The Light Horsemens’ finest hour came on 31 October 1917, with one of the most audacious actions in modern warfare… the charge at Beersheba. In a last ditch effort to save the attacking British army from disaster, they were to attempt the near impossible, a cavalry charge across five kilometers of open desert, against 4,400 entrenched infantry, supported by machine guns and artillery, what was seen as a suicide mission.
Three lines of Light Horsemen a mile wide, thundered across the dusty plain. Screaming like banshees and brandishing bayonets that glinted in the dying sun, they were terrifying, unstoppable. The Turkish lines were breached and the day won. Amazingly, only 36 out of those gallant 800 Light Horsemen lost their lives in that incredible charge.
Beersheba was the last successful cavalry charge in history, yet it was made by men who were neither cavalry nor professional soldiers. They were volunteers, mostly from the outback and the bush, who had been formed only three years earlier.
The legendary men of the Light Horse can inspire all of us in our lives and our journey as entrepreneurs. Their amazing exploits are a perfect example of sacrifice and achievement. If we could capture and put into action just half of their courage, fortitude and strength building a business would be child’s play.
At the age of 19, Trooper Ernest Craggs of the 12th Light Horse Regiment was the first soldier to fall during the charge of Beersheba. Although his life was tragically cut short, Trooper Craggs (coincidentally my stepfathers surname) embodied all that was special and unique about the Australian spirit.
His commanding officer Lieutenant Edward Ralston recalled in a letter to his mother that ‘the day before the fight he was laughing and joking as usual and was full of spirit all through the long night ride.
He rode into action just behind me and the last I saw of him, he was standing in his stirrups and cheering’.
I couldn’t help thinking of all our troops, Australian, New Zealand, British, American, Canadian, and all of the other nations, that are in conflict zones right now and so I wish them and their families all the best. While our troops bravely fight for the freedoms we take for granted we, as entrepreneurs, have the responsibility to take those freedoms and make something of them.
Regards
David
@OneLifeNoFear
Davids Blog
