page_title: 5th Light Horse Regiment (Australia)
section_title: Gallipoli
hierarchical_section_title: 5th Light Horse Regiment (Australia) / Operational history / Gallipoli
caption_attribution_description: English: The 5th Australian Light Horse Regiment crossing the pontoon bridge at the Ghoraniye Bridgehead
context_page_description: The 5th Light Horse Regiment was a mounted infantry regiment of the Australian Army during the First World War. The regiment was raised in August 1914, and assigned to the 2nd Light Horse Brigade. The regiment fought against the forces of the Ottoman Empire, in Egypt, at Gallipoli, on the Sinai Peninsula, and in Palestine and Jordan. After the armistice the regiment eventually returned to Australia in March 1919. For its role in the war the regiment was awarded sixteen battle honours.
  During the inter-war years, the regiment was re-raised as a part-time unit based in the Wide Bay–Burnett region of Queensland, adopting the designation of the "Wide Bay and Burnett Light Horse". It was later converted to a motor regiment during the early years of the Second World War but it was disbanded in mid-1943 without having been deployed overseas.
context_section_description: On 21 December 1914, the 5th Light Horse Regiment left Sydney for Egypt, arriving on 1 February 1915. When the Australian infantry units were dispatched to Gallipoli, it was thought the terrain was unsuitable for mounted troops, and the light horse regiments remained in Egypt. However, heavy casualties amongst the Australian infantry resulted in the deployment of the 2nd Light Horse Brigade as dismounted reinforcements in May 1915. On arrival, the regiment was attached to the 1st Division, who by this stage of the campaign were fighting a defensive battle around the beachhead that had been established around Anzac Cove. The regiment was involved in several small-scale attacks. Its commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Hubert Harris was killed in action on 31 July 1915. The regiment was withdrawn in December 1915 as part of the Allied evacuation from the Gallipoli Peninsula.
caption: 5th Light Horse crossing the pontoon bridge at the Ghoraniye Bridgehead
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