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You summoned us, General Chauvel? Yes, he has – to tell them what they already know. A choice is to be made. Between the two commanding officers of the only forces he has kept in reserve, the 4th Brigade of the Australian Light Horse, and the 5th Yeomanry Brigade.
Brigadier General William Grant or Percy FitzGerald must win or lose the day from here. We are going to have to throw one of your brigades into the fray to take Beersheba from the east.
Even as Chauvel continues to speak, Grant’s mind starts to race. Maybe his men of the 4th Brigade should do exactly that? Race. Charge! Yes, a full cavalry charge. Instead of the horses delivering them to the battle and fighting their way forward from there, why not just keep going – straight at the Turks?
The charge of the 4th Australian Light Horse Brigade at Beersheba. This photograph was once thought to be of the charge itself, but today is believed to be a reconstruction of the event filmed the next day.
It would be a shock tactic, a tactic from the 10th century unleashed on the 20th! But if it worked, why, it would give them the best chance of getting into the town so fast the Turks would not have time to blow up the wells, as they surely would with a conventional fight; by the time the Australians arrived on foot, those wells would be exploding into uselessness. The most important factor of all is the fading light. It is going to take at least 30 minutes to get the men gathered and formed up in three waves to move. By that time, there will be no time at all to attack in the “traditional” manner.
Brigadier General William Grant proposed the shock tactic on Beersheba.Credit: Australian War Museum
The only option left is the extraordinary. Grant is certain it is the best course of action – a full cavalry charge, straight across open ground, damn the guns, leap the trenches, “neck or nothing”.
And so it is Grant who now speaks freely. “The 4th Brigade,” he says, “can take it if it is left to me to have a free hand.”
“How do you propose to do it?” Chauvel asks.
“Let us act as cavalry and not mounted infantry.”
And Grant outlines his reasoning, trying to remain calm and sell the incredible. Chauvel muses as Grant’s words race. It would be bold, fast, and … it would be unexpected, to say the least! In the face of the oncoming charge, the Turks would expect the Australians to dismount a thousand yards away and work their way forward, as is their usual practice. But not this time.
It might just work! But can any cavalry charge “work” facing artillery, machine guns and rifles, with
planes dropping bombs overhead – a scenario not faced before by the Light Horse in this war.
Men of the 7th Australian Light Horse Regiment, resting in the sand near Asluj the jumping off point for the Battle of Beersheba. Credit: Australian War Memorial
Opinions, gentlemen? Chauvel will be getting no argument from Hodgson, who has been a strong advocate for these kinds of charges in this kind of country. Grant pointedly follows up with the observation that his brigade is positioned nearby and could be assembled within the hour!
Brigadier General FitzGerald – in the rather pompous manner that has always grated on Chauvel since he first met him 20 years earlier – demurs. If anyone is going to do this it should be us. We are assembled much closer to this HQ and can get going much more quickly. Plus, as a British unit, we have actual swords, which are going to be of much use when we get to grips with the Turks than mere bayonets. And, for God’s sake, General, we are trained cavalry! These men know how to cut, thrust and parry!
Grant cannot bear it. But, General, my men have both rifles and bayonets and, as General Hodgson has pointed out, bayonets held above our heads, while not as good as swords, can still do the trick. We are the obvious choice for this, and we can get the job done. And though the 5th Yeomanry are positioned closer to this HQ, my Brigade is positioned closer to Beersheba, and can be in position more quickly.
Both brigadiers make excellent cases, the tension rising a little with their reasoning. Chauvel, as impassive and cool as ever, almost remote, weighs each word. On such decisions do men live and die, entire family trees suddenly have whole branches lopped off. The time is ticking away, but so important is the decision Chauvel wants one last look before making it – and asks for the precious aerial photographs to be brought to him once more – while Grant and FitzGerald leave him momentarily to ponder.
General Chauvel consulted arial maps of Beersheba before making his fateful decision.Credit: Australian War Museum
Gazing ever more closely at the photographs, with just Hodgson by his side, Chauvel is more convinced that this is the only way. While the defences around most of the town are obvious – from barbed wire entanglements to deep pits impossible for a horse to get through or over, the approach from the south-east does appear to be relatively clear. It is not to say that there aren’t defences that are not obvious from the air, but they will have to take that chance!
A decision must be made, and Chauvel is the man to make it. This has to be done, and it has to be done now. The fact that he does not like FitzGerald and never has since the days he commanded the local military force in Victoria, is neither here nor there. Much. He follows his instinct, guided by military logic. Mostly.
Putting his finger at the spot on the aerial photograph which he thinks is viable, Chauvel gives the order to Hodgson to be passed on. “Put Grant straight at it!” Chauvel says.
Hodgson, delighted – finally, a major charge – tarries nowt, and immediately leaves the tent to give Chauvel’s decision to Grant and FitzGerald. “Go right in,” Hodgson tells Grant, “and take the town before dark.”
FitzGerald blanches, but – where did he go? – Grant is already on the move and, only moments later, there is the sound of thundering hooves receding in the distance as the brigadier, accompanied by his senior officers, rushes back to his own HQ. “If I did ever favour the Light Horse,” Chauvel will later acknowledge, “it was at Beersheba, when, in giving the lead to Grant, I was perhaps influenced by a desire to give a chance to the 4th and 12th regiments, which up to then had seen very little serious fighting.”
Harry Chauvel in 1943.Credit: Fairfax Media
The Australian has picked the Australians to charge; and there is nothing the British can do about it.
It is an extraordinary outcome, and thrilling, though as Charles Bean will comment, “Australians had never ridden any race like this.”
****
Yes, it has been a very slow day. But still everything is happening so fast. And now what? A rider, a sergeant with a message from HQ, is trotting their way. “All pack horses, excepting Hotchkiss rifle packs,” the sergeant calls out with that habitual volume that helps make up for lack of serious rank, “fall out and remain behind!”
What? What is going on? “We’re gunna charge Beersheba, mate!”
Bloody Hell.
And just as the word quickly spreads among the troopers – it’s on, and we’re going to charge, cobber – so too, does it seem like the Walers sense that there is action afoot, as snorting and whinnying breaks out across the lines. Saddles are thrown on, straps are tightened, troopers swing up and on. Some of these horses have not had water for as long as 30 hours, and are all in. But the best reckoning is they likely have one last charge left in them, most particularly if there is water at the other end of it – and there is!
For his part, Lieutenant Guy Haydon is beyond thrilled with the order that comes through to his own wadi. After a hot, frustrating day spent impotently listening to the sounds of battle in the distance, some troopers of 12th Regiment had more or less given up, one saying, “It’s getting too late now to do anything.”
But first comes a barked command, “Stand by your horses.“ And now the glorious specifics: “The 12th and 4th Light Horse Regiments will charge Beersheba on horseback, the town is to be taken at all costs.” We are going to attack!
This is an edited extract from Peter FitzSimons’ book The Last Charge of the Australian Light Horse published by Hachette Australia on November 1.
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