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Australian Mounted Division

The Australian Mounted Division originally formed as the Imperial Mounted Division in January 1917, was a mounted infantry, light horse and yeomanry division. The division was formed in Egypt, and along with the Anzac Mounted Division formed part of Desert Column, Egyptian Expeditionary Force in World War I. The division was originally made up of the Australian 3rd Light Horse Brigade, (formerly Anzac Mounted Division) the reconstituted 4th Light Horse Brigade, and two British yeomanry brigades; the 5th Mounted Brigade and 6th Mounted Brigade.[1]

Imperial Mounted Division
Australian Mounted Division
ActiveJanuary 1917 – May 1919
Country Australia
 United Kingdom
 France
 New Zealand
TypeDivision
RoleMounted infantry
Australian light horse
Yeomanry cavalry
Part ofDesert Column
Desert Mounted Corps
Anniversaries31 October Beersheba Day
EquipmentHorse rifle and bayonet (Yeomanry armed with swords) 1916–1918. After the Yeomanry were sent to the Western Front, from mid-1918 a sword was added to the Light Horse along with Mixte de Cavalerie du Lavant Regiment
EngagementsFirst World War
Commanders
CommanderHenry Hodgson

History

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Formation

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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 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

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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

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The division served in the Sinai and Palestine Campaign from formation through to the end of the First World War including[4]

Orders of battle

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See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ The basic organic unit of the Royal Artillery was, and is, the Battery.[2] When grouped together they formed brigades, in the same way that infantry battalions or cavalry regiments were grouped together in brigades. At the outbreak of World War I, a field artillery brigade of headquarters (4 officers, 37 other ranks), three batteries (5 and 193 each), and a brigade ammunition column (4 and 154)[3] had a total strength just under 800 so was broadly comparable to an infantry battalion (just over 1,000) or a cavalry regiment (about 550). Like an infantry battalion, an artillery brigade was usually commanded by a 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.
  2. ^ a b Originally the 3rd Light Horse Brigade Train, designated 3rd Supply Section from February 1916 and 35th Company, Australian Army Service Corps from February 1917.[23]
  3. ^ 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]
  4. ^ Originally the 5th Light Horse Brigade Train, designated 37th Company, Australian Army Service Corps from July 1918.[28]
  5. ^ 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

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  1. ^ Falls & 1930 Vol. 1, pp. 273–4
  2. ^ "The Royal Artillery". Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom). Archived from the original on 23 October 2013. Retrieved 18 November 2013.
  3. ^ Baker, Chris. "What was an artillery brigade?". The Long, Long Trail. Retrieved 18 November 2013.
  4. ^ a b c Perry 1992, p. 56
  5. ^ a b c Perry 1992, p. 51
  6. ^ Perry 1992, p. 41
  7. ^ a b Perry 1992, p. 52
  8. ^ a b c d Perry 1992, p. 55
  9. ^ "11th Australian Light Horse Regiment". Australian War Memorial. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
  10. ^ Perry 1992, p. 40
  11. ^ a b Westlake 1992, p. 15
  12. ^ a b Becke 1936, pp. 10–17
  13. ^ Baker, Chris. "The Oxfordshire Yeomanry". The Long, Long Trail. Retrieved 26 March 2013.
  14. ^ Baker, Chris. "The Dorset Yeomanry". The Long, Long Trail. Retrieved 26 March 2013.
  15. ^ a b c d Perry 1992, p. 54
  16. ^ a b Becke 1936, p. 16
  17. ^ Frederick 1984, p. 449
  18. ^ Farndale 1988, p. 357
  19. ^ Becke 1936, p. 17
  20. ^ Westlake 1992, p. 3
  21. ^ Clarke 2004, p. 23
  22. ^ a b Farndale 1988, p. 83
  23. ^ a b c d "3rd Australian Light Horse Brigade". Australian Light Horse Studies Centre. 8 November 2009. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
  24. ^ a b c d "4th Australian Light Horse Brigade". Australian Light Horse Studies Centre. 24 March 2009. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
  25. ^ 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)
  26. ^ a b Becke 1936, p. 12
  27. ^ Farndale 1988, p. 95
  28. ^ a b c "5th Australian Light Horse Brigade". Australian Light Horse Studies Centre. 24 December 2009. Retrieved 6 January 2016.

Bibliography

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  • 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.
  • Farndale, General Sir Martin (1988). The Forgotten Fronts and the Home Base, 1914–18. History of the Royal Regiment of Artillery. Woolwich: The Royal Artillery Institution. 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.
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