4th Light Horse Regiment

4th Light Horse Regiment

Charge at Beersheba

Shoulder patch

Brief History

The 4th Light Horse Regiment was formed as the divisional cavalry regiment for the 1st Australian Division on 11 August 1914. The regiment sailed from Melbourne on 19 October 1914 and disembarked in Egypt on 10 December. The light horse were considered unsuitable for the initial operations at Gallipoli, but were subsequently deployed without their horses to reinforce the infantry. The 4th Light Horse Regiment landed on 22 and 24 May. Much of the regiment's time at Gallipoli was spent defending the precarious ANZAC position, most frequently around Ryrie's Post, but its squadrons were involved in several minor attacks. It left the peninsula on 11 December 1915.

Returned to Egypt, B and D Squadrons were sent to France with the 1st and 3rd Infantry Divisions while a new B Squadron was raised in Egypt. The regiment's first major battle was on 31 Oct 1917 when an attack was launched to outflank the Turkish bastion of Gaza, against which two previous attacks had failed, by capturing another heavily defended town to the east - Beersheba. A deteriorating tactical situation late on the first day of the operation caused the 4th and its sister regiment, the 12th, to be unleashed on Beersheba at the gallop - an action which has gone down in history as the charge of Beersheba.

Turkish resistance in southern Palestine collapsed with the capture of Gaza. The 4th Light Horse participated in the pursuit that followed, and then spent the first months of 1918 resting and training. It moved into the Jordan Valley in time to participate in the Es Salt raid between 29 April and 4 May. Their next success was early entry into Damascus and they were advancing on Homs when the Turks surrendered on 30 Oct 1918.

Unit personnel

• Spencer Gwynne DCM MID 10 Mar - 10 Jun 1918

Battle Honours

Anzac; Broodseinde; Damascus; Defence of Anzac; Egypt, 1915-17; El Mughar; France and Flanders, 1916-18; Gallipoli, 1915; Gaza-Beersheba; Jerusalem; Jordan (Es Salt); Kemmel; Lys; Marne, 1918; Megiddo; Messines, 1917; Nebi Samwil; Palestine, 1917-18; Passchendaele; Sari Bair; Sharon; Suvla; Tardenois; Ypres, 1917.

Individual Honours

• 4 x istinguished Service Orders
• 1 x Bar to Distinguished Service order
• 1 x Officer of the Order of the British Empire
• 6 x Military Cross
• 1 x Bar to Military Cross
• 14 X Distinguished Conduct Medal
• 43 x Military Medal
• 1 x Bar to Military Medal
• 1 x Meritorious Service Medal
• 31 x Mentioned in Despatches
• 4 x foreign awards