June 7, 1896
Since the end of 1895 the Dervish force in Firket had been under the
command of the Emir Hammuda, and it was through the indolence and
neglect of this dissipated Arab that the Egyptian army had been able to
make good its position at Akasha without any fighting. Week after week
the convoys had straggled unmolested through the difficult country
between Sarras and the advanced base. No attack had been made upon
the brigade at Akasha. No enterprise was directed against its
communications. This fatal inactivity did not pass unnoticed by Wad
Bishara, the Governor of Dongola; but although he was nominally in
supreme command of all the Dervish forces in the province he had hardly
any means of enforcing his authority. His rebukes and exhortations,
however, gradually roused Hammuda, and during May two or three minor
raids were planned and executed, and the Egyptian position at Akasha was
several times reconnoitred.
Bishara remained unsatisfied, and at length, despairing of infusing
energy into Hammuda, he ordered his subordinate Osman Azrak to supersede
him. Osman was a Dervish of very different type. He was a fanatical and
devoted believer in the Mahdi and a loyal follower of the Khalifa. For
many years he had served on the northern frontier of the Dervish Empire,
and his name was well known to the Egyptian Government as the contriver
of the most daring and the most brutal raids. His cruelty to the
wretched inhabitants of the border villages had excluded him from all
hope of mercy should he ever fall into the hands of the enemy. His
crafty skill, however, protected him, and among the Emirs gathered at
Firket there was none whose death would have given greater satisfaction
to the military authorities than the man who was now to replace Hammuda.
Whether Osman Azrak had actually assumed command on the 6th of June
is uncertain. It seems more likely that Hammuda declined to admit his
right, and that the matter still stood in dispute. But in any case Osman
was determined to justify his appointment by his activity, and about
midday he started from the camp at Firket, and, accompanied by a strong
patrol of camel-men, set out to reconnoitre Akasha. Moving cautiously,
he arrived unperceived within sight of the position at about three
o'clock in the afternoon. The columns which were to storm Firket at dawn
were then actually parading. But the clouds of dust which the high
wind drove across or whirled about the camp obscured the view, and
the Dervish could distinguish nothing unusual. He therefore made the
customary pentagonal mark on the sand to ensure good luck, and so
returned to Firket to renew his dispute with Hammuda, bearing the
reassuring news that 'the Turks lay quiet.'
The force which the Sirdar had concentrated for the capture of Firket
amounted to about nine thousand men, and was organised as follows:--
Commander-in-Chief: THE SIRDAR
The Infantry Division: COLONEL HUNTER Commanding
1st Brigade 2nd Brigade 3rd Brigade
Major LEWIS MAJOR MACDONALD MAJOR MAXWELL
3rd Egyptians IXth Soudanese 2nd Egyptians
4th " XIth " 7th "
Xth Soudanese XIIth " 8th "
XIIIth "
Mounted Forces: MAJOR BURN-MURDOCH
Egyptian Cavalry.... 7 squadrons
Camel Corps. .... 8 companies
Artillery
Horse Artillery .... 1 battery
Field Artillery .... 2 batteries
Maxim Guns . .... 1 battery
Two roads led from Akasha to Firket--one by the bank of the river, the
other inland and along the projected railway line. The Sirdar determined
to avail himself of both. The force was therefore divided into two
columns. The main column, under command of the Sirdar, was to move
by the river road, and consisted of the infantry division, the Field
Artillery, and the Maxim guns. The Desert Column, under command of Major
Burn-Murdoch, consisted of the mounted forces, the Horse Artillery, and
one battalion of infantry (the XIIth Soudanese) drawn from MacDonald's
brigade and mounted upon camels: in all about two thousand men. Very
precise orders were given to the smaller column, and Burn-Murdoch was
instructed to occupy the hills to the south-east of the centre of Firket
village by 4.30 A.M.; to dispose his force facing west, with the cavalry
on the left, the Camel Corps in the centre, and the XIIth Soudanese on
the right. The only point left to his discretion was the position to
be occupied by the Horse battery. He was especially warned not to come
under the fire of the main infantry force. As soon as the enemy should
be routed, the XIIth Soudanese were to return to the Sirdar. The
cavalry, camelry, and Horse Artillery were to pursue--the objective
being, firstly, Koyeka, and, secondly, Suarda.
The infantry column began to march out of Akasha at 3.30 in the
afternoon of the 6th, and trailed southwards along the track by the
river in the following order: Lewis's brigade, with the Xth Soudanese
leading; two Maxim guns and the artillery; MacDonald's brigade;
Maxwell's brigade; and, lastly, the field hospitals and a half-battalion
forming rearguard. The Sirdar marched behind the artillery. The rear of
the long column was clear of the camp by 4.30, and about two hours later
the mounted force started by the desert road. The River Column made good
progress till dark, but thereafter the advance was slow and tedious. The
track led through broken rocky ground, and was so narrow that it nowhere
allowed a larger front to be formed than of four men abreast. In some
places the sharp rocks and crumbling heaps of stone almost stopped the
gun-mules altogether, while the infantry tripped and stumbled painfully.
The moon had not risen, and the darkness was intense. Still the long
procession of men, winding like a whiplash between the jagged hills,
toiled onward through the night, with no sound except the tramping
of feet and the rattle of accoutrements. At half-past ten the head of
Lewis's brigade debouched into a smooth sandy plain about a mile to the
north of Sarkamatto village. This was the spot--scarcely three miles
from the enemy's position--where the Sirdar had decided to halt and
bivouac. The bank and foreshore of the river were convenient for
watering; all bottles and skins were filled, and soldiers and animals
drank. A little food was eaten, and then, battalion by battalion, as the
force arrived at the halting-place, they lay down to rest. The tail
of Maxwell's brigade reached the bivouac about midnight, and the whole
column was then concentrated.
Meanwhile the mounted force were also on their way. Like the River
Column, they were disordered by the broken ground, and the XIIth
Soudanese, who were unused to camel riding and mounted only on transport
saddles, were soon wearied. After one o'clock many men, both in the
Camel Corps and in the battalion, fell asleep on their camels, and the
officers had great difficulty in keeping them awake. However, the
force reached their point of concentration--about three miles to the
south-east of Firket--at a quarter to three. Here the XIIth Soudanese
dismounted from their camels and became again a fighting unit. Leaving
the extra camels under a guard, Major Burn-Murdoch then advanced towards
his appointed position on the hills overlooking Firket.
The Sirdar moved on again with the infantry at 2.30. The moon had risen
over the rocks to the left of the line of march, but it was only a thin
crescent and did not give much light. The very worst part of the whole
track was encountered immediately the bivouac was left, and the column
of nearly six thousand men had to trickle through one narrow place
in single file. There were already signs of the approach of dawn; the
Dervish camp was near; the Sirdar and his Staff began to look anxious.
He sent many messages to the leading battalions to hurry; and the
soldiers, although now very weary, ran and scrambled through the
difficult passage like sheep crowding through a gate. By four o'clock
the leading brigade had cleared the obstacle, and the most critical
moment seemed to have passed.
Suddenly, a mile to the southward, rose the sound of the beating of
drums. Everyone held his breath. The Dervishes were prepared. Perhaps
they would attack the column before it could deploy. Then the sound
died away, and but for the clatter of the marching columns all was again
silent. It was no alarm, but only the call to the morning prayer; and
the Dervishes, still ignorant that their enemies approached and that
swift destruction was upon them, trooped from their huts to obey the
pious summons.
The great mass of Firket mountain, still dark in the half-light, now
rose up on the left of the line of march. Between it and the river
stretched a narrow strip of scrub-covered ground; and here, though
obstructed by the long grass, bushes, palm-trees, and holes, the leading
brigade was ordered to deploy. There was, however, as yet only room for
the Xth Soudanese to form line, and the 3rd and 4th Egyptians contented
themselves with widening to column of companies--the 3rd in rear of the
right of the Xth, the 4th in rear of the centre. The force now began
to emerge from the narrow space between the hills and the river, and
debouch into open country. As the space widened No. 1 field battery came
into line on the left, and No. 2 On the right of the Xth Soudanese. A
swell of ground hid Firket village, though it was known to be within
a mile, and it was now daylight. Still there was no sign that the
Dervishes were prepared. It seemed scarcely possible to believe that the
advance had not yet been discovered. The silence seemed to forbode some
unexpected attack. The leading brigade and guns halted for a few minutes
to allow MacDonald to form his battalions from 'fours' into column of
companies. Then at five o'clock the advance was resumed, and at this
moment from the shoulder of Firket mountain there rang out a solitary
shot. The Dervish outposts had at last learned their danger. Several
other shots followed in quick succession, and were answered by a volley
from the Xth, and then from far away to the south-east came the report
of a field-gun. The Horse Artillery battery had come into action. The
operation of the two columns was simultaneous: the surpise of the enemy
was complete.
The great object was now to push on and deploy as fast as possible.
The popping of musketry broke out from many points, and the repeated
explosions of the Horse battery added to the eager excitement of the
troops. For what is more thrilling than the sudden and swift development
of an attack at dawn? The Xth Soudanese had now reached the top of the
rise which had hidden Firket, and the whole scene came into view. To the
right front the village of Firket stretched by the side of the river--a
confusion of mud houses nearly a mile in length and perhaps 300 yards
broad. On the landward side the tents and straw shelters of the Dervish
force showed white and yellow. A system of mud walls and loop-holed
houses strengthened the northern end of the village. Behind it as a
background stood lines and clusters of palm-trees, through which the
broad river and the masts of the Arab boats might be seen. In front
of the troops, but a little to their left, rose a low rocky ridge
surmounted with flags and defended by a stone breastwork running
along its base. Across the open space between the village and the hill
hundreds of Dervishes on horse and on foot were hurrying to man their
defences, and others scrambled up the rocks to see for themselves the
numbers of the enemy. Scores of little puffs of smoke already speckled
the black rocks of the ridge and the brown houses of the village.
The attack developed very rapidly. The narrow passage between the
mountain and the river poured forth its brigades and battalions, and
the firing-line stretched away to the right and left with extraordinary
speed. The Xth Soudanese opened fire on the village as soon as they
topped the rise. The 3rd and 4th Egyptians deployed on the right and
left of the leading regiment, two companies of the 4th extending down on
to the foreshore below the steep river-bank. Peake's battery (No. 1) and
the Maxim guns, coming into action from a spur of Firket mountain, began
to fire over the heads of the advancing infantry.
The whole of Lewis's brigade now swung to the right and attacked the
village; MacDonald's, coming up at the double in line of battalion
columns, deployed to the left, inland, round the shoulder of the
mountain, and, bearing away still more to the left, advanced swiftly
upon the rocky ridge. The ground in MacDonald's front was much broken
by boulders and scrub, and a deep khor delayed the advance. The enemy,
though taken at obvious disadvantage, maintained an irregular fire;
but the Soudanese, greatly excited, pressed on eagerly towards the
breastworks. When the brigade was still 200 yards from the ridge, about
fifty Dervish horsemen dashed out from among the rocks and charged
the left flank. All were immediately shot down by a wild but heavy
independent fire. With joyful yells the blacks broke into a run and
carried the breastworks at the bayonet. The Dervishes did not await
the shock. As soon as they saw their horsemen--among whom was the Emir
Hammuda himself and Yusef Angar, Emir of the Jehadia--swept away, they
abandoned the first ridge and fell back on another which lay behind. The
Soudanese followed closely, and pursued the outnumbered enemy up one
and down the other side of the rocky hills, up again and down again,
continually shouldering and bringing round the left of the brigade;
until at last the hills were cleared of all except the dead, and the
fugitives were running towards the river-bank. Then the scattered
battalions re-formed facing west, and the panting soldiers looked about
them.
While MacDonald's brigade was storming the hills, Lewis's had advanced
on the village and the Dervish camp. The Arabs from their loopholed
houses made a stubborn resistance, and the 4th battalion by the
river-bank were sharply engaged, their commanding officer, Captain
Sparkes, having his horse shot in four places. Encouraged by their
enormous superiority in number and weapons, the Egyptians showed
considerable zeal in the attack, and their conduct on this occasion was
regarded as a very happy augury for the war, of which this was the first
general engagement.
As Lewis's brigade had swung to its right, and MacDonald's had borne
away to the left, a wide gap had opened in the centre of the attack.
This was immediately filled by Maxwell's brigade, so that the whole
force was now formed in one line, which curved and wheeled continually
to the right until, by the time the rocky hills had been taken, all
three brigades practically faced west and were advancing together
towards the Nile. The Dervishes--penned between the river and the
enemy, and unable to prevent the remorseless advance, which every moment
restricted them to narrower limits--now thought only of flight, and they
could be seen galloping hither and thither seeking for some means of
escape. The position of the Desert Column would have enabled the XIIth
Soudanese, by moving down to the river, to cut off this line of
retreat; but the foreshore of the river at the southern end of Firket is
concealed from a landward view by the steep bank, and by this sandy path
the greater number of the fugitives found safety.
The cavalry and the Camel Corps, instead of cutting at the flank,
contented themselves with making a direct pursuit after the enemy had
crossed their front, and in consequence several hundred Arabs made good
their escape to the south. Others swam the river and fled by the west
bank. The wicked Osman Azrak, his authority now no longer disputed, for
his rival was a corpse, galloped from the field and reached Suarda. The
rest of the Dervish force held to the houses, and variously prepared to
fight to the death or surrender to their conquerors.
The three brigades now closed upon the village and, clearing it step by
step, advanced to the water's edge. MacDonald's brigade did not indeed
stop until they had crossed the swampy isthmus and occupied the island.
The Arabs, many of whom refused quarter, resisted desperately, though
without much effect, and more than eighty corpses were afterwards found
in one group of buildings. By 7.20 o'clock all firing had ceased; the
entire Dervish camp was in the hands of the Egyptian troops, and the
engagement of Firket was over.
The Sirdar now busied himself with the pursuit, and proceeded with the
mounted troops as far as Mograka, five miles south of Firket. The whole
cavalry force, with the Camel Corps and Horse Artillery, pressed
the retreat vigorously to Suarda. Osman Azrak, however, succeeded in
transporting the women and children and some stores, with a sufficient
escort, to the west bank before the arrival of the troops. On the
approach of the cavalry he retired along the east bank, with a small
mounted force, without fighting. The Emir in charge of the escort on the
other side delayed, and was in consequence shelled at long range by the
Horse battery. The local inhabitants, tired of the ceaseless war which
had desolated the frontier province for so long, welcomed their new
masters with an appearance of enthusiasm. The main pursuit stopped at
Suarda, but a week later two squadrons and sixteen men of the Camel
Corps, under Captain Mahon, were pushed out twenty miles further south,
and an Arab store of grain was captured.
The Dervish loss in the action was severe. More than 800 dead were left
on the field, and there were besides 500 wounded and 600 prisoners.
The casualties in the Egyptian army were 1 British officer--Captain
Legge--wounded, 20 native soldiers killed and 83 wounded.
Firket is officially classed as a general action: special despatches
were written, and a special clasp struck. The reader will have formed
his own estimate of the magnitude and severity of the fight. The whole
operation was well and carefully planned, and its success in execution
was complete. The long and difficult night march, the accurate arrival
and combination of the two columns, the swift deployment, the enveloping
movement, proved alike the discipline and training of the troops and the
skill of their officers. The only point on which criticism may be made
is the failure of the Desert Column to intercept the flying Dervishes.
But it should be remembered they had marched far, and it was not at that
time certain what the powers of the mounted troops were. The brilliant
aspect of the affair caused great satisfaction in England, and the
further prosecution of the campaign was looked for with increasing
interest.