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First Battle of Ypres
The first battle of Ypres takes place from October 20-November 24. The British, French and Belgian troops were trying to push back the Germans who were attempting to cross the English channel. After 34 days of brutal fighting, with the Allies easily outnumbered, the Germans moved back. -
Second battle of Ypres
The second battle of Ypres was from April 22-May 25The Germans introduced poison gas into their fighting. The gas used was chlorine gas and it was heavier than air, so it would sink into the trenches of the Allies. There wad a total of 60,000 Allied casualties and 35,00 German casualties after 5 weeks of fighting. -
End of Gallipoli
The Allied soldiers begin to move out of the peninsula of Gallipoli, Th final soldiers leave on the 9th of January. You can tell from the photo that so many have died or been injured from the much smaller number of people that are leaving. -
First ANZAC Day
The first ANZAC commemeration is held on the 25th of April, a reoccouring event in Australia. The picture shows one of the ANZACs in full uniform. -
Battle of Romani, Egypt
The Australian Light Horsemen fight in the battle of Romani in Egypt. The battle went from the 3-5 of August. The 2nd Light Horse Brigade joined the first after they found they were outnumbere by the Turks and they advanced on foot with bayonets. After fighting through the night, at 6:30am on the 5th, the 3rd Brigade joined the rest to turn away the retreating Turks. The image shows a member of the Light Horse Brigade wearing their full uniform, including the bayonet and the slouch hat. -
Conscription Act Referendum
Prime Minister Billy Hughes holds a referendum for the Conscription Act of forcing young men to go to war as a result of a lack of volunteers. The voting was close and 'No' narrowly won, a decision which divided the nation. The image is a poster that was made for the refferendum. It depicts a child telling his mother to vote 'no' or they will take his father to the war. This type of emotive propaganda was common in the war and was very effective. -
The First Battle of Gaza
The first battle of Gaza was on 26-7 of May, 1917. General Dobell lead the 52-4th infantry divisions, the ANZAC and Imperial cavalry divisions and the Camel Corps Brigade through the Sinai. In total, there was about 31,000 men . Near Gaza, there was around 16,000 Turks under the command of General Von Kressenstein.The plan to take Gaza didn't succeed due to slow and unreliable communications, late start in the day (about 4) and a limited water supply.
Image: Light Horse Brigade charge at Gaza. -
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Allies reinforce army
After the failed attack on Gaza, the Allies retreat to build up their army. Water supplies begin toget low and it has to be shipped to them constantly. Horses drink out of portable troughs for the time being which hung from their bridle gear. -
The Second Battle of Gaza
The second attack was on 17-19th of April. Kressenstein had an army of 18,000 infantry and 197 firearms. The Turks constructed a series of redoubts that ran to Beersheba. Dobell regained his army after having 3450 casualties and 500 missing.They were given 25 aircraft, 8 tanks and a French battleship. It began at 7:15am and was a failure. After 3 days of fighting, the British were escaped with 6444 casualties, the Turks with 2000 casualties. The image shows a tank from the battle in the sand. -
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Allies train in Egypt
The Allies retreat to Egypt to train their army for another attack on Gaza and Beersheba six months later. The horses are slowly dehhydrating, aswell as the men. -
Raid at Asluj
The raid of Asluj to Hafirel Auja railway took place on the 23rd of May, after the second battle of Beersheba. Up to 60 machine guns were used in the raid that completely destroyed the railwy line. The Australian light horse brigade was involved in the raid as well as other soldiers on foot armed with fire-arms. The image is of the ruins that remained after the raid and shows just how bruutal it was. Although this was quite a small scale project, it was a successful one. -
General Falkenhayn
General Falkenhayn takes command of the Central Powers forces, mainly Turkey, in the Palestine. -
Third Battle of Ypres
The battlefield was transformed into a muddy swamp, making it extreemely dangerous. Men were drowning in mud or just plain diasppearing into it. Their guns would get clogged up with mud, which would damage their guns. The Germans hid in concrete bunkers, while still killing Allied soldiers with mustard gas and machine guns. In the end of it all, the Allies only gained 8km and there was a total of 700000 casualties from either side. The image shows the Allies stuck (and covered) in the thick mud. -
Bombardment of Gaza
From October 20th onwards was a heavy bombardment on Gaza including over 200 guns in three artillery divisions for almost a week. The plan was to trick the Turks into thinking that a full frontal attack would follow, like in the last two failed attacks, but instead the Allies had planned a dawn attack on Beersheba. The commander of this plan was General Edmund Allenby.
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Asluj evacuated
At 4:00, Asluj and Khalasa are evacuated by the Allies for the upcoming battle at Gaza. The image depicts people drinking at the well in Khalasa, incase there would not be accessable water for them after the battle. -
The Third Battle of Gaza
A surprise attack on Beersheba at dawn was planned by General Allenby. The Allies had about 40,000 troops. That day, Beersheba was captured. This is all thanks to the Australian Light Horses. The horses could smell the water and after being deprived of water for days, were determined to get to the well, smashing through the Turkish defenses. With only 67 Australian caualties, the well was intact. The image shows the dehydrated Australian Lighthorsemen charging toward Gaza with their bayonets. -
The fall of Tel el Kebir
The Turks retreated to Tel el Kebir, a hill ten miles North of Beersheba with a big water supply. The Turks decided to launch a counter-attack there, but failed. The Turks we forced to pull back to move further west. The painting is an interpretation of the battle, with the two sides colliding on the hill. -
Attack at Turkish Positions
The Turkish still had control of the fortified positions of Sheria, Hareira, Rushdi and Kauwukah. The Allies began attack at 5am and by 4:30pm, Rushdi and Kauwukah were captured. -
Turks abandon Gaza
On November 7th, Hareia and Sheria fell in the early morning. The Turks abandoned Gaza and Beersheba later that day. The Allies had captured 10,000 Turks, almost 33%of their total forces. The picture show the town of Gaza soon after the raid. The town is almost completely destroyed with only the skeleton of the buildings still standing. -
Allies capture Jerusalem
The Turks retreat to Jerusalem with the Allies in close pursuit. Soon, Jerusalen is captured and the Allies have access to the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. The picture is of the city of Jerusalem after the battle, with everybody lined up in the town square at the mercy of the Allies.
