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191-623: Britain had occupied Egypt and controlled the Egyptian government after invading the country during the 19th century. At the beginning of the war, Britain set up the Protectorate of Egypt and imposed Martial Law, giving a solemn pledge to defend Egypt and not call on the Egyptian people to aid them in the conflict. However, the British quickly came to realise they desperately needed the support of Egyptian labour, camel drivers and their camels in

382-538: A Bar to their Distinguished Service Orders (DSO) were not even mentioned in despatches and an outstanding Australian regimental commander recommended for the CMG was also not even mentioned in despatches, while a brigade commander and a staff officer Chauvel recommended for DSOs received mentions. In January 1917, a second mounted division – the Imperial Mounted Division  – was formed from

573-606: A Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG). On 1 January 1901, the colonies of Australia federated to form the Commonwealth of Australia. When Chauvel returned to Australia on 17 January, he found that during his absence he had become an officer in the newly formed Australian Army . A force of 14,000 troops was assembled for the opening of the first Federal Parliament on 9 May 1901 in Melbourne ; Chauvel

764-399: A Royal Horse Guards officer, Brigadier General Richard Howard-Vyse , known as " Wombat ", as Chauvel's chief of staff. Chauvel thus, on 2 August 1917, became the first Australian to permanently command a corps. A "brass-bound brigadier" was quoted as saying, "Fancy giving the command of the biggest mounted force in the world's history to an Australian." On being told of the appointments, in

955-540: A captain in the Upper Clarence Light Horse, with his sons Arthur and Harry becoming second lieutenants , while his two younger sons became troopers. The unit escorted Lord Carrington , Governor of New South Wales , when he formally opened the railway at Tenterfield in 1886. Following a series of severe droughts in northern New South Wales, Charles Henry Chauvel sold his property at Tabulam in 1888 for £50,000. After paying his debts, he bought

1146-542: A bit and noticed that they were concealing weapons. Suddenly a great handsome black devil about 6ft 4ins high ... came threateningly forward and I covered him with my revolver: to my disgust I found it was choked with sand and would not revolve, so I whacked him twice over the head with the butt end. ... Then I invited any other 'gentlemen' who did not want to march out to come forward, but they all assured me they only wanted to fill their bottles and to work. I don't think there would have been any further trouble, but my NCO came on

1337-502: A break. Wavell recalled: "He went on with his work and asked no sympathy. Only those who stood close to him knew how heavy the blow had been, how nearly it had broken him, and what courage it had taken to withstand it". Allenby assessed the Turkish Army's fighting force that he was facing to be 46,000 rifles and 2,800 sabres, and estimated that he could take Jerusalem with 7 infantry and 3 cavalry divisions. He did not feel that there

1528-507: A curfew on the officers' mess. Allenby participated in the actions at Zand River on 10 May 1900, Kalkheuval Pass on 3 June 1900, Barberton on 12 September 1900 and Tevreden on 16 October 1900 when the Boer General Jan Smuts was defeated. He was promoted to local lieutenant-colonel on 1 January 1901, and to local colonel on 29 April 1901. In a despatch dated 23 June 1902, Lord Kitchener , Commander-in-Chief during

1719-530: A fresh advance against the Turkish positions... of Jerusalem proceeded rapidly" – Allenby The Ottomans were beaten at Junction Station (10–14 November), and retreated out of Jerusalem , which was on 9 December 1917. During the Palestine campaign, Allenby entered a bacteriological laboratory near Ludd , where he saw some charts on the wall. When he asked about their meanings, he was told that they were of

1910-466: A generous number to officers of Murray's staff. Lawrence was made a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath , but Chauvel, having already been made a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George for South Africa and Companion of the Order of the Bath for Gallipoli, was recommended for a lesser award, which he refused. In view of this, Murray decided that Chauvel should receive no award at all, and he

2101-487: A good lot and very much attached to me. However, I was awakened before five by angry mutterings outside my tent and when I went out I found about 150 fanatics surrounding it. I ordered them to fill their water bottles, draw their extra rations and saddle up, but their head man explained that whatever happened they would drawn neither water nor rations nor load up nor march out on their feast day and they demanded their pay and discharge. I parleyed and ordered without effect for

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2292-518: A group of New Zealanders and capturing a Maxim gun . The Queensland Mounted Infantry participated in the capture of Pretoria and the Battle of Diamond Hill . Chauvel was given a mixed force of British, Australian, Canadian and New Zealand mounted troops that became known as "Chauvel's Mounted Infantry", with Victor Sellheim as his chief of staff. Initially, Chauvel was given the mission of escorting 10,000 head of cattle to Belfast, Mpumalanga to supply

2483-446: A habit of asking questions on the most abstruse subjects, and an unpleasant knack of catching out anyone who gives an evasive answer for the sake of politeness. Many of Allenby's officers believed that he was incapable of any emotion except rage, but he was in fact a loving father and husband who was intensely concerned about his only child, Michael, who was serving at the front. Before Allenby went to bed every night, Allenby would enter

2674-630: A land that was so inhospitable to Europeans. The great value of this service was also acknowledged by General Allenby in his Despatch of 16 December 1917 where he mentions their steadiness under fire and devotion to duty. Early in the conflict, volunteers for the Egyptian Camel Transport Corps, often from extremely poor villages, like those in the Egyptian Labour Corps were given a daily inducement of 7 Piastres (one shilling and six pence) and rations. Later it

2865-451: A letter dated 12 August 1917 Chetwode wrote to congratulate Chauvel, "I cannot say how much I envy you the command of the largest body of mounted men ever under one hand – it is my own trade – but Fate has willed it otherwise." At Romani Chauvel had been a battleground commander who led from the front while Chetwode, relying on the phone had been deciding to retreat at the victory at Rafa. Chetwode's "arms length" style of command also impacted

3056-498: A long overnight approach over waterless desert and would have to capture the town with its wells intact or be forced to retreat. The Battle of Beersheba went right down to the line, but the mission was accomplished, albeit not without a mounted infantry bayonet charge by the 4th Light Horse Brigade – the last of history's great cavalry charges – to capture the town and its vital water supply. Few battles have been won in such spectacular fashion. For this decisive victory, and

3247-558: A lot of them had drunk it all, then the trouble began. As we marched men were dropping down right & left, absolutely exhausted, & as we passed, bringing up the rear, they would keep asking for water; the poor devils looking pitiful, lying there unable to walk & not a drop of water to wet their lips, there was no R.A.M.C. to follow & pick up the bad cases or give them a drink ... At last we halted about 11.30 & our party filled our bottles, and as we were doing so stragglers were coming & asking, nay almost crying for water, but

3438-644: A minor attack in the Hooge Sector in the Ypres Salient under Allenby's direction, which once again incurred substantial losses to its units involved in the affair. In October 1915, Allenby was promoted to the temporary rank of general to lead the Third Army of the BEF, being made lieutenant-general (substantive rank) on 1 January 1916. In the mid-summer of 1916, he was the army commander in support of

3629-741: A much smaller 12,000-acre (4,900 ha) property at Canning Downs on the Darling Downs in Queensland. In 1889, Harry Chauvel embarked on a solo tour of Europe, visiting Venice, Rome, Florence, Paris and London. While in the United Kingdom, he watched military manoeuvres near Aldershot in the presence of Emperor Wilhelm II of Germany . Harry resigned his commission in the New South Wales Military Forces when he moved to Queensland, but on 9 January 1890 he

3820-446: A number of NCOs and the usual attendant details – saddlers, ambulance, vets, batmen, orderlies etc. Ordered to march in mid summer during the middle of the day the sand burnt and cracked the camel drivers' feet. Half didn't have a water bottle and they fainted with thirst, heat and weariness, falling out or plodding on blindly. About 10,000 Egyptian Camel Transport Corps camels concentrated at Romani as well as innumerable troops prior to

4011-744: A number of dead camels and some human remains. The saddles were of the, to me, well known CTC type. Shells of all types, including the mighty missiles fired by our monitors, were lying about, and thousands of shrapnel bullets on the sand." Sections of the Camel Transport Corps took part in operations to Bir el Maghara in the interior of the Sinai Peninsula. The Column formed of 800 Australian Light Horse, 400 City of London Yeomanry, 600 Mounted Camelry and 4,500 Transport Camels, also 200 Camels for Army Medical Corps work moved out from Bayoud on 13 October 1916. The provision of water for

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4202-710: A sign of his modesty. He subsequently stated in his official report: ...I entered the city officially at noon, 11 December, with a few of my staff, the commanders of the French and Italian detachments, the heads of the political missions, and the Military Attaches of France, Italy, and America... The procession was all afoot, and at Jaffa gate I was received by the guards representing England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, Australia, New Zealand, India, France and Italy. The population received me well..." "[The citizens of Jerusalem were] at first welcoming because they were glad

4393-524: A similar position, they had no water, and no food & were continually asking for it. Then I had a long drink & it was delicious. I could have gone on drinking for ever." On 6 August, the eve of the Greater Bairam (celebrating the end of the Islamic year) the Egyptian Camel Transport Corps at Romani was ordered to move out at dawn to toil eastward. In the morning 150 men (most of whom were past

4584-813: A staff officer at headquarters, Queensland Defence Force. In July 1899, the Premier of Queensland , James Dickson , offered a contingent of troops for service in South Africa in the event of war between the British Empire , and the Boer Transvaal Republic and Orange Free State . For a time Chauvel served as an enrolment officer, signing up volunteers from the Darling Downs. The Boer War broke out in October 1899, and Chauvel

4775-431: A station north of Charleville . Near Oakwood, Chauvel's troops were confronted by a crowd of around two hundred mounted sheep shearers . When the inspector in charge of the police detachment arrested four of the shearers who were wanted by the police, the crowd became agitated, but Chauvel managed to disperse the crowd peacefully, and bring his charges safely to their destination. During the 1894 Australian shearers' strike,

4966-483: A surprise from which the dash of London troops and Yeomanry, finely supported by their artillery, never gave them time to recover. The charge of the Australian Light Horse completed their defeat" – Allenby His force captured the water supply there, and was able to push onward through the desert. His force pushed northwards towards Jerusalem . "Favoured by a continuance of fine weather, preparation for

5157-547: A very big success yesterday. I won all along the line; killed a host of Boche and took over 7,500 prisoners...We have, at last, brought off what I been working on all winter. My staff has been splendid". There were weeks of heavy fighting during the Third Army's offensive at the Battle of Arras in the spring of the 1917, where an initial breakthrough had deteriorated into trench-fighting positional warfare—once more with heavy casualties to 3rd Army's units involved. Allenby lost

5348-832: A very rare concern for the lives of his men and his horses. For the Battle of Romani , Chauvel chose his ground carefully, reconnoitring it from the ground and the air, and selecting both forward and fall back positions. His luck held; the German commander – Friedrich Kreß von Kressenstein  – selected the same position as the forming up area for his attack in August 1916. Under great pressure, Chauvel maintained his position until Brigadier-General Edward Chaytor 's New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade arrived after being released by Lawrence. The counter-attack that Chauvel had been calling for all day did not materialise until dusk. At Katia and again at Bir el Abd, Chauvel attempted to sweep around

5539-659: Is a quotation from " When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd " by American poet Walt Whitman . Harry Chauvel General Sir Henry George Chauvel , GCMG , KCB (16 April 1865 – 4 March 1945) was a senior officer of the Australian Imperial Force who fought at Gallipoli and during the Sinai and Palestine Campaign in the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I . He

5730-624: The 1919 Egyptian Revolution . However, as High Commissioner of Egypt, Allenby favored negotiations with Egypt. Soon after the 1919 uprising, the Milner Mission was initiated. In early 1921 there were more riots and demonstrations that were blamed on Zaghlul. This time Allenby ordered that Zaghlul and five other leaders be deported to the Seychelles. Sixteen rioters were executed. The following year Allenby travelled to London with proposals which he insisted be implemented. They included

5921-680: The 1st Armoured Regiment in South Australia. There is also a memorial window in the chapel of the Royal Military College, Duntroon . Chauvel Street in North Ryde, Sydney is named in his honour. Chauvel's daughter Elyne Mitchell wrote a number of non-fiction works about her father and his corps. In his book Seven Pillars of Wisdom , T. E. Lawrence provided a wildly inaccurate version of Chauvel. Charles Bean noted that "this wise, good and considerate commander

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6112-552: The 1st Light Horse Brigade , in December. In May 1915, it was sent dismounted to Gallipoli , where Chauvel assumed responsibility for some of the most dangerous parts of the line. He took charge of the 1st Division that November. In March 1916, Chauvel became commander of the Anzac Mounted Division , gaining victories in the Battle of Romani in August and the Battle of Magdhaba in December, and nearly winning

6303-894: The 4th Infantry Brigade , the New Zealand Infantry Brigade and New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade . When the rest of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps departed for Anzac Cove on 25 April 1915, the mounted brigades remained in Egypt – the Gallipoli Peninsula being unsuited to mounted operations. Following heavy casualties in the early days of the Gallipoli Campaign , however, the light horse were called upon to provide 1,000 reinforcements. The British commander in Egypt, Lieutenant General Sir John Maxwell , elected instead to ship

6494-475: The 5th Royal Irish Lancers in Colchester with the substantive rank of lieutenant-colonel on 2 August 1902, and the brevet rank of colonel from 22 August 1902. He was promoted to the substantive rank of colonel and to the temporary rank of brigadier general on 19 October 1905. He assumed command of the 4th Cavalry Brigade in 1906. He was promoted to the rank of major-general on 10 September 1909 and

6685-774: The Arc de Triomphe . Chauvel frequently led Anzac Day parades through Melbourne but resigned from the leadership of the march in 1938 in protest against a decision by the Returned and Services League of Australia to change the form of service at the Shrine from a Christian to a secular one. During the Second World War , Chauvel was recalled to duty as Inspector in Chief of the Volunteer Defence Corps (VDC),

6876-954: The Australian War Memorial in Canberra, the Naval and Military Club in Melbourne, and the Imperial War Museum in London. A portrait by George Washington Lambert is in the possession of the family. Chauvel is commemorated in a bronze plaque in St Paul's Cathedral, Melbourne. His sword is in Christ Church, South Yarra , his uniform in the Australian War Memorial, and his saddle is kept by

7067-477: The Battle of Magdhaba in December 1916, Chauvel therefore was answerable to the newly arrived Chetwode, instead of the distant commanders on the Canal. His intelligence on enemy dispositions was considerably better thanks to the work of the aviators of No. 5 Wing , which consisted of No. 14 Squadron , Royal Flying Corps and No. 1 Squadron , Australian Flying Corps . However, he had only limited time to capture

7258-817: The Boer War . After the war, he was closely involved with the training of the Australian Light Horse . Promoted to colonel in 1913, Chauvel became the Australian representative on the Imperial General Staff but the First World War broke out while he was still en route to the United Kingdom. Chauvel arranged for the Australian Imperial Force to be diverted to Egypt, where he joined his new command,

7449-586: The British Indian Army . His daughter Elyne married Thomas Walter Mitchell , a grazier. Chauvel became a frequent visitor to their property "Towong Hill" near Corryong , Victoria. He was staying at Towong Hill during the Black Friday Bushfires of 1939 . When the property was threatened by fire, he directed the firefighting effort, and at one point climbed a tree close to the house to hack away burning branches. The dedication of

7640-599: The Desert Mounted Corps . He also approved the utilisation of Arabic irregular forces which were operating at that time to the Turkish Army's open left flank in the Arabian interior, under the direction of a young British Army intelligence officer named T. E. Lawrence . He sanctioned £200,000 a month for Lawrence to facilitate his work amongst the tribes involved. In early October 1917, Robertson asked Allenby to state his extra troop requirements to advance from

7831-536: The Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria . Sporting the emu feathers worn by Queensland units, he marched with the colonial troops through London behind Lord Roberts on 21 June 1897. Chauvel qualified at the School of Musketry at Hythe, Kent , and served on exchange with the 3rd Battalion, King's Royal Rifle Corps and 2nd Battalion, Royal Berkshire Regiment at Aldershot. On returning to Australia, he became

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8022-574: The Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF). Jan Smuts refused the command (late May) unless promised resources for a decisive victory. Lloyd George appointed Allenby to the role, although it was not decided immediately whether he would be authorised to launch a major offensive. Allenby believed his new assignment to be a joke, because he still believed that the war would be decided on the Western Front. Although many of

8213-663: The First Battle of Gaza in March 1917. The following month, he took over the Desert Column, later known as the Desert Mounted Corps, thereby becoming the first Australian to command a corps, and the first to reach the rank of lieutenant general. At Beersheba in October 1917, his light horse captured the town and its vital water supply in one of history's last great cavalry charges. By September 1918, Chauvel

8404-655: The First World War , Allenby initially served on the Western Front . At the outbreak of war in August 1914, a British Expeditionary Force (BEF) was sent to France, under the command of Field Marshal Sir John French . It consisted of four infantry divisions (the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 5th, with the 4th and 6th being held in Britain) and one cavalry division , the latter commanded by Allenby. The cavalry division first saw action in semi-chaotic circumstances covering

8595-757: The Jordan Valley during the summer of 1918, then went on to capture northern Palestine and defeat the Ottoman Yildirim Army Group 's Eighth Army at the Battle of Megiddo , forcing the Fourth and Seventh Army to retreat towards Damascus. Subsequently, the EEF Pursuit by Desert Mounted Corps captured Damascus and advanced into northern Syria . During this pursuit, he commanded T. E. Lawrence ( "Lawrence of Arabia" ), whose campaign with Faisal's Arab Sherifial Forces assisted

8786-517: The River Tay . In 1917 while serving in Egypt, Allenby formed a life-long friendship with Lieutenant Colonel Sir Herbert Lightfoot Eason , with Eason later describing Allenby as the greatest man he ever met in his long life of many distinguished contacts. He died suddenly from a ruptured cerebral aneurysm on 14 May 1936 at his house in Kensington , London, at the age of 75 years. His body

8977-416: The Shrine of Remembrance in 1934 saw a series of reunions. Ian and Edward arrived from India on leave, Alexander Godley came from Britain, and Richard Howard-Vyse as chief of staff to Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester . In 1937, Chauvel travelled to the United Kingdom as head of the Australian contingent for the coronation of King George VI , where he was welcomed by Chetwode and Howard-Vyse. Chauvel had

9168-411: The Third Battle of Gaza (31 October – 7 November 1917) by surprising the defenders with an attack at Beersheba . The first step in capturing Beersheba was to send out false radio messages prompting the Turkish forces to think Britain was going to attack Gaza. After that, an intelligence officer, by the name of Colonel Richard Meinertzhagen , rode right up to the Turkish line, barely evading capture. In

9359-417: The brigade major in March 1898. Following the outbreak of the Second Boer War in October 1899, Allenby returned to his regiment, and the Inniskillings embarked at Queenstown and landed at Cape Town , South Africa, later that year. He took part in the actions at Colesberg on 11 January 1900, Klip Drift on 15 February 1900 and Dronfield Ridge on 16 February 1900, and was mentioned in dispatches by

9550-480: The 11th time. At his special request, when he was conferred with vestments and accoutrements of the Order of St Michael and St George by King George V , the King dubbed him "Sir Harry" rather than "Sir Henry". Chauvel's AIF appointment was terminated on 9 December 1919, and the next day he was appointed Inspector General, the Army's most senior post, which he held until 1930. The office of Inspector General had been created as an auditor who provided annual reports to

9741-458: The 127th Brigade, composed of the Manchester regiments in the 42nd Division. However, before they arrived a tragedy was unfolding; McPherson "mounted many ... jaded infantrymen, and some of the natives on our already burdened and tired camels, but many of these riders had to give place to poor chaps in extremis. These lay about the battlefield, many in the attitudes of death, but for the most part unwounded and simply dying of thirst and fatigue in

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9932-428: The 1st Division, and was promoted to temporary major general . He commanded this division through the final phase of the Gallipoli campaign, the evacuation, and the reorganisation in Egypt in February and March 1916. For his part in the evacuation, he was mentioned in despatches. His role in the campaign as a whole was recognised by his appointment as a Companion of the Order of the Bath . Chauvel assumed command of

10123-402: The 1st Light Horse Brigade on 10 December 1914. He spent six weeks in Egypt, in June and July, in hospital with pleurisy , but returned in time for the August offensive , for which he was mentioned in despatches. Chauvel was acting commander of the New Zealand and Australian Division for short periods in September and October in Godley's absence. Then on 6 November 1915, he became commander of

10314-510: The 3rd and 4th Light Horse Brigades and the British 5th and 6th Yeomanry Brigades. A British regular army officer fresh from experience in the Senussi Campaign , Major General Sir H. W. Hodgson, was appointed to command, with an all-British staff. The deliberate mixing of Australian and Imperial troops was done with Chauvel's approval but was contrary to the policy of the Australian Government , which soon registered its displeasure, sending Brigadier General Sir Robert Anderson to Cairo to discuss

10505-570: The 52nd (Lowland) Infantry Division. Ordered to follow the troops attempting to cut off the enemy retreat, McPherson describes the problems which developed among his section of the Egyptian Camel Transport Corps when the terms of employment were changed and resulting unrest was dealt with. "My two hundred natives were nearly all past the end of their contracts and entitled to discharge, and they believed that they had been brought back from Nighiliat [Negiliat] for that purpose and for payment. It would have been hard enough to have been kept at Romani during

10696-476: The AIF to Egypt, which was done. Accompanied by Major Thomas Blamey , Chauvel sailed for Egypt on the ocean liner SS  Mooltan on 28 November 1914, arriving at Port Said on 10 December 1914. Chauvel began training his brigade upon arrival in Egypt. He was noted for insisting on high standards of dress and bearing from his troops. The 1st Light Horse Brigade became part of Major General Alexander Godley 's New Zealand and Australian Division , along with

10887-552: The AIF's proposed quarters on the Salisbury Plain . He made frequent visits to the site and had a Royal Australian Engineers officer, Major Cecil Henry Foott , appointed to the local staff to safeguard Australian interests. Convinced that the huts would not be ready on time, and that Australian troops would therefore have to spend a winter on Salisbury Plain under canvas, Chauvel persuaded the High Commissioner for Australia in London , former Prime Minister Sir George Reid , to approach Lord Kitchener with an alternate plan of diverting

11078-437: The Anzac Mounted Division remained under Chauvel's command. The 3rd Light Horse Brigade had been placed under No. 2 Section by General Sir Archibald Murray GOC Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF). Lawrence was too far away to control the battle, especially once the telephone lines were cut. Murray, in Ismailia , was even further back. Chauvel was no hard-riding gambler against odds. Like Alva , he could on occasion ignore

11269-418: The Australian representative on the Imperial General Staff. While he was still travelling, the First World War broke out. On reporting for duty at the War Office in mid-August 1914, Chauvel was given a cable directing him to assume command of the 1st Light Horse Brigade of the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) when it arrived in the United Kingdom. Chauvel became concerned with slow progress on construction of

11460-418: The Australian version of the British Home Guard . Following Brudenell White's death in the Canberra air disaster , Prime Minister Robert Menzies turned to Chauvel for advice on a successor as Chief of the General Staff. On Chauvel's recommendation, Menzies appointed Lieutenant General Vernon Sturdee to the post. During the war, Chauvel's son Ian served as staff officer in the Italian campaign , while Edward

11651-656: The Australians, 49 were eventually commissioned and six became company commanders, so the Anzac and Imperial/Australian Mounted Divisions had a strong national component in their supporting camel transport. In 1917 the Camel Transport Corps consisted of 35,000 camels, organized in 2,000 strong camel companies. They worked as Corps level transport, or in convoys, transporting supplies and stores from railhead to corps and divisions and to brigades, regiments and battalions suffering 9 per cent casualties during that year. From December, 1915, to demobilization in 1919, some 72,500 camels were employed and 170,000 Egyptian drivers passed through

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11842-417: The Bull as possible. It was a most scandalous affair, and he was in an almost open rebellion against Allenby at the time". The division distinguished itself under Allenby's direction in the subsequent fighting, with minimal resources at its disposal, at the First Battle of Ypres . Allenby was promoted to temporary lieutenant general on 10 October 1914. As the BEF was expanded in size to two armies , he

12033-574: The Camel Transport Corps. We can't get the men, and we can't do without them; and I am advised that the only way to get them is compulsion – on the lines of the Corvée – but paid, of course, at the present rate of wages. As you know, I am opposed to compulsion; but we seem to be between the Devil and the Deep Sea, and I don’t know how to avoid it." Edmund Allenby, 1st Viscount Allenby Field Marshal Edmund Henry Hynman Allenby, 1st Viscount Allenby , GCB , GCMG , GCVO , KStJ (23 April 1861 – 14 May 1936)

12224-516: The Corps. Of these 222 were killed in action and 1,458 were wounded while 4,010 died of disease, 78 went missing and 66 were taken prisoner. During the Sinai Campaign, camels were used to carry the ambulance equipment of surgical instruments, splints, drugs, dressings, food, and tents, often marching independently of the rest of the ambulance; but despite their slow rate of marching, were rarely late arriving. Mobile columns attached to each light horse regiment, were established in June 1916 and attached to

12415-499: The Council of Defence. In the event of war, it was intended that the Inspector General would become the Commander in Chief with the Military Board as his general staff. Chauvel's annual reports tended to emphasise the parlous state of the nation's defences. He warned, for example, that if war came, soldiers would "be subject to the unfair handicap and the certainty of increased loss of life which inferiority in armament and shortage of ammunition must inevitability entail". Looking back from

12606-448: The Desert Column was to be renamed the 2nd Cavalry Corps he requested Desert Mounted Corps . The corps consisted of the Anzac Mounted Division , the Australian Mounted Division, the newly formed Yeomanry Mounted Division and the Imperial Camel Corps Brigade . Although some British thought that Allenby should replace Chauvel with a British officer, Allenby retained him in command. However he overrode Chauvel's own preference to appoint

12797-429: The EEF's capture of Ottoman Empire territory and fought the Battle of Aleppo , five days before the Armistice of Mudros ended the campaign on 30 October 1918. He continued to serve in the region as High Commissioner in Egypt from 1919 until 1925, a position that meant he effectively ruled Egypt during this period. Allenby was born on 23 April 1861, the son of Hynman Allenby and Catherine Anne Allenby (née Cane) and

12988-445: The Egyptian Camel Transport Corps, large enough to carry the water forward in support the attack force. Preparations were not complete until 20 December, but in the meantime the enemy had abandoned the town. The CTC also participated in the First Transjordan attack on Amman (1918) . Supplies of rations and forage were carried by the Egyptian Camel Transport Corps during the advance and retirement of Shea's, augmenting supplies carried by

13179-488: The Egyptian Camel Transport Corps: "On August 9th I was again scouting. I then went to meet a camel convoy and acted as their escort to guide them to our position. ... We had no water or rations for two days and I was terribly thirsty." McPherson describes Bir el Abd: "The place must have seen bloody fighting, and a succession of occupation, for English, Turkish and German accoutrements and bloodstained tunics were mixed up everywhere. Soon after emerging we came across

13370-498: The Fall of Jerusalem, Allenby wrote that he could complete the conquest of Palestine with his existing forces, but would need 16–18 divisions, on top of the 8–10 he already had, for a further advance of 250 miles to the Damascus – Beirut Line and then to Aleppo to cut Turkish communications to Mesopotamia (where by early 1918, 50,000 Turks were tying down a British Empire ration strength of over 400,000, of whom almost half were non-combatants, and 117,471 were British troops). Smuts

13561-430: The First Battle of Gaza. In the Battle of Beersheba in October 1917, it was again Chauvel and his Desert Mounted Corps that had the critical role. Chetwode believed that the EEF did not have the resources to defeat the Turks in their fixed positions so he planned to drive the Turks from them by turning the enemy flank at Beersheba , in a waterless area on the flank of the enemy line. The Desert Mounted Corps would have

13752-751: The Gaza– Beersheba line (30 miles wide) to the Jaffa – Jerusalem line (50 miles wide), urging him to take no chances in estimating the threat of a German-reinforced threat. Allenby's estimate was that he would need 13 extra divisions (an impossible demand even if Haig's forces went on the defensive on the Western Front) and that he might face 18 Turkish and 2 German divisions. Yet, in private letters, Allenby and Robertson agreed that sufficient British Empire troops were already in place to take and hold Jerusalem. Having reorganised his regular forces, Allenby won

13943-568: The General Staff. Chauvel also served as Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee, being the senior of the three service chiefs. In November 1929, he became the first Australian to be promoted to the rank of general . He attempted to maintain the Army's structure in the face of short-sighted politicians intent on cutting expenditure. As a result, the Army became increasingly hollow, retaining

14134-647: The German lines while avoiding German fire and finally new weapons like tanks and aircraft were to play prominent roles in the offensive. In March 1917, the Germans pulled back to the Hindenburg Line , which led Allenby to argue that the planned offensive in the Arras sector in April should be changed, a request Haig refused. Despite refusing Allenby's request for more time to change his plans, Haig informed him that

14325-757: The Inhabitants of Jerusalem the Blessed and the People Dwelling in Its Vicinity:   The defeat inflicted upon the Turks by the troops under my command has resulted in the occupation of your city by my forces. I, therefore, here now proclaim it to be under martial law, under which form of administration it will remain so long as military considerations make necessary.   However, lest any of you be alarmed by reason of your experience at

14516-514: The Jopps' place with their daughters Dora and Sibyl. Chauvel became engaged to Sibyl in January 1906, and they were married on 16 June 1906 at All Saints Anglican Church , Brisbane. Their union ultimately produced two sons and two daughters. That year Chauvel also sold the property at Canning Downs South. In the shuffle of senior positions that followed Hoad's death in 1911, Chauvel was appointed to

14707-580: The Middle East campaign. Allenby also saw the importance of good medical treatment and insisted that proper medical facilities be created to treat all of the diseases common to the Middle East like ophthalmia and enteric fever. Allenby was eventually ordered to attack the Turks in southern Palestine, but the extent of his advance was not yet to be decided, advice which Robertson repeated in "secret and personal" notes (1 and 10 August). Allenby quickly won

14898-410: The Middle East. Lloyd George also wanted more effort on other fronts. Previously, leaders had been concerned that taking over Palestine would divide it and leave it for other countries to take, but repeated losses to the Turkish Army and the stalled Western Front changed their minds. Lloyd George wanted a commander "of the dashing type" to replace Lieutenant General Sir Archibald Murray in command of

15089-643: The Military Board in Melbourne as Adjutant General. As such, Chauvel was involved in the implementation of the Universal Training Scheme . Chauvel was particularly involved with the training of the light horse . "When the next war comes," White predicted, "it will only need an Ashby or a J.E.B. Stuart to make their name immortal." Chauvel was promoted to colonel in 1913. On 3 July 1914, he sailed for England with his wife and three children to replace Colonel James Gordon Legge as

15280-751: The Ottoman Empire capitulated on 30 October 1918 with the signing of the Armistice of Mudros . Allenby was made a field marshal on 31 July 1919, and created Viscount Allenby , of Megiddo and of Felixstowe in the County of Suffolk , on 7 October. His appointment in 1919 as Special High Commissioner of Egypt came as the country was being disrupted by demonstrations against British rule . It had been under Martial Law since 1914 and several Egyptian leaders, including Saad Zaghlul , had been exiled to Malta. These deportations had led to rioting across

15471-468: The Ottomans were gone and they wanted a good relationship with the British. [They were] also cautious as they did not want the British to stay." The British press printed cartoons of Richard Coeur de Lion – who had himself failed to capture Jerusalem – looking down on the city from the heavens with the caption reading, "The last Crusade. My dream comes true!" The crusade imagery was used to describe

15662-649: The Queensland Mounted Infantry became part of Major General John French 's Cavalry Division. After a strenuous march, the Cavalry Division relieved the siege of Kimberley on 15 February. In the reorganisation that followed, the Queensland Mounted Infantry became part of Major General Edward Hutton 's 1st Mounted Infantry Brigade, along with the Canadian and New Zealand mounted units. Chauvel distinguished himself fighting alongside

15853-618: The Queensland government enrolled special constables rather than calling up the militia. Chauvel was appointed a temporary sub-inspector in Clermont , and later the district around Longreach . On 9 September 1896, Chauvel transferred to the Queensland Permanent Military Forces with the rank of captain in the Moreton Regiment . He was sent to the United Kingdom with the Queensland contingent for

16044-650: The Trentino. In those circumstances, the Central Powers were likely to be left in control of Eastern Europe and the Balkans, and it had been sensible for Britain to grab some land in the Middle East to block Germany's route to India. Allenby's views mirrored those of the War Cabinet at the time. Allenby went to Patagonia for a last fishing trip, aged 74, to see if the salmon really were as big as those in

16235-544: The Turkish army. The Desert Mounted Corps moved across the Golan Heights and captured Damascus on 1 October. Between 19 September and 2 October, the Australian Mounted Division lost 21 killed and 71 wounded, and captured 31,335 Turkish prisoners. To restore calm in the city, Chauvel ordered a show of force. Lieutenant Colonel T. E. Lawrence later lampooned this as a "triumphal entry" but it

16426-435: The Turkish flank but wound up making frontal attacks on the Turkish rearguard and was beaten off by determined counter-attacks and artillery fire against the 3rd Light Horse Brigade. Despite killing 1,250 Turks and taking over 4,000 prisoners, Chauvel was criticised for his failure to rout and destroy the Turks. However, for the Australian and New Zealand horsemen, who suffered over 900 of the 1,130 British casualties, it

16617-413: The Turkish position was stronger and the threat of its reinforcement was greater. Once again, the availability of water was a crucial feature of the battle. This time it was Chetwode who decided to call off the battle, with Chauvel's concurrence, but once again the troops carried the day. The victories at Magdhaba and Rafah changed Murray's mind about awarding Chauvel a knighthood and in January 1917 Chauvel

16808-657: The War Cabinet wanted more efforts on the Palestine Front, the Chief of the Imperial General Staff (CIGS), General Sir William Robertson , believed that Western Front commitments did not justify a serious attempt to capture Jerusalem ( Third Ypres was in progress from 31 July until November), and throughout 1917 he put pressure on Allenby to demand unrealistically large reinforcements to discourage

16999-712: The Western Front (in the autumn of 1917) to transfer troops to Palestine. Allenby avoided that question, but commented that in 1917 and into the spring of 1918 it had been far from clear that the Allies were going to win the war. The Armistice between Russia and the Central Powers of December 1917 had effectively taken Russia out of the war, but the Americans, who had entered the war in April 1917 , were not yet present in strength. France and Italy were weakened and might have been persuaded to make peace, perhaps by Germany giving up Belgium or Alsace-Lorraine, or Austria-Hungary giving up

17190-668: The Western Front, although the Dominion Prime Ministers in the Imperial War Cabinet continued to demand a strong commitment to the Middle East in case Germany could not be beaten. New troops from the British Empire (specifically Australia, New Zealand, India, and South Africa) led to the resumption of operations in August 1918. Following an extended series of deceptive moves, the Ottoman line

17381-473: The Worcester Regiment of 5th Mounted Division, when they came under fire: "on reaching the exposed summit we were greeted with a few shells; one 'coalbox' falling between our lines getting a camel and slightly hurting its rider. There was a bit of stampede ... I pointed out [to the Egyptian camel drivers] that I should be obliged to use my revolver on the first who deserted or disobeyed and that

17572-407: The acting commander, Lieutenant Colonel G. J. Burnage was wounded in the fighting. Chauvel responded by bringing up reserves and appointing a temporary post commander, Lieutenant Colonel H. Pope, with orders to drive the Turks out at all costs. Major S. C. E. Herring was miraculously able to charge across the open practically unscathed, his attack having coincided with a Turkish one on another part of

17763-666: The ambulance section of these columns were 19 camels and drivers allocated for transporting water and equipment and an additional 44 camels and drivers. Camels take long slow strides with an irregular swaying movement (they can't be hurried) and led by a driver travelled at an average speed of 2.5 miles per hour (4 km/h), fully loaded with two casualties or two fantasses containing 10 to 15 imperial gallons (50 to 70 L) of water. They may have to travel as far as 25 miles (40 km) accompanied by flies and camel smells and grunts. As all wheeled vehicles had been left at Kantara, nothing but sections of Camel Transport Corps accompanied all

17954-499: The ardent enthusiasm of his officers and bide his time. Always cool, and looking far enough ahead to see the importance of any particular fight in its proper relation to the war as a whole, he was brave enough to break off an engagement if it promised victory only at what he considered an excessive cost to his men and horses. He fought to win, but not at any price. He sought victory on his own terms. He always retained, even in heated moments of battle, when leaders are often careless of life,

18145-414: The army. The committee's recommendations proved to be next to impossible to implement in the face of defence cuts that were imposed in 1920 and 1922. On Lieutenant General Brudenell White's retirement as Chief of the General Staff in 1923, that post was divided into two, with Chauvel becoming 1st Chief of the General Staff as well as Inspector General, while Brigadier General Thomas Blamey became 2nd Chief of

18336-406: The attack. Until more camel transport was accumulated at Romani and Pelusium for the distribution of supplies and drinking water from railhead, the firepower of the main defences could only be increased by moving up the machine gun companies of 53 and 54 Divisions. On the first day of battle, 4 August 1916 McPherson and his section of Egyptian Camel Transport Corps was attempting to deliver water to

18527-428: The attacking force was the most difficult, but most vital element in the preparation for the attack on El Arish as from Mazar to El Arish there was no water and the Turkish defences at El Arish covered all the water in that area. So operations had to wait until the middle of December when the pipe–line had advanced sufficiently for water to be stored at Maadan (kilo. 128) and for the concentration of camels and drivers of

18718-426: The autumn, reinforced by 3 divisions from Mesopotamia . The speed of the advance was limited by the need to lay fresh rail track. This met with War Cabinet approval (6 March 1918). The German spring offensive on the Western Front meant that Allenby was without reinforcements after his forces failed to capture Amman in March and April 1918. He halted the offensive in the spring of 1918 and had to send 60,000 men to

18909-615: The better rider; Allenby had already developed a passion for polo. Their contemporary James Edward Edmonds later claimed that the staff at the Staff College thought Allenby dull and stupid but were impressed by a speech that he gave to the Farmers' Dinner, which had in fact been written for him by Edmonds and another. He was promoted to major on 19 May 1897 and was posted to the 3rd Cavalry Brigade , then serving in Ireland, as

19100-661: The burning sand under a fiery sun. Many were tied apathetic and helpless on the camels." Private Robert Bethel, also involved with transporting water and provisions to the fighting men, was serving in the Army Service Corps in support of the 42nd Division's 125th Brigade. He describes his involvement on 5 August 1916: "then at 4.30 in the afternoon our Camel caravan moved off, & it was a huge affair, hundreds of camels loaded with stores and fantasses of water, & pack mules loaded with ammunition... I had been instructed to stay with 125 H.Q. but to report to my officer in

19291-470: The camel corps had less to do with the Egyptian camel drivers who were often familiar with camel care and control, being mainly concerned with the problems the Australian and British officers and NCOs, who had transferred from the Army Service Corps and other AIF units, had in dealing with the animals. During this time, one or more of these men were regularly sent to hospitals with camel bites. Of

19482-534: The campaign by the British press and later by the British Ministry of Information . There were reports that on entering the city Allenby had remarked "only now have the crusades ended." However, mindful of the Pan-Islamic propaganda of the Ottomans who had proclaimed a jihad against the Allies in 1914, Allenby himself discouraged the use of the crusader imagery, banned his press officers from using

19673-662: The circumstances and in that perhaps I am partly to blame but, as you will see by attached list, a good many of my recommendations were cut out and in some cases those recommended for decorations were not even mentioned in Despatches. I am well aware that it is difficult to do anything now to right this, but consider that the Commander–in–Chief [Allenby] should know that there is a great deal of bitterness over it. Chauvel appended 32 names of soldiers he recommended for awards that had been ignored. Two New Zealanders recommended for

19864-638: The city on foot through the Jaffa Gate , together with his officers, in deliberate contrast to the perceived arrogance of the Kaiser 's entry into Jerusalem on horseback in 1898, which had not been well received by the local citizens. He did this out of respect for the status of Jerusalem as the Holy City important to Judaism , Christianity , and Islam (see his proclamation of martial law above). The people of Jerusalem saw Allenby's entrance on foot as

20055-452: The commander-in-chief, Lord Roberts on 31 March 1900. Allenby, by now a major, was appointed to command the squadron of New South Wales Lancers , who were camped beside the Australian Light Horse outside Bloemfontein . Both men and horses suffered from the continuous rain and men with cases of enteric fever were taken away every day. Allenby soon established himself as a strict disciplinarian, according to A. B. Paterson even imposing

20246-532: The confidence of the BEF's commander, Haig. He was promoted to full general on 3 June 1917, but he was replaced at the head of the Third Army by Lieutenant-General Sir Julian Byng on 9 June 1917 and returned to England. The British War Cabinet was divided in debate in May 1917 over the allocation of British resources between the Western Front and other fronts, with Allied victory over Germany far from certain. Curzon and Hankey recommended that Britain seize ground in

20437-544: The contingent dressed as light horsemen, wearing emu plumes, bandoliers and spurs . When the Dominion troops assembled at Buckingham Palace to receive their King George VI Coronation Medals , Chauvel led the parade, with Howard-Vyse as his chief of staff. On the way back, the contingent visited France, where ceremonies were held at the Villers–Bretonneux Australian National Memorial and

20628-607: The country, with Cairo isolated. Allenby's first response was conciliatory. He persuaded the Colonial Office to allow Zaghlul and his delegation, from the Wafd , to travel to France. Their intention was to present the Egyptian case to the Paris Peace Conference but they received no official recognition and returned to Egypt in failure. As a General, Allenby played a prominent role in helping Britain counter

20819-477: The desert. That is the third we have helped in during the last few days. They have to take them to pieces and pack the bits on camels. The camel that gets the engine does not appreciate it! When they come down in the desert they sometimes have to walk as much as thirty miles back to our lines." On 21 July, the Egyptian Camel Transport Corps marched out for Romani with 2000 camels, 20 riding dromedaries, 12,000 natives, O.C., Adjutant, 5 Sectional OCs including McPherson,

21010-468: The end of Martial Law, the drafting of an Egyptian Constitution and the return of Zaghlul. Progress was made: Egypt was granted limited self-government , and a draft constitution was published in October 1922 leading to the formation of a Zaghlul government in January 1924. The following November the commander of British forces in Egypt and Sudan, Sir Lee Stack , was assassinated in Cairo. Allenby's response

21201-511: The end of their contracts and entitled to be discharged) refused orders to fill their water bottles, draw their extra rations and saddle up. One man was hit about the head with the butt of a pistol and the dissenters were separated into small groups. They were divided up amongst three brigades of artillery, two field companies of engineers, the Glasgow Yeomanry, a Mobile Veterinary Section, a Machine Gun and Wire Line section; all units of

21392-512: The entire responsibility for the failure of the Arras offensive would rest with him. As the Zero Hour for the offensive at 5:30 am on 9 April 1917 approached, Allenby was thus unusually worried as he knew his entire career was in the balance. At first, the Arras offensive went well with the Third Army breaking through the German lines and advancing three-and-a-half miles in one day. In a letter to his wife on 10 April 1917, Allenby wrote: "I had

21583-582: The entry exam for the Staff College at Camberley . Not deterred, he sat the exam again the next year and passed. Captain Douglas Haig of the 7th Hussars also entered the college at the same time, thus beginning a rivalry between the two that ran until the First World War . Allenby was more popular with fellow officers, even being made Master of the Draghounds in preference to Haig who was

21774-472: The exception of the 5th Mounted Brigade and some Yeomanry Companies of the I.C.C., they were absolutely the only troops engaged with the enemy on this front and yet they see that they have again got a very small portion indeed of the hundreds of Honours and Rewards (including mentions in Despatches) that have been granted. My Lists when commanding the A. & N.Z. Mounted Division, were modest ones under all

21965-541: The family moved to Queensland he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Queensland Mounted Infantry in 1890, and saw service during the 1891 Australian shearers' strike . He became a regular officer in 1896, and went to the United Kingdom as part of the Queensland contingent for the 1897 Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria . In 1899 he commanded one of two companies of Queensland Mounted Infantry that were Queensland's initial contribution to

22156-476: The feast, even had they been allowed light duty and permitted to feast and keep up their traditional ceremonies, but to have to march out at dawn eastward to toil and perhaps death was more than their patient hearts could bear. Trouble began in some companies under orders overnight, but my men took the order in silence, and I hoped a little coaxing and pressure in the morning and the lure of extra rations and new water bottles would be sufficient with them as they were

22347-476: The form of a large force without the substance. When conscription was abolished by Prime Minister James Scullin 's government in 1929, it was left up to Chauvel to attempt to make the new volunteer system work. He finally retired in April 1930. Chauvel's sons Ian and Edward resigned their commissions in the Australian Army in 1930 and 1932 respectively, and accepted commissions in cavalry regiments of

22538-499: The fray, he dropped a bloodstained bag, smeared with horse blood, with fake military plans in it. The plans falsely described how the British force was on its way to capture Gaza. Additional radio messages threatening Meinertzhagen made up the Turkish Army's mind: the British Army was going to attack Gaza. Instead, they went through with the capture of Beersheba. "The Turks at Beersheba were undoubtedly taken completely by surprise,

22729-615: The hands of the enemy who has retired, I hereby inform you that it is my desire that every person pursue his lawful business without fear of interruption.   Furthermore, since your city is regarded with affection by the adherents of three of the great religions of mankind and its soil has been consecrated by the prayers and pilgrimages of multitudes of devout people of these three religions for many centuries, therefore, do I make it known to you that every sacred building, monument, holy spot, shrine, traditional site, endowment, pious bequest, or customary place of prayer of whatsoever form of

22920-483: The ideas that his staff officers had offered. Allenby rejected the normal week-long bombardment of the German trenches before making an assault, instead planning on a 48-hour bombardment before the assault went ahead. In addition, Allenby had made careful plans to control traffic in the rear to prevent traffic jams that would block his logistics, a second echelon behind the first echelon that would only be sent in to exploit successes, tunnels to bring up new divisions behind

23111-484: The importance of their service was recognised. The members of the Egyptian Camel Transport Corps transported supplies to the fighting troops, from one end of the Sinai and Palestine Campaign to the other; from the desert of the Egyptian Sinai Peninsula to the northern Levant (now Syria). They saw service transporting supplies of all kinds across the flooded plain north of Gaza and Beersheba, up into

23302-500: The latter part of the war, described him as "a popular and capable Cavalry Brigadier". For his services during the war, he was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in the South Africa honours list published on 26 June 1902, and he received the actual decoration of CB from King Edward VII during an investiture at Buckingham Palace on 24 October 1902. Allenby returned to Britain in 1902 and became commanding officer of

23493-578: The launch of the Battle of the Somme , with responsibility for the abortive assault by Third Army troops on the trench fortress of the Gommecourt salient, which failed with severe casualties to the units under his command in the operation. By this time in 1916, Archibald Wavell , who was one of Allenby's staff officers and supporters, wrote that Allenby's temper seemed to "confirm the legend that 'the Bull'

23684-507: The light horse regiments there. On returning to Queensland in 1904, he became acting Chief Staff Officer Queensland, based in Brisbane. He was promoted to the substantive rank of lieutenant colonel in December 1909, but his ambition to become the Australian representative on the Imperial General Staff in London was blocked by Hutton's successor Major General Charles Hoad . Based on his experiences in South Africa, Chauvel propounded ideas on

23875-607: The magnanimous act of the Caliph Omar , who protected that church. Allenby received Christian, Jewish and Muslim community leaders in Jerusalem and worked with them to ensure that religious sites of all three faiths were respected. Allenby sent his Indian Muslim soldiers to guard Islamic religious sites, feeling that this was the best way of reaching out to the Muslim population of Jerusalem. Allenby dismounted and entered

24066-581: The matter frankly with Chauvel and his superiors. As a result, the Imperial Mounted Division was renamed the Australian Mounted Division. In the First Battle of Gaza in March 1917, Chauvel's mission was similar to Rafa and Magdhaba, but on a larger scale. He enveloped the Turkish position at Gaza while the British 53rd (Welsh) Infantry Division and 54th (East Anglian) Infantry Division attempted to capture it. When this failed, Chetwode ordered Chauvel to attempt to capture Gaza from

24257-524: The men and horses were too tired and could not summon the required energy. In February 1918, the EEF began a series of operations across the Jordan. Allenby soon found his British troops diverted to France, to be replaced by two Indian cavalry divisions, and the Australian Mounted Division faced a similar fate for a time. In the meantime, during the second Transjordan operations Chauvel faced great difficulties with

24448-410: The morning. I was unable to find him so of course I went with the rest, thinking that I would see something exciting, never dreaming of the horrors to go through. I marched with the rest & all went well while the morning was cool, but as soon as the sun got up, & beat down on us it was awful, & still we marched on mile after mile. Each man had only a water bottle full & about 9.30 or ten am

24639-410: The mounted brigades to Anzac Cove intact. Chauvel arrived on 12 May 1915 and took over the critical sector, which included Pope's Hill and Quinn's, Courtney's and Steele's Posts, from Colonel John Monash . Open to Turkish observation on two sides, these four advanced posts at the top of Monash Valley were the linchpin of the defence. Chauvel reorganised the defence, appointing permanent commanders for

24830-486: The nature of mounted infantry . He recommended that Australian troops improve their discipline in the field, called for stronger leadership from officers, and emphasised the need for better organisation for supply and for timely and efficient medical evacuation. Chauvel knew Keith Jopp of Newmarket, Queensland even before the Boer War, and while stationed in Brisbane, Chauvel and Major Brudenell White played tennis at

25021-593: The newly formed Anzac Mounted Division on 16 March 1916, the day after it relieved the 1st Division on the Suez Canal defences. Chauvel was again mentioned in despatches for his part in the defence of the Canal. His division was committed to No. 3 Section of the Suez Canal Defences, the northern part of the Canal, under Major General Herbert Lawrence . Arrangements were far from ideal. The mounted troops were parcelled out so that only two brigades of

25212-475: The now disbanded Imperial Camel Corps Brigade, and a composite French cavalry regiment of Spahis and Chasseurs d'Afrique . In September 1918, Chauvel was able to effect a secret redeployment of two of his mounted divisions. Allenby launched a surprise attack on the enemy and won the Battle of Megiddo . He then followed up this victory with one of the fastest pursuits in military history – 167 km in only three days. This time he succeeded in destroying

25403-414: The office of the officer who took the daily casualty returns, ask "Have you any news of my little boy today?" and after the officer replied "No news sir", Allenby would then go to bed a reassured man. In early 1917, Allenby was ordered by Haig, now a field marshal, to start preparations for a major offensive around the city of Arras . During his planning Allenby insisted upon putting into practice many of

25594-438: The officer in charge couldn’t give them any, & told them to find their own unit & draw water from them, but the men were lost, didn’t know where their battalions were & were hardly strong enough to pull one leg after the other, so they stood watching the water being issued, & looking half mad, seeing the water trickling into the bottles & being unable to have a drink. It was awful. The native camel-drivers were in

25785-576: The patrols across Sinai as on Monday 29 May 1916, when a patrol by the New Zealand Mounted Rifle Brigade was accompanied by 850 camels carrying water, food and ammunition when they rode out from Etmaler. The drivers and camels of the Egyptian Camel Transport Corps were also called on in the Sinai to transport aeroplanes. General Harry Chauvel describes how this was done: "We also rescued an aeroplane which had come down in

25976-469: The perspective of World War II , historian Gavin Long noted that Chauvel's annual reports were "a series of wise and penetrating examinations of Australian military problems of which, however, little notice was taken". In February 1920, Chauvel was promoted to the substantive rank of lieutenant general, back-dated to 31 December 1919. In January 1920, he chaired a committee to examine the future structure of

26167-456: The politicians from authorising Middle East offensives. Allenby arrived on 27 June 1917. On 31 July 1917, he received a telegram from his wife saying that Michael Allenby had been killed in action, leading to Allenby's breaking down in tears in public while he recited a poem by Rupert Brooke . Afterwards, Allenby kept his grief to himself and his wife, and instead threw himself into his work with icy determination, working very long hours without

26358-426: The position and its water supply, and when the issue was in doubt Chauvel ordered a withdrawal. The order was ignored by Brigadier-General Charles Frederick Cox of the 1st Light Horse Brigade , whose troops carried the position, and was cancelled by Chetwode. Despite his premature withdrawal order, it was Chauvel's plan of attack that won the battle. "Chauvel's leadership," wrote Henry Gullett , "was distinguished by

26549-421: The post so that the Turkish machine gunners could not shoot without hitting their own men. There were in fact only about seventeen Turks in the post, who eventually surrendered. Chauvel's decision may have been the wrong one, but it was decisive; he was also lucky. For this action, he was mentioned in despatches. On 9 July 1915, Chauvel was promoted to brigadier general , back-dated to when he assumed command of

26740-414: The posts. He also formed special sniper groups who eventually managed to suppress the Turkish snipers, making it safe even for mule trains to move up Monash Valley. Chauvel's brigade soon found itself under heavy pressure from the Turks. On 29 May 1915, the Turks fired a mine under Quinn's Post and broke into it. The permanent commander of the post, Lieutenant Colonel J. H. Cannan was absent on leave and

26931-405: The rapidity with which he summed up the very obscure Turkish position in the early morning, and by his judgement and characteristic patience in keeping so much of his force in reserve until the fight developed sufficiently to ensure its most profitable employment." Chauvel gained another important success in the Battle of Rafa in January 1917. In many ways, the battle was similar to Magdhaba, but

27122-458: The rear. Chauvel successfully improvised a late afternoon assault on Gaza that captured the town despite the barriers of high cactus hedges and fierce enemy opposition, entering it after dark, only to have an out-of-touch Dobell order the mounted troops to withdraw, despite Chauvel's protests. This time his brigadiers at the front, Generals Ryrie and Chaytor, although they believed that Gaza could be held, felt compelled to obey, as they could not see

27313-416: The respect of his troops by making frequent visits to the EEF's front-line units, in a marked change from the leadership style of his predecessor Murray, who had commanded primarily from Cairo . Allenby moved the EEF's GHQ from the Egyptian capital city to Rafah , nearer to the front lines at Gaza , and re-organized the disparate forces of the EEF into a three primary corps order of battle: XX , XXI , and

27504-668: The rest [of his subordinates] would use their rifles if necessary. They swore that they would stick with me and obey, whatever happened, and I may as well say at once that they behaved splendidly through stirring and sometimes trying times. The way to Hod Nagur Ali where the Worcesters were supposed to be, lay over many similar ridges, but a higher ridge to the North ... were such that no camels would be put at them under normal circumstances, but luckily I had trained my animals to beeline marching, and circumstances were anything but normal, and it

27695-474: The retreat after the Battle of Mons opposing the German Army 's invasion of France. One of Allenby's subordinates claimed at the time: "He cannot explain verbally, with any lucidity at all, what his plans are". When a headquarters officer asked why Brigadier General Hubert Gough 's cavalry brigade was miles from where it was supposed to be, he received the reply: "He told me he was getting as far away from

27886-488: The rocky inhospitable Judean Hills towards Jerusalem in late 1917, down the precipitous tracks to Jericho in the Jordan Valley, up into the even less hospitable hills of Moab towards Es Salt and Amman and also followed on the great victorious advance northwards in 1918, carrying ammunition, water and all types of stores for the men and horses of the fighting units at the front, and carried the wounded back. Training of

28077-461: The rules in a way that often seemed petty, Allenby's staff officers found an intellectually curious general who was interested in finding new ways of breaking the stalemate. J. F. C. Fuller called Allenby "a man I grew to like and respect", a man who always asked his staff if they had any new ideas about how to win the war. Allenby had wider interests than many other British generals, reading books on every conceivable subject from botany to poetry and

28268-418: The scene and several bodies of British troops, and the two hundred natives were divided up amongst three Brigades (seven Batteries) of Artillery, two Field Companies of Engineers, the Glasgow Yeomanry, a Mobile Veterinary Section, a Machine Gun and a Wire Line Section, these being the units of the 1/52nd Division to which I was attached." Bostock with the 3rd Light Horse Brigade Scouts near Bir el Abd, guided in

28459-530: The seasonal incidence of malignant malaria in the Plain of Sharon , then he replied: I think it is the reason why Richard Coeur de Lion never got to Jerusalem. His army was nearly destroyed by fever, and I find that he came down the coast in September when malignant malaria was at its height. Allenby's official proclamation of martial law following the fall of Jerusalem on 9 December 1917 read as follows: To

28650-404: The situation had calmed and Chauvel was able to hand over command of the AIF in the Middle East to Ryrie. Chauvel and Lady Chauvel then headed for London on the RMS Malwa . They arrived in time for him to lead Australian troops on a victory march through the city on 3 May. Soon after, he was hospitalised at the 3rd London General Hospital at Wandsworth with appendicitis . The whole Chauvel family

28841-427: The subsequent capture of Jerusalem, Chauvel was mentioned in despatches twice more, and appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath in the 1918 New Year Honours List. Chauvel, however, was still disappointed with the failure to destroy the Turkish army. The Turks had fought hard, forcing the commitment of the Desert Mounted Corps in heavy action before the moment for a sweeping pursuit came. When it did,

29032-421: The terms crusade and crusader in their press releases and always went out of his way to insist that he was fighting merely the Ottoman Empire, not Islam. Allenby stated that "The importance of Jerusalem lay in its strategic importance, there was no religious impulse in this campaign". In May 1918, Allenby publicly met with Chaim Weizmann and the Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem in Jerusalem. Asked again after

29223-436: The terrain, the weather and a tenacious enemy; the campaign was not a success. The Desert Mounted Corps found itself fighting outnumbered, with Turkish reinforcements closing in from all sides. Chauvel was forced to withdraw to the West Bank of the Jordan. Subsequently, the 5th Yeomanry Mounted Brigade was disbanded and Chauvel replaced it with the 5th Light Horse Brigade , formed from the Australian and New Zealand components of

29414-447: The three religions will be maintained and protected according to the existing customs and beliefs of those to whose faith they are sacred.   Guardians have been established at Bethlehem and on Rachel's Tomb . The tomb at Hebron has been placed under exclusive Moslem control.   The hereditary custodians at the gates of the Holy Sepulchre have been requested to take up their accustomed duties in remembrance of

29605-433: The tin helmet that Allenby ordered his men to wear sent Allenby off into a rage. The V Corps was victorious in defeating the German assault but incurred controversially heavy losses in the process through Allenby's tactical policy of continual counterattacks at the German attacking force. In September 1915, V Corps attempted a diversion of German strength to facilitate the concurrent British offensive at Loos . They executed

29796-402: The troops and sent up to the troops fighting at Amman in March 1918 with the help of some pack-horses. By 1 May 1918 during the Second Transjordan attack on Shunet Nimrin and Es Salt Allenby wrote to the British War Office regarding difficulties he was having in recruitment for the Egyptian Camel Transport Corps. "I have sent to you, today, an official letter – on the subject of enlistments for

29987-434: The troops in the eastern Transvaal. However, his force was diverted by local commanders, who assigned it to burning homesteads sheltering Boer commandos and attacking Boer units. The Queensland Mounted Infantry embarked for Australia on 13 December 1900. They reached Brisbane on 17 January 1901 and the regiment was disbanded there on 23 January. For his part in the fighting, Chauvel was mentioned in dispatches , and appointed

30178-454: The war ended. It therefore re-embarked for Brisbane, where it was disbanded. Chauvel remained in South Africa for a few weeks in order to tour the battlefields. On returning to Australia he became Staff Officer, Northern Military District once more. He was promoted to the brevet rank of lieutenant colonel in December 1902. In 1903, Hutton, now General Officer Commanding Australian Military Forces , sent Chauvel to South Australia to organise

30369-473: The whole battle. All guns, including captured ones were hauled away, as were all unwounded prisoners, the wounded and even the dead. Chauvel ensured that wounded Turkish prisoners that were unfit to make the march to Deir al-Balah were each left with a full water bottle. Dobell launched the Second Battle of Gaza in April 1917 with a full scale frontal assault supported by naval gunfire , tanks and poison gas . It ended even more unsatisfactorily, and Dobell

30560-448: Was commissioned as a subaltern , with the rank of lieutenant , in the 6th (Inniskilling) Dragoons on 10 May 1882. He joined his regiment in South Africa later that year, taking part in the Bechuanaland Expedition of 1884–85. After serving at the cavalry depot in Canterbury , he was promoted to captain on 10 January 1888 and then returned to South Africa. Allenby returned to Britain in 1890 and he sat – and failed –

30751-414: Was a clear-cut victory, their first decisive win and the turning point of the campaign. Later, Chauvel realised that Romani was the first decisive British victory of the war outside West Africa Campaign . In his report to the War Office on the battle, Murray passed lightly over the part played by the Anzac Mounted Division . The majority of awards for the Battle of Romani went to British troops, including

30942-427: Was a senior British Army officer and Imperial Governor. He fought in the Second Boer War and also in World War I , in which he led the British Empire 's Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF) during the Sinai and Palestine Campaign against the Ottoman Empire in the conquest of Palestine . The British succeeded in capturing Beersheba , Jaffa , and Jerusalem from October to December 1917. His forces occupied

31133-424: Was a sufficient military case to do so, and felt that he would need reinforcements to advance further. Allenby understood the problems posed by logistics in the desert and spent much time working to ensure his soldiers would be well supplied at all times, especially with water. The logistics of getting water to the soldiers and through the desert is thought to be the biggest challenge and accomplishment Allenby made in

31324-421: Was able to effect a secret redeployment of three of his mounted divisions and launch a surprise attack on the enemy that won the Battle of Megiddo . He followed up this victory with one of the fastest pursuits in military history. In 1919, Chauvel was appointed Inspector General, the Army's most senior post. He was forced to maintain an increasingly hollow structure by politicians intent on cutting expenditure. He

31515-424: Was able to sail for home on the transport HMAT Demosthenes on 26 July 1919. For his services as commander of the Desert Mounted Corps, Chauvel was created a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George in June 1919, was awarded the French Croix de Guerre avec Palme by the President of France and the Order of the Nile (2nd Class) by the Sultan of Egypt , and was mentioned in despatches for

31706-426: Was abolished and two corps headquarters were formed, XX Corps under Chetwode and XXI Corps under Lieutenant General Edward Bulfin . The three corps commanders were professional soldiers, none of whom had graduated from a military college or a staff college, they had all been commissioned from the militia or volunteers. Two weeks before Allenby arrived, Chauvel attended an awards ceremony: Mick Bruxner ...

31897-438: Was actually a shrewd political stroke, freeing Chauvel's forces to advance another 300 km to Aleppo, which was captured on 25 October. Five days later, Turkey surrendered. For this victory, Chauvel was again mentioned in despatches. Chauvel was obliged to remain in the Middle East due to the situation in Syria and the Egyptian Rebellion , although he was able to have Lady Chauvel join him there in January 1919. By April,

32088-475: Was appointed Inspector-General of Cavalry in 1910 due to his extensive cavalry experience. He was nicknamed "The Bull" due to an increasing tendency for sudden bellowing outbursts of explosive rage directed at his subordinates, combined with his powerful physical frame. Allenby stood 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) with a barrel chest and his very bad temper made "The Bull" a figure who inspired much consternation among those who had to work under him. During

32279-433: Was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George . In July, he was mentioned in despatches for these operations. However, Chauvel continued to be concerned about the lack of recognition for Australian and New Zealand troops and on 28 September 1917 wrote: The point is now that, during the period covered by Sir Archibald's Despatch of 1–3–17, the Australia and New Zealand Troops well know that, with

32470-419: Was broken at the Battle of Megiddo (19–21 September 1918), and the Allied cavalry passed through and blocked the Turkish retreat. The EEF then advanced at an impressive rate, as high as 60 miles in 55 hours for cavalry, and infantry slogging 20 miles a day and encountering minimal resistance. Damascus fell on 1 October, Homs on 16 October, and Aleppo on 25 October. With the threat of Asia Minor being invaded,

32661-417: Was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Queensland Mounted Infantry . After completing his examinations for the rank, he was confirmed as lieutenant in June 1890. Chauvel's unit was called up in March 1891 during the shearers' strike that had begun earlier that year. Leading his troops and a small detachment of Queensland Police , Chauvel was given the task of escorting a party of strikebreakers to

32852-678: Was concurrently Chief of the General Staff from 1923 until his retirement in 1930. In November 1929, he became the first Australian to be promoted to the rank of general. During the Second World War , he was recalled to duty as Inspector in Chief of the Volunteer Defence Corps . Henry George Chauvel was born in Tabulam, New South Wales , on 16 April 1865, the second child of a grazier , Charles Henry Edward Chauvel, and his wife Fanny Ada Mary, née James. By 1884, Charles Henry Chauvel's station at Tabulam consisted of 96,000 acres (39,000  ha ), on which he raised 12,000 head of cattle and 320 horses. From an early age Henry George Chauvel

33043-524: Was cremated, and his ashes were buried in Westminster Abbey . In 1897, Allenby married Miss Adelaide Chapman (d. 1942), the daughter of a Wiltshire landowner. Their only child, Lieutenant Horace Michael Hynman Allenby, MC (1898–1917), was killed in action at Koksijde in Flanders whilst serving with the Royal Horse Artillery . The personal inscription on his gravestone reads: "HOW SHALL I DECK MY SONG FOR THE LARGE SWEET SOUL THAT HAS GONE AND WHAT SHALL MY PERFUME BE FOR THE GRAVE OF HIM I LOVE" . This

33234-476: Was draconian and included a humiliating £500,000 fine to be paid by the Egyptian Government. In May 1925, Allenby resigned and returned to England. Allenby was appointed Honorary Colonel of the Cinque Ports Fortress Royal Engineers on 12 September 1925 and made Captain of Deal Castle . Murray and Allenby were invited to give lectures at Aldershot in 1931 about the Palestine campaign. Exchanging letters beforehand, Murray asked whether it had been worth risking

33425-439: Was educated at Haileybury College . His father owned 2,000 acres in Norfolk and Felixstowe House, at Felixstowe , then a fishing village. This was a summer home until the family settled there permanently after Hynman Allenby's death in 1878. Allenby had no great desire to be a soldier, and tried to enter the Indian Civil Service but failed the entry exam. He sat the exam for the Royal Military College, Sandhurst in 1880 and

33616-463: Was far from the stupid martinet that readers of Lawrence's Seven Pillars of Wisdom might infer." Lawrence confessed that "little of his book was strict truth though most of it was based on fact." Chauvel's nephew Charles Chauvel became a well-known film director, whose films included Forty Thousand Horsemen (1940), about the Battle of Beersheba . Harry Chauvel was portrayed in film: by Bill Kerr in The Lighthorsemen (1987), which covered

33807-758: Was given a state funeral service at St Paul's Cathedral, Melbourne officiated by the Anglican Archbishop of Melbourne , Joseph John Booth , after which he was cremated at Springvale Crematorium with full military honours. Eight generals acted as pallbearers : Lieutenant General John Northcott , Chief of the General Staff; Lieutenant General John Whitham , Corps Commander, VDC; Major General James Cannan , Quartermaster General ; Major General Charles Brand ; Major General Cyril Clowes , GOC, Victoria Line of Communications Area; Major General John Austin Chapman , Deputy Chief of General Staff; Major General Charles Lloyd , Adjutant General ; and Major General Clive Steele , Engineer in Chief. Portraits of Chauvel are held by

33998-404: Was given command of one of two companies of Queensland Mounted Infantry that departed Brisbane on 1 November 1899. They disembarked at Cape Town on 14 December and joined the Imperial force under Lord Methuen at the Orange River . The Queensland Mounted Infantry's first fighting was in an action at Sunnyside on 1 January 1900 alongside the infantry of the Royal Canadian Regiment . In February,

34189-410: Was known as "Harry". He was educated at Mr Belcher's School near Goulburn , before going to Sydney Grammar School from 1874 to 1880, and Toowoomba Grammar School from 1881 to 1882. While at Sydney Grammar, Harry served in the school cadet unit , rising to the rank of lance corporal . In 1886, Charles Henry was given permission to raise two troops of cavalry. On 14 March 1886, he was commissioned as

34380-506: Was merely a bad-tempered, obstinate hot-head, a 'thud-and-blunder' general". Allenby harboured doubts about the leadership of the commander of the BEF, General Sir Douglas Haig , who had replaced Field Marshal French as commander-in-chief (C-in-C) of the BEF in December 1915, (and with whom Allenby had clashed at the Staff College some twenty years earlier) but refused to allow any of his officers to say anything critical about Haig. However, despite Allenby's rages and obsession with applying

34571-409: Was merely mentioned in despatches. In October 1916 Major General Sir Charles Macpherson Dobell , a Canadian officer with broad experience in fighting colonial wars took over command of Eastern Force . Its advanced troops – including Chauvel's Anzac Mounted Division – became part of the newly formed Desert Column under Major-General Sir Philip Chetwode , a British cavalry baronet . In

34762-482: Was necessary to utilize the already imposed British military authority over all Egyptian officials and civilians. Then the Muidir, Lord Lieutenant or Omdah, mayors of Egyptian towns, for a consideration organised press gangs and the necessary native armed guards to keep the forced labour at work. Members of the Egyptian Camel Transport Corps were 'sealed' by a seal attached to their wrists for periods that appear to have started as quite short term but became quite extended as

34953-421: Was noted for his critical intellect. An officer who had dinner with Allenby at his headquarters in a French château recalled: His keen grey-blue eyes, under heavy brows, search the face while he probes the mind with sharp, almost staccato questions about everything under the sun except what is expected. He cannot suffer fools gladly and demands an unequivocal affirmative or negative to every query he makes. He has

35144-487: Was posted to New Guinea to learn about jungle warfare from the Australian Army. Chauvel's daughter Eve joined the Women's Royal Australian Naval Service and spent a day in a lifeboat in the North Atlantic after her ship was torpedoed by a U-boat . Tom Mitchell was captured by the Japanese in the Battle of Singapore . Chauvel remained with the VDC, based at Victoria Barracks, Melbourne but constantly travelling on inspections until his death on 4 March 1945. Chauvel

35335-483: Was really wonderful how they took the slopes. ... [On finding the Worcesters] it was sad to see how the men drunk with blood and mad with thirst wasted the precious stuff in their eagerness to drink, and their officers seemed powerless to keep discipline at this stage. McPherson and his section of Egyptian Camel Transport Corps was also involved the next day, in the pursuit on 5 August. At 10 am his 200 camels moved out from Pelusium Station, this time to supply water to

35526-496: Was relieved of command of Eastern Force on 19 April. His place was taken by Chetwode, while Chauvel took over the Desert Column, thereby becoming the first Australian to reach the rank of lieutenant general . Command of the Anzac Mounted Division passed to Chaytor. In June, during the Stalemate in Southern Palestine , General Sir Edmund Allenby took over the EEF from Murray. Allenby moved his headquarters to Palestine and re-organised his command along more regular lines. Eastern Force

35717-401: Was rewarded by being made commander of the Cavalry Corps . On 6 May 1915, Allenby voluntarily left the Cavalry Arm to take up command of V Corps which was engaged at that moment in severe fighting at the Second Battle of Ypres . Commanding a corps seemed to make Allenby's bad temper even worse where anything from a split infinitive in a staff paper to discovering a corpse in the field without

35908-480: Was selected as brigade major of the mounted contingent, his first Federal posting. He became Staff Officer, Northern Military District, based at Townsville , Queensland, in July. In 1902, Chauvel was appointed to command of the 7th Commonwealth Light Horse , a unit newly raised for service in South Africa, with the local rank of lieutenant colonel . Departing from Brisbane on 17 May 1902, the 7th Commonwealth Light Horse arrived at Durban on 22 June, three weeks after

36099-516: Was sent to Egypt to confer with Allenby and Marshall (C-in-C Mesopotamia), with Robertson's clash with the government now moving to its final stages, and the new Supreme War Council at Versailles drawing up plans for more efforts in the Middle East. Allenby told Smuts of Robertson's private instructions (sent by hand of Walter Kirke , appointed by Robertson as Smuts' adviser) that there was no merit in any further advance. Allenby worked with Smuts to draw up plans to reach Haifa by June and Damascus by

36290-423: Was the first Australian to attain the rank of lieutenant general and later general , and the first to lead a corps . As commander of the Desert Mounted Corps , he was responsible for one of the most decisive victories and fastest pursuits in military history. The son of a grazier , Chauvel was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Upper Clarence Light Horse, a unit organised by his father, in 1886. After

36481-399: Was the first recipient and you should have seen his face when he realised he was going to be kissed ... Irwin of the 1st Regiment is a very tall man and had to have his head pulled down and they ... say that he kissed the old General back. I cannot say as I was having such a job keeping my countenance that I was pretending to read something I had in my hand." When Chauvel learned that

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