ANZ Leadership Delegation to Beersheba 2012

Transcription

1 In Association with presents the ANZ Leadership Delegation to Beersheba 2012 Commemorating the 95th Anniversary of the Light horse Charge Friday 26 October Saturday 3 November 2012 Official Travel Partner ASSOCIATED WITH PROUDLY Supported BY Advisor to the ANZ Delegation, Kelvin Crombie, Author - Journey to Beersheba

2 Objective To organise a high level Australia/NZ Leader s Delegation to Beersheba 2012 to commemorate the 95th Anniversary of the ANZACS in the Light Horse Charge and build upon the foundation of some, who for many years were exposing the role of the Light Horse in Israel. This includes the 2007 re-enactment of the charge at Beersheba associated with the Australian Light Horse Association and the opening of the Park of the Australian Soldier in 2008 which was funded by the Pratt Foundation. The intention is building ongoing awareness of this great piece of Australian and New Zealand history, through the engagement of leading business, government and other influential invitees, as well as the media. Collectively, it is our goal to create a sustainable link for the ANZ market to Beersheba with the ultimate objective of a Gala Event for the 100th Anniversary in 2017, and of course beyond. ITINERARY* Day 1 - Friday 26 October 2012 Arrival We arrive into Tel Aviv on Friday morning on El Al Israel Airlines. Our group will be met by the VIP Meeting Service at the entrance to the aircraft at Ben Gurion Airport, assisted through Customs & Immigration, and assisted by a special representative and transferred to the hotel in Tel Aviv. We will enjoy breakfast and a tour this morning at Biblical Gardens of Neot Kedumim. We then continue to Old Jaffa for a short walking tour in the picturesque alleys of the old, fortified town of Jaffa (Joppa). Check into the hotel takes place after morning activities and the remainder of the afternoon is at leisure. Overnight: Tel Aviv Day 2 - Saturday 27 October 2012 Coastal Plain Depart this to the north of Israel. First stop is at Caesarea, to visit the Roman Theatre and the Crusader Fortress with its unique dry moat. Then to the port city of Haifa to view the magnificent Bahai formal gardens from atop Mount Carmel. Continue north to Akko (Acre) to explore the Knights Halls and the secret escape tunnel dug by the Crusaders. Overnight: Galilee Day 3 - Sunday 28 October 2012 Ceremony and Golan Heights Today is a big day. In the morning we will have the Unveiling Ceremony of a Memorial garden at the Semack Railway at the bottom of the Sea of Galilee in honour of the battle there on 25 September 1918 and loss of 17 soldiers. We explore Caesari of Philippi at the Banias Springs - Ascend the Golan Heights and peer deep into Syria and the ghost town of Kuneitra and we review the tank battles of 1973 and gain a better understanding of the geopolitical issues of the region. This afternoon we enjoy a tour of a local winery or a taste of locally produced beer made from the cold fresh waters of the Jordan River. Overnight: Galilee Day 4 - Monday 29 October 2012 Sea of Galilee & Nazareth Today we experience a morning sail on a traditional wooden boat across the Sea of Galilee - See the remains of an ancient fishing boat and later visit Tabgha, where Jesus multiplied five loaves and two fish. We enjoy a traditional St. Peters Fish Lunch and continue onto Capernaum, the centre of Jesus Ministries - Ascend to the top of the Mt. of Beatitudes, where you can relive the Sermon on the Mount. Visit Nazareth and the Church of Annunciation. Drive to the Dead Sea. Overnight: Dead Sea *Please note itinerary may be subject to change and additional evening VIP receptions and briefings will be added to this program

3 Day 5 - Tuesday 30 October 2012 Dead Sea We drive this morning along the shores of the Dead Sea to the rock fortress of Masada - Visit Herod s palaces, dating back 2000 years and hear about the zealots who defied the Roman Empire from this location. We later visit the desert oasis at Ein Gedi Nature Reserve - Enjoy time at leisure floating the salty waters of the Dead Sea. Overnight: Dead Sea Day 6 - Wednesday 31 October 2012 Beersheba ceremony Today will be a momentous occasion. We have a special day in Beersheba commemorating the achievements of the ANZAC soldiers in World War One where we shall participate in a moving ceremony for the anniversary of the charge. We follow the ANZAC trail and the main battlefield sites in the area and do a full review of the Charge of the Light Horse - See the magnificent new Park of the Australian Soldier. We ascend to Jerusalem at the very end of the day. Overnight: Jerusalem Day 7 Thursday 1 November 2012 Jerusalem Old City We start the morning with a spectacular view of Jerusalem from Mt. of Olives - Enjoy a military history tour of Jerusalem reviewing the battles of World War One, the War of Independence and the Six Day War - Visit the Commonwealth Cemetery on Mt. Scopus where many Australian soldiers are buried - Enter the Old City and follow the Via Dolorosa to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre - Explore the colourful bazaars of the Muslim Quarter - Place a note in the Western Wall and enjoy a spectacular tour of the secret Western Wall Tunnels (subject to confirmation). Overnight: Jerusalem Day 8 Friday 2 November 2012 Jerusalem New City and Bethlehem We visit the tomb of King David and the Room of the Last Supper this morning on Mount Zion. This is followed by a visit to see the famous Dead Sea Scrolls at the Shrine of the Book We then experience a moving visit to the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial. In the afternoon we enjoy a panoramic tour of the New City of Jerusalem - See the Knesset and famous Menorah - Continue to Bethlehem (subject to security clearance) to visit Manger Square, Shepherds Fields and the Church of the Nativity - Enjoy a festive farewell feast at an authentic Middle Eastern Restaurant. Overnight: Jerusalem Day 9 Saturday 3 November 2012 Departure Transfer to Tel Aviv airport for departure End of itinerary in Israel HOTELS BOOKED IN ISRAEL Dates Overnights City Hotels 26-27/10 1 Tel Aviv Hilton - renovated rooms 27-29/10 2 Tiberias Rimonim Galei Kinneret 29-31/10 2 Dead Sea Isrotel Dead Sea 31/10-3/11 3 Jerusalem Mamilla - Studio rooms

4 31 October 1917 A day that changed the destiny of the world Kelvin Crombie Delegation Historian & Advisor, Author, Journey to Beersheba On 31 October 1917 two events happened which shaped future world history. The first was the capture of Beersheba by British, Australian and New Zealand soldiers, part of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF) under General Allenby. The second was the decision by the British War Cabinet to endorse the establishment in Palestine of a Jewish national home - the legal foundation of the future State of Israel. Both of these events were dependent upon each other. A British-led military victory was imperative, for at the War s end the British did not want to see a potential belligerent power controlling the east bank of the Suez Canal the imperial lifeline to India, Australia, New Zealand and elsewhere. Britain needed a neutral and allied entity in control of this strategic land between empires. Two major battles against the Turks at Gaza in March and April 1917 had failed. The capture of Beersheba was in many ways the last throw of the Allied dice. Although the assault against Beersheba was to be the main thrust of the Allied attack, the Turks had to be fooled into thinking that the main thrust of the assault was against Gaza, and the assault on Beersheba was merely a diversion. Secrecy was of the essence. The major Turkish defence line at Beersheba was a trench system stretching from the north-west through to the southwest of the town. These trenches were to be assaulted by General Chetwode s British infantry. Although some Turkish forces were stationed east of the town (at Tel Beer Sheba and trenches at the eastern entrance to the town), the Turks never seriously anticipated an Allied attack from the east. Allenby s plan was to attack Beersheba from the more poorly defended east of the town with men of the Desert Mounted Corps, the Australian Light Horse, New Zealand Mounted Rifles and British Yeomanry.

5 In the days prior to 31 October Allied attacks began on Gaza, while at the same time Allied troops began moving into position for the assault on Beersheba. As the Australian and New Zealand mounted forces reached some hills to the east of Beersheba early in the morning of 31 October, the British artillery began shelling the Turkish trench system, and soon afterwards the British infantry went into action. Troopers from the Anzac Mounted Division (the 1st and 2nd Light Horse and the New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigades) then began moving towards their objectives - Tel Sakaty (on the Beersheba to Hebron road), and the strategically located Tel Beer Sheba. The Australian Mounted Division was held in reserve. Although Tel Sakaty was captured, Turkish resistance at Tel Beer Sheba was stronger than expected. By mid-afternoon General Chauvel, the commander of the Desert Mounted Corps was concerned. The sun would soon be setting, and the plan was to capture Beersheba in one day, so as not to lose the element of surprise and to ensure a sufficient water supply for the thousands of soldiers and animals. At about 3 pm he sent the 3rd Light Horse Brigade to assist with the capture of Tel Beer Shea. At that point the New Zealanders also launched a fierce and courageous bayonet attack upon the Turkish positions and won. Tel Beer Sheba was now captured, and as the British infantry had already gained all of their objectives, the route into Beersheba from the east was clear. General Chauvel was now left in a dilemma: as day light was running out and he had to determine the quickest way of taking the town, so the Turks (and the German engineers) would not destroy the valuable water wells there. Allenby insisted upon a quick and decisive victory. Against the protests of the commander of the British Yeomanry, Chauvel gave the task of completing the victory to General Grant, commander of the 4th Light Horse Brigade, which was comprised of the 4th and 12th Light Horse Regiments. Honour for war hero BOURCHIER FAMILY MEMBERS ATTEND UNVEILING OF STATUE IN ISRAEL ISRAEL By Dan Goldberg Family members of one of Shepparton s most celebrated sons have honoured his memory at a major new memorial in Israel. Lorna Bourchier, 82, and her daughter Judith, 57, were among about 1000 dignitaries on Monday who witnessed Governor- General Michael Jeffery and Israeli President Shimon Peres unveil a 1.5 tonne bronze statue of a soldier of the Light Horse Brigade. The statue pays homage to what was dubbed the last great cavalry charge in history, when the brigade routed the Turks in the World War I battle for Beersheba. Lorna Bourchier is the niece of Murray Bourchier, the commander of the 4th Light Horse Brigade which led the charge on Beersheba at sunset on October 31, It was so emotional, Lorna Bourchier said of the ceremony. I just feel that proud that somebody who was part of our family helped turn the page in the history of Israel. Jack Bourchier, Lorna s father-in-law, was Murray s youngest brother. Lorna still lives in Woodland Park, the 120-year-old Strathmerton estate where Murray who was named after the river was brought up. Murray had three children; only one, 80-year-old Bill Bourchier, is still alive, but he requires a walking frame and could not make the journey to the Middle East. They (family members) couldn t come so they gave me their blessing, Lorna said. On the 80th anni- Murray Bourchier versary there was a ceremony at Murray s gravesite in Shepparton and on the centenary of the charge they (Murray s grandchildren) want to come and ride the route of the charge in Beersheba. Judith Bourchier, who now lives in Melbourne, said she was keen to join her mother at the ceremony. My mother was going and I ve grown up knowing I ve got a famous great-uncle and have seen the clippings about him in the London newspapers. The Bourchiers joined many descendants of the Light Horse Brigade in the ancient Jewish tradition of marking a gravesite with a small stone. They took the stones earlier on Monday from the battlefield where Murray led the 5 km charge and placed them on the monument to the Light Horse Brigade a 1.5 tonne bronze statue of a soldier of the Light Horse Brigade in full flight at the Park of the Australian Soldier. The park is a $3.5 million initiative of the Melbourne-based Pratt Foundation. Richard Pratt, who fled Poland with his parents on the eve of World War II, first settled in Australia in the Shepparton area in 1938 and still maintains close links with the area. M E D I T E R R A N E A N S E A Tel Aviv Jerusalem Gaza Strip Beersheba EGYPT Golan Heights SYRIA West Bank JORDAN D E A D S E A Abraham Rabinovich attends a special ceremony in Israel to mark the brave Australian horsemen who fought there in World War I BRIAN Cantwell was 20 before his father, Jack, talked to him about the charge at Beersheba. It was the night before Anzac Day one year when he broke down and told me something about it, Brian told me at the dedication of the Australian Light Horse Memorial in Beersheba in April. Jack Cantwell was one of 800 Australian horsemen who participated in one of the most dramatic, consequential yet under-publicised events in Australian military history: the charge that led to the capture of Beersheba during World War I. Brian was among more than 100 descendants, dignitaries and history buffs who visited Israel from Australia last month to participate in a series of events aimed at placing Beersheba and the Palestine campaign of firmly on Australia s mental map alongside Gallipoli and the battlefields of the Western Front. The development of an Australian-oriented tourism infrastructure around Beersheba will mark the place where these men made their distinctive mark. The attack at Beersheba by the Australian 4th Light Horse Brigade on October 31, 1917, has been termed the last great cavalry Proud: Lorna Bourchier at the Light Horse Brigade statue in Israel on Monday Picture: Ricki Rosen/Pratt Foundation charge of the modern era. What made it with Queensland light horse museum curator Adele Catts. exceptional was that the soldiers were not cavalrymen but mounted infantrymen. Cavalry traditionally fought from the saddle BATTLE CHANGED THE PATH OF THE WAR with sabres or rifles, but by the mid-19th century cavalrymen had become too vulner- Primary to defenders School. armed Hewith alsorepeating features rifles. Murray Bourchier earned himself chier and the 800 men of the 4thable The mounted infantrymen who replaced a Distinguished Service Order for and 12th regiments many of in the 1987 film, The Lighthorsemen. where they dismounted and moved them moved on horseback to the edge of the his gallantry at Beersheba and whom had been involved in that battlefield the soubriquet Bourchier of ill-fated landing at Gallipoli forward He went to engage on tothe become enemya on state foot. MP Beersheba. galloped into the line of fire of the Toand defend Agriculture the Suez Minister Canal from Turkish The battle turned the tide of the entrenched Turks. They forces ( ), during World was present War at I, Queen the British war in favour of the Allies and prevailed, capturing the city s all-commanimportant wells by nightfall. desert, knighted which separated posthumously Egypt in from Palestine. Elizabeth in Egypt II s coronation put an armyand intowas the Sinai precipitated the liberation of Jerusalem and the fall of the Ottoman Murray Bourchier s legacy reson- He established Shepparton Art By 1917, this force had crossed into southern Palestine. When two attacks launched on the Empire. ates throughout Shepparton. maingallery, Turkish which positions recently in received Gaza ona the After the British had failed for two There is a street named after him, Mediterranean painting ofcoast himended from the in failure, Bourchier was family. sent from the Western Front to Edmund days to out-gun the Turks, Bour- and subsequently Bourchier St Allenby the Middle East to take over the stalled expeditionary force. The British general approved plans for a third offensive. Instead of trying once more to break through at Gaza, the allied force would stage its main attack at Beersheba, 50km inland. The biblical site was the eastern anchor Riding to victory: Australian horsemen re-enact the Beersheba cavalry charge last year, main picture; descendants of the Light Horsemen who joined the tribute, top right; riders cheered on by locals, bottom right SANDS OF BEERSHEBA shoulders and they would use the bayonets, were captured intact. Thirty-two Australians Fund officials believe that many detached from the rifles, as sabres when they were killed in the attack, an exceedingly low TRAIL OF THE BOLD Australians who visit Gallipoli will include reached the trenches. figure attributable to the surprise. T HE Park of the Australian Soldier Beersheba on their itineraries. The grimness of the prospect was recalled The capture of Beersheba opened the way by Jack Cantwell, then a sergeant, as he for the allied army to begin moving northward. features a dramatic, life-sized bronze Abraham Rabinovich related the scene to Brian, who told me his On December 9, it reached Jerusalem. Less sculpture by Peter Corlett of a Light father s lieutenant came up and asked, What than a year later, Chauvel led the Light Horse Horseman leaping a sandbagged position do you think, Jack? After a brief talk, the brigades into Damascus. The breakthrough at as he lies close to the horse s neck and Checklist officer said to the sergeant: Ask the boys if Beersheba had been a key link in the grips a bayonet. The park has been created Israel Travel Centre, a division of Jetset they re ready. unravelling of the Ottoman empire, the by the Pratt Foundation in co-operation with Rose Bay and an official partner of the Soon after 4.30pm, the two horse regiments establishment of the British mandate in the Beersheba Municipality. Israeli Ministry of Tourism, specialises in in formation topped a small rise and saw Palestine and the creation of new nationstates in the region, including Israel. Another project in development is the travel to Israel. All-inclusive holiday options Beersheba to their front. Led by Bourchier, they moved forward at a trot, straightening the Anzac Trail, a 60km route that follows the Tribute: Richard Pratt, left, and Shimon Peres include Anzac Day and Beersheba Light In speaking of his father, Brian s eyes well line as they went and keeping a 4.5m spread approach march of the Light Horseman and Horse tours, which feature dawn service on up in pride. He hadn t joined up for between the men to reduce losses to shrapnel. the route of the charge. Although much of or vehicle. The project is sponsored by the Mount Scopus in Jerusalem and Anzac war adventure. He and his mates went to prove a According to Brian, My father told me that the area has been built up in the intervening Jewish National Fund Australia, which sites and memorials, including the new point, to establish Australia as part of the once they took off there was no turning back. empire. These men were elite, the equivalent years, signs, trail markings and audio posts supports environmental projects in Israel. Park of the Australian Solider in Beersheba. They were told the wells had to be captured. of the SAS today. relating to the battle will enable re-creation Still in the planning stage with Israeli In 2009, tour dates are April 24 to May 4. Artillery shells began exploding around of those events. authorities, the first four of about 22 More: (02) ; them and machineguns joined in as the At the dedication ceremony, Governor- Visitors will be able to do the trail by foot stations along the trail are to be ready in attackers drew closer. To the astonishment of General Michael Jeffrey, who shared the the defenders, the horsemen, approaching in podium with Israeli President Shimon Peres, three waves, did not halt to dismount when said the charge at Beersheba was an integral of the Turkish line and also contained wells; The attack force was commanded by Henry shown that there was no barbed wire that they reached rifle range. Instead, they pushed part of the Anzac legend. The bravery, water was more precious to a desert army than Chauvel, the first Australian general to would serve as an impediment. their mounts into a gallop and charged initiative and determination of the Light petrol would be in future wars. command an army corps. The Turkish defenders, with input from German generals, had Murray Bourchier, who was to lead his own unable to readjust their gun sights before the humour and mateship that, as Australians, we Command of the charge was given to straight at the trenches. The Turks were Horse exemplified the values of duty, loyalty, The British had laid a railroad and water pipes through Sinai that enabled a logistical built stout defences. The battle began at dawn 4th Light Horse Regiment and the 12th Light Australians were on them. so revere today. build-up on the Palestine border, but the move with a heavy British artillery bombardment. Horse Regiment in the assault. When he was The surprise unnerved the hitherto stubborn defenders, many of whom fled or ceremony was Keith Reid, whose father, And among the proud sons attending the towards Beersheba across the Negev desert Two British infantry divisions attacked from promoted to lieutenant colonel two years was dependent on local wells. The troopers the southwest while the Australian and Anzac before, the recommendation had noted that he surrendered. Jack and three of his men Robert, was a major who led a squadron in the would fill their hats with water and offer it to Mounted Divisions circled to the southeast. was always quite cool and collected, and this captured a machinegun, Brian says. They attack. The Beersheba charge, Robert believes, their horses before drinking themselves. The Stiff resistance permitted only limited had a very good effect on his men. There was took prisoner an officer and 200 of his men. deserves to emerge from the shadows of Australians were mounted on sturdy walers advances during the daylong battle. With the time only for a quick briefing of the troops. The officer was wearing medals, which my Gallipoli where his father, like many of the that could go 48 hours without water. But the sun beginning to descend, Chauvel made a They were told that they would be attacking father took. I still have them. others at Beersheba, had also fought. Gallipoli was a waste of time and a waste of men, force attacking Beersheba would be at the end bold decision. Instead of pressing the attack on across 6km of open terrain in view of the While some of the attack force swept of its logistical tether. If the towns wells were foot, he would use the Light Horse as cavalry enemy gunners and they would not stop until through the trenches, the rest continued into he said. Beersheba served a purpose, which not captured on the first day of battle, the in a direct assault on the Turkish positions they had entered the Turkish lines. the town to secure the wells before they could was to shorten the war. Gallipoli was a defeat. army would have to withdraw. defending the town. Air reconnaissance had Rifles would be kept slung across their be blown up. Fifteen of Beersheba s 17 wells Beersheba was a victory.

6 At approximately 4.30 pm these men, numbering over 500, began moving onto the plain to the east of Beersheba in three lines according to the three squadrons. At about the same time discussions were then taking place in London relating to the future of Palestine once it had been captured. The Australian horsemen then finally began to move towards Beersheba - and the charge of Beersheba had begun. The Turkish artillery began to fire on the men, but as they charged forward so quickly, the horsemen galloped under the guns the Turks merely could not bring their sites down quick enough. The leading squadrons then came to the forward Turkish trenches, and while some men dismounted and fought hand to hand combat in the trenches, others galloped into town. Some of these men managed to stop the destruction of the important water wells. In Beersheba they linked up with other Light Horsemen coming in from the north-east. After no more than an hour of intense combat, Beersheba was captured. Victory, which had been set-up by the British infantry and the New Zealanders and other Light Horse regiments, had now been concluded by the courageous charge by the men of the 4th Australian Light Horse Brigade. At about the same time the British War Cabinet in London made a momentous decision, stating that The British Government views with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people Once Beersheba was captured the EEF moved on to capture Gaza, Jaffa, Jerusalem, Jericho, the Sea of Galilee (Semack), Amman and Damascus. By the end of October 1918 the entire province of Syria was finally captured, and thereafter the future of these areas of the former Turkish Empire could be determined. A number of sovereign Arab nations came into existence, as too did the State of Israel. Australia and New Zealand played significant roles in all these developments. The rest, so they say, is history Kelvin Crombie, author of Journey to Beersheba For further information please contact: Tanya Oziel, Global Business Development Manager Trans Tasman Business Circle + Australia & New Zealand Sustainability Circle T: M: E tanya@transtasmanbusiness.com.au