Netanyahu Turnbull, Reddy watch WWI battle reenactment

(31 Oct 2017) A century to the day after Australian troops broke through Ottoman defences in a daring First World War victory, nearly 200 horsemen - including descendants of the soldiers - paraded Tuesday through the streets of an Israeli city in a memorial to those killed in a battle that helped turn the tide of the war and reshape the Middle East. With leaders from Israel, Australia and New Zealand in attendance, 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 were participating, including descendants of the original troops. 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. In the fall of 1917, Allied forces with General Sir Edmund Allenby's Egyptian Expeditionary Force advanced on Gaza as part of a campaign to knock the Ottoman Empire, Germany's ally, out of the war. To outflank the Turkish troops entrenched around Gaza, a parched detachment made a desperate manoeuvre through the Negev Desert to capture the strategic biblical town of Beersheba, known both in antiquity and in modern times for its wells. On October 31, 1917, Allied troops launched their assault, but by late in the day, the critical water sources remained in Turkish hands. In a desperate gambit, mounted infantrymen with the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps drew their bayonets, charged the Turkish trenches cavalry-style, and stormed into the city. Had they been turned back, the entire campaign might have been lost. Around 100 Australian horsemen took part in "a ride of peace" on Tuesday commemorating the charge. Barry Rodgers, head of the Australian Light Horse Association, said three young nations - Israel, Australia and New Zealand - have their roots in this place. "We learned about the ethos of courage of Australian and New Zealand's soldiers," said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was joined by Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and New Zealand Governor-General Patsy Reddy. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...