 With the 1st Light Horse Brigade in reserve , Chauvel sent the New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade and the 3rd Light Horse Brigade to move on Magdhaba by the north and north @-@ east to cut off the possibility of retreat while the Imperial Camel Corps Brigade followed the telegraph line straight to Magdhaba . The 1st Light Horse Brigade advanced mounted to the attack but fierce shrapnel fire forced them to advance up the wadi bed . By midday all three brigades and the Camel Brigade , despite support from machine @-@ guns and artillery , were hotly engaged . Aerial reconnaissance from Australian and British aircraft , which scouted out the Turkish positions , greatly assisted the attack , although the Turkish positions were obscured by the effect of a mirage and dust clouds . 
