The Battle of Beersheba

When did the event occur?

The battle of Beersheba was fought on 31st October in Beersheba, southern Palestine. Beersheba was a heavily fortified town 43 kilometers from the Turkish bastion of Gaza. It anchored the right end of a defensive line that stretched from Gaza on the Mediterranean coast. Starting at dusk, the soldiers of the 4th light horse Brigade stormed through Turkish defenses and seized the strategic town of Beersheba. 

Why/ how was Australia involved?

The British 20 army corps. launched an attack on Beersheba at dawn 31st October 1917. The army corps hadn't made alot of headway towards the town by the end of the day. General Sir Harry Chauvel called in the Australian 4th light horse brigade to attempt to capture the important position. Brigadier General William Grant responded to the call by ordering the 4th and 12th regiments to attack some Turkish trenches. The attack was a surprise for the Turkish and the Australians used this to their advantage and moved through the Turkish defenses easily, in under one hour the Australians destroyed the Turkish trenches and entered Beersheba.  Turkish soldiers and German officers were captured and the valuable water supply within Beersheba was secured. This was a successful battle and the fall of Beersheba opened the flank on Gaza.

Significance to Australia. (5 dot points)
  • The battle led to the flank of Gaza - Which eventually led to the Turkish retreating into Palestine. 
  • The Australians suffered 67 casualties. Two officers and 29 other ranks were killed, and 8 officers and 28 other ranks wounded.
  • The Australians once again proved themselves worthy of fighting with the prestigious British. 
  • This reinforced Australian soldiers' reputation of being a fighting nation, "The diggers". 

Battle of Messines

When did the event occur?

The Battle of Messines took place in Flanders, Belgium between 7th-14th June 1917 near the village of Messines. The offensive was conducted by the British second army, led by General Herbet Plumer. The battle was the first large scale battle involving Australian troops in Belgium. The Messines was an important success for the British and Australian army leading up to beginning of the Third Battle of Ypres several weeks later.

Why/ how was Australia involved?

For the Australians and the British the target of the offensive was the Messines ridge which was a natural stronghold, southeast of Ypres, and a small German bunker since late 1914. General Plumer's plan was to detonate multiple mines underneath the German controlled ridge at the same time, to open up an attack by divisions of British, Australian, New Zealand infantry, to attack the dazed Germans. 

Significance to Australia. (5 dot points)
  • The Battle of the Missines was a huge success for the British Empire on the Western Front

Fromelles

When did the event occur?

The battle of Fromelles took place in Nord, France on July 19th 1916 ended just a day later on the 20th. The battle took place between the combined allied forces of Australia and Britain and the Powerful Axis forces. The battle is considered the worst 24 hours in Australian history and resulted in a German victory.

The area around Fromelles was considered a quiet area where German troops could move around with ease. 

Why/ how was Australia involved?

Australian and British troops from two divisions (61st Division and the 5th Australian Division) attacked German positions at Fromelles. 

The battle was an attempt to stop the Germans moving away from the Battle of the Somme that was being fought fifty miles to the south of Fromelles. The Australians role in the battle was to attempt to force the German High Command to move troops from Fromelles to Somme in an effort to support their troops there. Due to misleading Ally intelligence the Germans set up a ploy and the Ally forces bombarded a line of trenches which were unoccupied, there was not a single German casualty. The Germans had set up trenches around 200m away from the lines with machine guns and housed bunkers. After the bombardment the Ally soldiers charged the trenches and were met with German gunfire and bombardment. The gunfire left many Australian and British soldiers dead in their trenches. The 61st division took alot of gunfire and were forced to retreat, the Australians did better and managed to reach what they thought were the French trenches, but found it unguarded and flooded. By July 20th, they like the 61st had to retreat after suffering very high casualties.

Significance to Australia. (5 dot points)

  • In a losing effort there was 5,533 Australian casualties

  • The battle soured relations between the Australian and British Generals
  • Fromelles was one of the worst disasters to occur in World War One
  • The battle is not only regarded as the worst 24 hours in Australian Military history, but it is regarded as the worst 24 hours in Australian History
  • The battle was Australia's first major battle on the western front
  • Excavations are being made to find the bodies of the dead soldiers and rebury them.
Significance to Australia 

The casualties - Australia 5th division 5,333 men 2000 killed. These casualties occurred in 24 hours. The other Australian divisions shortly after had similar casualties at Somme but the casualties were spread over a number of days, not just one.  Fromelles was the first big battle that the Australians fought on the western front. Shortly after arriving on the western front the Australian soldiers thought it was a picnic compared to Gallipoli, but they soon encountered what was called industrial warfare for the first time. The Australians ran into artillery, Machine guns, tanks defences that they had never before seen. After Fromelles and the Somme, Gallipoli was a picnic. The tragedy was the casualties were sustained for very little reason. Even if the battle was a victory to rewards would be insignificant to the losses. Fromelles is significant today as well as a mass grave of Australian and British soldiers has been found, and a new cemetery has been created for them at Pheasant wood. 100 of these Australian soldiers have been identified, which closure for their families. Over the next few years more bodies will continue to be identified, this is significant as it shows the lengths that we as a nation will go to respect and honour our war dead and to preserve their memory, this speaks highly of us, the Australians. The battle soured relations between the British and Australia which did not help the war going forward.

The Battle of the Nek

When did the event occur?

The battle of the Nek was fought in WWI as part of the Gallipoli campaign. The battle of the Nek refers to the tragic and futile attack on Ottoman trenches by the Australian 3rd Light Horse Brigade on August 7th 1915. The attack was scheduled to commence at 4:30 a.m. Australian soldiers charged the Nek in waves. The Australians were met with a torrent of gunfire, and four out of five who took part in the assault were killed or wounded. As a loss, this was one of the great tragedies of the First World War. 

The Nek was a very important position to the Australians and the Ottomons. The Nek is a thin strip of ground leading up the range with steep drops on either side.  The battle was fought in a mountain pass which resembled a bottleneck, and was easy to defend.

The Nek was in Gallipoli and the terrain was rough, mountainous and sandy.

Why/ how was Australia involved?

The point of the offensive was to capture and secure the high ground above the Sari Bair range. The New Zealanders were given the job of assaulting battleship hill whilst the Australian Light Hose attacked Baby 700 across The Nek. After a naval bombardment the battle was to commence at 4:30 am, four waves each comprising of 150 men. The attack did not go to plan as the Australian and New Zealand troops were supposed to attack together but the New Zealanders were delayed by one day. The attack was called off as the fourth wave mounted the hill, due to the miss communication of officers the fourth wave of troops were slaughtered.


Significance to Australia. (5 dot points)

  • 234 Australians were killed, 138 were wounded. 

  • Success at the Nek was crucial for the allies to capture a big part of the Gallipoli peninsula, unfortunately the battle was lost.
  • 8 Turkish soldiers died from unloaded rifles fixed with bayonets

 

The Storming of Gallipoli

When did the event occur?

The Storming of Gallipoli was a world war 1 campaign which took place on the Gallipoli peninsula. In the Ottoman Empire (Turkey) between 25 April 1915 and 9 January 1916. The peninsula forms a strait with a direct route to the Russian Empire which was one of the Allied nations. To safely secure the route, Russia's allies France and Britain launched an naval attack on the Peninsula in an attempted to capture the capitol of the Ottoman empire, Constantinople (Istanbul). The Naval attack by the British and French was deterred and after months of fighting the invasion failed and the allies retreated back into Egypt.

In Ottoman history, the victory is considered a defining moment.  

Why/ how was Australia involved?

Australia was assisting the British, French in storming Gallipoli and taking Constantinople. Australian troops were among the soldiers who stormed the beach at Gallipoli and fought on the front lines. The aim of the Australian force was to capture or destroy multiple forts guarding the strait which leads to Russia. 

Significance to Australia. (5 dot points)

  • The ANZAC name has become a household name in Australia and New Zealand.

  • In remembrance for their courage and fighting, April 25th (ANZAC Day) has become a public holiday, in which people remember the ANZACS fighting spirit and sacrifice.

  • Of the ANZAC forces 2721 New Zealanders died and 8709 Australians died

  • Australia participated in one of History’s deadliest wars (500,000+ Casualties), Australia was eager to fight.

  • By the time the campaign ended, more than 120,000 men had died: at least 87,000 Ottoman soldiers and 44,000 Allied soldiers

Lone Pine

When did the event occur?

The battle of lone pine began on 6th august 1915 and ended 4 days later on the 10th. The battle took place in Gallipoli, Turkey. The lone pine attack launched by the 1st Brigade AIF in the late afternoon of 6 August 1915 saw Australian soldiers pitted against the formidable Turkish army. The Australians and Ottomans fought on an area equal to two or three football fields. The battle was fought in trenches and on open ground.

The Terrain of Gallipoli was mountainous with open areas and a coast line.

Why/ how was Australia involved?

Australia’s job was to divert the ottomans from the main attacks on Sari Bair, Chunuk Bair and Hill 971.            

The Australian Brigade has hoped to draw a regiment but in fact attracted a whole division. Nearly 3000 Australians died and over 5000 Turks were killed in a small area.

Significance to Australia. (5 dot points)
  • The battle drew attention from the Turkish Main assaults, although the Australians eventually evacuated it was a heroic effort.
  • Many Australians died sacrificing themselves for a better future.
  • The Australians crushed the Turkish and captured an important position.
  • The ANZAC forces killed over 5000 Turks
  • The heroic war effort earned a few soldiers Victoria crosses
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