i did not see the MAIN attack on the city

Simple answer would be budgets. The long answer is the battle plan, and the fact that no plan lasts longer than first contact with the enemy.

Depicting even a fraction of the 40,000 troops involved on the Allied side would have made the film impossible to finance. Australian made films rarely make a substantial profit unless they get released on the international market, and The Lighthorsemen is no exception - if this had been a Hollywood production, the term box-office bomb would have applied.

The big reason there's no main attack depicted in the film is that there was no main attack other than the preliminary bombardments and movements on out-lying defensive posts (Tel el Saba included). I'm relying on the wiki for the Battle of Beersheba, and I suspect some details are inaccurate, but the gist of things is that the main attack was to be the Light Horse Regiments making a standard dismounted advance. Due to whatever circumstances applied, time ran out for the dismounted advance, and a rapid change in plans was needed, resulting in Brigadier Grant suggesting a cavalry charge by his Light Horse brigade. It was a tactic he and his staff had considered during the lead-up to the battle, and the troopers were aware of the possibility they might charge on horseback, so they sharpened their bayonets (at 18" only six inches shorter than a standard issue cavalry sword), and they all got to town in time for tea, biscuits and medals.

that was a let down I was expecting that attack to be a major battle scene

When there's no more room in hell, The dead will walk the earth...

This film was entirely shot in Australia. Extras there are expensive. In Turkey it would have been much cheaper, like in The Charge of the Light Brigade (1968).


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I've never seen it as taking away from the film or the Lighthorse charge. It probably adds to it as we don't sit around watching a failed attack by the British. We do see enough of it to know it didn't go well and that the Lighthorse have a challenge on their hands.