 24 December 2009. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
  9. ^ Hall 1968, p. 74.
  10. ^ a b "5th Light Horse Brigade". Digger History. Retrieved 19 April 2009.
  11. ^ Mallett, Ross. "Mounted Troops". unsw.adfa.edu.au. Archived from the original on 25 March 2009. Retrieved 19 April 2009.
  12. ^ Perry 2009, p. 399.
  13. ^ Perry 2009, p. 427.
  14. ^ Bou 2010b, p. 136.
  15. ^ Perry 2009, pp. 455 & 458.
  16. ^ a b Hall 1968, p. 45.
  17. ^ a b "14th Light Horse Regiment". First World War, 1914–1918 units I. Australian War Memorial. Archived from the original on 7 October 2012. Retrieved 25 April 2009.
  18. ^ a b "15th Light Horse Regiment". First World War, 1914–1918 units. Australian War Memorial. Archived from the original on 7 April 2012. Retrieved 19 December 2011.
  19. ^ Bou 2010a, pp. 195 & 197.
  20. ^ "Homs, Syria, December 1918: C Squadron , 14th Light Horse Regiment". Australian War Memorial. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
  21. ^ Bou 2010b, p. 145.
  22. ^ "AWM4 10/5/12 – July 1919: 5th Light Horse Brigade". Australian Imperial Force unit war diaries, 1914–18 war. Australian War Memorial. Retrieved 28 July 2019.
  23. ^ Grey 2008, p. 125.
  24. ^ Bou 2010a, pp. 110–111.
  25. ^ Hall 1968, p. 75.
  26. ^ Hall 1968, p. 47.
  27. ^ Bou 2010a, p. 229.
  28. ^ Hall 1968, pp. 77–78.
  29. ^ Bou 2010b, p. 105.
  30. ^ Preston 1921, pp. 258–60, 335.
  31. ^ Heurley, Michel (28 April 2014). "A propos de la cavalerie du Levant" [About the cavalerie du Levant] (in French). Retrieved 29 July 2020.
  32. ^ Terraillon, Marc (16 April 2006). "Régiment mixte de Marche de Cavalerie du Levant" [Régiment mixte de Marche de Cavalerie du Levant at Nablus]. Forum pages14-18 (in French). Retrieved 29 July 2020.
  33. ^ "1er régiment mixte de marche de cavalerie [du Levant] du Détachement français de Palestine et Syrie: J.M.O. janvier 1918-septembre 1922 - 4 H 258/2" (JPG). Mémoire des hommes: Journaux des Unites (1914-1918) (in French). Ministere De la Defense. images 1 to 17 of 50. Retrieved 30 July 2020. The first seventeen images cover the period from 29 Jan 1918 to 13 Nov 1918
  34. ^ Tournyol du Clos 1936, pp. 226–9.

Bibliography

Further reading

External links
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