The 800 Australian Light Horsemen
On the 31st October 1917, 800 Australian Light Horsemen launched an amazing cavalry/infantry charge and it has been noted in history books as the greatest charge ever. Every rule of war says that they should have been annihilated. Yet the 800 Australian Light Horsemen charged their horses for 5 miles over waterless terrain to take Beersheba.
The significance of the event was realised well before by the British Commanding Generals. The Turkish line at Beersheba was the gateway to Jerusalem, and that Israel could only be freed from 400 years of Ottoman Turk rule by the liberation of Jerusalem.
The Australians were the first foreign army in the history of Israel to take Jerusalem only to give it back.
The greatest cavalry charge in history was made by the 4th Australian Light Horse Brigade riding their Waler horses. Australia the youngest nation in the world played a vital role in opening the gateway to the ancient city of Jerusalem. On the same day the British Government drafted the Balfour Declaration, which was the foundation for the recognition of the State of Israel.
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