page_title: Military history of Australia during World War I
section_title: Fighting around Gaza, 1917
hierarchical_section_title: Military history of Australia during World War I / Egypt and Palestine / Fighting around Gaza, 1917
caption_attribution_description: עברית: המרכז להנצחת חיילי אנז"ק בבאר שבע English: ANZAC Memorial Center
context_page_description: In Australia, the outbreak of World War I was greeted with considerable enthusiasm. Even before Britain declared war on Germany on 4 August 1914, the nation pledged its support alongside other states of the British Empire and almost immediately began preparations to send forces overseas to engage in the conflict. The first campaign that Australians were involved in was in German New Guinea after a hastily raised force known as the Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force was dispatched from Australia to seize German possessions in the Pacific in September 1914. At the same time another expeditionary force, initially consisting of 20,000 men and known as the First Australian Imperial Force, was raised for service overseas.
  The AIF departed Australia in November 1914 and, after several delays due to the presence of German naval vessels in the Indian Ocean, arrived in Egypt, where they were initially used to defend the Suez Canal. In early 1915, however, it was decided to carry out an amphibious landing on the Gallipoli peninsula with the goal of opening up a second front and securing the passage of the Dardanelles.
context_section_description: In early 1917, the Imperial Mounted Division was formed from the 3rd and 4th Light Horse Brigades and two British mounted brigades. The division first saw service during the First Battle of Gaza, which occurred in southern Gaza on 26 March 1917. At around noon two mounted brigades of the Anzac Mounted Division attacked Gaza from the north and east. At 6.00 pm the Turkish position had become perilous with the ring closing tightly around Gaza. However, in a decision that dismayed most of their soldiers the British commanders decided to call off the attack and retreat, delivering victory to the Turks. A second attempt was made to capture Gaza on 19 April by which time the Turkish defences were even more formidable and the task confronting the British even more difficult. This battle became known as the Second Battle of Gaza. The Anzac Mounted Division played only a minor role in this battle suffering only 105 casualties out of the 5,917 suffered. The second battle of Gaza was a disastrous defeat for the Allied forces.
  In June 1917, the Imperial Mounted Division was renamed as the Australian Mounted Division. In August 1917 Chauvel was placed in command of the Desert Mounted Corps, which included the two Australian mounted divisions, as well as the British Yeomanry Division and the Imperial Camel Corps Brigade. Chauvel became the first Australian to command a corps, as well as the first to achieve the rank of lieutenant general.
  With the failure of the Second Battle of Gaza a third assault was launched on Gaza between 31 October and 7 November 1917. Units from the Anzac Mounted Division and the Australian Mounted Division took part in the battle. The battle was a complete success for the Allies. The Gaza–Beersheba line was completely overrun and 12,000 Turkish soldiers were captured or surrendered. The critical moment of the battle was the capture of the town of Beersheba on the first day by Australian light horsemen. The Australian 4th Light Horse Brigade, under Brigadier General William Grant, charged more than 4 miles (6.4 km) at the Turkish trenches, overran them and captured the wells at Beersheba. In the capture of Beersheba, the Australians lost 31 men killed. A further 32 were wounded, while 80 horses were lost. On the Turkish side, more than 500 men were killed and 1,500 captured as well as nine artillery pieces and a number of machine guns and other pieces of equipment.
caption: The Be'er Sheva Anzac Memorial Centre, Israel
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