What was the charge at Beersheba?
The charge at Beersheba was a famous cavalry attack on 31 October 1917, during World War I, when the Australian 4th Light Horse Brigade charged Ottoman defenses and captured the town of Beersheba in present-day Israel.
Beersheba was strategically important because of its wells, which the British-led forces needed for water. Capturing the town was part of a plan to break through Ottoman lines in Palestine.
Late in the afternoon, after other attacks had failed to take the town, the 4th and 12th Light Horse Regiments charged across open ground toward the Ottoman trenches.
One of the last great cavalry charges
Around 800 horsemen galloped several kilometres under fire, jumped the trenches and fought their way into the town. Beersheba and most of its wells were captured.
The charge is often described as one of the last successful cavalry charges in history. Australian losses were relatively light.
The victory helped the Allies advance toward Jerusalem. The charge has been celebrated in Australian films, including The Lighthorsemen in 1987, and a memorial park in Beersheba honors the soldiers.