13th Light Horse Regiment (Australia)

Mounted regiment of the Australian Army 13th Light Horse Regiment 13th light horse badge.jpg 250 13th Light Horse Regiment hat badge 1915–19191921–1943 Australia Australian Army Mounted infantry Regiment Australian Corps 100px Unit colour patch "Devils Own" First World War Gallipoli campaign Sinai and Palestine Campaign Western Front The 13th Light Horse Regiment was a mounted infantry regiment of the Australian Army during the First World War. The regiment was raised in March 1915, and eventually assigned as the mounted regiment for the Australian Corps. During the war the regiment fought against the forces of the Ottoman Empire, at Gallipoli, and against the German Empire on the Western Front. For its role in the war the regiment was awarded twelve battle honours. In 1921, it was later re-raised as a part-time unit of the Citizens Forces, and was briefly amalgamated with the 19th Light Horse. During the Second World War, the regiment was converted into an armoured regiment, designated the "13th Armoured Regiment", although it was disbanded in late 1943 without seeing action. Formation The 13th Light Horse Regiment was raised in Victoria in March 1915. Being the thirteenth regiment raised within the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) they were soon given the nickname the "Devil's Own" regiment, and comprised twenty-five officers and 497 other ranks serving in three squadrons, each of six troops.Gullett 1941 54 Each troop was divided into eight sections, of four men each. In action one man of each section, was nominated as a horse holder reducing the regiment's rifle strength by a quarter.Horner Williams 2010 Chapter: Setting up the Light Horse All Australian Light Horse regiments used cavalry unit designations, but were mounted infantry armed with rifles, not swords or lances,Gullett 1941 29 and mounted exclusively on the Australian Waler horse.19 December 2011 Australian War Memorial 13th Light Horse Regiment First World War, 1914–1918 units http://www.awm.gov.au/units/unit_10573.asp https://web.archive.org/web/20131103224629/http://www.awm.gov.au/units/unit_10573.asp 3 November 2013 live Operational history Military history of Australia during World War I Gallipoli Campaign thumb|13th Light Horse Regiment, moving up past Gressaire Wood to participate in the attack that morning near Bray by the 9th Infantry Brigade. In May 1915, the 13th Light Horse Regiment left Australia for the Middle East, arriving in Egypt in June. When the Australian infantry units had been dispatched to Gallipoli earlier that year, it was thought the terrain was unsuitable for mounted troops, and the light horse regiments had remained in Egypt. However, heavy casualties resulted in their deployment in May and the 13th Light Horse Regiment in turn was sent into battle in September 1915 in a dismounted role. The regiment was deployed defending the trenches at Lone Pine, a strongly contested stretch of the front line around Anzac Cove. Two months later in December, the regiment was withdrawn back to Egypt when the Allied forces were evacuated from the peninsula. Western Front Two squadrons – "B" and "D" – which had originally been part of the 4th Light Horse Regiment took part in the Battle of Messines, the Third Battle of Ypres, the Battle of Broodseinde, the Battle of Passchendaele, the Battle of the Lys, the Battle of Kemmel, the Second Battle of the Marne and the Battle of Tardenois. The two squadrons, together with a squadron from New Zealand, were eventually amalgamated and renamed the II Anzac Corps Mounted Regiment,The II ANZAC Mounted Regiment was formed in July 1916 from 'B' and 'D' Squadrons, 4th Light Horse Regiment and a squadron of the New Zealand Otago Mounted Rifles Regiment and assigned to II Anzac Corps. Following the formation of the Australian Corps the Regiment remained with the redesignated XXII Corps to form the XXII Mounted Regiment. It was the only element of AIF ground combat forces in France not to see action with the Australian Corps. It was disbanded in December 1918 and its personnel transferred to the 13th Light Horse Regiment.6 December 2011 Mallet Ross First AIF Mounted Troops http://www.aif.adfa.edu.au/Light_Horse.html#1st%20Light%20Horse%20Regiment dead https://web.archive.org/web/20150429162314/http://www.aif.adfa.edu.au:8888/Light_Horse.html 2015-04-29 nb and together earned nine battle honours on the Western Front.6 December 2011 Australian War Memorial 4th Light Horse Regiment http://www.awm.gov.au/units/unit_10555.asp https://web.archive.org/web/20130701223153/http://www.awm.gov.au/units/unit_10555.asp 1 July 2013 live When the infantry component of the Australian Imperial Force was expanded to five divisions, the 13th Light Horse Regiment was broken up to provide a reconnaissance squadron for the 2nd, 4th, and 5th Divisions. The squadrons then moved to the Western Front in France between March and June 1916. They were soon reunited, however, as the "I ANZAC Mounted Regiment". The static nature of the fighting along the Western Front limited the use of mounted troops and they were mostly in a secondary role; doing traffic control, rear area security, escorting prisoners and during an attack reconnaissance and probing the German rear areas. The pinnacle of the regiment's service on the Western Front was following the Hundred Days Offensive when they led the advance of the Australian Corps. When the war ended the regiment was resting, and gradually its personnel were returned to Australia. Their total casualties during the war were 57 killed, and 328 wounded. Perpetuation In 1921, Australia's part-time military forces were re-organised to perpetuate the numerical designations of the AIF following its demobilisation.Grey 2008 125 Through this process, the 13th Light Horse was re-raised as a Citizens Forces unit in Victoria, adopting the territorial designation of the "Gippsland Light Horse".Festberg 1972 47–48 In 1939, the regiment was amalgamated with the 19th Light Horse to become the 13th/19th Light Horse.Handel 2003 163 In August 1940, during the opening stages of the Second World War, the 13th was re-formed in its own right. It was later mechanised and re-designated the "13th Motor Regiment" in March 1942, based at Gherang, Victoria. In May that year, it was converted into an armoured regiment – designated as the "13th Armoured Regiment" – as part of the 2nd Armoured Division's 6th Armoured Brigade, which had been formed for defensive duties to guard against a possible invasion of mainland Australia. After moving to Puckapunyal in July, the regiment was equipped with M3 Grant tanks. Further training was undertaken in Murgon, Queensland, throughout 1943.Handel 2003 163 By that time, manpower within the Army was scarce and as the threat of an invasion by the Japanese diminished during the year, so too did the need for large-scale armoured forces. A number of armoured units were subsequently disbanded as men and equipment were reallocated as the Army reorganised for jungle warfare.Hopkins 1993 125 As a result, the 13th was disbanded in October 1943.Handel 2003 162 In the post war period, the unit was perpetuated by the 8th/13th Victorian Mounted Rifles, which existed between 1948 and 1991–92.Festberg 1972 17Finlayson 2012 323 Battle honours thumb|The 13th Light Horse Regiment's guidon bearing their battle honours Gallipoli 1915Egypt 1915–17Somme 1916Somme 1918PozièresBapaume 1917Arras 1917Ypres 1917Albert 1918France and Flanders 1916–18Amiens 1918Rodger 2003 156The 13th Light Horse Regiment was awarded the battle honour "Amiens 1918" in 1927. This appears to be unique, with all other British and Dominion units involved in the battle receiving the honour "Amiens".Rodger 2003 154–156 nb Commanding officers Lieutenant Colonel George Henry Dean VD19 December 2011 Australian War Memorial Colonel George Henry Dean, VD http://www.awm.gov.au/units/people_1076268.asp Lieutenant Colonel John McLean Arnott CMG19 December 2011 Australian War Memorial Lieutenant Colonel John McLean Arnott, CMG http://www.awm.gov.au/units/people_1076196.asp Lieutenant Colonel Ernest Morgan Williams DSO19 December 2011 Australian War Memorial Lieutenant Colonel Ernest Morgan Williams, DSO http://www.awm.gov.au/units/people_7611.asp Lieutenant Colonel Dudley Persee White19 December 2011 Australian War Memorial Colonel Dudley Persee White, Croix de Guerre http://www.awm.gov.au/units/people_1076269.asp Major Alexander Mitchell DSO19 December 2011 Australian War Memorial Major Alexander Mitchell, DSO http://www.awm.gov.au/units/people_1076270.asp Lieutenant Colonel Stanley George Hindhaugh DSO19 December 2011 Australian War Memorial Lieutenant Colonel Stanley George Hindhaugh http://www.awm.gov.au/units/people_1076271.asp Notes nb References Citations 2 Bibliography Festberg Alfred 1972 The Lineage of the Australian Army Melbourne, Victoria Allara Publishing 978-0-85887-024-6 Finlayson David 2012 Green Fields Beyond Department of Veterans' Affairs Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 799180097 Grey Jeffrey Jeffrey Grey A Military History of Australia 3rd Cambridge University Press Melbourne, Victoria 2008 978-0-521-69791-0 Gullett Henry Henry Gullett The Australian Imperial Force in Sinai and Palestine, 1914–1918 1941 10th Official History of Australia in the War of 1914–1918 7 https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/RCDIG1069924/ Angus and Robertson Sydney, New South Wales 271462411 Paul Handel 2003 Dust, Sand & Jungle: A History of Australian Armour During Training and Operations, 1927–1948 RAAC Memorial and Army Tank Museum Puckapunyal, Victoria 1-876439-75-0 Ronald Hopkins Ronald Hopkins 1978 1993 Australian Armour: A History of the Royal Australian Armoured Corps 1927–1972 Royal Australian Armoured Corps Tank Museum Puckapunyal, Victoria 0-642-99414-5 Australia's Military History For Dummies David Horner David Horner Peter Williams Milton, Queensland John Wiley and Sons 2010 978-1-74246-894-5 Rodger Alexander 2003 Battle Honours of the British Empire and Commonwealth Land Forces 1662–1991 The Crowood Press Marlborough, United Kingdom 1861266375 Further reading Douglas Hunter My Corps Cavalry: A History of the 13th Australian Light Horse Regiment 1915–1918 McCrae, Victoria Slouch Hat Publications 1999 9780958529624 June 2017 Category:Military units and formations established in 1914 Category:Military units and formations disestablished in 1919 Category:1914 establishments in Australia Category:Mounted regiments of Australia Category:Military units and formations established in 1921 Category:Military units and formations disestablished in 1943