How a desperate cavalry charge with bayonets secured a vital victory at Beersheba
In short: On October 31, 1917, the British Empire’s Egyptian Expeditionary Force launched a daring assault on the Ottoman garrison at Beersheba. Facing entrenched positions and a formidable defensive line, the 4th Light Horse Brigade executed a legendary mounted charge, wielding only bayonets to seize the town and its essential water wells.
The Battle of Beersheba was a pivotal maneuver in the Sinai and Palestine campaign of World War I. Following two failed attempts to capture Gaza earlier in 1917, General Edmund Allenby took command of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF) and reorganized his troops to break the stalemate. The Ottoman forces, commanded by German General Erich von Falkenhayn under the Yildirim Army Group, had transformed Beersheba into a fortified stronghold. The town was protected by a semicircle of deep trenches, barbed wire, and redoubts, including the critical Tel el Saba position, which dominated the eastern approaches.
Allenby’s plan relied on a coordinated assault. While the XX Corps infantry divisions attacked from the southwest to breach the main trench lines, the Desert Mounted Corps was tasked with encircling the town from the east to cut off retreat routes to Jerusalem. By late afternoon on October 31, the Anzac Mounted Division had captured Tel el Saba. With time running short and the need to secure the town's water supply becoming critical, the 4th Light Horse Brigade was ordered to charge.
The charge was unconventional; the light horsemen were mounted infantry who carried rifles slung across their backs, leaving their bayonets as their primary weapons for the mounted attack. They galloped across the open plain, jumping trenches and overcoming Ottoman defenses before entering the town. This victory not only captured the garrison but also opened the path for the EEF to advance toward Jerusalem, which fell six weeks later. The success of the operation was bolstered by intelligence from the Nili spy ring, which provided detailed maps of Ottoman positions, allowing the British to execute targeted strikes against a well-prepared enemy.
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- Summary by Intellect · source: Battle of Beersheba (1917)
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