British Empire Egyptian Expeditionary Force Yildirim Army Group The Charge at Sheria took place on 7 November 1917 during the Battle of Hareira and Sheria when the 11th and 12th Light Horse Regiments (4th Light Horse Brigade) charged a Yildirim Army Group rearguard in support of an attack by the 60th (London) Division during the Southern Palestine Offensive of the Sinai and Palestine Campaign in World War I.

A major offensive launched by the Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF) on 6 November could not dislodge the Ottoman defenders at Gaza, Hareira and Tel el Khuweilfe.

The main Ottoman position extending from the Mediterranean shore west of Gaza to south east of Tel esh Sheria was held by the XX Corps commanded by Ali Faud Bey.

[7] Strong Ottoman garrisons and rearguards continued to hold the Tel Khuweilfe area, Sheria, and Gaza along with western part of their front line including Tank and Atawineh redoubts.

This fighting caused the Yildirim Army Group Ottoman to reinforce the center and eastern extremity of their front line.

[20][21] A reconnaissance of the Ottoman positions at Sheria, was carried out by the 181st Brigade (60th Division), with a view to crossing the wadi at two places to capture the high ground stretching from Barrata to the railway.

[25] Chauvel ordered the Anzac and Australian Mounted Divisions to begin their advance northwards to establish a line from Jemmameh to Huj the next day.

Then moved through deserted Turkish lines – bivvies, tents, camps, hospitals, ammunition dumps, dead horses and discarded equipment in every direction, all along the track.

"[31] However, the Londoners' advance was stopped by a strongly entrenched Ottoman rearguard position 1.5 miles (2.4 km) to the north, with excellent vantage over their approach across bare sloping ground.

[32] "The check to the Londoners on the slope beyond Sheria seriously hampered the success of the British plan … it meant a day's delay at least to Shea's [and Hodgson's] advance towards Huj.

[37] Chauvel issued orders to the Australian Mounted Division at 08:05, to advance on the eastern side of the railway, to the Wadi esh Sheria.

They were to advance through the Londoners, to make a mounted charge directly on the front of the Ottoman rearguard position, rather than a flank attack.

"[41] Chauvel gave Hodgson "his exact line of advance,"[42] "a definite axis of advance and objective,",[33] "against a very hard section,"[42] "through defined squares on the map of operations, with his centre on a mud hut at Khurbet Buteihah, on the ridge behind the Turkish line of defences,"[34] but a delay allowed the Ottoman rearguard to strengthen the position before the charge began.

Then leading squadrons cantered up the steep tracks on the other side of the wadi into machine gun and heavy rifle fire at effective range.

[46] At 12:45 the 12th Light Horse Regiment was held up by machine gun and rifle fire while the HAC battery shelled the Ottoman rearguard position, 0.5 miles (0.80 km) north of Sheria.

On the left, the lines of the 60th London Division were not far from the wadi, and here two squadrons of the 11th Light Horse Regiment, advanced at the gallop in the face of the strong opposing fire.

The officer led his men straight in at the gallop, and one man only returned, who was wounded in the charge, and wheeled off back to his own lines.

"[35] "[T]he purely frontal attack ... was held up,"[47] under very heavy fire, when the order was given to dismount and the led horses were galloped to the rear.

[48] The two light horse regiments continued their advance dismounted, but were only able to capture a few hundred yards in front of the 60th (London) Division before they too were stopped by heavy Ottoman machine gun fire.

[42] Meanwhile, one troop of 21 men from the 11th Light Horse Regiment missed the signal, and continued to gallop up to and over the Ottoman trenches, holding only bayonets.

With their rifles still on their backs as they dismounted, the Ottoman soldiers opened fire at point blank range, killing 11 men.

"[Note 3] On the left, Lieutenant Bartlett's troop came to assist with Hotchkiss machine gun and rifle fire when one German officer and 20 Ottoman infantry were hit.

[28] One man lay wounded "just under the parapet" while a sergeant and two troopers managed to escape back to the infantry and light horse lines.

... All along the track small mounds and a rough cross bear silent record to the fact that this land has once again been bought with blood.

As they moved across the open ground just south of the Wadi Sheria heavy rifle and machine gun fire covered their advance.

They captured the Ottoman rearguard position at Sheria and pushed them out of the high ground facing west, suffered 24 casualties during this attack.

The leading regiment, the Gloucester Yeomanry lost direction and was fired on from the west, so the brigade returned to the Wadi Barrata.

The regiment finished watering at 22:00 and bivouacked 1 mile (1.6 km) south of the Wadi esh Sheria on the east side of the railway.

[53] The Yildirim Army Group had marched through the night, to gain distance and time to establish a light entrench line, behind which they resisted the EEF advance all day.

Their further withdrawals were aided by their falling back on their lines of communication including railways, to eventually occupy strongly entrenched defences in the Judean Hills.