THE MAHDIST INVASION.
It was not unnatural that the retirement of the Gordon Relief
Expedition, in 1885, should have inspired the Mahdi with the idea that
the moment had now arrived for the fulfilment of what he regarded as
part of his Divine mission, viz., the invasion of Egypt. Two British
armies had been sent, in two successive years, to the Eastern Soudan,
and both, after a certain amount of fighting, had been withdrawn, whilst
a third, despatched for the relief of Khartoum, had, when almost at the
gates of Khartoum, been forced to retrace its steps, and retreat down
the Nile. What ensued was only the result foretold by Lord Wolseley when
he prophetically declared to Her Majesty's Government that "the struggle
with the Mahdi, or rather with Mahdism, must come sooner or later.
Eventually you will have to fight him to hold your position in Egypt. No
frontier force can keep Mahdism out of Egypt, and the Mahdi, sooner or
later, must be smashed, or he will smash you."[139]
When, as stated in another chapter, the last of the British troops left
Dongola on 5th July, 1885, an Egyptian frontier field force, composed of
British and Egyptian troops, was formed, and placed under the command of
Major-General Grenfell, Sir Evelyn Wood's successor as Sirdar of the
Egyptian army. His head-quarters were fixed at Assouan, whilst
Brigadier-General Butler commanded the advanced brigade at Wady Halfa,
with outposts at Kosheh, about forty-two miles south of the railway
terminus at Akasheh.
The Mahdi's plans for the invasion of Egypt were formed as early as May,
in fact, as soon as he was able to make sure of the break-up of the Nile
Expedition.
The idea was to make the advance in two river columns, under the command
of the Emirs Abd-el-Medjid and Mohammed-el-Kheir respectively, who were
to march on Wady Halfa, whilst a third column was to cross the desert
from Abu Hamid to Korosko, thus cutting the communications of the
defensive force at Wady Halfa.
The death of the Mahdi in the month of June by no means interfered with
the carrying out of this programme, his successor, the Khalifa
Abdullah-el-Taaishi, being almost as capable a leader as his
predecessor, and even more oppressive and unscrupulous.
Notwithstanding that Omdurman, which had become the Khalifa's capital,
was ravaged by famine and small-pox, the preparations for the advance
continued, and by the early part of August Debbeh and Old Dongola were
occupied by the forces of Abd-el-Medjid, numbering 4,000 men. By the end
of the month the whole of the country south of Dongola was in the hands
of the Khalifa's troops. On the 24th, Wad-en-Nejumi, one of the chief
Emirs, was reported as having left Omdurman with a large force, going
north. It must not be supposed that the expedition was popular with the
Khalifa's soldiers, but unfortunately they had no choice in the matter.
They are said to have declared, "Our brothers are dead; the English
shoot well, and we have nothing to eat."
From Dongola the invaders proceeded north along the Nile, till, on the
20th September, they had reached as far as Hafir. The Dervish forces at
that place, and at Dongola, were estimated at 7,000 by the beginning of
October.
Meanwhile, another army was marching on Abu Hamid, where 3,000 men
arrived in the latter part of October.
Seeing that the Dervish attack was impending, steps were taken to meet
the emergency. Two gunboats were sent to patrol the river above Akasheh,
and the post at that place was strengthened by the sending of a force of
Egyptian Mounted Infantry, and a half battalion of black troops.
On the 26th October General Grenfell telegraphed from Assouan to General
Stephenson for another battalion to be sent him from Cairo, adding, "We
should now look upon an advance on Egypt as merely a question of time,
and be thoroughly prepared." On 4th November, Captain Hunter (now Sir
Archibald Hunter), of the Intelligence Department, reported that 8,000
of the enemy had crossed to Abu Fatmeh, and that everything indicated
an immediate advance. On the next day news was received that the enemy
was advancing on both banks, Mohammed-el-Kheir on the east, and
Abd-el-Medjid on the west, with the object of cutting off the
communications of the advanced force, and preventing reinforcements
reaching it.
A few days later, viz., on the 17th, it became known that 8,000
Dervishes had reached Dulgo,[140] and that the advanced guard was at
Absarat, whence it was to march on Khanak, to cut the Wady Haifa
railway.
On the 27th, it was reported that 7,000 of the enemy were occupying the
heights near Ammara, a few miles south of Ginnis, and that 4,000 more
were now at Abu Hamid. Three days afterwards a spy gave information that
1,000 mounted men had left by the desert for the north of Akasheh, and
that another thousand had crossed the river to the west bank, the
intention being to make a simultaneous attack on Kosheh, Akasheh, and
the railway.
The news of the Dervish advance now caused widespread alarm in Cairo, as
well as in Egypt generally, and, to preserve public order, the police
force had to be reinforced, more especially in the frontier provinces.
Steps were, at the same time, taken to strengthen the Army of Occupation
by sending two additional battalions from the United Kingdom.
On the 30th November, General Butler and his staff left Wady Halfa for
the front at Akasheh, and General Grenfell moved up to Wady Halfa. At
this date the frontier force was disposed as follows:--At Kosheh, 600
British and 300 Egyptians; at Mograkeh, 260 Egyptians; at Sarkamatto and
Dal, 200 Egyptians; at Akasheh, 600 British and 350 Egyptians; and at
Wady Halfa, 500 British and 350 Egyptians; total, 3,160 men. In addition
to these, small detachments were posted at Ambigol Wells, Sarras, and
other places.
A skirmish, which took place at Ginnis on the 29th, showed that the main
body of the enemy was posted in front of Kosheh, where it had arrived on
the previous day.[141]
On the 3rd December, Captain Hunter engaged the advance party of the
enemy, with Gardner guns and rifles, with considerable effect, several
horsemen and foot-soldiers being killed.
Meanwhile an attempt had been made by the Dervishes to cut the line of
communications at Ambigol Wells, where a small post of only thirty men
of the Berkshire and West Kent Regiments was established in a fort. The
Dervish force attacked with men, mounted and on foot, and one gun. They
were driven off with some loss on the 2nd December, but on the two
following days returned to the attack. Several sorties were made by the
little garrison, until the arrival of reinforcements on the 4th caused
the besiegers to retire.
At 6.15 a.m. on the 12th, 3,000 Dervishes attacked a fort constructed at
Mograkeh, near Kosheh, and got within 100 yards of it. The garrison of
the fort, consisting of 300 men of the Egyptian army, behaved with great
steadiness, and repulsed the attack. After the skirmish, the enemy moved
to the village of Ferket, a place on the river north of Ginnis, and
occupied it, From this point they retired to the hills. Two men killed
and half a dozen wounded represented the Egyptian loss.
This was followed, on the night of the 15th, by a further attack on
Kosheh from a battery erected on sand hills on the western bank, which
was silenced, and the attacking force driven off on the 16th.
All the posts were now rapidly reinforced. General Grenfell had already
arrived at Wady Halfa on the 4th December, and on the 19th December
General Stephenson came from Cairo and assumed the command of the
frontier force, with Grenfell as Chief of the Staff.
Arrangements were promptly made to inflict a crushing blow on the enemy,
who, encouraged by the slight resistance to their advance hitherto made,
had pushed their foremost troops north of the village of Ginnis, where
the main body was established.
At the same time, about 1,000 men, with a gun, threatened the zeriba on
the west bank, held by the Egyptian troops.
On the 29th, Generals Stephenson and Grenfell marched from Ferket and
bivouacked on the east bank below the fort of Kosheh, where the whole of
the fighting force was by this time concentrated.
The troops consisted of--_Cavalry_,20th Hussars; British Mounted
Infantry and Camel Corps; Egyptian Cavalry and Camel Corps: _Artillery_,
1 battery Royal Artillery; 1 Egyptian camel battery and Gardner guns:
_Royal Engineers_, 1 company: _Infantry_, 1st Brigade, under General
Butler--Berkshire Regiment, West Kent Regiment, and Durham Regiment; 2nd
Brigade, under Colonel Huyshe--Cameron Highlanders; Yorkshire Regiment;
1st and 9th Battalions (part only) of the Egyptian army. Total, about
5,000 men.
On the morning of the 30th, Stephenson attacked and defeated the
Khalifa's forces at Kosheh and the neighbouring village of Ginnis.
On the two preceding days, artillery fire had been kept up on the
enemy's position. At 5 a.m. on the 30th, the whole force advanced.
By daylight the 2nd Brigade and the 1st Egyptian Battalion had taken up
a strong position on the heights above Kosheh, at a distance of about
1,200 yards from, and directly opposite, the village. At 6.10 a.m. the
British battery attached to this brigade began to shell Kosheh. A
quarter of an hour later the Cameron Highlanders and two companies of
the 9th Soudanese rushed the houses in gallant style.
The village was captured, together with a brass gun, at 6.50 a.m. The
gunboat _Lotus_ co-operated in this movement, and by her fire inflicted
considerable loss on the retreating Dervishes.
Whilst this was going on, the 1st Brigade, under Butler, had swept round
to the south end of the village of Ginnis, and by daybreak had gained a
position on the hills about a mile from the river. Up to this time, the
advance made along the flank of the enemy's position had escaped
observation, but as the eastern sky behind the advancing troops
brightened, the Dervishes, who were completely surprised, came out from
the low ground along the river, and streamed to the front. Thence they
opened an irregular fire, which, in spite of the Martini-Henrys of the
brigade, was maintained for about forty minutes.
In the meanwhile, the Egyptian battery, attached to the 1st Brigade, had
been brought into action on the right of the position, and was doing
good service. The infantry deploying in line, the West Kent on the
right, and the Berkshire and Durham Regiments on the left of the guns,
kept up a steady fire, assisted by the Egyptian Camel Corps.
Notwithstanding the volleys of the Martini-Henrys, a large body of
spearmen managed to creep up unobserved, through a deep ravine in front
of the line of infantry, to a spot where the dismounted camels of the
Egyptian Camel Corps had been placed.
The spearmen then made so rapid a rush that the men of the Camel Corps
had not time to mount, and so were driven back fighting hand to hand
with their assailants, who pressed them closely. The West Kent Regiment,
which on the attack developing had been moved to the left of the line,
came to the assistance of the Camel Corps, and shooting down numbers of
the enemy, the rest fell back and fled to the hills. The brigade, then
swinging round to the left, was directed upon the village of Ginnis,
and, though time after time attempts at a stand were made, the enemy
were eventually all dispersed, and at 9.15 the village was occupied, the
Dervishes fleeing south, in the direction of Atab.
The 2nd Brigade, after disposing of Kosheh, had continued its advance in
the direction of Ginnis, which it entered on the eastern side, a quarter
of an hour after the 1st Brigade had taken possession.
The cavalry went in pursuit of the fugitives until 10 a.m., and by that
time the Dervish army had been dissolved into a mass of disorganized and
terror-stricken Arabs. Many of them crossed over to the west bank and
escaped into the desert.
The camp at Ginnis was seized, and four guns and twenty standards
captured.
The British and Egyptian loss in the fight was only seven killed and
thirty-four wounded, and if, as estimated, out of a force of 6,000 men,
the Khalifa's troops had 500 killed and 300 wounded, it must be admitted
that the engagement partook more of the nature of a _battu_ than a
battle.
After the fight, and on the same day, the 1st Brigade advanced to Atab,
five miles to the west of Giniss, whilst the cavalry continued the
pursuit to Abri, which on the following day was occupied by Buller's
brigade.
The action at Ginnis was a serious check to the Khalifa. Not only had
his emir Abd-el-Medjid with eighteen minor chiefs been killed, but the
prestige which the Mahdi's successor enjoyed amongst his followers had
also sustained a severe blow.
The remainder of his scattered-forces was now collected at Kermeh,
about 30 miles north of Dongola, where, under the command of
Mohammed-el-Kheir, they awaited reinforcements.