Australian Mounted Division
| Imperial Mounted Division Australian Mounted Division | |
|---|---|
| Active | January 1917 – May 1919 |
| Country |  First World War
|
| Commanders | |
| Commander | Henry Hodgson |
The Australian Mounted Division originally formed as the Imperial Mounted Division in January 1917, was a
6th Mounted Brigade.[1]
History
Formation
The Imperial Mounted Division was formed in Egypt in 1917 by bringing together two Australian Light Horse brigades, two British Yeomanry brigades, and a British horse artillery brigade[a] (four batteries).[4] These units were:
- The 22nd Mounted Brigade.[5]
- The 4th Light Horse Brigade was formed in Australia in February 1915 with the 11th, 12th, and 13th Light Horse Regiments and was posted to Egypt in July 1915. The brigade was broken up:[8] the 11th Light Horse Regiment was dismounted and served in Gallipoli as reinforcements to other regiments;[9] the 12th Light Horse Regiment was dismounted and attached to the 3rd Light Horse Brigade in Gallipoli (August – December 1915) and 2nd Light Horse Brigade in Egypt (April 1915 – January 1917);[10] and the 13th Light Horse Regiment remained mounted and joined the 2nd Australian Division. The brigade was reformed in January 1917 – with the 4th Light Horse Regiment in place of the 13th – and joined the division on formation.[8]
- The Gallipoli Campaign as 1st Mounted Brigade, notably the Battle of Scimitar Hill. Due to losses and wastage during August 1915, it formed a battalion sized unit – 1st South Midland Regiment – in 1st Composite Mounted Brigade. It returned to Egypt in December where it was reformed and remounted.[12] The 2nd Mounted Division was broken up in January 1916 and it served as Corps Troops from 21 January 1916 (numbered as 5th Mounted Brigade from April). It joined the division on formation.[8]
- The Royal Buckinghamshire Hussars, the Berkshire Yeomanry and the Queen's Own Oxfordshire Hussars.[11] On 19 September 1914, the Queen's Own Oxfordshire Hussars was posted to the BEF, joining the 4th Cavalry Brigade in France.[13] The Queen's Own Dorset Yeomanry joined in the same month to replace them.[14] The brigade's early service was identical to the 5th Mounted Brigade until January 1916 when it joined the Western Frontier Force.[12] It joined the division on formation.[8]
- 18 pounders (four per battery) in time for the First Battle of Gaza (26 – 27 March 1917).[22] In practice, the batteries were tactically attached to the mounted brigades, for example, 1/1st Nottinghamshire RHA to the 3rd Light Horse Brigade[23] and 1/A Battery HAC to the 4th Light Horse Brigade.[24]
The division was also provided with support units, mostly assigned or attached directly to the brigades, but including an engineer squadron, a signals squadron, and train.[15]
Service history
The division joined the Desert Column[4] alongside the ANZAC Mounted Division.[7]
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.
Battles
The division served in the
First World War including[4]
- First Battle of Gaza (26 and 27 March 1917)
- Second Battle of Gaza (17 – 19 April)
- Third Battle of Gaza
- Battle of Beersheba (31 October)
- El Maghar (13 and 14 November)
- Defence against counter-attacks before Jerusalem(27 November – 30 December)
- Second Trans-Jordan Raid(30 April – 4 May 1918)
- The Final Offensive
- Battle of Samakh (25 September)
- Capture of Damascus(1 October)
Orders of battle
| Imperial Mounted Division – January 1917 | ||
|---|---|---|
|
On formation in Egypt in January 1917, the division commanded the following units.[15][25] British units and formations are shown in italics. | ||
3rd Light Horse Brigade
|
Divisional troops
| |
4th Light Horse Brigade
| ||
5th Mounted Brigade
| ||
6th Mounted Brigade
| ||
| Australian Mounted Division – July 1918 | ||
|---|---|---|
|
By July 1918, the division had been redesignated and reorganized almost entirely with Australian units.[15][25] Non-Australian units and formations are shown in italics. | ||
3rd Light Horse Brigade
|
Divisional troops
| |
4th Light Horse Brigade
| ||
5th Light Horse Brigade
| ||
See also
Notes
- Lieutenant-Colonel. Artillery brigades were redesignated as regiments in 1938. Note that the battery strength refers to a battery of six guns; a four-gun battery would be about two thirds of this; a brigade of four four-gun batteries would be approximately the same strength as a brigade of three six-gun batteries.
- ^ Australian Army Service Corps from February 1917.[23]
- ^ a b Originally the 4th Light Horse Brigade Train, designated 4th Supply Section from February 1916 and 36th Company, Australian Army Service Corps from February 1917.[24]
- ^ Originally the 5th Light Horse Brigade Train, designated 37th Company, Australian Army Service Corps from July 1918.[28]
- ^ Made up of two squadrons of the 1er Régiment de Spahis and two squadrons of the 4e Regiment de Marche Chasseurs d'Afrique.[28]
References
- ^ Falls & 1930 Vol. 1, pp. 273–4
- ^ "The Royal Artillery". Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom). Archived from the original on 23 October 2013. Retrieved 18 November 2013.
- ^ Baker, Chris. "What was an artillery brigade?". The Long, Long Trail. Retrieved 18 November 2013.
- ^ a b c Perry 1992, p. 56
- ^ a b c Perry 1992, p. 51
- ^ Perry 1992, p. 41
- ^ a b Perry 1992, p. 52
- ^ a b c d Perry 1992, p. 55
- ^ "11th Australian Light Horse Regiment". Australian War Memorial. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
- ^ Perry 1992, p. 40
- ^ a b Westlake 1992, p. 15
- ^ a b Becke 1936, pp. 10–17
- ^ Baker, Chris. "The Oxfordshire Yeomanry". The Long, Long Trail. Retrieved 26 March 2013.
- ^ Baker, Chris. "The Dorset Yeomanry". The Long, Long Trail. Retrieved 26 March 2013.
- ^ a b c d Perry 1992, p. 54
- ^ a b Becke 1936, p. 16
- ^ Frederick 1984, p. 449
- ^ Farndale 1988, p. 357
- ^ Becke 1936, p. 17
- ^ Westlake 1992, p. 3
- ^ Clarke 2004, p. 23
- ^ a b Farndale 1988, p. 83
- ^ a b c d "3rd Australian Light Horse Brigade". Australian Light Horse Studies Centre. 8 November 2009. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
- ^ a b c d "4th Australian Light Horse Brigade". Australian Light Horse Studies Centre. 24 March 2009. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
- ^ a b c d "Australian Mounted Division by Ross Mallett (28 June 2010)". Archived from the original on 28 February 2015. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ a b Becke 1936, p. 12
- ^ Farndale 1988, p. 95
- ^ a b c "5th Australian Light Horse Brigade". Australian Light Horse Studies Centre. 24 December 2009. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
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.
- Clarke, Dale (2004). British Artillery 1914–19 Field Army Artillery. Vol. 94 of New Vanguard Series. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 1-84176-688-7.
- 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. Vol. 1. London: HM Stationery Office. OCLC 610273484.
- ISBN 1-870114-05-1.
- Frederick, J.B.M. (1984). Lineage Book of British Land Forces 1660–1978. Wakefield, Yorkshire: Microform Academic Publishers. ISBN 1-85117-009-X.
- 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.
- 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.
- Westlake, Ray (1992). British Territorial Units 1914–18. Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-85532-168-7.