Historic Semakh Railway Station

A strategic historic site

During WW1 (on 25 September 1918), a nocturnal battle was fought at Semakh between the Australian 4th Light Horse Regiment (General Allenby’s troops) and a mixed force of Turks and Germans. This battle was among the last recorded nighttime battles in modern warfare history, and changed the “ownership” of the Land of Israel (from Ottoman to British).
In 1920, the Semakh Railway Station and Jordan Valley settlements were attacked by Bedouins from Trans-Jordan.
In May 1948 (during the Israeli War of Independence), Syrian tanks charged the Jordan Valley settlements, mainly Kibbutz Degania. The Samekh railway station was the first site occupied by the Syrian forces.
On 16 June 1946, the Jasser El-Hawa bridge over the Yarmouk River was blown up, stopping rail movement to Trans-Jordan and Syria. The destruction of three additional small bridges in March 1948 put an end to the operation of the Valley Train and the Semakh railway station.
In 2011, the Council for Conservation of Heritage Sites, Kinneret Academic College and Israel Railways embarked on restoration and conservation of the abandoned station buildings. In September 2015, the restored buildings became part of the Kinneret Academic College campus as well as a unique tourism site open to the public.

הפעל

The Battle at Semakh Railway Station 25.9.1918 , 25 October 1918

In the autumn of 1918 the British forces under General Allenby started their northern offensive against the Turkish forces under Liman Von Sanders. The Semakh station was an important gateway on the way to the whole of the Galilee and the road to Damascus.
Australian cavalry forces, advancing on horseback from the south only by moonlight in the early morning of September 25th, came under heavy fire from German machine guns. The two squadrons of the 11th Cavalry Regiment galloped in the dark to the eastern end of the town, and two squadrons of the 12th Battalion to the west. The hardest fighting was at the train station, where the Germans were entrenched in stone buildings. The Australian horsemen galloped to the station buildings and then continued
fighting face to face with swords and with rifles and fixed bayonets.

The fighting was over an hour later at dawn with over a hundred dead on the Turkish and German side and 365 prisoners. 14 Australians were killed and 64 wounded with a loss of nearly half the horses. The historic battle has gone down as a heroic episode in the history of the Australian army. This famous battle was the one of the last cavalry charges in modern warfare

Australian War Memorial

A memorial garden was established at the Railway Station in memory of the 19 Australian Cavalry who fell in battle at Semakh. In the memorial garden, 19 dwarf eucalyptus trees were planted and plaques next to each tree. In the center of the garden is a statue of an aboriginal warrior and his horse. The soldier leans over the grave of his comrade, with army issued bible in one hand tending to the grave of a fallen white Australian mate. The warrior is kneeling over the grave of his fallen comrade, with a plaque reading: “On the battlefield, THEY were US”.

Aboriginal Involvement in WW1

Over 1500 Aboriginal men enlisted for service in WW1, doubtless many more would have enlisted but for the racist policies that existed in some of the recruiting stations. These men served with great distinction in the 1st AIF and particularly in the Light Horse Regiments.

The 20th reinforcement contingent for the 11th Light Horse Regiment were nearly all Aboriginal and became known as the ‘Queensland Black Watch’.

On returning home to Australia, sadly these men were not treated as equals and had no voting rights at that time, however in the military they were treated as equals and received equal pay.

The names of the fighters who fell in the battle for the station in Zemach on 9/25/1918

Wall Jack Lance Corporal

Australian Light Horse Regiment 12th
Regiment No. 1526
Narrabri, New South Wales, Australia
K.I.A 25/9/1918
Age 27

–

Sergeant John Mccarthy

Australian Light Horse Regiment 11th
Regiment No. 911
North Queensland
Born in Kiama, South Cost, New South Wales, Australia
25.9.1918 K.I.A
Age 28

–

Lance Corporal Edward Ludlow Hughes,

Australian Light Horse Regiment 11th
Regiment No. 159
Great Westem LINE, Queensland
Born in Brisbane, Australia
25.9.1918 D.O.W
Age 23

–

Lieutenat Farlow, Garnet Frederick

Australian Light Horse Regiment 11th
Military Cross
Regiment No. 227
Atherton, Queensland, Australia
25.9.1918 K.I.A
Age 31

–

Captain Whitfield Frank Wesley

Australian Light Horse Regiment 11th
New South Wales, Australia
Born in Birmingham, England
25.9.1918 K.I.A
Age 39

–

Trooper Ernest Mckay

Australian Light Horse Regiment 11th
Regiment No. 1200
Bowen Bridge Rd, Queensland, Australia
25.9.1918 K.I.A
Age 23

–

Trooper Howard Hedley Taylor

Australian Light Horse Regiment 11th
Regiment No. 2382
Wynnum, Queensland, Australia
Born in Birmingham, England
25.9.1918 K.I.A
Age 49

–

Trooper Alexander Donaldson

Australian Light Horse Regiment 11th
Regiment No. 835
Longreach, Queensland, Australia
25.9.1918 K.I.A
Age 29

–

Trooper Darly James Gil Christ Dodds

Australian Light Horse Regiment 11th
Regiment No. 1175
Mosman, New South Wales, Australia
Born in London, England
25.9.1918 K.I.A
Age 28

–

Sergeant, Hubert Walker West

Machine Gun Squadron Australian Light Horse 4
Regiment No. 1527
Born in Toongabbie, New South Wales, Australia
25.9.1918 K.I.A
Age 26

–

William Bloomfield Trooper

Australian Light Horse Regiment 11th
Regiment No. 96
Born in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
25.9.1918 K.I.A
Age 36

–

Albert James Terry Trooper

Australian Light Horse 4th
Regiment No. 2515
Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia
25.9.1918 K.I.A
Age 18

–

Captain Herbert John Gee

Australian Light Horse Regiment 11th
Military Cross
East Barron, Queensland, Australia
25.9.1918 K.I.A
Age 43

–

Trooper William Donaldson

Australian Light Horse Regiment 11th
Regiment No. 1548
Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
25.9.1918 D.O.W
Age 25

–

Trooper Walter James Lewis

Australian Light Horse Regiment 11th
56918 Regiment No.
Petrie Terrace, Queensland, Australia
25.9.1918 D.O.W
Age 19

–

Trooper John Michael Rynne

Australian Light Horse Regiment 11th
Regiment No. 114A
Allora, Queensland
Born in Dalby, Queensland, Australia
25.9.1918 D.O.W
Age 29

–

Corporal Kenneth Stanley Willis Thorn

Australian Light Horse Regiment 11th
Regiment No. 38
Goodiwindi, Queensland, Australia
25.9.1918 K.I.A
Age 21

–

Edward Charles Fraser Trooper

Australian Light Horse Regiment 11th
Regiment No. 1320
Brisbane, Queensland, Australia Touth
25.9.1918 K.I.A
Age 20

–

Robert Portway Pledger Trooper

Australian Light Horse Regiment 11th
Regiment No. 333
Peterborough, England
25.9.1918 K.I.A
Age 26