LIBERATION OF JERUSALEM 1917 - AUSTRALIAN CONNECTION

John  Once again thank you very much for Five Doves - I look forward to the updates and enjoy them all.  The website has enriched my understanding of His footsteps as they get louder, even deafening in the ears of those who are listening for the Bridegroom's voice.  Below is a detailed summary from a book entitled 800 Horsemen that highlights the vital Australian connection in the liberation of Jerusalem in 1917.  The victory in Beersheba by the Australian horsemen was 90 years ago today - 31 October 1917.  As an 'Aussie' I am proud of what was achieved by a young country, and would encourage doves to read some of the details below.  However, my main focus is to draw attention to some key dates around this time of the year:  the Balfour declaration of 2 November 1917, following a British Cabinet meeting on 31 October and the triumphant entry by Allenby into Jerusalem on 11 December 1917.  And at the same time of the year, 30 years later the UN declaration on 29 November 1947.  Lest we forget Remembrance Day (as it is called in Australia) on 11 November - and lest we forget Gethsemane!!  Col Stringer notes in his book that over 200 Light Horsemen are buried in Jerusalem on Mt Scopus overlooking the Mount of Olives - the very spot to which Christ will return (in 7 + x years).  The unfolding events are shrouded in mystery, but perhaps the mist is about to lift and we will see Him.  Denis in Canberra  Maranatha!!          

  Jerusalem's Aussie Deliverers

Extracts from Col Stringer's book ‘800 Horsemen’ (extract on http://www.swcs.com.au/newsup.htm)

Many Australians are ignorant of their country's rich history and the much overlooked fact that it was these tiny nations that succeeded in doing what no other on earth has been able to achieve - the liberation of Jerusalem that occurred during the First World War.

Beersheba  The key to the battle were the Gaza-Beersheba fortifications. Beersheba, meaning "well of the oath", so named by Abraham in the book of Genesis. The well had provided water not only to Abraham, but to Moses and David. Any army approaching its life-giving wells has to march for days through the waterless Sinai desert. All the Turks had to do was hold off an attack for one day and the merciless desert sun would do the rest. Despite constant assaults by the combined forces of the British and Australian armies, the place could not be taken. Then came the fateful day of October 31 1917. The generals were desperate, 50,000 British infantry with tank support had been driven back into the desert. With the sun about to set and with no water for many miles, disaster stared them squarely in the face. The Australian Light Horse Commander Chauvel's orders were to storm Beersheba, it had to be won before nightfall at all costs. The situation was becoming grave as they were in urgent need of 400,000 gallons of water for men and horses.

Chauvel concocted a crazy plan. Why not let his 800 horsemen charge the Turkish artillery? A cavalry charge across 6000 yards of open terrain straight into the face of the massed Turkish guns. It sounded like a recipe for disaster. No wonder the German Officer commanding the Turkish defences described the Aussie Light Horsemen as "madmen!" For a start the Light Horse were not cavalry, they were mounted infantry. They had no swords or lancers but were equipped with rifles and bayonets designed for infantry warfare. But left with virtually no alternative the desperate General gave the order for the last great cavalry charge in history! The 800 young men mounted their magnificent Walers (horses) and lined up to face the Turkish guns, their young faces bronzed and tanned from the desert sun, their emu plumes swaying in the breeze from their famous slouch hats, rifles swung across their backs and bayonets in hand. History was about to be written. These 800 young men were about to open the doorway to the liberation of Jerusalem!

Just after 4.30pm in the desert heat of that late autumn, the men set off, first in a canter, but soon breaking into a strong gallop. The 4th Lighthorse took the right flank and the 12th the left. The Light Horsemen charged magnificently across the dusty plains, so fast that the Turkish artillery could not keep pace with them and the "mad" horsemen were able to slip under their guns and then onwards to the town.

To quote from "True Australian War Tales" by Alec Hepburn - Beersheba - well of the oath, was in Australian hands by the time the last rays of fading daylight had gone from the desert sky. This deed would live on as the proudest achievement in the colourful story of the legendary Light Horse, the force that was probably the most uniquely Australian fighting unit ever raised. The Light Horseman was the best mounted soldier in history, finer even than the Cossack or the American Plains Indian.

It was a pivotal seizure hailed as one of the most heroic in Australian military history. In fact the British General Allenby rated the Cavalry charge as one of, if not the most magnificent in history. Casualties during the charge were low, with 31 Australians killed and 36 wounded. More than 1000 Turkish prisoners were captured on the day, with the help of British forces who had taken substantial casualties in earlier softening-up battles, with up to 1300 dead and wounded.

On December 11th 1917 the Australian Light Horsemen rode triumphantly into Jerusalem, so far from their homes, their emu feathers proudly fluttering in the breeze, to be greeted with a hysterical welcome by Jews and Christians. As the triumphant British General Allenby entered the city through the Jaffa gate, his honour guard was made up of slouch hatted Aussies. Opposite him as he stood on the steps of the Citadel of David he was encircled by another honour guard of proud ANZAC Light Horsemen!

Most of the Diggers shared little of that afternoon on October 31 with their families, as was the custom of men of that generation. "All we heard was that it was pretty much a desperate measure," said Grant Pike, whose great-uncle Harold Seale survived the charge. "They had 20 minutes to form up and get going."

Even today in Beersheba, now a bustling and modern desert city, the legend of the Australians is still remembered, particularly the rapport they struck up with the local children.

Copyright 1997 Col Stringer Ministries and The Australian newspaper Oct 27 2007. All rights reserved.
http://www.swcs.com.au/newsup.htm.