Beersheba A Journey Through Australia's Forgotten War

by Daley, Paul

• ISBN13: 9780522857962
• ISBN10: 0522857965
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2011-10-01
• Publisher: Victory Books

Summary

Blending the past with the present, this well-researched study delves into the mystery surrounding the forgotten Battle of Beersheba, a gloriously successful battle that led to the liberation of Jerusalem and the fall of the Ottoman Empire. This record recounts how Australian and New Zealand Army Corps captured Beersheba and helped to pave the way for the founding of Israel. Documenting the last light-horse charge ever made in battle through soldiers' diaries and descendents, this history details the story of a unique conflict during World War I, as well as the Australian and international significance of the Battle of Beersheba.

Author Biography

Paul Daley, a journalist of more than two decades' experience, has worked as a political writer, an investigative reporter, a foreign affairs and defence correspondent, and a feature writer for major Australian newspapers. A former national affairs editor for the now defunct Bulletin magazine, he has also reported from conflict zones in Asia, the South Pacific, Europe and the Middle East. The Canberra-based writer and Fairfax politics columnist is the recipient of the Walkley Award for Excellence in Investigative Journalism and the Paul Lyneham Award for Excellence in Press Gallery Journalism.

Table of Contents

Composition of the imperial mounted troops	p. xi
Map of the Charge of Beersheba	p. xii
Map of the light horse battlefields	p. xii
Prologue	p. 1
Towards Beersheba
Hebron Road	p. 15
Bushmen of the Empire	p. 30
Sideshow in Sinai	p. 46
Mystery Joe	p. 64
Legends of Romani	p. 70
Ghosts of the desert	p. 88
Badlands	p. 101
The Bull arrives	p. 116
Beersheba	p. 124
Neck or nothing	p. 142
At rest in Israel
Oasis for the dead	p. 163
Fathers and sons	p. 189
Serendipity	p. 207
Cobbers	p. 216
Hoarding the legend	p. 231
Inside Jaffa Gate	p. 249
Desert dogs	p. 264
The hand of God	p. 272
Last drinks	p. 290
Waiting for rockets	p. 299
Cop this, dear Jacko	p. 312
A terrible thing
The massacre	p. 327
Allenby and the Anzacs	p. 347
A real bad thing	p. 365
Inconvenient truth	p. 374
Burying the past	p. 387
Blood money	p. 393
A bastard of a place	p. 407
Epilogue	p. 414
Acknowledgements	p. 421
Notes	p. 426
Index	p. 441
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.