Australian troops arrived in Egypt in December 1914, to train for the war in Europe. However, most of them went to Gallipoli in April 1915. This included the Light Horse Brigades.

After Gallipoli, most of the AIF went to France in 1916, but the bulk of Australia’s mounted forces remained in Egypt to fight the Turks threatening the Suez Canal.

Douglas Diggers who fought in the Middle East were mainly with the 2nd, 5th and 11th Light Horse Brigades. In 1916, they participated in the defence of the Suez Canal and the allied reconquest of the Sinai Peninsula. In the following year these Light Horse Brigades advanced into Palestine and captured Gaza and Jerusalem. By 1918 they had occupied Lebanon and Syria. On 30 October 1918 Turkey surrendered.