Ottomans and their Bedouin workers to withdraw before they could be engaged. A period of stalemate followed, during which time the regiment, along with the rest of the brigade, rotated between the forward position at Fara and other positions in support and reserve at Kukhari and Marakeb as preparations were made for a future offensive. The regiment's next major action came in October 1917. Conceived as part of an attack towards the Jerusalem to Jaffa line, the regiment took part in the Battle of Beersheba. During this battle, along with the 4th Light Horse Regiment, the 12th Light Horse carried out a successful mounted charge, advancing over open ground late in the afternoon to get under the Ottoman guns and capture the town and its vital water supplies. Late in the afternoon, the 12th Light Horse Regiment advanced, according to historian Henry Gullett, on a "squadron frontage in three lines" apart, with the 4th Light Horse Regiment to launch a "pure cavalry" charge, the troopers advancing with bayonets in their hands. Advancing over , the light horsemen were subjected to rifle and machine-gun fire and artillery bombardment from the flanks and trenches to their front. Supporting artillery helped suppress the machine-gun fire from the flanks, and the speed of the charge made it difficult for the Ottoman gunners to adjust their range. The Ottoman trenches were not protected with wire and after jumping over the trenches, the light horsemen dismounted and hand-to-hand fighting followed. While most of the 4th Light Horse and some of the 12th Light Horse dismounted, the remainder stayed mounted, continuing their charge into the town. The British official historian claims "more than half the dismounted troops in the town were captured or killed," while 15 of the 28 guns in the town were captured by the Desert Mounted Corps and XX Corps. Over 700 Ottoman soldiers were captured and, more significantly for the Australians, over 400,000 litres of water secured. In achieving this, the 12th lost 24 men killed and 15 wounded; 44 horses were also killed, while another 60 were wounded or became sick. The success at Beersheba significantly reduced Ottoman resistance, but heavy fighting continued around Gaza and elsewhere, including the Battle of Tel el Khuweilfe, and the regiment remained at Beersheba for four days to receive remounts. Gaza fell in early November and, as Ottoman forces fell back, the British Empire troops followed