 The advance entered Palestine and an initial , unsuccessful attempt was made to capture Gaza on 26 March 1917 , while a second and equally unsuccessful attempt was launched on 19 April . A third assault occurred between 31 October and 7 November and this time both the ANZAC Mounted Division and the Australian Mounted Division took part . The battle was a complete success for the British , over @-@ running the Gaza – Beersheba line and capturing 12 @,@ 000 Turkish soldiers . The critical moment was the capture of Beersheba on the first day , after the Australian 4th Light Horse Brigade charged more than 4 miles ( 6 @.@ 4 km ) . The Turkish trenches were overrun , with the Australians capturing the wells at Beersheba and securing the valuable water they contained along with over 700 prisoners for the loss of 31 killed and 36 wounded . Later , Australian troops assisted in pushing the Turkish forces out of Palestine and took part in actions at Mughar Ridge , Jerusalem and the Megiddo . The Turkish government surrendered on 30 October 1918 . Units of the Light Horse were subsequently used to help put down a nationalist revolt in Egypt in 1919 and did so with efficiency and brutality , although they suffered a number of fatalities in the process . Total Australian battle casualties in the campaign were 4 @,@ 851 , including 1 @,@ 374 dead . 
