ANZAC DAY TALK Beersheba - The Final Cavalry charge of WWI: An unparalleled victory

Name: ANZAC DAY TALK Beersheba - The Final Cavalry charge of WWI: An unparalleled victory
Start: 2026-04-18T01:00:00+10:00
End: 2026-04-18T02:30:00+10:00
Location: Cnr Congressional Drive and Hume Highway, Liverpool, NSW, Australia, New South Wales 2170

Schedule

Sat Apr 18 2026 at 01:00 am to 02:30 am

UTC+10:00

Location

Cnr Congressional Drive and Hume Highway, Liverpool, NSW, Australia, New South Wales 2170 | Liverpool, NS

In the lead up to ANZAC Day 2026, join Former LTCOL Christopher Holcroft OAM RFD JP (Retd) as he discusses one of Australia’s notable World War One victories – The Charge of Beersheba.
General Sir Harry Chauvel commanded the Desert Mounted Corps and ordered the Australian Light Horse charge at the Battle of Beersheba on October 31, 1917.
The mounted horseback charge was the final and most famous cavalry charge of World War I, led by the 4th and 12th Light Horse Regiments of the 4th Light Horse Brigade.
The charge's primary goal was to capture the strategic town of Beersheba and its vital water wells during the third Battle of Gaza. The attack was a success, as the Australian horsemen rode with bayonets drawn, surprising and overwhelming the Turkish Ottoman defenders and securing the town and its water supply for the Allied forces.
Christopher served in the Australian Army Reserve for more than 43 years and later in the Australian Cadet Forces for another five years. While working for the Australian Defence Force, he was deployed to East Timor with the United Nations, Iraq, and the wider Middle East.
He has written and published six books, three for Young Adults, three for Adults, with one unpublished in the editing process. Christopher received the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in the 2023 Australia Day Honours and Awards for his services to Youth and the Community.
"'Thunder of a light horse charge'. This photograph has been described as one of the charge of the 4th Light Horse Brigade at Beersheba on the 31st October 1917. The photograph is likely a re-enactment made some weeks after the event (AWM: AO2684).