WWI Australian battle re-enacted in Israel on centennial
BEERSHEBA, Israel — A century to the day after Australian troops broke through Ottoman defences in a daring World War I victory, nearly 200 horsemen — including descendants of the soldiers — paraded through streets of an Israeli city in a memorial to those killed in a battle that helped turn the tide of the war and shape the modern Middle East.
With leaders from Israel, Australia and New Zealand in attendance Tuesday, Australian and Israeli military marching bands led the way through the flag-festooned route in Bersheeba, flanked by several thousand onlookers in a tribute to the 171 British and Commonwealth troops killed that day.
Some 175 members of the Australian Light Horse Association participated. Australian military veteran Ian Dunlop, whose grandfather fought at Beersheba, wore his ancestor’s four military medals on his chest and said he was “very proud” to have come from his native Melbourne.
The battle was a crucial, if largely forgotten, victory in the Mideast campaign that enabled the Allies to break the Turkish line in what is now southern Israel and capture Jerusalem weeks later. The victorious campaign redrew the map of the Middle East.