The Battle of the Nek was a minor battle that took place on 7 August 1915, during the Gallipoli campaign of World War I. "The Nek" was a narrow stretch of ridge on the Gallipoli Peninsula. The name derives from the Afrikaans word for a "mountain pass" but the terrain itself was a perfect bottleneck and easy to defend, as had been proven during an Ottoman attack in June. It connected Australian and New Zealand trenches on the ridge known as "Russell's Top" to the knoll called "Baby 700" on which the Ottoman defenders were entrenched.
The charge of the 3rd Light Horse Brigade at the Nek, 7 August 1915 by George Lambert, 1924.
View of the Nek from the south, 1919
View from Turkish trenches on the Nek towards former Australian positions, 1919
Soldiers from the 10th Light Horse Regiment with unclaimed kitbags of the dead after the charge at the Nek
The 3rd Light Horse Brigade was a mounted infantry brigade of the Australian Imperial Force (AIF), which served in the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I. The brigade was initially formed as a part-time militia formation in the early 1900s in Victoria. In 1914, the brigade was re-constituted as part of the AIF. The brigade first saw action while serving with the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps during the Gallipoli campaign where they were noted for their attack during the Battle of the Nek. After being withdrawn to Egypt in February 1916 they were involved in the Sinai and Palestine Campaign until the end of the war. They were attached to a number of different formations being part of the Anzac Mounted Division in March 1916 and the Australian Mounted Division in June 1917, who they remained with until the end of the war. After the war, the AIF light horse regiments were demobilised and disbanded; however, the brigade briefly existed as a part-time militia formation in New South Wales until 1921 when its regiments were reorganised into cavalry brigades.
Charge of the 3rd Light Horse Brigade at the Battle of the Nek. Painting by George Lambert, 1924
An officer from the 8th Light Horse Regiment, Egypt, 1915
Troopers from the 9th Light Horse Regiment, Gallipoli, 1915
The 9th Light Horse Regiment crossing the Suez Canal, February 1916