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The 2nd Light Horse Regiment was a
mounted infantry Mounted infantry were infantry who rode horses instead of marching. Unlike cavalry, mounted infantry dismounted to fight on foot. The original dragoons were essentially mounted infantry. According to the ''Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Editio ...
regiment of the
Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia. It is a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF), along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army ...
during the
First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
. The regiment was raised in September 1914, and by December as part of the 1st Light Horse Brigade had moved overseas. During the war the regiment only fought against the forces of the
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...
, in Egypt, at
Gallipoli The Gallipoli Peninsula (; ; ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles strait to the east. Gallipoli is the Italian form of the Greek name (), meaning ' ...
, on the Sinai Peninsula, and in Palestine and Jordan. After the armistice the regiment eventually returned to Australia in March 1919. For its role in the war the regiment was awarded nineteen battle honours.


Formation

On 18 August 1914, the 2nd Light Horse Regiment was raised at Enoggera, and comprised twenty-five officers and 497 other ranks serving in three squadrons, each of six
troop A troop is a military sub-subunit, originally a small formation of cavalry, subordinate to a squadron. In many armies a troop is the equivalent element to the infantry section or platoon. Exceptions are the US Cavalry and the King's Troo ...
s. Each troop was divided into eight sections, of four men each. In action one man of each section, was nominated as a horse holder reducing the regiment's rifle strength by a quarter. Under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Robert Mackay Stodart, its manpower was drawn from the 1st Military District and consisted mainly of residents of
Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...
and
New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
. The regiment's officers had all previously served in the Citizens Forces, and many of its soldiers had also served before, including some who had served in the British forces. All were required to pass a riding test; those that failed were transferred to the infantry and subsequently served in the 9th Battalion. Once formed the regiment was assigned to the 1st Light Horse Brigade, serving alongside the 1st and 3rd Light Horse Regiments. All Australian Light Horse regiments used cavalry unit designations, but were
mounted infantry Mounted infantry were infantry who rode horses instead of marching. Unlike cavalry, mounted infantry dismounted to fight on foot. The original dragoons were essentially mounted infantry. According to the ''Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Editio ...
armed with rifles, not swords or lances, and mounted exclusively on the Australian Waler horse.


Operational history


Departure for Egypt

After a short period of training at Enoggera, on 25 September 1914, the regiment left
Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...
, sailing upon the transport ship ''Star of England'', arriving at Egypt on 9 December. There they undertook further training and took part in the
North African campaign The North African campaign of World War II took place in North Africa from 10 June 1940 to 13 May 1943, fought between the Allies and the Axis Powers. It included campaigns in the Libyan and Egyptian deserts (Western Desert campaign, Desert Wa ...
defending the
Suez Canal The Suez Canal (; , ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, Indo-Mediterranean, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia (and by extension, the Sinai Peninsula from the rest ...
. In May 1915, they left for the Gallipoli campaign with the
Australian and New Zealand Army Corps The Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) was originally a First World War army corps of the British Empire under the command of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force. It was formed in Egypt in December 1914, and operated during the ...
(ANZAC).


Gallipoli

The regiment left their horses in Egypt, and arrived at the
Gallipoli The Gallipoli Peninsula (; ; ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles strait to the east. Gallipoli is the Italian form of the Greek name (), meaning ' ...
peninsula on 12 May, joining the Allied forces there as reinforcements. Assigned to the
New Zealand and Australian Division The New Zealand and Australian Division was a composite army Division (military), division raised for service in the First World War under the command of Major General Alexander Godley. Consisting of several Mounted infantry, mounted and standard ...
, the regiment fought around Anzac Cove, and during the Battle of Sari Bair, but spent most of the campaign in a defensive posture except for one attack they made on the Turkish position at "Quinn's Post" in mid-May, where they lost 25 men killed and 21 wounded before the assault was called off. The regiment left Gallipoli for
Mudros Moudros () is a town and a former municipality on the island of Lemnos, North Aegean, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Lemnos, of which it is a municipal unit. It covers the entire eastern peninsula o ...
, on the island of
Lemnos Lemnos ( ) or Limnos ( ) is a Greek island in the northern Aegean Sea. Administratively the island forms a separate municipality within the Lemnos (regional unit), Lemnos regional unit, which is part of the North Aegean modern regions of Greece ...
, on 18 December 1915 as part of the Allied evacuation of the peninsula. For their involvement in the campaign, the regiment earned four battle honours.


Sinai and Palestine Campaign

After concentrating on Lemnos, the regiment sailed back to Egypt on the transport ''Ionian'' on 22 December, spending Christmas at sea. On 27 December, the regiment made port at Alexandria and established a camp at Heliopolis. Back in Egypt the regiment, still with the 1st Light Horse Brigade, became part of the ANZAC Mounted Division, responsible for the defence of the
Suez Canal The Suez Canal (; , ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, Indo-Mediterranean, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia (and by extension, the Sinai Peninsula from the rest ...
from raiding Senussi Arabs. Then on 4 August 1916, they fought in the
Battle of Romani The Battle of Romani was the last ground attack of the Central Powers on the Suez Canal at the beginning of the Sinai and Palestine campaign during the First World War. The battle was fought between 3 and 5 August 1916 near the Egyptian town o ...
against the Turks, before being withdrawn to rest and refit. The regiment rejoined the brigade in November and took part in the battles of Maghaba and Rafa in December 1916 and January 1917. This was followed by defeat in the second battle of Gaza in April 1917, and the successful Battle of Beersheba and the third battle of Gaza in October and November. The regiment followed up the retreating Ottoman forces and fought in the battle of Mughar Ridge the battle of Nebi Samwill, the battle of Jerusalem, the battle of Jaffa, the capture of Jericho, the attack on Amman, the attack on Es Salt and finally in September and October 1918 the battles and Megiddo and Nablus. The Ottoman Empire signed the Armistice of Mudros on 30 October 1918, bring the war to an end. After transferring their horses to the 5th Cavalry Division in late December 1918, the 2nd Light Horse Regiment sailed for Australia on the transport ''Ulimaroa'' in mid-March 1919. Sailing via Colombo, Fremantle, Melbourne, and Sydney, the regiment arrived in Brisbane in late April. Due to concerns about an influenza epidemic, they were held in quarantine at Lytton for a week. On 30 April, the regiment marched through the centre of the city, and after the colours were laid up at St John's Cathedral, the regiment was disbanded. Their campaigns in the First World War had cost them 293 men killed and 472 men wounded. A total of 103 officers and 2,508 other ranks served in the regiment during the war.


Perpetuation

In 1921, after the demobilisation of the AIF, the Australian government reviewed the nation's military requirements and the decided to re-organise its part-time military forces to perpetuate the numerical designations of the AIF units. As a result, the 2nd Light Horse was re-formed as a part-time unit in
Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...
through the amalgamation of the three Citizens Forces units: the 2nd Battalion, 52nd Infantry Regiment, the 5th Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment and the 2nd Light Horse (Queensland Mounted Infantry). In 1927, the regiment received its battle honours for the war, and was redesignated as the "2nd Moreton Light Horse (Queensland Mounted Infantry)". It also adopted the motto "Forward". When it was reformed, the strength of the Citizens Forces units was maintained through a mixture of voluntary and compulsory service; but, following the election of the Scullin
Labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...
government in 1929–1930, compulsory service was discontinued and an all volunteer "Militia" was established. Economic hardship during the
Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
made it difficult for part-time soldiers to maintain their livelihoods while continuing their training commitments, and as a result the number of volunteers fell sharply. Consequently, a number of units were disbanded or amalgamated. In 1930, the 2nd Light Horse was amalgamated with the 14th West Moreton Light Horse to form the 2nd/14th Light Horse Regiment. The two regiments remained linked until 1940, when they were split and the 2nd was re-formed in its own right amidst the backdrop of the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. In 1941, it was redesignated the "2nd Reconnaissance Battalion, Moreton Light Horse (QMI)", before later being converted into a cavalry role and changing its name to the "2nd Australian Divisional Cavalry Regiment" the following year. In November 1942, the regiment was designated an "AIF" unit, meaning that they could be deployed outside of Australian territory to fight. Nevertheless, there was little need for cavalry in the jungle battles Australian forces were fighting in the South West Pacific Area and consequently the regiment was disbanded on 29 July 1943. It is perpetuated by the 2nd/14th Light Horse Regiment, which was re-raised in 1949.


Commanding officers

The following officers commanded the 2nd Light Horse during the First World War: * Lieutenant Colonel Robert Mackay Stodart; *Lieutenant Colonel Thomas William Glasgow; *Lieutenant Colonel Sydney William Barlow; *Major William Ernest Markwell (acting various times 1916, 1917); *Major Gilbert Birkbeck (acting 1917); *Lieutenant Colonel George Herbert Bourne


Battle honours

ANZAC The Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) was originally a First World War army corps of the British Empire under the command of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force. It was formed in Egypt in December 1914, and operated during the ...
Defence at ANZAC Suvla Sari Bair Gallipoli 1915–1916 Egypt 1915–1917 Romani Magdhaba–Rafah Gaza–Beersheba El Mughar Nebi Samwill
Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...
Jaffa Jaffa (, ; , ), also called Japho, Joppa or Joppe in English, is an ancient Levantine Sea, Levantine port city which is part of Tel Aviv, Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel, located in its southern part. The city sits atop a naturally elevated outcrop on ...
Jericho Jericho ( ; , ) is a city in the West Bank, Palestine, and the capital of the Jericho Governorate. Jericho is located in the Jordan Valley, with the Jordan River to the east and Jerusalem to the west. It had a population of 20,907 in 2017. F ...
Jordan (Es Salt) Jordan (Amman) Megiddo
Nablus Nablus ( ; , ) is a State of Palestine, Palestinian city in the West Bank, located approximately north of Jerusalem, with a population of 156,906. Located between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim, it is the capital of the Nablus Governorate and a ...
Palestine 1917–1918.


References


Citations


Bibliography

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External links


2nd Light Horse Regiment Digital Story and Captain Adele Catts Oral History
State Library of Queensland State Library of Queensland (State Library) is the state public reference and research library of Queensland, Australia, operated by the Government of Queensland, state government. The Library is governed by the Library Board of Queensland, whi ...

2nd Light Horse Association records
State Library of Queensland {{DEFAULTSORT:2nd Light Horse Regiment Military units and formations established in 1914 Military units and formations disestablished in 1919 1914 establishments in Australia Mounted regiments of Australia