Although the story of a campaign is made up of many details which
cannot be omitted, since they are essential to the truth as well as the
interest of the account, it is of paramount importance that the reader
should preserve throughout a general idea. For otherwise the marches,
forays, and reconnaissance will seem disconnected and purposeless
affairs, and the battle simply a greater operation undertaken in the
same haphazard fashion. To appreciate the tale it is less necessary to
contemplate the wild scenes and stirring incidents, than thoroughly
to understand the logical sequence of incidents which all tend to and
ultimately culminate in a decisive trial of strength.
The hazards which were courted by the daring occupation of Berber
have been discussed in the last chapter. From October to December the
situation was threatening. In December it suddenly became critical. Had
the Emir Mahmud advanced with the Dervishes at Metemma even as late as
the middle of January, he might possibly have re-captured Berber. If
the great Omdurman army had taken the field, the possibility would have
become a certainty. The young Kordofan general saw his opportunity, and
begged to be allowed to seize it. But it was not until the Khalifa had
sent his own army back into the city that, being very badly informed
of the numbers and disposition of the Egyptian force, he allowed the
Metemma Dervishes to move.
Mahmud received permission to advance at the end of January. He eagerly
obeyed the longed-for order. But the whole situation was now changed.
The Egyptian army was concentrated; the British brigade had arrived; the
railway had reached Geneinetti; the miserable hamlet of Dakhila, at the
confluence, had grown from a small depot to a fort, and from a fort to
an entrenched camp, against which neither Dervish science nor strength
could by any possibility prevail. Perhaps Mahmud did not realise the
amazing power of movement that the railway had given his foes; perhaps
he still believed, with the Khalifa, that Berber was held only by 2,000
Egyptians; or else--and this is the most probable--he was reckless of
danger and strong in his own conceit. At any rate, during the second
week in February he began to transport himself across the Nile, with
the plain design of an advance north. With all the procrastination of an
Arab he crawled leisurely forward towards the confluence of the rivers.
At El Aliab some idea of the strength of the Atbara entrenchment seems
to have dawned upon him. He paused undecided. A council was held.
Mahmud was for a continued advance and for making a direct attack on the
enemy's position. Osman Digna urged a more prudent course. Many years
of hard fighting against disciplined troops had taught the wily Hadendoa
slaver the power of modern rifles, and much sound tactics besides. He
pressed his case with jealous enthusiasm upon the commander he detested
and despised. An insurmountable obstacle confronted them. Yet what
could not be overcome might be avoided. The hardy Dervishes could endure
privations which would destroy the soldiers of civilisation. Barren and
inhospitable as was the desert, they might move round the army at the
Atbara fort and so capture Berber after all. Once they were behind the
Egyptians, these accursed ones were lost. The railway--that mysterious
source of strength--could be cut. The host that drew its life along it
must fight at a fearful disadvantage or perish miserably. Besides, he
reminded Mahmud--not without reason--that they could count on help in
Berber itself.
The agreement of the Emirs, called to the council, decided the Dervish
leader. His confidence in himself was weakened, his hatred of Osman
Digna increased. Nevertheless, following the older man's advice, he
left Aliab on the 18th of March, and struck north-east into the desert
towards the village and ford of Hudi on the Atbara river. Thence by
a long desert march he might reach the Nile and Berber. But while his
information of the Sirdar's force and movements was uncertain, the
British General was better served. What Mahmud failed to derive from
spies and 'friendlies,' his adversary obtained by gunboats and cavalry.
As soon, therefore, as Sir H. Kitchener learned that the Dervishes had
left the Nile and were making a detour around his left flank, he marched
up the Atbara river to Hudi. This offered Mahmud the alternative of
attacking him in a strong position or of making a still longer detour.
Having determined upon caution he chose the latter, and, deflecting his
march still more to the east, reached the Atbara at Nakheila. But from
this point the distance to Berber was far too great for him to cover. He
could not carry enough water in his skins. The wells were few, and held
against him. Further advance was impossible. So he waited and entrenched
himself, sorely troubled, but uncertain what to do. Supplies were
running short. His magazines at Shendi had been destroyed as soon as he
had left the Nile. The Dervishes might exist, but they did not thrive,
on the nuts of the dom palms. Soldiers began to desert. Osman Digna,
although his advice had been followed, was at open enmity. His army
dwindled.
And all this time his terrible antagonist watched him as a tiger gloats
on a helpless and certain prey--silent, merciless, inexorable. Then the
end came suddenly. As soon as the process of attrition was sufficiently
far advanced to demoralise the Dervish host, without completely
dissolving them, the Sirdar and his army moved. The victim, as if
petrified, was powerless to fly. The tiger crept forward two measured
strides--from Ras-el-Hudi to Abadar, from Abadar to Umdabia--crouched
for a moment, and then bounded with irresistible fury upon its prey and
tore it to pieces.
Such is a brief strategic account of the Atbara campaign; but the tale
must be told in full.
On the 23rd of January the Khalifa, having learned of the arrival of
British troops near Abu Hamed, and baffled by the disputes about the
command of his army, ordered Kerreri camp to be broken up, and permitted
his forces to return within the city, which he continued to fortify. A
few days later he authorised Mahmud to advance against Berber. What he
had not dared with 60,000 men he now attempted with 20,000. The course
of action which had for three months offered a good hope of success
he resolved to pursue only when it led to ruin. He forbade the advance
while it was advisable. When it was already become mad and fatal he
commanded it. And this was a man whose reputation for intelligence and
military skill had been bloodily demonstrated!
The gunboats ceaselessly patrolled the river, and exchanged shots with
the Dervish forts. Throughout January nothing of note had happened. The
reports of spies showed the Khalifa to be at Kerreri or in Omdurman.
Ahmed Fedil held the Shabluka Gorge, Osman Digna was at Shendi, and his
presence was proved by the construction of two new forts on that side
of the river. But beyond this the Dervishes had remained passive. On the
12th of February, however, it was noticed that their small outpost at
Khulli had been withdrawn. This event seemed to point to a renewal of
activity. It was felt that some important movement impended. But it was
not until the 15th that its nature was apparent, and the gunboats were
able to report definitely that Mahmud was crossing to the east bank of
the Nile. The flotilla exerted itself to harass the Dervishes and impede
the transportation; but although several sailing-boats and other river
craft were captured, Mahmud succeeded in moving his whole army to
Shendi by the 28th of February. His own headquarters were established at
Hosh-ben-Naga, a little village about five miles further south. A delay
of more than a fortnight followed, during which the gunboats exercised
the utmost vigilance. The Suakin-Berber road was again closed for
caravans, and the Sirdar himself proceeded to Berber. On the 11th of
March the remnants of the Jaalin tribe, having collected at Gakdul,
re-occupied the now abandoned Metemma, to find its streets and houses
choked with the decaying bodies of their relations. On the 13th the
Egyptian look-out station, which had been established on Shebaliya
island, was attacked by the Dervishes, and in the skirmish that ensued
Major Sitwell was wounded. On the same day the enemy were reported
moving northwards to Aliab, and it became evident that Mahmud had begun
his advance.
He started from Shendi with a force which has been estimated at 19,000
souls, but which included many women and children, and may have actually
numbered 12,000 fighting men, each and all supplied with a month's
rations and about ninety rounds of ammunition. The Sirdar immediately
ordered the Anglo-Egyptian army, with the exception of the cavalry and
Lewis's Egyptian brigade--which, with three squadrons, held the fort at
the confluence--to concentrate at Kunur. Broadwood, with the remaining
five squadrons, marched thither on the 16th; and the whole cavalry
force, with the Camel Corps in support, on the three subsequent days
reconnoitred twenty miles up the Nile and the Atbara.
Meanwhile the concentration was proceeding apace. The two Soudanese
brigades, formed into a division under command of Major-General Hunter,
with the artillery, reached Kunur on the night of the 15th. The British
brigade--the Lincolns, the Warwicks, and the Camerons--marched thither
from Dabeika. The Seaforth Highlanders, who on the 13th were still at
Wady Halfa, were swiftly railed across the desert to Geneinetti. Thence
the first half-battalion were brought to Kunur in steamers. The second
wing--since the need was urgent and the steamers few--were jolted across
the desert from Railhead on camels, an experience for which neither
their training nor their clothes had prepared them. By the 16th the
whole force was concentrated at Kunur, and on the following day they
were reviewed by the Sirdar. The first three days at Kunur were days
of eager expectation. Rumour was king. The Dervish army had crossed the
Atbara at Hudi, and was within ten miles of the camp. Mahmud was
already making a flank march through the desert to Berber. A battle
was imminent. A collision must take place in a few hours. Officers
with field-glasses scanned the sandy horizon for the first signs of the
enemy. But the skyline remained unbroken, except by the wheeling dust
devils, and gradually the excitement abated, and the British brigade
began to regret all the useful articles they had scrupulously left
behind them at Dabeika, when they marched in a hurry and the lightest
possible order to Kunur.
On the 19th of March the gunboats reported that the Dervishes were
leaving the Nile, and Mahmud's flanking movement became apparent.
The next day the whole force at Kunur marched across the desert angle
between the rivers to Hudi. The appearance of the army would have
been formidable. The cavalry, the Camel Corps, and the Horse Artillery
covered the front and right flank; the infantry, with the British on the
right, moved in line of brigade masses; the transport followed. All was,
however, shrouded in a fearful dust-storm. The distance, ten miles,
was accomplished in five hours, and the army reached Hudi in time to
construct a strong zeriba before the night. Here they were joined from
Atbara fort by Lewis's brigade of Egyptians--with the exception of
the 15th Battalion, which was left as garrison--and the troops at the
Sirdar's disposal were thus raised to 14,000 men of all arms. This force
was organised as follows:
Commander-in-Chief: THE SIRDAR
British Brigade: MAJOR-GENERAL GATACRE
1st Battalion Royal Warwickshire Regiment (6 companies)
" " Lincolnshire Regiment
" " Seaforth Highlanders
" " Cameron Highlanders
Egyptian Infantry Division: MAJOR-GENERAL HUNTER
1st Brigade 2nd Brigade 3rd Brigade
LIEUT.-COL. MAXWELL LIEUT.-COL. MACDONALD LIEUT.-COL. LEWIS
8th Egyptians 2nd Egyptians 3rd Egyptians
XIIth Soudanese IXth Soudanese 4th "
XIIIth " Xth " 7th "
XIVth " XIth "
Cavalry: LIEUT.-COL. BROADWOOD
8 squadrons
2 Maxim guns
Camel Corps: MAJOR TUDWAY
6 companies
Artillery: LIEUT.-COL. LONG
Detachment, No. 16 Company, E Division R.A.,
with 6 five-inch B.L. howitzers
Egyptian Horse Battery (6 guns)
Nos. 1, 2, and 3 Field Batteries Egyptian Army (18 guns)
British Maxim Battery (4 guns)
Rocket Detachment (2 sections)
Mahmud had early intelligence of the movement of the Anglo-Egyptian
army. His original intention had been to march to Hudi. But he now
learned that at Hudi he would have to fight the Sirdar's main force.
Not feeling strong enough to attack them, he determined to march to
Nakheila. The mobility of the Arabs was now as conspicuous as their
dilatory nature had formerly been. The whole Dervish army--horse, foot,
and artillery, men, women, children, and animals--actually traversed in
a single day the forty miles of waterless desert which lie between Aliab
and Nakheila, at which latter place they arrived on the night of the
20th. The Sirdar's next object was to keep the enemy so far up the
Atbara that they could not possibly strike at Berber or Railhead.
Accordingly, at dawn on the 21st, the whole force was ordered to march
to Ras-el-Hudi, five miles nearer the Dervishes' supposed halting-place.
The detour which the Arabs would have to make to march round the troops
was nearly doubled by this movement. The utter impossibility of their
flank march with a stronger enemy on the radius of the circle was now
apparent.
The movement of the Anglo-Egyptian force was screened by seven squadrons
of cavalry and the Horse Artillery, and Colonel Broadwood was further
instructed to reconnoitre along the river and endeavour to locate the
enemy. The country on either bank of the Atbara is covered with dense
scrub, impassable for civilised troops. From these belts, which average
a quarter of a mile in depth, the dom palms rise in great numbers. All
the bush is leafy, and looks very pretty and green by contrast with the
sombre vegetation of the Nile. Between the trees fly gay parrots and
many other bright birds. The river itself above Ras-el-Hudi is, during
March and April, only a dry bed of white sand about 400 yards broad,
but dotted with deep and beautifully clear pools, in which peculiarly
brilliant fish and crocodiles, deprived of their stream, are crowded
together. The atmosphere is more damp than by the Nile, and produces,
in the terrible heat of the summer, profuse and exhausting perspiration.
The natives dislike the water of the Atbara, and declare that it does
not quench the thirst like that of the great river. It has, indeed, a
slightly bitter taste, which is a strong contrast with the sweet waters
of the Nile. Nevertheless the British soldiers, with characteristic
contrariness, declared their preference for it. Outside the bush the
ground undulated gently, but the surface was either stony and uneven or
else cracked and fissured by the annual overflow. Both these conditions
made it hard for cavalry, and still more for artillery, to move freely;
and the difficulties were complicated by frequent holes and small khors
full of long grass.
Amid such scenes the squadrons moved cautiously forward. Having made the
ground good for fifteen miles from Hudi, Colonel Broadwood halted his
force at Abadar, an old fort, and sent one squadron under Captain Le
Gallais seven miles further. At two o'clock this squadron returned,
having met a few of the enemy's scouts, but no formed bodies. While
the force watered by turns at the river Captain Baring's squadron
was extended in a line of outposts about a mile and a quarter to the
south-east. But the reconnoitring squadron had been followed homeward by
several hundred Dervish horsemen. Creeping along through the dense bush
by the bank and evading the vedettes, these suddenly fell on the picket
line and drove in all the outposts. In this affair eight troopers were
killed and seven wounded. Thirteen horses were also lost, as, having rid
themselves of their riders on the broken ground, they galloped off after
the Arab mares on which the Dervishes were mostly mounted.
The news of an attack on Adarama was received on this same afternoon. It
appeared that the Arabs had been repulsed by the Abyssinian irregulars
raised by Colonel Parsons. Glowing details were forthcoming, but I do
not propose to recount the Homeric struggles of the 'friendlies.' Little
in them is worthy of remembrance; much seeks oblivion.
For more than a week the Anglo-Egyptian force remained halted at
Ras-el-Hudi, waiting for privation to demoralise Mahmud's army or to
exasperate him into making an attack. Every morning the cavalry rode out
towards the enemy's camp. All day long they skirmished with or watched
the Baggara horse, and at night they returned wearily to camp. Each
morning the army awoke full of the hopes of battle, waited during the
long hours, and finally retired to sleep in deep disgust and profound
peace. And while the army halted, the camp began to assume a more homely
appearance. The zeriba grew stronger and thicker, the glacis wider, the
field kitchens more elaborate, the pools of the Atbara more dirty.
Over all the sun beat down in merciless persistence, till all white men
quivered with weary suffering when in the open air, and even under the
grass huts or improvised tents the temperature always registered 115°
during the hottest hours of the day. The nights were, however, cool and
pleasant.
But although the main part of the force found the days long and tedious,
the time which the army spent at Ras-el-Hudi was by no means uneventful.
The work of the squadrons was hard, and ceased only with the night. The
continual patrolling told severely on men and horses; and the fact that
the Dervishes were far stronger in the mounted arm than the Sirdar's
army necessitated the utmost vigilance of the cavalry commander.
Employment was also found for the gunboats.
When Mahmud had left the Nile he had established a sort of depot at
Shendi, in which the wives of the Emirs and the surplus stores had been
deposited. This treasure house was protected only by a slender garrison
of 700 riflemen and twenty-five horsemen. On ordinary military grounds,
and also since the event might infuriate the Arabs, it was decided
to capture this place and disperse its defenders. Accordingly, on the
afternoon of the 24th the 3rd Egyptian Battalion from Lewis's brigade
marched from Ras-el-Hudi to Atbara fort and relieved the 15th Egyptians
then in garrison, and a small force under Commander Keppel--consisting
of the 15th Egyptians under Major Hickman, two field-guns of Peake's
battery, and 150 Jaalin irregulars--was embarked on, or in boats towed
by, the three gunboats Zafir, Naser, and Fateh, and started the same
night for Shendi.
At dawn on the 27th the flotilla appeared off Shendi. The Dervishes had
been apprised of its approach and prepared to offer resistance. But the
force against them was overwhelming. Under cover of the gunboats the
infantry and guns were landed. The artillery then came into action,
but after they had discharged two shells, the Arabs fled, firing their
rifles with little effect. Shendi was occupied by the Egyptians. The
pursuit was left to the Jaalin, and in it they are said to have killed
160 men--a revenge which must have been doubly sweet since it was
consummated so near to the scene of the destruction of their tribe, and
was also attended by scarcely any danger. Loot of all kinds fell to the
victors, and the gunboats were soon laden with a miscellaneous spoil.
The wives of the important Emirs made their escape to Omdurman, but
upwards of 650 women and children of inferior rank were taken prisoners
and transported to the Atbara, where in due course they contracted
new family ties with the Soudanese soldiery and, as far as can be
ascertained, lived happily ever afterwards. There were no casualties
among the troops, but the Jaalin lost a few men in their pursuit. The
force then returned to the Atbara.
The 3rd of April was the last day the army spent at Ras-el-Hudi.
The period of waiting was over. The enemy's position had been duly
reconnoitred. His strength was believed to be sufficiently impaired
for a successful attack to be made. The camp at Hudi was becoming very
insanitary. Moreover, the situation, satisfactory though it was, was not
one which the commander could view without anxiety. All the time that
the army was operating on the Atbara it drew its supplies from the fort
at the confluence. Between this and the camp, convoys, protected only
by a handful of Camel Corps, passed once in every four days. Only the
idiotic apathy of the Dervishes allowed the communications to remain
uninterrupted. Mahmud was strong in cavalry. It will be evident to
anyone who looks at the map how easily a force might have moved along
the left bank to attack the convoys. Such tactics would have occurred
to most savage tribes. But in their last campaigns the Dervishes thought
only of battles, and disregarded all smaller enterprises. Had they
assailed the communications, the Sirdar might have been forced to build
a chain of forts and to guard his convoys with strong infantry escorts.
The fighting force would have been weakened, the troops have been
wearied, and the result must have been delayed. The Dervishes had as yet
attempted nothing. But there was no reason why they should not at any
moment become enterprising. It was time to make an end. On the 4th of
April the whole force moved to Abadar, and established themselves in a
new camp five miles nearer the enemy. The tiger was tired of watching:
he had taken his first stride towards his prey.
Although the information as to the enemy's strength and position
was accurate and complete, the Sirdar decided to order a final
reconnaissance on the 5th of April.
Starting at four o'clock Broadwood cut off the sharp angle which the
Atbara forms at Umdabia, and, avoiding the thick bush, soon approached
the Dervish camp. Not a sign of the enemy was seen during the march. The
bush by the Atbara appeared deserted. The camp gave no sign of life;
an ominous silence prevailed. The squadrons moved forward at a walk,
keeping about 1,200 yards away from the enemy's zeriba and almost
parallel to it. Presently, as they did so, a large force of cavalry
became visible in front. It was difficult to estimate their strength,
but they appeared to be superior in numbers to the reconnaissance. The
Dervish horsemen continued to retire towards the south-east, always
reaching round the Egyptian left flank.
And while the Egyptian force advanced, as soon as they were opposite the
southern end of the zeriba, another considerable body of Dervish horse
issued from the northern side and threatened the line of retreat. At the
same time the camp began to swarm with men, and crowds of tiny figures
were observed clambering on to the entrenchments and gun emplacements,
eagerly watching the development of the fight. The cavalry had by
this time approached to within 1,000 yards of the zeriba, and the Arab
artillery began to fire occasional round shot and clumsily fused shells.
At nine o'clock, the enemy's position having been again sketched and
the approaches reconnoitred, Colonel Broadwood ordered the retirement to
begin. The Maxims and artillery were in the centre, supported by Colonel
Broadwood and three squadrons. Captain Baring with three squadrons
watched the left flank, now in retirement become the right. Captains Le
Gallais and Persse guarded the river flank.
The cavalry retired by alternate wings in measured fashion. But the
enemy pressed on impetuously, and their horsemen, soon completely
enveloping the desert flank of the Egyptians, began to threaten a
charge. To meet this Colonel Broadwood sent one of his squadrons from
the centre to join those under Captain Baring, so that at about a
quarter to ten the reconnoitring force was formed with four squadrons
towards the desert, two with the guns, and two towards the river. The
weakness of the river flank of the troops encouraged the Dervish horse
lurking in the scrub to make a bold attempt to capture the guns. The
movement was shrewd and daring, but the cavalry commander met it with
admirable skill. The springing-up of dust-clouds hardly 300 yards away
was his only warning. He immediately took command of the two squadrons
under Persse and Le Gallais, and ordered them to 'right about wheel'
and charge. Thus headed by Broadwood himself, and with their British
officers several horse-lengths in front, the Egyptians broke into a
gallop and encountered the Baggara line, which numbered not fewer
than 400 men but was in loose order, with firmness. They struck them
obliquely and perhaps a third of the way down their line, and, breaking
through, routed them utterly.
While this dashing operation was carried out on the river flank the
Dervish cavalry, following up the retirement, also delivered an attack
towards the guns. Thereupon Captain Baring with two squadrons galloped
from the desert flank across the front of the artillery, and, riding
through the advancing enemy, repulsed them with loss. The charge was
good and effective, but the shock and confusion broke both squadrons,
and, although successful, they came through the Dervishes and back on
to the river flank in some disorder. Persse and Le Gallais, who had just
rallied, at once dismounted their men and opened carbine fire on the
retreating Dervishes. Their action not only checked the enemy, but
prevented, by getting the troopers off their horses, any chance of their
being involved in the disorder of the squadrons who had just charged.
Although their horsemen were thus sharply checked, the Dervish infantry
continued in spite of losses to advance rapidly, and for a few minutes
a hot musketry fire was exchanged by the Arab riflemen and the two
dismounted squadrons. Captain Persse was severely wounded, and several
other casualties occurred. But the whole force was drawing away from
the enemy, and by eleven o'clock it had passed through the gap to
the north-east and had shaken off all pursuit. The casualties in the
operation were fortunately small. One British officer was wounded; six
Egyptian troopers were killed and ten wounded; and about thirty horses
were lost or disabled.
The details of the enemy's defences were now known; his strength was
estimated from trustworthy information. It was evident from the frequent
desertions that his army was disheartened, and from his inactivity that
he was scarcely hopeful of success. The moment for destroying him had
arrived. At daybreak on the morning of the 6th the whole army broke camp
at Abadar and marched to the deserted village of Umdabia, where they
bivouacked close by a convenient pool of the Atbara and seven miles
nearer the Dervish camp.