12th Light Horse Regiment ( Australia ) The 12th Light Horse Regiment was a light horse regiment of the Australian Army . It was originally raised in 1915 as part of the Australian Imperial Force for service during the First World War . After fighting at Gallipoli as reinforcements , the regiment served in the Sinai and Palestine campaign against the Ottoman Empire before being disbanded after the war in late 1919 . In 1921 , the regiment was re - raised as a part - time unit of the Citizens Force based in New South Wales , before being amalgamated with the 24th Light Horse Regiment in 1936 . In 1938 , the regiment was reformed and during the Second World War it undertook garrison duties in Australia after being converted first to a motor regiment and then later to an armoured car regiment . It was disbanded in 1943 without having seen active service and was never re - raised . Its honours and traditions are perpetuated the 12th / 16th Hunter River Lancers . History . Formation and training . The regiment was established on 1 March 1915 at Liverpool , New South Wales , and two days later began forming at Holsworthy as part of the all - volunteer Australian Imperial Force ( AIF ) , which was raised for service overseas during the First World War . Drawing the majority of its personnel from outback New South Wales , the regiment was assigned to the 4th Light Horse Brigade along with the 11th and 13th Light Horse Regiments and was placed under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Percy Abbott . Upon establishment , the regiment had an authorised strength of 25 officers and 497 other ranks , who were organised into a regimental headquarters and three squadrons , each of which consisted of six troop s . Although mounted on horses , the Australian light horse regiments were not set up to undertake cavalry operations and were considered to be mounted infantry . Armed with standard infantry weapons instead of swords or lances , they were to ride into battle , using their Australian Waler horse s to obtain the mobility that foot soldiers did not possess . Following this , the regiment undertook basic training including weapons handling , ceremonial drill , mounted and dismounted tactics and regimental manoeuvres . In late April , they marched through the centre of Sydney as part of a farewell before deploying overseas . On 11 June , after the brigade had concentrated , the regiment embarked upon the troopship SS " Suevic " . After four days steaming , the ship put into Adelaide , South Australia , where the regiment disembarked their horses due to concerns about death rates among horses travelling at that time of year . The men continued on their journey three days later , undertaking rifle and signals training on deck during the day . They crossed the equator in the early afternoon on 5 July ; a short time later an epidemic of measles broke out . On 11 July , the 4th Light Horse Brigade received orders to interrupt its journey to Egypt and instead disembark at Aden , where an Ottoman attack was expected . They were briefly put ashore during this time and conducted a reconnaissance to the frontier , before undertaking a route march . The expected attack did not come and on 18 June the regiment re - embarked , arriving at Suez on 23 June . Moving into a camp at Heliopolis , near Cairo , after receiving a small number of reinforcements and replacement horses , the regiment began a period of intense training and guard duties as they acclimatised to the local conditions . Gallipoli . Elsewhere , the Gallipoli campaign had developed into a stalemate . The regiments of the 1st , 2nd and 3rd Light Horse Brigade s had already been sent to the peninsula as reinforcements ; however , the failed August Offensive had resulted in heavy casualties for the Australians and further reinforcements were required . As a result , the regiments of the 4th Light Horse Brigade were broken up to make up the losses in the other brigades . The troops were not initially informed of this , and following a train trip to Alexandria on 25 August they embarked upon the transport SS " Marquette " and sailed to Lemnos Island where they were transferred to " Prince Abbas " . Early on the morning of 29 August , the regiment went ashore at Anzac Cove upon lighters , and later that afternoon received the news that they were to be broken up and distributed among the other New South Wales light horse regiments that were already ashore . The Machine - Gun Section and ' A ' Squadron were sent to the 1st Light Horse Regiment around " Walker ' s Ridge " , becoming that regiment ' s ' B ' Squadron ; ' B ' Squadron went to the 7th Light Horse Regiment at " Ryrie ' s Post " , adopting the designation of ' D ' Squadron ; and ' C ' Squadron went to the 6th Light Horse Regiment around " Holly Spur " and " Lone Pine " , becoming their ' D ' Squadron . The Regimental Headquarters was absorbed by the 3rd Light Horse Brigade ' s headquarters , while Abbott took command of the 10th Light Horse Regiment . For the remainder of the campaign , about 600 men from the regiment – including a batch of reinforcements that arrived in early October – carried out mainly defensive duties before leaving with the last Australian troops to be evacuated from the peninsula on 20 December . They did not take part in any large - scale battles , but were involved in fighting off a number of sharp attacks . The exact number of casualties suffered is not known , but 18 men from the regiment are known to have been killed in this time . Sinai . Following their evacuation from Gallipoli , the regiment was reconstituted on 22 February 1916 when all three squadrons assembled at Heliopolis . Under a new commanding officer , Lieutenant Colonel John Royston – a veteran of the Boer War who had replaced Abbott after the latter had been sent to England – the regiment began to re - form . Although other units , such as part of the 4th and all of the 13th Light Horse Regiment , were sent to Europe to fight on the Western Front , the 12th were to remain in the Middle East , where they would take part in the Sinai and Palestine campaign . Initially , the regiment was not brigaded and served as a detached unit . After conducting infantry training around Tel - el - Kebir in early April , the regiment crossed the Suez Canal along a new railway that was being constructed through the Sinai towards Palestine . Here it was established around Kantara and a position known as " Hill 70 " . The following month , Ottoman forces clashed with positions around the railhead and on 14 May , a British garrison was attacked at Dueidar , about away from the regiment ' s positions at Hill 70 . Tasked with relieving the Royal Scots Fusiliers , two squadrons were dispatched . Delayed by a navigational error , and suffering from heat , the regiment arrived in some disorder . After this , they began work on constructing defences , while one squadron was detached to garrison Kasr - el - Nil ; in early July they were sent on to Moascar . Later that month , the 12th were relieved at Dueidar and moved back to Heliopolis . While there , Lieutenant Colonel Harold McIntosh took command of the regiment following Royston ' s elevation to temporary commander of the 2nd Light Horse Brigade . On 27 July the regiment , without its machine - gun section which had been detached to the 2nd Light Horse Brigade , was sent to Gebel Habeita to relieve the 9th Light Horse Regiment . After undertaking the first part of the journey to Seraphum by train , they marched the rest of the way . In early August , Ottoman forces launched an attack in the Battle of Romani . During this fighting , the 12th Light Horse Regiment provided flank protection , carrying out patrols , and was not directly engaged except for its machine - gun section . In early September , the regiment moved to Bayoud where they were attached to a British column along with the 11th Light Horse Regiment , a regiment from the City of London Yeomanry , and an artillery battery . Under the command of Major General A . G . Dallas , they carried out a raid in the Maghara Hills on an Ottoman position away . Upon arrival , after discovering that the Ottoman force was greater than expected , Dallas decided to limit the operation to a demonstration rather than a full attack . Within this plan , the 12th was allocated the task of advancing on the right flank during the attack . They proceeded to advance across the open ground on their horses , before dismounting to ascend towards the high ground . As the Ottoman fire increased , the 12th provided covering fire with machine - guns and rifles while the 11th came forward using their bayonets to clear the defenders from the forward position . The light horsemen were then ordered to withdraw , instead of assaulting the main position . Following this , the 12th were sent to the rear to rest , arriving at the railhead at El Ferdan on the Suez in late October . ' A ' Squadron established itself there , while ' B ' and ' C ' Squadrons and the Machine - Gun Section were sent to Ferry Post . During this time they undertook frequent patrols , with ' A ' Squadron permanently detaching a troop to Badar Mahadat . Palestine . In early 1917 , the 4th Light Horse Brigade was reconstituted at Ferry Post on 13 February under the command of Brigadier General John Meredith . Assigned to the brigade along with the 4th and 11th Light Horse Regiments , the regiment ' s time of operating as a detached unit came to an end . For the next month they undertook training exercises before joining the advance into Palestine , while some men from the regiment were also detached to join Dunsterforce . In April , the regiment took part in the Second Battle of Gaza . Assigned the task of attacking the Atawineh Redoubt early in the morning of 19 April , the regiment dismounted about from it and advanced on foot . Initially , they made good progress and captured a ridge about from their objective without even firing a shot . As the defensive fire grew more intense , the men were forced to the ground and began fire and movement drills . Spread thinly across a front with just 500 men , the 12th was dangerously exposed as machine - gun fire began to inflict casualties , checking the Australians ' advance . Nevertheless , the regiment held its position throughout the day until being withdrawn to a nearby hill that night , by which time it had suffered more than 30 percent casualties . These included the commanding officer , McIntosh , who was gravely wounded and subsequently died of his wounds . He was replaced by the second - in - command , Major Donald Cameron , who was later promoted to lieutenant colonel . The day after the attack , the 12th Light Horse Regiment dug - in and sent out patrols in preparation for a possible Ottoman counterattack . Although they were harassed throughout the day with sniper fire , the attack never came . After three days they were withdrawn back to Shaquth , where they worked to improve defences and conducted patrols for the next fortnight before dispatching two squadrons in early May to attack an Ottoman foraging party at Esani . The attack proved unsuccessful , as the Australians ' approach was spotted , allowing the Ottomans and their Bedouin workers to withdraw before they could be engaged . A period of stalemate followed , during which time the regiment , along with the rest of the brigade , rotated between the forward position at Fara , to other positions in support and reserve at Kukhari and Marakeb as preparations were made for a future offensive . The regiment ' s next major action came in October 1917 . Conceived as part of an attack towards the Jerusalem to Jaffa line , the regiment took part in the Battle of Beersheba . During this battle , along with the 4th Light Horse Regiment , the 12th Light Horse carried out a successful mounted charge , advancing over open ground late in the afternoon to get under the Ottoman guns and capture the town and its vital water supplies . Late in the afternoon , the 12th Light Horse Regiment advanced , according to historian Henry Gullett , on a " squadron frontage in three lines " apart , with the 4th Light Horse Regiment to launch a " pure cavalry " charge , the troopers advancing with bayonets in their hands . Advancing over , the light horsemen were subjected to rifle and machine - gun fire and artillery bombardment from the flanks and trenches to their front . Supporting artillery helped suppress the machine - gun fire from the flanks , and the speed of the charge made it difficult for the Ottoman gunners to adjust their range . The Ottoman trenches were not protected with wire and after jumping over the trenches , the light horsemen dismounted and hand - to - hand fighting followed . While most of the 4th Light Horse and some of the 12th Light Horse dismounted , the remainder stayed mounted , continuing their charge into the town . The British official historian claims " more than half the dismounted troops in the town were captured or killed , " while 15 of the 28 guns in the town were captured by the Desert Mounted Corps and XX Corps . Over 700 Ottoman soldiers captured and , more significantly for the Australians , over 400 , 000 litres of water secured . In achieving this , the 12th lost 24 men killed and 15 wounded ; 44 horses were also killed , while another 60 were wounded or became sick . The success at Beersheba significantly reduced Ottoman resistance , but heavy fighting continued around Gaza and elsewhere , including the Battle of Tel el Khuweilfe , and the regiment remained at Beersheba for four days to receive remounts . Gaza fell in early November and , as Ottoman forces fell back , the British Empire troops followed them in pursuit . The 12th advanced further into Palestine as part of the plan to capture Jerusalem . On 7 November , during the Battle of Hareira and Sheria , the regiment joined the 11th Light Horse Regiment in an attack in support of the 60th Division around Khurbet Buteihah , but was forced to halt their charge and dismount amidst artillery and machine - gun fire as their horses needed water . The following day , the 12th was sent to Beit Hanun to contact the Imperial Service Cavalry Brigade , before searching for water around Sin Sin and Faluje , where they captured a number of Ottoman troops before rejoining the Australian Mounted Division at Huj . On 10 November , the 12th provided support to the 11th Light Horse Regiment when they came under attack at Hill 248 by a strong Ottoman counterattack , which was turned back . After moving on to Summeil the next day , one of the regiment ' s squadrons received heavy fire while providing flank protection to the 54th Division as it attacked to the south of Et Tine . Early on 14 November , in the aftermath of the Battle of Mughar Ridge , a reconnaissance patrol to Et Tine found it had been evacuated and the 12th occupied the town . In doing so , they secured a water source and a quantity of supplies , although a large amount of equipment was lost to a fire that had been set by the withdrawing garrison . The 12th then took up an observation position at El Dhenebbe to support the British flank before moving to Wadi Menakh on 18 November to water their horses . They were then ordered to launch an attack around Latron during the Battle of Nebi Samwil , but after moving to Abu Shushen where they dismounted , the regiment was recalled to Junction Station . From there , the following day amidst heavy rain they moved to Deiran . Three days later , the 12th encamped at Mejdel for a week of rest along with the majority of the Australian Mounted Division . After a brief respite , as the 4th Light Horse Brigade was sent to El Burj to relieve British forces there , the 12th went in to reserve ; the horses were sent back to Deiran , and dismounted patrols and reconnaissance parties were sent out . In early December , the 12th relieved the Scots Fusiliers in the Judean Hills to the north of Jerusalem . Supported by artillery , the regiment advanced and on 6 December established itself along the Khed – Daty – Kureisnneh line . Upon arrival , they moved into a defensive position about from Ottoman positions . Initially , it had only been planned for the unit to stay there for one night and as a result most of the cold weather equipment had been left behind . Nevertheless , the stay was extended and as winter came to Judea , heavy rain set in and the temperature dropped . Redoubts were established along the front for shelter , while the men also took to caves in the hills briefly to escape the elements , although these were soon abandoned when they were found to contain lice . On 11 December , the 4th Light Horse Brigade , having been relieved by the 3rd Light Horse Brigade , was withdrawn back to Kh Ed Daty , where they became the Australian Mounted Division ' s reserve formation . On 28 December , the brigade advanced to the Jurdeh – Kuddis – Nalin line to hold ground that had been captured as part of the advance on Jerusalem , and the 12th established itself at Kuddis . In early in January 1918 , the regiment received orders to move to Belah , on the coast near Gaza . For the next three months they undertook training there . In March , the 4th Light Horse Brigade , commanded by William Grant , was inspected by the Duke of Connaught who , according to author Kenneth Hollis , likened the " snap and automatic precision " of their ceremonial drill to " a battalion of Grenadiers " . The following month they moved to Selmeh , near Jaffa , to support the attack on the Ottoman position that had been established around Jiljulah and Kalkileh on the railway line that stretched north in the direction of Haifa . Although the 74th Division made some progress on the flank , the regiment ' s involvement in the attack was called off due to heavy resistance and the 12th , along with the rest of the 4th Light Horse Brigade , was sent to the Jordan Valley , which had been occupied by British Empire forces . Taking up positions near Jericho , they then sent out patrols to the Jordan and the River el Auja . Jordan and Syria . In late April 1918 , the regiment joined an attack on Es Salt , which was undertaken as part of a plan to capture the village so it could be used as a staging point for a further advance towards the railway junction at Deraa . The regiment ' s role in the raid was to advance up the eastern side of the Jordan River to capture a crossing to the north of Es Salt at Jisr ed Damieh to stop Ottoman reinforcements being sent to Es Salt from Nablus . Initially , the operation met with success , and although two of the 12th ' s squadrons met strong resistance and were stopped at the bridge on the Es Salt track , the village was secured by dusk on 30 April by troops of the 3rd Light Horse Brigade . Throughout the night , the 4th Light Horse Brigade assumed defensive positions : the 12th in the centre with the 4th on their left and the 11th on their right . The following day , they were confronted by a force of around 4 , 000 Ottoman infantry along the Es Salt track , while another force of 1 , 000 infantry and 500 cavalry were further south , ready to force a second crossing . After coming under attack , and finding themselves hard pressed , the 4th Light Horse Brigade was forced back to the south , exposing the rear of the troops holding Es Salt . Over the course of next few days little progress was made by the British Empire troops and , despite the arrival of reinforcements , the commander of the operation , Lieutenant General Harry Chauvel , decided that it was necessary to withdraw from the position on 3 May . The regiment crossed the Jordan and two days later had returned to its previous positions around Jericho . Throughout May the regiment constructed defences around Musallabeh . The heat during this time was at times as high as , and flies , scorpions , spiders and snakes also infested the regiment ' s camp . Many men from the 12th became sick with malaria and other conditions , before they were moved to Solomon ' s Pools , where the climate was more bearable . In late June , the regiment manned defences in the Jordan Valley before being sent to a camp amongst the olive groves at Ludd in early August . While there , the regiment received cavalry training and was issued swords , along with the rest of the Australian Mounted Division . The regiment departed Ludd on 18 September , taking up camp near Jaffa . Before dawn the next morning , the regiment led the Australian Mounted Division ' s advance towards Semakh and Tiberias , moving by day to a position near Nahr Iskanderuneh where they rested until midnight . The 12th then trotted on to Liktera , behind the original Ottoman front line . There the regiment rested again until midday before making for Keikur Beidas ; encountering a number of surrendering Ottoman troops along the way , it arrived there in the afternoon but halted only briefly before continuing on to the mouth of the Plain of Esdraelon , where they bivouacked for the night . The next morning , the regiment moved to support the 3rd Light Horse Brigade , which had taken 8 , 000 – 9 , 000 prisoners during the capture of Jenin . They also sent out patrols to the outlying villages and hills and established signal stations . On 22 September , following the 4th Light Horse Brigade ' s relief by the 5th Light Horse Brigade , the regiment was tasked with escorting 5 , 000 prisoners to El Lejjun before moving to Jisr ed Mejamie , along the Jordan River near its confluence with the Sea of Galilee at Lake Tiberias . From there , in the early hours of 25 September , the 12th Light Horse Regiment , along with the rest of the brigade and one regiment from the 5th Light Horse Brigade , departed to conduct a dawn attack during the Battle of Samakh before rejoining the division ' s advance to Tiberias . It was still dark when the advancing Australians came under heavy rifle and machine - gun fire from German and Ottoman positions near the railway station about away . In response , the 11th Light Horse Regiment conducted a mounted charge that was checked just short of the objective , and one squadron from the 12th advanced along the left flank on horseback , while the other squadrons attempted to draw fire . Once close enough , the squadron from the 12th dismounted and attacked with their bayonets , which forced most of the defenders out of the village , except the Germans defending the fortified railway station house . At this point , the defenders raised a white flag of truce , and as several Australians advanced to take their surrender , the Germans manning the station killed them . The Australians then attacked , clearing the building , and later refused to bury the German dead , which amounted to 98 , leaving their bodies to be looted by villagers . In the battle , the regiment lost one man killed and 10 wounded ; losses suffered by the horses amounted to 61 killed and 27 injured . The regiment then moved towards the high ground on the western side of the Jordan River . Mid - morning on 25 September they reached El Menarah . In the afternoon , after the garrison was seen to withdraw , they advanced in concert with a number of armoured cars and at 3 : 00 pm the regiment entered Tiberias , capturing 200 German and Ottoman troops and a large amount of stores . From there , on 27 September , they began the final advance to Damascus , crossing the Jordan River and , early the following day , established a divisional bridgehead around Et Min during the Battle of Jisr Benat Yakub . On 30 September , about from their objective , the 12th , along with the 4th , mounted a charge at Kaukab . Forming up with the 4th on their left , the regiment attacked across a maize field towards a spur near the Jebel es Aswad , advancing on a position that they believed was strongly held . In the end , the defenders did not fire a shot before withdrawing and the Australians took the position without suffering a casualty , capturing 12 machine - guns and taking 22 prisoners . The 12th then spent the night south - west of the city and the following day , 1 October 1918 , it was one of the first Australian units to enter Damascus , sending patrols in ahead of the main advance . A period of guard duty followed before the regiment was withdrawn to the city ' s outskirts , suffering heavily from illness . Shortly after this , on 30 October , while the regiment was moving towards Homs , the Armistice of Mudros came into effect , ending the fighting . Disbandment . Following the end of the war , the 12th Light Horse Regiment remained in the Middle East for a number of months , during which time , under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Phillip Chambers , they were used to suppress the 1919 Egyptian Uprising . During the uprising , the 12th carried out security operations to protect infrastructure in the Ismailia area . As the situation was resolved , the regiment handed back its stores and equipment in preparation for repatriation back to Australia and most of their horses were transferred to the Australian Remount Depot at Moascar . They were later put down , according to Hollis , because of " cost constraints and quarantine restrictions " and concerns they might be mistreated if left behind . Mid - morning on 22 July the 12th Light Horse Regiment ' s personnel embarked upon the transport " Morvada " at Kantara . Cruising via Colombo , in Ceylon , the regiment made landfall at Fremantle on 17 August 1919 . There the men were granted a brief period of leave before the ship continued on to Sydney . After stops at Adelaide and Melbourne , they arrived on 28 August , and the regiment was disbanded . During the war , the regiment lost 67 men killed and 401 men wounded . Members of the regiment received the following decorations : three Distinguished Service Order s ( DSOs ) and one Bar ; five Military Cross es with one Bar ; nine Distinguished Conduct Medal s with one Bar ; 14 Military Medal s and 17 Mentioned in Despatches . One member of the regiment , Major Eric Hyman , was nominated for the Victoria Cross for his involvement in the fighting around Beersheba . The award was never approved and instead Hyman received a DSO . Inter - war years and subsequent service . In 1921 , the Citizens Forces was reorganised to replicate the numerical designations of the AIF units and perpetuate their honours and traditions . As a result , the 12th Light Horse Regiment was re - raised in the New England region of New South Wales and headquartered at Armidale . In re - forming , the regiment drew lineage from the Citizens Forces ' 12th ( New England ) Light Horse , which had existed parallel to the AIF light horse regiment and had remained in Australia during the war . This regiment , through a complex series of reorganisations , traced its lineage to the 6th Australian Light Horse Regiment , which had been raised in 1903 and perpetuated units that had contributed personnel to fight in South Africa during the Boer War . During this time , the regiment was assigned to the 2nd Cavalry Brigade , along with the 15th and 16th Light Horse Regiments . In 1927 , when territorial designations were adopted , the 12th Light Horse Regiment became known as the " New England Light Horse " . At the same time , the regiment adopted the motto of " Virtutis Fortuna Comes " . Initially , the strength of Citizens Forces units was maintained through both voluntary and compulsory service , but after the election of the Scullin Labor government in 1929 – 30 , compulsory service ended and the Citizens Forces was replaced with an all - volunteer " Militia " . The economic hardships of the Great Depression and reduced training opportunities resulted in a decline in the number of volunteers and consequently a number units were disbanded or amalgamated . Amidst the austerity of the inter - war years , the regiment remained in existence until 1 October 1936 when it was merged with the 24th ( Gwydir ) Light Horse to form the 12th / 24th Light Horse . These two units were later delinked in 1938 as the Militia was expanded following increased political tensions in Europe . In March 1942 , during the Second World War , the 12th Light Horse was converted to a motor regiment , known as the 12th Motor Regiment . In September 1942 , it was redesignated the 12th Armoured Car Regiment , and assigned to the 3rd Armoured Division . Throughout 1943 , the Australian Army was faced with a manpower shortage and as the Japanese threat to mainland Australia decreased many Militia armoured units were broken up and their personnel sent to other units as reinforcements . As a result , the regiment was disbanded on 19 October 1943 , having only undertaken garrison duty within Australia . When Australia ' s part - time military force was reformed in 1948 as the Citizens Military Force , the regiment was not re - raised in its own right , although an amalgamated unit known as the 12th / 16th Hunter River Lancers was established . Through this unit the 12th Light Horse Regiment ' s honours and traditions are perpetuated . Alliances . The 12th Light Horse Regiment held the following alliances : Battle honours . The 12th Light Horse received the following battle honour s : Commanding officers . The following is a list of the 12th Light Horse Regiment ' s commanding officer s from 1915 to 1919 :