The Mahdists, infamously bloodthirsty savages, are just seven miles away, in the fortified city of Omdurman. The re-enforcement of the group in the khor took place after Grenfell made his observation and before the main body of the 21st Lancers under Martin came up to make its attack; so that, in the interval between Grenfells observation and the charge, the number of Dervishes in the khor rose from around 700 to around 2,700. Highland troops: Battle of Omdurman on 2nd September 1898 in the Sudanese War. The commander of the IX, on his own initiative, formed his battalion into line, facing to the north and opened fire on the advancing Dervish force. The Khalifa ordered his beaten army to retreat into Omdurman, to hold the city against the Sirdars troops. Despite the considerable inequality of forces - the Mahdists had up to 100 thousand fighters against the 10,000th corps of Kitchener - the Sudanese . The Lancers managed to fight their way out of the ambush but at a heavy cost, losing one-fifth of their number killed or wounded. While the charge by the 21st Lancers at Omdurman produced no military benefit in the battle, it produced a sensation in late Victorian Britain, similar to that caused by the Charge of the Light Brigade in 1854. The siege of Khartoum (also known as the battle of Khartoum or fall of Khartoum) occurred from 13 March 1884 to 26 January 1885.Sudanese Mahdist forces captured the city of Khartoum from its Egyptian garrison, thereby gaining control over the whole of Sudan.. Egypt had controlled Sudan since 1820, but had itself come under British domination in 1882. While this attack was in progress, the Khalifa and his trusted deputy, Yakub, watched, with their 15,000 troops, from behind the Jebel Surgham, intending, if the frontal assault by Osman Azrak was successful, to emerge from their cover and join it. Captain Neville Smyth of the Queens Bays was awarded the Victoria Cross for rescuing two war correspondents from the attack of a Dervish after the battle was finished, being wounded in the process. The Dervish attack here came to a halt 800 yards from the zeriba, with the Dervishes lying down in the sand and, where armed with rifles, returning the fire. The Dervishes came up so fast on the Horse Artillery that two guns had to be left behind, when horses were shot and gun teams became intertwined. The battle took place on 2 September 1898, at Kerreri, 11 kilometres (6.8 mi) north of Omdurman in the Sudan. Artillery on the march in the Sudan: Battle of Omdurman on 2nd September 1898 in the Sudanese War. They were split into five groupsa force of 8,000 under Osman Azrak was arrayed directly opposite the British, in a shallow arc along a mile (1.6km) of a low ridge leading onto the plain, and the other Mahdist forces were initially concealed from Kitchener's force. About four miles away to the half right, was what appeared to be a long zeriba, or thorn fence, with men behind it. Two revolts, in the Nuba Mountains in 188586 and in Darfur in 188889, were suppressed. Once past the Kerreri Hills, the 21st Lancers could see Omdurman in the distance, on the west bank of the River Nile and the ruins of the city of Khartoum in the angle of the confluence of the two great rivers, the Blue Nile and the White Nile. MR. BRODRICK Her Majesty's Government are confident that all possible assistance was given to the wounded dervishes out of the resources at the Sirdar's command. The Dervish warriors wore white tunics, with black patches sewn on the front and back. The retaliation was immediate; a barrage from four of the Sirdars batteries at a range of 3,000 yards (less than 2 miles). It was clear that the hospital was menaced. The enquiry cleared Kitchener of the allegations, enabling him to continue his ascent to the highest appointments in the British army. Dervish losses were particularly heavy in the attack against the two British brigades, armed with magazine Lee-Metford rifles and supported by field artillery, Maxims and the gunboats. By 1879 Gordons actions had triggered a harsh backlash throughout the country. Decorations were given for service in the campaign fairly freely. When Colville was wounded, Beatty took over leadership of the expedition's naval elements. On March 20 Mahmud reached Hillat an Nikheila, and there he constructed a formidable zeriba, or fortified stockade. The victory of the BritishEgyptian force was a demonstration of the superiority of a highly disciplined army equipped with modern rifles, machine guns, and artillery over a force twice its size armed with older weapons, and marked the success of British efforts to re-conquer Sudan. Kitchener was anxious to occupy Omdurman before the remaining Mahdist forces could withdraw there. The British troops wore the new khaki field uniforms with the characteristic pith helmet. The Anglo-Egyptian army suffered about 500 casualties. At 9.15am, the Sirdars force set off in column, heading for the Jebel Surgham Ridge; the two British brigades leading, followed by Maxwells and Lewiss brigades, with Macdonalds in the rear. Kitchener led an Anglo-Egyptian force consisting of 16 infantry battalions, 10 cavalry squadrons, and 8 artillery companies, as well as more than a dozen gunboats to support river operations. An Anglo-Egyptian army under British Commander-in-Chief of Egyptian Army major general[b] Herbert Kitchener marched south from Egypt. The battle was, as war correspondent for The Morning Post Winston Churchill noted, "A mere matter of machinery." British losses were 48 killed and 434 wounded. Watching the advancing Dervish line at the beginning of the Battle of Omdurman on 2nd September 1898 in the Sudanese War. The Battle of Balaklava, during the Crimean War (1854-56), witnessed two of the most famous cavalry charges in British Army history. The victory at Omdurman concluded the campaign to retake Sudan and Khartoum was quickly reoccupied. Omdurman was an iconic late Victorian battle. [4] Churchill thought Kitchener was too brutal in his killing of the wounded. Although Abd Allh remained at large with a considerable army, Kitchener was in no position to offer pursuit, as he was almost immediately embroiled in a territorial dispute with France over an abandoned Egyptian fort at Fashoda (now Kodok, South Sudan), nearly 400 miles (640 km) south of Khartoum. Colonel Sloggett, the senior medical officer, rode off to seek help from Macdonald. They had lost more than 12,000 men killed, 13,000 wounded, and with a further 5,000 taken prisoner. In 1881 a Mahdist state was proclaimed by Muhammad Ahmad (1845-1885), beginning a popular uprising against Egyptian rule in the Sudan and capturing the . The Sirdar, accompanying Maxwell, looked back from his position on the lower slopes of the Jebel Surgham and saw that, instead of following on in column behind Lewiss brigade, Macdonald was deploying his brigade into line, and bringing his batteries into action. Winston Churchill was present at the battle and he rode with the 21st Lancers. The commander of the force, Sir Herbert Kitchener, was also seeking revenge for the death of General Gordon, killed when a Mahdist army had captured Khartoum thirteen years earlier. Nevertheless, as part of the oral tradition there survived a lamentation by Wad Sad, who was an eye-witness of the defeat. [24] In the following year there appeared a more polished performance in Annie Moore's poetry collection, Omdurman and other verses. The 52 quick firing guns of the British artillery opened fire at around 2,750 metres (1.71mi),[6] inflicting severe casualties on the Mahdist forces before they even came within range of the Maxim guns and volley fire. $8.49 $8.99 Save 6% Current price is $8.49, Original price is $8.99. Detachment, Royal Engineers, Seaforth Highlanders on exercise in Britain: Battle of Omdurman on 2nd September 1898 in the Sudanese War, Egyptian troops at the Battle of Omdurman: Gordon promptly set out to fulfill the terms of the treaty, and he broke up slave markets and imprisoned traders. The village of Omdurman was chosen in 1884 as the base of operations by the Mahdi, Muhammad Ahmad. Each contingent was led by a flag of a distinctive colour; red, green or black. Among other officers later to rise to prominence, who served at Omdurman, were Ian Hamilton, Lyttelton, Gatacre and Ivor Maxse. Please select which sections you would like to print: Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. Artillery on the march in the Sudan: Battle of Omdurman on 2nd September 1898 in the Sudanese War 31st August 1898: On 31 st August, the Sirdar's army encamped on the west bank of the River Nile, to the north of the Kerreri Hills. An overnight march on April 7 put Kitchener within striking distance of Mahmuds zeriba, and, on the morning of April 8, after an hour-long artillery barrage, the Anglo-Egyptian army shattered the Mahdist defenses at the Battle of Atbara. Abdullah al-Taashi[2] and 17,000 men were concealed behind Surkab Hill (in older sources often distorted to "Surgham" Hill) to the west and rear of Osman Azrak's force, with 20,000 more positioned to the north-west, close to the front behind the Kerreri hills, commanded by Ali wad Hilu and Osman Sheikh ed-Din. The Sirdar, Major General Sir Herbert Kitchener, marked his victory at Atbara with a parade through the town of Berber, riding a white horse and leading the defeated Emir Moustafa, captured at Atbara. Lewis was ordered to bring his brigade into line on Maxwells right. Sir Henry Rawlinson, in World War 1, General Lord Rawlinson and an army commander, of the Coldstream Guards, acted as an additional staff officer to the Sirdar at Omdurman, having come to Egypt for the health of his wife and being asked to act by Lord Cromer, to reduce the administrative burden on the Sirdar. During the Battle of Omdurman 8,200 British and 17,600 Egyptian and Sudanese troops fought a decisive engagement with 52,000 Dervish soldiers. Having dealt with the immediate threat, Kitchener then marched on Omdurman, and Abd Allh redeployed his still sizable forces. Kitchener was anxious to occupy Omdurman before the remaining Mahdist forces could withdraw there. Although this attack was just too late to co-incide with the main Dervish attack from behind the Jebel Surgham, the wisdom of putting a commander ofMacdonalds calibre in the rear was confirmed. On September 2, 1898, the Battle of Omdurman was a general battle of the Second Anglo-Sudanese War between the Anglo-Egyptian expeditionary corps of Field Marshal Herbert Kitchener and the forces of the Sudanese rebels (the so-called Mahdists). The cavalry on the Jebel Surgham and its surrounding ridges could see the full Dervish line, but it was not yet in sight of the infantry in the zeriba. AND, the Battle of Omdurman could/should be easily retitled "The Slaughter of Omburman" because once the Khalifa decided to meet the Anglo-Egyptian forces "head on"to defend his capital the result was a one-sided massacre with anywhere from 20 to 26 thousand devish's killed and wounded against less than 500 causualties for Kitchener's army. On 13 September 1882, the British established their control over Egypt following the Battle of Tel el Kebir. The captured standard of the khalfahs Black Flag division was sent back to Queen Victoria in London, and dozens of European prisoners of the khalfah were liberated. Either way it was a close action, the Dervish charge coming within 300 yards of Macdonalds line. [29], The battle was later made an incident in a few 21st century novels. After a fierce clash, the Lancers drove them back (resulting in three Victoria Crosses being awarded to Lancers who helped rescue wounded comrades). An Egyptian squadron, commanded by Captain Baring of the 10th Hussars, left the camp before dawn to watch the Dervish line. One significant outcome of the Fashoda incident was improved relations between the French and the British, and, ultimately, the conclusion of the Entente Cordiale in 1904. The rise of Mahdism and the Siege of Khartoum This page was last edited on 20 December 2022, at 12:48. Queen's Sudan Medal, British campaign medal awarded to British and Egyptian forces which took part in the Sudan campaign between 1896 and 1898. At the Battle of Omdurman (September 2, 1898) an army commanded by the British General Sir Horatio Kitchener defeated the army of the Khalifa, the Dervishes. Following the Battle of Umm Diwaykarat a year later, the remaining Mahdist forces were defeated and the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan was established. Visit our dedicated Podcast page or visit Podbean below. As the attack of Yakub from behind the Jebel Surgham melted away, Macdonald moved his other battalions, the X and then the XI, to positions in the new line, to the right of the IX, until his formation was in reverse, with another inverted L formed, this time facing north; the 2nd Egyptians remaining in reserve on the left. Gordons requests for reinforcements were denied by the government of Prime Minister William Gladstone, and on March 13, 1884, the Mahds forces laid siege to Khartoum. 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