of Magdhaba, his colonel was wounded and Robertson took over command of the 10th Light Horse. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) for his actions during this battle. His citation read: Robertson's men took many Turkish prisoners, including a senior officer of engineers who insisted that he would only surrender his sword to the Australian officer in charge. He was disappointed to discover that it was Robertson, a youthful major, but handed it over anyway. In February 1917 Robertson was attached to the Desert Column as a staff officer. From there, he was sent to staff school in Egypt. However, on 7 March he suffered a broken leg in a riding accident and was hospitalised for two months. He returned to the staff school in May and finally graduated on 17 June. He was then posted to the newly formed Yeomanry Mounted Division as a General Staff Officer (Grade 3). In March 1918, he was posted to Headquarters Delta Force in Cairo. This was disbanded in April and Robertson became Deputy Assistant Adjutant General (DAAG) at AIF Headquarters in Cairo. In January 1919, he became Assistant Adjutant General (AAG). He returned to Australia in July 1919. In addition to his Distinguished Service Order, he was twice mentioned in despatches, and awarded the Order of the Nile (4th Class) by the Sultan of Egypt. Between the wars On returning to Australia, Robertson became brigade major in the 7th Light Horse Brigade. In September 1920 he was posted to the staff of the 3rd Military District and then the 2nd Cavalry Division and the 3rd Division. In April 1922 he sat for and passed the entrance examination to the Staff College, Camberley, where his class included Majors Arthur Percival, John Smyth and Georges Vanier, and Lieutenant Colonel Harry Crerar. Robertson eventually became the first Australian to graduate with an A-grade pass. Afterwards, Robertson went on to attend a series of shorter training courses in Britain. He attended the School of Musketry at Hythe, Kent; the Machine Gun School at Netheravon, Wiltshire; the Artillery College at Woolwich; the Anti-Gas School at Porton Down; the Anti-Aircraft School at Westerham, Kent; and the Royal Tank Corps School at Woolwich. He returned to Australia in 1925 to become Chief Instructor at the Small Arms School at Randwick, New South Wales in 1926. Following the retirement of General Sir Harry Chauvel in 1930, Robertson was