User talk:Little-j

The 8oo Horsemen

What role did the 800 horsemen play in the liberation of Beersheba and therefore Jerusalem? Was God influential in their victory?

Throughout history Jerusalem has been a well sought after city. Ever since Israel’s King David captured the city from the Jebusites in 1004 BC the city has never had more than a few hundred years of peace. In 616 BC, Nebuchadnezzar captured the city and destroyed it. It was rebuilt again, only to be captured or destroyed again by the Greeks, Romans, Muslims and the Turks. Besieged over 40 times, the city has rarely been at rest. While there was foreign rule, Jerusalem ceased to be the capital of Israel and the Israeli’s were more often than not, banned from the city itself.

Beersheba holds a special significance for the Israeli’s. It was the place were Abraham built ‘the well of oath’, which is what gives the place it’s name. (Beersheba means ‘well of oath’.) However, not only does Beersheba hold spiritual significance, but if Beersheba could be captured, it would almost guarantee the capture of all of Jerusalem. To do this however, was no easy feat. One must cross the Sinai Desert, with no water except for that which could be carried. Any army that could not capture Beersheba not only faced defeat from the enemy, but also dehydration and the merciless desert sun which eventually led to death. Aside from a few battles, the Turks had been the holders of Jerusalem for over 1,000 years and they held it now without defeat for 400. Countless battles and eleven crusades, (including Napoleon’s,) had been fought to try and liberate Jerusalem, but none had succeeded. However, with the help of 800 men from Australia, a country that was only sixteen years old, this was all about to change.

On October 31st 1917, one of the many battles of World War One was taking place at Beersheba, the gateway to Jerusalem. By now the Allies had realised that Beersheba was the key to Jerusalem, as previous attempts to liberate Jerusalem other ways had failed. "...The British swept towards Gaza. They stormed the city on 26 March but were thrown back by determined enemy resistance. A second attempt on 17 April also ended in failure……... The key to victory was Beersheba.” The British and Australian allies, led by General Edmund Allenby crossed the Sinai Desert to try to take Beersheba from the Turks, thus opening the gate way to Jerusalem. However, General Allenby’s 50,000 strong infantry, armed with heavy artillery and tanks could not get past the 4,600 Turks with their machine guns, who were entrenched in front of Beersheba. The men and horses had run out of water, all were parched from the hot desert sun. If they were to survive they had to take Beersheba before nightfall.

The allies were facing defeat, when a brigadier from the 4th division of the Australian Light Horsemen said to his commander, Lieutenant-General Harry Chauvel , “I believe we can take this town.” It was then that the Lieutenant General thought of one of the boldest (some would say craziest) plan in modern history. A charge across 5,500 meters against heavy machine-gun artillery with only 800 horsemen!

Outnumbered six to one, the 4th division of the Australian Light Horsemen charged towards Beersheba, undeterred by the countless shells exploding around them or by the bomb-dropping planes overhead. The Light Horsemen thundered on while some of their comrades fell as bullets from the Turkish guns found their mark. Armed only with bayonets and rifles, the horsemen rode on and soon the Turks found that their bullets where flying harmlessly overhead as they could not adjust their sights quickly enough. (In the midst of all the confusion and fear, some even forgot to.) The Light Horsemen jumped into the trenches, attacking the Turks, then onto Beersheba. They had done it. Beersheba had been captured.

As the sun set on that day the men and horses were now able to drink from the remaining wells. For most, it was the first water they had tasted for 40, even up to 70 hours. With Beersheba captured, the allies now had water and shelter from the desert sun. They no longer had to battle the desert as well as the Turks. The 50,000 strong infantry, led by the Light Horsemen, could now advance towards Jerusalem. Beersheba had given them a great advantage. The Light Horsemen walked the streets of Beersheba proudly. Just over a month later, on December 11, they were walking the streets of Jerusalem.

When General Allenby led the Allies through the Jaffa Gate, many Arabs thought he was fulfilling prophecy and he was in fact the Messiah, who would end the Turk’s rule. Due to his respect for The Holy City, Jerusalem, General Allenby entered on foot gaining him the respect of the Arabs and the name Alla-nebi meaning The Pilgrim or The Prophet of god. The name backwards meant Servant of Allah and from this and because of the prophecy, the Turks came to believe that the general was some kind of super human, sent from Allah. In fear, they quickly surrendered and General Allenby read the declaration of the liberation of Jerusalem in front of the tower of David. The Israelis could return to their capital city once more.

The liberation of Beersheba and Jerusalem was no easy feat, and even today people agree that there is no way it could have happened; but it did. One of the most amazing things about it was that out of the 800 Light Horsemen, only 36 were wounded and just 32 men died (mostly during the fighting in the trenches). The Allies captured 38 officers, 1200 soldiers, along with many guns and vehicles. Furthermore, the Turks had orders to destroy the wells if Beersheba was taken, so the Allies would have no water, but out of the 17 wells, only 2 were destroyed and just 2 were damaged. Twelve hours of fighting by the 50,000 strong infantry could not break the Turks defences. The men and horses had no water, but still Beersheba was taken by 800 men in a matter of minutes. When they went onto Jerusalem, the Turks, instead of putting up a fight to the very end, fled in fear.

Yet, the most amazing thing of all is that the Light Horsemen had to charge Beersheba twice! Due to a breakdown in communications and because of British Commander Murray, (who had headed up the earlier, unsuccessful attacks on Jerusalem) the ANZAC’s were ordered to pull out of Beersheba. The British and Welsh infantry tried unsuccessfully to take the town again, resulting in thousands of casualties. The Light Horsemen were ordered to make a second charge, and for the second time they succeeded.

People marvel at the courage and strength of the light Horsemen, but these humble ANZAC’s didn’t take the glory for themselves. “Actually, what happened was my horse had not had water for about 60 to 70 hours and so when we lined up the regiment to charge my horse got a whiff of the water and just bolted. There was simply no stopping him. All I did was hang on for dear life…”.

The Israeli’s are known as God’s chosen people and many believe that God lent a hand in delivering Beersheba and Jerusalem to the Allies. Who, unlike other conquerors, gave it back to the rightful owners. There is no way that man alone could achieve such a feat. God was looking after his chosen people and he was also looking after their liberators.

Many battles had been fought and many brave men had lost their lives in trying to take Beersheba and liberate Jerusalem. For many years they died in vain, even until General Allenby’s 50,000 troops where driven back by the Turks. However there were 32 men that did not die in vain. They were the 32 out of the 800 Australian Light Horsemen that charged Beersheba and took hold of the town leading the way for the Allies to liberate Jerusalem. Still today, though many years later, historians are puzzled at how the Light Horsemen could have possibly achieved victory. All the odds were against them but it happened. Jerusalem is the capital of Israel once more, belonging to the Israeli people. There is only one explanation for this amazing feat. God; the God of Abraham, the God of Israel was the real liberator of Jerusalem, and he did it through the Australian Light Horsemen.

Bibliography · http://www.generals.org/articles_reports_words/Australia/Articles/The%20Australian%20Light%20Horsemen.html

· http://www.colstringer.com/feature.htm#Top

· http://www.swcs.com.au/aust3.htm

· http://members.lycos.co.uk/blewholt/wwihorseroh/page12.html

· http://www.ask.co.uk/ix.asp?q=Lieutenant%2DGeneral+Harry+Chauvel

· http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/FWWgaza.htm

· http://www.home.zonnet.nl/rene.brouwer/ww1chrono.htm#1918

· http://www.anzacday.org.au/history/ww1/overview/mideast.html

· Australian Encyclopedia 2 (sixth editon)- bear-comp, Australian Geographic pty. Ldt., Nsw, Australia, 1996

· Col Stringer, 800 Horsemen- God’s History Makers, Col Stringer Minestries Inc. Qld, Australia, 2000.