The painting of the Charge at Beersheba by George Lambert in the collection of the Australian War Memorial.

The battle of Beersheba took place on 31 October 1917 as part of the wider British offensive collectively known as the third Battle of Gaza. The final phase of this all day battle was the famous mounted charge of the 4th and elements of the 12th Light Horse Brigades. Commencing at dusk, members of the brigade stormed through the Turkish defences and seized the strategic town of Beersheba. The capture of Beersheba enabled British Empire forces to break the Ottoman line near Gaza on 7 November and advance into Palestine, and opening the way for the final offensive.

We have been trying to organize a re-fight of the 100th anniversary of the famous charge as close to the actual day as possible for nearly a year. This was finally managed on Saturday 21 October 2018 only days prior to the actual charge.

The charge was re-fought in both 15mm and 28mm scales. The actual charge  that broke through the Turkish lines that was over a plain six kilometers long was played in 15mm whereas the storming of the town to prevent the wells being destroyed was played in 28mm.

The controversial “Charge” picture http://www.lighthorse.org.au/famous-battles/world-war-one/famous-battles-the-controversial-photo-of-beersheba .

The two games were linked with figures from the “charge” game who reached the town growing 13mm in stature and appearing as additional reinforcements in the “town” game.

The Main Street of Beersheba shortly after the battle.

Ambulance park near the Beersheba mosque after the battle.

Chain of Command rules were used for both games.

The “charge” game finished with the Turks being overrun and the town being captured before nightfall as in the historical battle.

The “town” game began with the Turks providing stubborn resistance with the Sections of “Davo” being halted with accurate and devastating file. “Pommy” Ian on the other side was more successful and was able to infiltrate the town to look for the building containing the demolition switches. The Turkish players were trying to get as any of their troops out of the town to provide another defensive line while the Aussies were required to prevent the wells from being destroyed.

A number of myths regarding “stashes’ of goodies such as a wine cellar full of wine,  a box of Turkish Gallipoli medals and of course the always present pile of gold still exist. The first two have some basis in the records but the gold seems to be apocryphal (would you own up if you found it!!!).  These were all included in the scenario with lots of Light horsemen walking around with Turkish medals, a section being held up for several turns while they liberated the wine and “Pommy” Ian finally locating the switch room and  preventing the wells from being destroyed.

A historical document that should be looked as is the 1940’s film 40,000 horsemen.

The charge scene from the movie.

The day finished with a “salute” of port to the fallen of both sides followed by a suitable wake for a few hours.

A great day remembering  the military exploits of our forebears.