Early in the year 1882, what may be styled a revolution took place in
Egypt. The army, headed by Arabi Pasha, set aside the authority of the
Khedive, and assumed the supreme power, with the intention of
emancipating the country from all foreign control. Arabi had entered the
Egyptian army, and had risen from the ranks to the position of colonel.
Being the idol of the ignorant soldiers, he imprisoned the Khedive in
his own palace, and compelled him to bestow the post of Minister of War
on himself. He next made himself Pasha, and the bulk of the Egyptian
people supporting the army, Arabi became the head of the national
movement, and inscribed on his banners: “Egypt for the Egyptians.” These
proceedings were viewed with apprehension in England. The Khedive had
always been favourable to British interests, and the support afforded
him by the British so excited the hostility of Arabi and his party, that
they threatened to seize the Suez Canal, and so block the highway to
India. The Egyptians beginning to show the greatest animosity towards
all foreigners, an English and French fleet appeared before Alexandria,
to give moral support to the Khedive, and to protect the European
inhabitants. In June, serious riots broke out in the city, many
Europeans were killed and wounded, and the remainder driven to seek
shelter on board the ships in the harbour. Preparations for war were
made on both sides. The fortifications of Alexandria were strengthened,
new batteries constructed, and the garrison increased. Sir Beauchamp
Seymour, the British Admiral, ordered the Egyptians to discontinue these
operations, with no effect; upon which he sent in an ultimatum
threatening an immediate bombardment, unless the working on the
fortifications was suspended, and the forts surrendered to him. No
attention was paid to this demand, and the fleet prepared for action.
[Illustration:
The Khedive’s Star.
]
The French fleet had already left Alexandria; all neutral vessels were
warned to leave the harbour, and the British fleet steamed out and took
its position opposite the outer forts. On the evening of July 10th., the
“Invincible” (10), “Monarch” (6), and “Penelope” (10), anchored to the
west of Fort Mex, and by daybreak on the 11th. all the other ironclads
were in the positions assigned to them. At 6.30 all the ships cleared
for action, which was begun by the “Alexandra” pitching a shell into
Fort Ada. It was immediately replied to, upon which all the ships and
the forts opened fire, and the engagement became general. The “Sultan”
(13), “Alexandra” (12), “Superb” (4), and “Inflexible” (4), were opposed
to the forts at Pharos Point and Ras-el-Tin, and the “Téméraire” (8),
supported the Invincible, Monarch, and Penelope, in the attack on Fort
Mex, and the adjoining batteries. The gunboats “Bittern,” “Condor,”
“Decoy,” “Cygnet,” and “Beacon” were placed in a second line behind the
ironclads, with orders to hold themselves at the disposal of the
Admiral.
The wind was favourable to the Egyptians, and after the first broadside
or two a thick cloud of smoke enveloped the ships, making it impossible
to see the effects of their firing, which could only be directed from
the tops.
The gunboats were not willing to remain idle spectators, so, without
orders, the “Cygnet” opened fire, and the “Condor,” with two
64-pounders, and one 7-inch rifled gun, steamed away to the west, and
alone engaged the Marabout Fort, armed with two 18-ton, and two 12-ton
guns, twenty 32-pounders, and five mortars; for nearly two hours. Sir B.
Seymour, seeing the disproportion of force, signalled the “Bittern” and
“Beacon” to join her, and the other gunboats also moved off to assist
the “Condor.”
About 8.30, Fort Marsa-el-Kanat was blown up by shells from the
“Invincible” and “Monarch,” and by nine o’clock, the “Téméraire,”
“Monarch,” and “Penelope” had disabled all the guns but four, in Fort
Mex. It was difficult through the smoke to hit on the locality of these
guns, but by 11 a.m. the Fort was almost in ruins, and silent. About the
same time the gunboats had silenced Fort Marabout, and joined the
ironclads before Fort Mex, which was entered by a small party of
volunteers from the “Invincible,” covered by the “Bittern” and “Condor,”
and found deserted by all but the dead. The guns in the Fort were blown
up and destroyed, and the party returned to the ships without loss.
The Egyptians stood to their guns well, but before five o’clock all
their guns were disabled, and soon after all firing from the fleet
ceased, and the ships drew off the shore. The “Alexandra” suffered the
most, she was hit fourteen times in her hull, and a shell burst in the
captain’s cabin. All the ships except the “Monarch” were struck more or
less, but none of the projectiles of the enemy pierced the armour of one
of them. The casualties of the British were five men killed and
twenty-seven wounded, those of the Egyptians were estimated at nine
hundred or a thousand.
During the night Alexandria was seen to be in flames. The convicts had
been liberated, and with the Arabs, had set fire to, and plundered the
European quarter, and massacred all the Europeans they could find.
Next day, a force of six hundred seamen and marines landed, and found
that Arabi with his troops, and most of the inhabitants, had left the
town. Captain Lord C. Beresford, of the “Condor,” was appointed chief of
the British forces acting as police in Alexandria, the streets were
cleared of rioters, all incendiaries shot on the spot, and natives
entering the place, disarmed[215] For his services, Admiral Sir F. B.
Seymour received the thanks of both Houses, and was raised to the
peerage by the title of Lord Alcester, with a grant of £25,000.
TEL-EL-KEBIR.
SEPTEMBER 13TH, 1882.
Sir Archibald Alison commanded the troops at Alexandria, and kept the
Egyptians at bay till the arrival of Sir Garnet Wolseley from England,
on August 15th., who at once changed the base of operations from
Alexandria to the Suez Canal. Leaving a division of troops under Sir E.
Wood to protect the town, on August 19th. the fleet and army sailed for
Port Said,[216] and proceeded up the Suez Canal to Ismailia, which place
was occupied without resistance, and the army disembarked. Owing to the
difficulties of transport there was considerable delay before the troops
were able to advance, and in the meantime Arabi had collected a large
army at a strongly fortified position at Tel-el-Kebir. On August 28th. a
most determined attack was made on the British advanced force at
Kassassin; consisting of under two thousand men, including the Marine
Artillery, commanded by General Graham, by about ten thousand of the
enemy, with twelve guns; but after a day’s hard fighting, the cavalry,
under General Drury Lowe, charged the Egyptians in the rear, and routed
them with loss. By September 11th., the whole expeditionary force,
including the Indian contingent,[217] commanded by General Sir H.
Macpherson, was assembled at Kassassin, and the next day General
Wolseley having carefully reconnoitered the enemy’s position, explained
to his officers his plan of attack. This was, to move with his whole
force at nightfall, and marching eight miles through the desert, to
attack the Egyptian entrenchments with the bayonet at daybreak.
The enemy’s position was defended by sixty guns, and a disciplined force
of about twenty thousand men, besides several thousand irregular troops.
The British army consisted of eleven thousand infantry, two thousand
cavalry, and forty-two guns, including the Indian contingent. In the
evening the camp was struck, and the troops moved out, piled their arms,
and lay down on the sand till one o’clock in the morning, when they
silently fell into rank and advanced. Marching across the desert, guided
by the light of the stars, with occasional halts; as day began to break
the dim outlines of the entrenchments of Tel-el-Kebir became visible. On
the extreme right were the Cavalry and mounted Infantry, with two
batteries of Horse Artillery; next was General Graham’s Brigade, with
the Guards in support; in the centre was massed the Artillery, forty-two
guns, and on the left the Highland Brigade, supported by the 46th., 3rd.
Battalion 60th. Rifles, and a Battalion of Royal Marine Artillery; on
the line of railway was the Naval Brigade, with a forty-pounder on a
truck, and on the other side of the canal the 72nd. and the Indian
troops. So silent was the advance of the assailants in the early dawn
that they were not perceived by the enemy till they were within three
hundred yards of the works. Then suddenly a terrific fire flashed along
the line of sand-heaps, and a storm of bullets swept over the heads of
the advancing troops. Not a shot was fired in reply, but a wild cheer
broke from the Highlanders as they dashed at the enemy’s trenches. The
first line of entrenchments was carried, but from a second line the
enemy opened a heavy fire. For a few minutes the Highlanders replied,
and then, making another rush, a hand to hand contest followed, till
some of the force penetrated between the redoubts and opened a flank
fire on the Egyptians, who soon broke and fled. Graham’s brigade was
vigorously opposed on the other flank. The enemy here were not taken by
surprise, and for a while held their ground stubbornly. The 18th. Royal
Irish were sent to turn their left, and with a yell they went straight
at the works, and carried them at the bayonet’s point. The 18th. were
followed by the 84th. and 87th., but the Egyptians, though outflanked,
clung to an inner line of trenches, and at every angle and redoubt,
rallied and sustained the fight. But they fell in scores before the
bayonet charges, the inner entrenchments were won, the Highlanders were
in the midst of their camp, and the enemy, losing heart, fled in
confusion, pursued by the cavalry.
Within an hour from the commencement of the attack the Egyptian army was
in complete rout. The whole of their guns (sixty-six) and military
stores, several trains of ammunition, and other _matériel_, fell into
the hands of the victors. The British pressed on in pursuit. Zagazig was
occupied in the afternoon, and the next day, General Drury Lowe, with
fifteen hundred Cavalry and a battery of Horse Artillery, entered and
took possession of Cairo, containing twenty-seven thousand fanatics and
its citadel garrisoned by ten thousand men. At ten o’clock the same
night, Arabi surrendered himself to General Lowe, and on September
15th., Sir Garnet Wolseley, with a portion of his infantry, entered the
city,[218] and telegraphed to London—“The war is over, send no more
troops to Egypt.” The British loss in this battle was nine officers and
forty-eight non-commissioned officers and men killed[219]; twenty-seven
officers, and three hundred and fifty-three non-commissioned officers
and men wounded; and twenty-two men missing; total of casualties, four
hundred and fifty-nine. The loss of the enemy, exclusive of prisoners,
was over two thousand killed and wounded.
The regiments which shared in this decisive victory were detachments of
1st. and 2nd. Life Guards and Royal Horse Guards; 4th. and 7th. Dragoon
Guards, and 19th. Hussars; a battalion each of Grenadier, Coldstream,
and Scots Guards; the 18th., 42nd., 46th., 60th., 72nd., 74th., 75th.,
79th., 84th., and 87th. Also a Naval Brigade of about two hundred men; a
battalion of Marine Artillery and Light Infantry, and the Indian
Contingent.
THE WAR IN THE SOUDAN. BATTLE OF EL TEB.
FEBRUARY 29, 1884.
The Khedive, Tewfik, had been reinstated in Egypt, the English army of
occupation had been reduced, and preparations made for the evacuation of
the country, when in 1883, a formidable insurrection against the
Egyptian rule broke out in the Soudan. It was headed by a fanatic who
assumed the title of the Mahdi, or Messiah, and who was regarded by the
Soudanese as the successor of Mahomet, and their deliverer from the yoke
of the Egyptians. An Egyptian army sent against him under Hicks Pasha,
was almost annihilated on November 3rd., and his followers then overran
the Soudan, and besieged the Egyptian garrisons in the towns they
occupied. One of the chiefs of the Madhi, called Osman Digma, had
invested the towns of Sinkat and Tokar, and was threatening the port of
Suakin, on the Red Sea. Admiral Sir W. Hewitt was ordered to protect
Suakin, and with the “Ranger,” “Spynx,” “Decoy,” and “Euryalus,” took
his station off the town, landed a body of seamen and marines, and
effectually defended it against Osman Digma and his followers. Valentine
Baker Pasha, with an ill-disciplined force of 5000 Egyptians, was then
sent to relieve the beleagured garrisons. He landed at Trinkitat, and
marched towards Tokar, but was attacked by the tribesmen of Osman Digma
at El Teb, on February 1st., and disastrously defeated, with the loss of
more than half his men; nearly all the British officers accompanying him
being slain.
The Egyptian garrison of Sinkat, finding themselves without hope of
relief, and their provisions exhausted, then gallantly marched out, and
endeavoured to cut their way to the coast, but were surrounded, and
exterminated, not a man escaping to tell the tale.
English troops were then sent from Egypt and Aden, and a force was
assembled at Suakin under Major-General Graham, which proceeded by sea
to Trinkitat, and disembarked there February 23rd. A day or two before,
the garrison of Tokar surrendered and joined the enemy. By February
26th., most of the stores being landed, the bulk of the troops marched
out of Trinkitat and encamped at Fort Baker, about two miles on the road
towards Tokar, where a supply of food and water for three days had been
provided. The 65th. regiment having arrived from Aden, the next morning,
February 29th., the advance towards Osman Digma’s position at El Teb
began in earnest. Numbered roughly, the column consisted of about 4000
men. The advance was made in a hollow square, the transport animals and
hospital equipment being in the centre. In front was the 75th.
Highlanders; in rear the 42nd.; on the right the 89th. and 60th. Rifles;
on the left the 65th. Royal Marine Artillery, and Light Infantry.
Intervals were left at the angles for the guns and gatlings; the Naval
Brigade of one hundred and sixty-two men, under Commander Rolfe, of the
“Euryalus,” occupying the front and the Royal Artillery the rear angles.
Two squadrons of the 10th. and 19th. Hussars were in the front and on
the flanks, the rest of the cavalry in the rear, under Colonel Stewart.
With the troops were Admiral Sir W. Hewitt, General Baker Pasha, in
charge of the Intelligence Department, and Colonel F. Burnaby. The
square advanced over the track taken by Baker’s ill-fated troops a few
weeks previously, whose bodies lay about in hundreds, polluting the air.
The position of the enemy was on a low ridge, marked by a number of
banners, and at several points along the line, which extended nearly a
mile, guns could be seen placed. As the troops neared the enemy, who
were seen to be in great strength, General Graham determined to turn
their position and take it in reverse. The square continued to march
obliquely past the left front of the enemy, when a sharp fire of
musketry broke out, and two Krupp guns opened upon it with case shot and
shell. This was about 11 o’clock. The square halted, the men ordered to
lie down, and four guns of the Royal Artillery and the machine guns were
brought into action. The Krupp guns which had been captured from Baker’s
force, and were now worked by Egyptian artillerymen from Tokar, were
well handled, many men were struck, and General Baker wounded in the
face by a piece of a shell; but the machine guns of the Naval Brigade
poured such a stream of bullets upon them, that the two guns were
silenced, being taken in reverse, and the gunners killed, or driven from
them. Then the order was given to advance, the bagpipes struck up, the
men sprang to their feet with a cheer, and went straight at the enemy’s
position. From every bush and pit the Arabs leaped up, and rushed on the
advancing troops. The brunt of their attack fell on the 42nd., the
65th., and the Naval Brigade. Swept away by the deadly fire of the
machine guns and rifles, the Soudanese came on again with their spears
and cross-hilted swords, in groups of twenty and thirty, and sometimes
alone, but not one broke through the line of bayonets. The Cavalry then
swept round the right flank of the square, and charged in three lines,
over the broken ground, swarming with Arabs; who crouching among the
scrub, hamstrung the horses as they passed over them, and then speared
the dismounted troopers.
In this conflict Major Slade, Lieutenants Probyn and Freeman, were
killed; and Colonel Barrow, commanding the 19th. Hussars, severely
wounded, and his life only saved by the gallantry of three of his men.
The position of the enemy was carried, their guns captured and turned
against them, but they still fiercely contested every foot of ground
till the village of El Teb, with its wells, were taken by the
Highlanders; when they gave up the contest and sullenly retired in the
direction of Tokar. The British loss was thirty killed, including four
officers, and about one hundred and sixty officers and men wounded,
several of whom, including Lieutenant Royds, of H.M.S. “Carysfort,”
afterwards died. Colonel Burnaby had his horse shot under him, and a
bullet through one of his arms. The loss of the Arabs was over two
thousand, and four Krupp guns, two brass howitzers, and a Gatling gun
were captured. The next day, Tokar, eleven miles distant, was occupied
without opposition, and a quantity of rifles and ammunition destroyed.
The force then returned to Trinkitat, and re-embarked for Suakin.
The troops engaged at El Teb were the 10th. and 19th. Hussars; 6th.
Battery First Brigade Royal Artillery; 26th. Company Royal Engineers;
the 42nd., 65th., 1st. Battalion 60th. Rifles, 75th., 89th. Foot; a
Battalion of Royal Marine Artillery and Light Infantry; and the Naval
Brigade.
TAMAAI.
MARCH 13TH, 1884.
The power of Osman Digma, though shaken, was yet far from destroyed. The
victors of El Teb, had scarcely reached Suakin, when they were again put
in motion against a strong body of Arabs, reckoned to be about eight
thousand, which he had collected at a place called Tamaai, and with
which he threatened utter destruction to all unbelievers. On March 11th.
General Baker marched out to Baker’s zareba, seven miles from Suakin,
and the next day continued his advance towards Tamaai. At nightfall the
troops bivouacked in a hastily constructed zareba, within two miles of
the enemy’s position, which Commander Rolfe, R.N., after darkness had
set in, alone set out from the zareba to reconnoitre, and saw the Arabs
asleep around their fires. About one o’clock the enemy opened a random
fusilade on the British camp, which they kept up the remainder of the
night, but fortunately with little effect. At eight on the morning of
March 13th., the troops formed in front of the zareba in two brigades.
On the left was the 2nd. Brigade, commanded by General Davis, consisting
of the 42nd., 65th., Marines, and Naval Brigade, with machine guns. Then
came the Artillery, under Major Holley, and on the right the 1st.
Brigade, commanded by General Buller, comprising the 75th., 89th., and
60th. Rifles, with a battery of Artillery. Two squadrons of cavalry were
sent to the front as skirmishers, and a brisk fire began on both sides;
but the enemy advancing, the cavalry fell back, and the brigade opened a
heavy fire of rifles and machine guns on the Arabs. The 42nd., who were
in front, with a cheer charged the enemy at the double, but this
movement leaving a gap between them and the 65th., the Arabs seeing
their advantage, rushed like a torrent on the right side of the square,
and for a time all was confusion.[220] The 65th. wavered, and fell back
on the Marines, and the Naval Brigade surrounded by a mass of soldiers
mixed in a wild _mêlée_ with the foe, were unable to use their guns and
compelled to abandon them, with the loss of three officers and many
seamen. But Buller’s brigade advancing on the right rear in perfect
order, by its terrible fire prevented the enemy from coming to close
quarters,[221] and the 42nd. and the Marines fighting back to back
checked further disaster, and the brigade was re-formed. The two
brigades now advanced abreast, the captured Gatlings were recovered, and
turned by the seamen with great effect on a fresh body of Arabs, who
charged out of a deep ravine in force, till their masses seemed to melt
away under the tremendous fire poured into them. The ravine was carried,
and a ridge beyond it; the bravest men of the enemy had fallen, and the
rest lost heart and fled. After a brief halt General Graham pushed on to
the wells of Tamaai, three miles from the battle-field, and occupied the
camp of Osman Digma. Next day, the camp, with the village of Tamaai, was
destroyed, and the troops returned to Suakin.
The British casualties were five officers—Lieut. Montressor, H.M.S.
“Carysfort”; Lieut. Almack, H.M.S. “Briton”; Lieut. H. Stewart, H.M.S.
“Dryad”; Major Aiken, 42nd., and Capt. Ford, 65th. regiment; and one
hundred and four men killed; and eight officers and one hundred and
twenty men wounded and missing. The 42nd. had no less than eight
sergeants killed. The loss of the Arabs was estimated to be at least
three thousand in killed alone.
The troops present at Tamaai were—10th. and 19th. Hussars; Royal
Artillery; the 42nd., 60th., 65th., 75th., and 89th. Foot; Royal
Marines; and Naval Brigade.
SUAKIN.
1884.
After his defeat at Tamaai, Osman Digma was reported to be occupied in
the Tamanieb Valley, about four miles from the last battle-field, in
collecting more tribesmen to oppose the British. A party of the 75th.
and 19th. Hussars were sent to occupy Handoab, on the road to Berber,
and native spies brought the information that Osman was encamped near
Tamanieb with two thousand men, who were all willing to fight again. On
March 25th. General Graham, with the 10th. and 19th. Hussars, 42nd.,
60th., 65th., 75th. Mounted Infantry and Marines, marched out from
Suakin once more against the Lieutenant of the Mahdi; Admiral Sir W.
Hewitt landing two hundred seamen to hold the town in the absence of the
troops. The heat was intense, causing the men much suffering, and there
were many cases of sunstroke. The troops bivouacked at night in an
oblong square, and slept in all their accoutrements. In the morning the
cavalry and mounted infantry were sent out in advance, and two or three
skirmishes took place during the day, but the enemy fired at a distance,
and did not come to close quarters. At half-past four a.m. on March
27th., the troops fell in, and at six, advanced up the valley, the
cavalry being out all round as scouts. At seven the enemy showed
themselves, but were driven back by the mounted infantry, and they were
dislodged from a height on which they attempted to make a stand, by the
fire of the artillery. Osman’s camp, or the remains of it, was committed
to the flames, and the column returned unmolested to Suakin on March
28th. Soon after, Sir G. Graham and the bulk of the troops, sailed for
Cairo and England.
THE NILE,
1884–85.
The British Government having decided to abandon the Soudan, General
Gordon, C.B., R.E., of Chinese celebrity, and who had been Governor of
the equatorial provinces of Africa, under the Khedive, was sent to
Khartoum to withdraw the Egyptian garrisons from the country, and to
make the best arrangements he could for its future government. He had no
connection with the Egyptian Government, which he declined to serve
under any circumstances. He was accompanied by Colonel J. D. Stewart,
who had been at Khartoum in the preceding year. On February 18th. they
reached Khartoum, where they were received by the inhabitants with the
greatest joy and enthusiasm. But General Gordon soon found that his
mission to carry out the evacuation of the Soudan by the Egyptian
garrisons, numbering about thirty thousand men, was impracticable. In
March, the whole country south of Berber declared for the Mahdi; in May,
Berber was taken by the enemy, and Gordon, with Colonel Stewart and Mr.
Power, the British Consul, was closely besieged in Khartoum. For months
he defended himself with the greatest skill and valour against
overwhelming odds, but it was not until August that the British
Government decided to despatch an expedition for his relief, under the
command of General Lord Wolseley.
Regiments were then ordered from India, Malta, and other places, to
Egypt; eight hundred boats, at a cost of £75 each, were built in England
for the conveyance of the troops up the Nile; steam pinnaces and light
steamers were provided for towing purposes; and five hundred Canadian
boatmen, and three hundred Kroomen, were engaged to navigate the boats
and steamers over the cataracts of the river. British troops were pushed
on to Wady Haifa, and on September 10th. Lord Wolseley reached
Cairo,[222] with instructions to advance up the Nile and bring away
General Gordon and Colonel Stewart from Khartoum, and to undertake no
further offensive operations of any kind.
On his arrival at Cairo the General formed a camel corps from volunteers
from the Guards and Cavalry, consisting of over one thousand two hundred
officers and men, divided into three bodies, called, the Guards, Heavy,
and Light camel regiments. These chosen men sailed from England on
September 26th., and by their conduct in the desert march to the Nile,
in January following, amply justified their organization. For nearly
four months a British army of nine thousand men, with their baggage and
_matériel_ were toiling hundreds of miles up the broken and tortuous
course of the Nile, tugging at the oar, transporting stores, and
dragging boats by main force through rapids and over cataracts.[223] On
November 3rd. Lord Wolseley and his Staff reached Dongola, and on
December 16th. arrived at Korti, one thousand two hundred and fifty
miles from Cairo. The situation of Khartoum was known to be critical,
and on December 30th., 1884, General Sir Herbert Stewart was despatched,
with about one thousand six hundred men and two thousand camels, across
the desert to Metammeh, on the Nile, one hundred and seventy miles from
Korti; from whence he was to proceed in Gordon’s steamers to Khartoum,
one hundred miles further up the river.
Sometime previous, Colonel Stewart and Mr. Power had been sent by Gordon
down the Nile to Dongola, to endeavour to open communications with the
British, but their steamer was wrecked near Berber on October 6th., and
the two Europeans with most of their party were massacred by the
natives. Two days before Lord Wolseley reached Korti, on December 14th.,
Gordon wrote in his diary—“Now mark this: If the Expeditionary Force—and
I ask no more than two hundred men—does not come in ten days, the town
may fall, and I have done my best for the honour of our country. Good
bye.”[224]
ABU KLEA.
JANUARY 17TH, 1885.
Sir H. Stewart, after a long and waterless march, reached Gakdul, about
one hundred miles from Korti, on January 2nd. Here, water was found in
abundance, and a halt of some days was made. On the 14th. the march to
the Nile was resumed, but on approaching Abu Klea, two short marches
from Metammeh, the scouts of the 19th. Hussars reported the enemy to be
encamped in force near the wells. The troops were in need of water, but
formed a zareba about four miles from the Arab camp, and slept on their
arms, exposed to a desultory fire all night, by which five or six men
were wounded and several camels killed. As soon as it was daylight, on
the morning of January 17th., General Stewart began his preparations for
an advance, his object being to drive the enemy from the wells of Abu
Klea. A strong body of skirmishers with the guns were sent out, who
engaged the enemy at long range, but failed to draw them from their
position, though a brisk fire was kept up for some time by both sides.
At about half-past eight o’clock, leaving most of the camels and the
sick and wounded in the zareba, with a guard of Mounted Infantry, and
one hundred and twenty-five men of the 35th. regiment, the troops
advanced against the enemy in a square, which was formed as
follows:—“Left front face, two companies Mounted Infantry; right front
face, two companies Guards, with the three guns Royal Artillery in the
centre; left face, two companies Mounted Infantry; one company Heavy
Camel Regiment; rear face, four companies Heavy Camel Regiment, with
Naval Brigade with Gardner gun in the centre.” The 19th. Hussars,
numbering one hundred and twenty men, under Colonel Barrow, were
stationed on the flanks. The square moved towards the left flank of the
enemy, under a hot fire from the sharpshooters, and was nearly abreast
of their position, when several thousand Arabs, with loud yells and
beating of tom-toms, rushed down on the left and left rear of the
square. The three guns of Captain Norton, and a heavy rifle fire was
opened on them, but did not check their advance; the British skirmishers
came racing for life into the square, while with waving flags the enemy
rushed on like a vast black wave of surf. “By twos and threes our
skirmishers had now reached our lines, and the left face being nearly
clear, a volley was sent into the enemy at one hundred and fifty yards,
as they rose over the last crest between our opposing fronts. A hundred
or more Arabs dropped, and for a moment I saw the force waver and halt,
as a man stops to gasp for breath. Had that volley been promptly
repeated, there would have been little more of the battle to tell.” The
Gardner gun of the Naval Brigade[225] was brought into action at the
left flank, but after a few rounds had been fired, the gun jammed, and
was rendered useless, and Lieutenants Piggott and De Lisle with several
seamen were killed. Many of the rifles were also rendered temporarily
useless from the same cause, the jamming of the cartridges. Colonel F.
Burnaby, who had arrived a few days before from Korti, called on the
Heavies to meet the Arab charge, and riding out to assist two or three
skirmishers, was surrounded and slain, and the enemy closed in upon the
square, throwing its left face into confusion. So furious was their rush
that many of them penetrated to the middle of the square, where they
killed the camels and slew the wounded in their litters, but none of
them returned, being all slain to a man. Meanwhile the Guards and
Mounted Infantry poured such a heavy fire into the dense crowds of the
Arabs, that after a few minutes they began to waver and recoil, and at
length took to flight, under a fire of rifles and shell from the guns;
and followed by the Hussars and Mounted Infantry.
The hard-fought battle was won, the square re-formed and presently
advanced, while the Hussars pushed on and took possession of the wells
at Abu Klea, at which place, the whole force, with the wounded, arrived
at the close of the day.
The British loss was Colonel Burnaby, Major Carmichael, 5th. Lancers,
and seven other officers killed; nine officers wounded (Lord St. Vincent
and another, mortally); sixty-five non-commissioned officers and men
killed; and eighty-five wounded. The total Arab force was estimated at
over twelve thousand men, and of these more than two thousand were
killed and wounded. “Five or six hundred of the enemy lay heaped in
front of, and around our dead camels.”
The troops present at Abu Klea, were detachments of 19th. Hussars; Royal
Artillery, with three seven-pounders; the Guards, and Heavy Camel Corps;
Mounted Infantry; 35th. Regiment; a detachment of Royal Engineers; Naval
Brigade of fifty-two officers and men, under Lord C. Beresford; and
Departmental Corps.
At four p.m. on January 18th., the column pushed on for the Nile,
marching all night, and found at daybreak it was still six miles from
the river, with the enemy, in force, barring the way. Sir H. Stewart
halted near Abu Kru, and formed a zareba under a continual fire, which
caused many casualties. The General himself fell, severely wounded, and
the correspondents of the _Standard_ and _Morning Post_ were killed.
Sir Charles Stewart then took the command, and it was decided that if
the Arabs did not attack by two p.m., to march out and cut a passage to
the Nile. About three hundred men with the guns were left in the zareba,
under Lord C. Beresford and Colonel Barrow; and the rest of the column,
in square, pushed on for the river, under a heavy rifle fire from the
scrub. The accurate fire of the British guns scattered the masses of the
enemy, and prevented many from joining in the attacks; but a body of
several thousands made a furious rush on the square, about two miles
from the zareba, and were repulsed with fearful loss. The Arabs then
retreated to Metammeh, and the wearied troops reached the Nile at about
five in the evening.
The British losses in the battle of Abu Kru, or Gubat, were two officers
and twenty-two men killed, and nine officers and ninety-two men wounded,
many severely. Next day the bulk of the column returned to the zareba,
the dead were buried, the wounded removed, and at night the whole force
was encamped on the bank of the Nile.
On the following morning, January 21st., a reconnaissance in force was
made towards Metammeh, the column being joined by two hundred and fifty
of Gordon’s men, with four guns. These, with four steamers, had been
waiting the arrival of the relief force for some weeks on an island a
little way above Metammeh. The place was cannonaded with little effect,
and being considered too strong to be taken by assault, the troops
retired. On the 24th., Sir. C. Wilson started for Khartoum with two of
Gordon’s steamers, but on approaching the town he was met by so heavy a
fire from rifles and Krupp guns, that he was compelled to return, with
the knowledge that the expedition had failed in its object, and that
Khartoum was in the possession of the Mahdi.
Information was soon received that on the night of January 26th. the
place had fallen through treachery, and the heroic Gordon, with many of
his followers, had perished. On his return down the river the two
steamers of Sir Charles were wrecked by the treachery of the pilots,
about thirty miles from the British camp, and Sir C. Beresford was sent
with another steamer to rescue him and his party. In this service
Beresford’s steamer was for a time disabled by a shot from the enemy,
but after many dangers and difficulties, Sir C. Wilson and his men were
taken on board, and all reached Gubat in safety. As the recovery of
Khartoum was impracticable, General Sir Redvers Buller was dispatched by
Lord Wolseley to withdraw the troops from Gubat to Korti. On February
14th. the return commenced, and after a smart skirmish at Abu Klea, the
column reached Gakdul without further opposition. Here many of the sick
and wounded died, among them, on February 16th., the gallant Sir Herbert
Stewart, to the unfeigned regret of every officer and man. By March 9th.
the whole of the troops returned to Korti, and a few weeks after, the
expedition was broken up.
Khartoum had fallen after a noble defence of over ten months, maintained
by the pluck and endurance of a single Englishman, who scorned to desert
his post; and the efforts and lives of his countrymen who bravely
struggled in the face of countless perils and difficulties to effect his
deliverance, were fruitlessly thrown away. As Gordon had written months
before, the expedition was “just too late.”
KIRBEKAN.
FEBRUARY 10TH, 1885.
While the fate of Khartoum was trembling in the balance, and the battles
of Abu Klea and Gubat were being fought, another column was dispatched
up the Nile, under Major-General Earle, C.B., to punish the Monassir
tribe for the treacherous murder of Colonel Stewart and his companions
in the preceding September. As already stated, Stewart was sent by
General Gordon from Khartoum to Dongola, but his steamer was wrecked
near Berber, and most of the party massacred. General Earle was also
ordered afterwards to push on to Berber, and after capturing it, to take
part in any further operations at, or beyond Khartoum. Leaving Korti,
Earle concentrated his troops—consisting of the 38th. and 42nd. Foot, a
squadron of 19th. Hussars, and the Egyptian Camel Corps, with two
guns—at Handab. On January 24th. he began his advance, but the
difficulties of the river were many, and his progress slow, so that he
did not reach the vicinity of Kirbekan, near Dulka Island, seventy miles
from Merawi, till February 9th. The enemy had fallen back as he
advanced, but now, reinforced by a body of Dervishes from Berber, were
encamped on a rocky range of hills near the Nile, and prepared for an
obstinate resistance. The front of their position was very strong, and
fortified in places with loopholed walls. At sunrise on the morning of
February 10th. the assault commenced. Leaving two companies of the
38th., with his two guns in front, to make a feigned attack, the General
with the bulk of his troops made a detour, and turning the left of the
enemy’s position attacked them in the rear. The Arabs, being taken by
surprise, but having the advantage of the ground, fought most
desperately, and contested the possession of every rock and boulder,
till the British by rushes gained fastness after fastness, and dislodged
the defenders at the point of the bayonet. A determined band of the
enemy made a frantic charge on the 42nd., but were all killed or driven
into the Nile, save some who took possession of a stone built hut.
General Earle, though warned that the building was full of Arabs,
attempted to enter it, and was immediately shot dead by one of them. The
door of the hut being strongly barricaded, it was set on fire, and all
the enemy within were shot down or burned alive. Another steep hill, on
which the Soudanese made their last stand, was stormed by the 38th., and
in the meanwhile the Hussars had captured their camp, three miles in the
rear. This ended the battle of Kirbekan, after a contest of five hours.
The loss of the British, besides their General, was Colonel Eyre, of the
38th.; Colonel Coveny, V.C., of the 42nd.; and seven men killed; and
about fifty of all ranks were wounded, some severely. The loss of the
enemy was heavy. Many were drowned in the Nile, and, as Lord Wolseley
wrote, “Scarcely any can have escaped.” Their force was estimated at
above two thousand men.
General H. Brackenbury assumed the command on the fall of General Eyre,
and pushed on towards Abu Hamed, in the direction of Berber, but was
recalled to Korti by Lord Wolseley, acting on orders from England. Soon
after, the force returned to Cairo, with the exception of a detachment
left on the frontier of Egypt proper.
SUAKIN.
1885.
The news of the fall of Khartoum and the death of General Gordon caused
a profound impression in England, and the Government, influenced by
public opinion, resolved on another campaign for the recovery of the
Soudan. Troops were dispatched from England, Cairo, and India, to
Suakin, to break the power of Osman Digma; and it was determined, at an
enormous expense, to construct a line of railway in the face of the
enemy, from Suakin to Berber, a distance of two hundred and eighty
miles. From this place it was contemplated to operate with Lord
Wolseley, in his projected march from Korti to Khartoum; which, owing to
a change of purpose of the Government, was never carried out. The force
collected at Suakin, consisting of a brigade of Guards and an Indian
contingent, was commanded by General Sir G. Graham. The Engineers having
selected some hills near the village and wells of Hasheen, about
fourteen miles distant, as the site of an entrenched camp, after a
reconnaissance, March 20th., General Graham moved out of Suakin to
occupy the place in force. He advanced in a square formation, the 49th.
and 70th. regiments and Marines, in the front, on the right the Guards,
on the left the Indian Contingent, with the guns and camels in the
centre. The cavalry scouted in front and on the flanks.
The first ridge of hills were reached without opposition, the outposts
of the enemy falling back as the troops advanced, and the sappers began
to throw up redoubts on two of them. The square pushed on through a
pass, into a plain surrounded by rugged bills, on one of which, on the
left, the enemy were seen to be posted in strength. Their sharpshooters
opened a hot fire from among the rocks and scrub; the Marines and 49th.
were sent against them, and climbing some hills on the right, after a
smart contest dislodged the Soudanese, who in their retreat were charged
by the Indian Cavalry. But the Arabs being reinforced, rallied, and
closed in upon the Indians, to whose movements the broken ground was
altogether unfavourable, and forced them to retire upon the Guards,
formed in square. Over two thousand of the enemy, in pursuit of the
cavalry, led by a youth on a white camel, rushed with loud yells
straight on the square, but were received by such a withering fire, that
not an Arab was able to reach the outer line of levelled bayonets by
several yards. The cavalry having re-formed, again charged the now
disordered enemy and scattered them in all directions. Another body of
Arabs then came round on the right, with the most daring bravery, but
were received by such a hot fire from rifles and the artillery that they
were unable to concentrate for a charge, and withdrew in confusion,
followed by the British.
At half-past ten a.m. all the hills had been cleared of the enemy, and
about one o’clock the force was on the point of being withdrawn, but the
Soudanese made another furious onset on the 17th. and 28th., but were
driven back after a hotter contest than any during the day, and pursued
by the 5th. Lancers. The 70th. Regiment was left to hold the redoubts in
the hills, and the rest of the troops returned to Suakin, after an
engagement which lasted nearly seven hours. In this affair Captain
Dalison, Scots Guards, and twenty-two non-commissioned officers and men
were killed, and about fifty officers and men wounded.
Four thousand was the estimated strength of the enemy, and of these,
three hundred were killed. After the battle, the bulk of them retreated
southwards in the direction of Tamaai.
Little more than a week afterwards the New South Wales contingent, of
about eight hundred officers and men, landed at Suakin, and were
welcomed with enthusiasm. The railway was pushed on to Otao and Tambouk,
about fifteen miles on the road to Berber, but the enemy made almost
nightly attempts to destroy it, and, by orders from England, it was
presently abandoned.
Osman Digma being reported to be again occupying Tamaai in force, on
April 2nd., General Graham, with about eight thousand men, including the
Australian contingent, marched from Suakin to meet him. After a
fatiguing march of five hours Tesilah was reached, where a zareba was
constructed, and on the following morning the troops advanced to Tamaai,
which they found to be unoccupied, and which they burnt. During the
advance some skirmishing took place, in which two men were killed and
fourteen men (including two Australians) wounded; but on its return to
Suakin the column was not molested by the enemy. A strong body of Arabs
having taken up a position at Dhakdul, with the intention of harassing
the British outposts and destroying the railway, two flying columns were
despatched from Suakin and Otao to disperse them. The columns,
consisting of the Camel Corps, Lancers, Hussars, and Mounted Infantry,
left Suakin at midnight, and, marching all night, reached Dhakdul at
daybreak on the morning of May 7th. The troops advancing upon the place
from two directions, the enemy were completely taken by surprise, and
after a running fight fled to the hills, abandoning their flocks and
herds, pursued by the cavalry. The expedition was well planned and
executed; about one hundred and fifty Arabs were killed, and above two
thousand cattle, horses, camels, and sheep captured; the casualties of
the British being only two or three men wounded. Dhakdul was destroyed,
the wells there blown up with gun cotton, and the force returned to
Suakin. The heat now became almost unbearable, and the troops suffered
much from sickness.
On May 2nd. Lord Wolseley arrived at Suakin, and on the 7th. proceeded
with his Staff to Otao and Handoub, and inspected the troops. A few days
afterwards he inspected and thanked the Australian contingent, and on
May 16th. he issued his last general order to the “Soldiers, Seamen, and
Marines of the Army of the Soudan,” at Suakin. The place was then
evacuated by the British troops except the 53rd., a battery of
Artillery, and some Engineers, which, with the Indian contingent of
three regiments of Infantry and one of Cavalry, held the place till May,
1886, when they were replaced by an Egyptian garrison, under Watson
Pasha (Major Watson, R.E.).
The troops engaged in the operations at and around Suakin, were a
battalion each of the Grenadier, Coldstream, and Scots Guards; Royal
Artillery; 5th. Lancers; 19th. Hussars; Engineers; 49th., 53rd., and
70th. Foot; the New South Wales contingent; the Indian contingent,
comprising the 9th. Bengal Lancers, three battalions of Native Infantry,
and a company of Sappers; Mounted Infantry; Royal Marines; and Naval
Brigade.
TOFREK.
MARCH 22ND., 1885.
Two days after the engagement at Hasheen, Major-General Sir John
McNeill, V.C., an officer who had served in India, New Zealand, and in
the Ashantee Expedition, moved out of Suakin at daybreak, with a
squadron of the 5th. Lancers, the 49th. Regiment, a battalion of
Marines, the three Infantry Regiments of the Indian Contingent (under
Brigadier-General Hudson), a detachment of Engineers, and a Naval
Brigade, with four Gardner guns, in the direction of Tamaai. His purpose
was to construct some zarebas, about six miles out, to be garrisoned by
the 49th., while the other troops were to return to Suakin. Though the
enemy were seen to be in force on the hills, and spies and prisoners had
reported the intention of Osman Digma to attack the British advanced
zarebas, no intimation of this seems to have reached General McNeill.
Between ten and eleven o’clock in the morning the troops commenced
making their zarebas, a large one in the centre for the camels, and two
on the angles of this, each to contain a battalion, and two Gardner guns
manned by the Naval Brigade. So little was an attack expected, that one
zareba being completed, with the guns mounted, and the others in
progress of formation, the camels and baggage animals which brought the
supplies, were beginning to slowly to move off on their return to
Suakin, and a portion of the troops were at breakfast. The working
parties were in the bush hacking at the tough underwood, with a picket
or two and a few cavalry scouts thrown out, but none more than about
thirty yards in advance, when suddenly the outposts came rushing in,
breaking through the working parties, with the enemy at their heels
uttering the most frightful yells. “Stand to your arms” resounded on all
sides, but the men were scattered, many working at a distance from the
piles of arms, but all did their best to get into proper position and to
form in squares. Everything was in favour of the enemy, before whose
furious onset the whole assemblage of transport animals plunged forward
upon the zareba. “There was a multitude of roaring camels heaped one
upon the other, with strings of screaming mules entangled in one moving
mass. Crowds of camp followers were carried along by the huge animal
wave—crying, shouting, fighting. Mingled with this mass of brutes and
terrified natives, which swept all before it, were the Arab swordsmen,
hewing and slashing at men and animals with the ferocity of demons. They
hamstrung every animal they could reach and cut the helpless camp
followers to pieces, amidst a shower of bullets from all sides, and
there can be little doubt but that many men and camels were killed by
our own fire in the confused _mêlée_.” The British force found itself
suddenly engaged in a most desperate hand to hand conflict with masses
of a fanatical and fearless enemy. The 17th. Native Infantry gave way
before the terrific rush of the Arabs, their commanding officer, Major
Von Beverhoudt, being killed in an attempt to rally his men; and sixty
of the enemy got inside the square of the Marines, to be all shot or
bayonetted. Half of the 49th. were in the zareba, and the remainder in a
rallying square outside. On the first rush of the enemy about one
hundred and twenty of them entered the zareba at the corner, and were
all killed after a desperate conflict. The Gardner guns, under
Lieutenant Paget, now came into action, and checked the advance of the
enemy by a rain of bullets, while a steady fire from the zareba and the
squares outside, mowed down the charging masses of the Arabs like grass.
The Soudanese saw that their attack had failed, and sullenly withdrew,
vanishing into the bush from which they had so suddenly burst forth.
In this brief but furious action the 49th. had Lieutenant Swinton and
twenty-five men killed; the Naval Brigade, Lieutenant Seymour and six
men; the Engineers, Captain Romily, Lieutenant Newman, and thirteen men
killed; the total casualties (exclusive of the loss of the Indian
contingent) being five officers and ninety-four men killed; six officers
and one hundred and thirty-six men wounded; and one officer and seventy
men missing. The Indians had about one hundred and twenty men killed and
wounded, and the Departmental Corps and camp followers suffered heavily.
Upwards of eight hundred camels and transport animals were also killed.
When the clouds of smoke and dust had cleared away, the ground in and
around the zarebas was seen to be thickly strewn with the bodies of the
enemy, in every conceivable attitude. It was computed that nearly one
thousand five hundred Arabs lay there, for the most part dead.[226]
Outside the zareba the dead and wounded camels and baggage animals lay
literally in heaps. The enemy still swarmed in the bush, and were active
all night in removing their slain and wounded, and searching for their
standards, of which three were captured[227] during the fight.
The next morning General Graham arrived from Suakin, with the Guards and
Mounted Infantry, and a new zareba was constructed away from the
vicinity of the reeking battle-field. The wounded were sent in the
afternoon to Suakin, escorted by the Grenadier Guards and Indians, and
were taken on board the hospital ship “Ganges.”
The withdrawal of the Nile expedition commenced in May, 1885, and on the
25th., the advanced post of Merawi was evacuated by the 42nd. Regiment.
Garrisons of British troops and Egyptians however held various places in
Upper Egypt, which presently were attacked by the Dervishes. In
December, three thousand of them attacked Mograkeh, occupied by the
79th. and two hundred Egyptians, but were repulsed with heavy loss. On
the 30th. of the same month, General Sir F. Stephenson, with a force of
British and Egyptian troops, consisting of about four thousand five
hundred men, moved out early in the morning and attacked the Arabs,
about six thousand strong, who were entrenched at Ginnis. With General
Stephenson, were Generals Grenfell, Butler, and Huyshe, and Colonel
Ardagh. The action commenced at six a.m., and by nine o’clock the enemy
were totally defeated and their position captured, with four guns and
twenty banners.
The British loss was trifling. Lieutenant Soltau, of the 49th. Regiment,
was killed; and one officer and twenty-one men wounded; and of the
Egyptians about twenty men were killed and wounded. The loss of the
Arabs was computed to be about six hundred killed. In these operations
the 19th., 38th., 49th., 79th., and 106th. Foot, were engaged.
GEMAIZAH.
DECEMBER 20TH., 1888.
The Arabs having again advanced in force on Suakin, and preparing by the
construction of trenches and redoubts to invest the place, General
Grenfell, commanding the British and Egyptian troops there, resolved to
attack them. The men were under arms before dawn on December 20th., and
at half-past five the action commenced by H.M.S. “Racer” opening fire on
the trenches of the enemy. The garrison batteries and forts also poured
a heavy fire on the enemy’s redoubts, which was hurriedly returned.
General Grenfell and his _aide_, Captain Maxwell, then rode to the
front, and having made a hasty inspection, ordered the troops to
advance. The first brigade, under Colonel Kitchener, of three regiments
of Soudanese, was on the right, and the second, under Colonel Holled
Smith, consisting of Soudanese and two Egyptian regiments, were on the
left. The cavalry, comprising the 20th. Hussars, and Egyptian Mounted
Infantry, numbering about three hundred men, with the 25th. and 41st.
Regiments, were held in reserve about five hundred yards in the rear.
The advance was made about seven o’clock, the British Infantry opening
fire to cover the Soudanese, who rushed on the Arab entrenchments. They
were received with a hot fire, and the enemy brought a heavy gun to bear
on them, but the Soudanese dashed at the gun, and drove the Dervishes
out of their trenches. At the same time the redoubts in spite of a
determined resistance were carried, and the Arabs were completely
routed, and pursued by the Hussars. H.M.S. “Starling”[228] and the
Egyptian steamers then shelled the wells. At half-past eight the
fighting was over, and the enemy dispersed, with the loss of about four
hundred men, all their _matériel_, and camp. The British casualties were
four men of the 20th. Hussars killed, and two officers and three men
wounded. The loss of the Egyptians was also trifling.
TOSKI.
AUGUST 3RD., 1889.
The Nile Expedition having been withdrawn, and the Soudan, with the
exception of Suakin, practically abandoned by the British and Egyptians,
the Dervishes resolved on an invasion of Egypt proper. In June 1889, an
army of them, about fourteen thousand strong, crossed the frontier, and
steadily advanced northwards. Near Wady Halfa they were met on the first
of July, by an Egyptian force under Colonel Wodehouse, R.A., and, after
a smart action, defeated with the loss of five hundred men.
This failed to stop their progress, but Wodehouse’s column harassed them
by constant attacks during their advance of fifty miles in the Egyptian
territory.
On the morning of August 3rd. they had pushed on to within six miles of
Toski, a place about three miles from the Nile, occupied by Sir F.
Grenfell, Sirdar, or Commander-in-Chief, of the Egyptian army. The
General sent out his mounted troops, consisting of the 20th. Hussars,
the Egyptian Cavalry, and the Camel Corps, to skirmish with the enemy,
who rapidly advanced, their riflemen driving back the mounted troops,
who slowly withdrew in the direction of Toski, keeping up an incessant
fire. The enemy were drawn on step by step till two guns came up at a
gallop, and opened fire on them with great effect, giving time for the
infantry to arrive and take a position on a ridge of hills lying almost
due east and west, completely checking the movement of the Dervishes
northwards. Thus out-manœuvred, they formed in order of battle on
several small hills, which they covered with waving flags and thousands
of spears glittering in the morning sun, their riflemen being extended
in an attempt to turn the Egyptian right. A hot fire was kept up on both
sides, but the enemy finding themselves enfiladed on their left, charged
down the hill, and were literally mown down by the volleys poured into
them. The first brigade was then ordered to advance direct on the
hillocks held by the Arabs, and at the same time the second brigade
advanced on the extreme left, and took their position in flank. The
enemy for a time held their ground with the utmost bravery, and though
driven from post to post, charged again and again in the most fearless
manner. But they were beaten from the hills in disorder to the plain
below, where they were repeatedly charged by the Hussars and the
Egyptian Cavalry.
Their chief, Wadj-el-Njumi, and every Emir of importance but one was
killed, and the Dervishes, completely overwhelmed, fled in confusion,
closely pursued by both infantry and cavalry for some miles. The enemy’s
force was entirely broken up, upwards of fifteen hundred of them being
killed, and nearly three thousand spears and swords, one gun, one
hundred and fifty rifles, a large quantity of ammunition, and over three
thousand prisoners being taken.
The British loss was one private of the 20th. Hussars and sixteen
Egyptians killed; and one hundred and thirty men wounded, including six
British.
This action closes the long list of the generally useless, and almost
profitless fields of bloodshed and slaughter which crimsoned the sands
of Egypt and the Soudan.
THE NORTH WEST CANADA MEDAL.
1885.
This medal was given by the British Government to the Canadian Militia,
Volunteers, and Mounted Police, for the suppression of the rebellion of
Louis Riel in the North West of Canada, March to May, 1885. The obverse
of the medal is the same as the medal for Egypt, and on the reverse are
the words “North West Canada, 1885,” within a wreath of maple leaves.
With the medal was given a clasp inscribed “Saskatchewan,” to all those
who had been under fire. The medal without the clasp, was given to the
troops called out to suppress the revolt, but who were not present at
any of the engagements. It was issued without names. Ribbon, dark blue,
with two red stripes. No English troops were engaged in the operations.
The rebels were mostly French half-breeds and Indians. The force which
suppressed them numbered about five thousand men, under the command of
Major-General Sir F. D. Middleton. Battleford was besieged by the
Indians, and relieved by a force under Colonel Otter, who routed the
rebels with a loss of 150 killed and wounded. Riel entrenched himself at
Batoche, where he was attacked and defeated by General Middleton on May
11th., and this action virtually ended the rebellion. Riel was
afterwards tried and executed.
THE INDIAN GENERAL SERVICE MEDAL.
1891.
Since the pages of this work describing the actions for which the Indian
General Service Medal and Clasps have been given, were written, three
additional clasps have been granted, inscribed “Hazara, 1891,” “N. E.
Frontier, 1891” and “Hunza, 1891”—making a total of fifteen clasps
issued to the present time (1892). Officers and men who already
possessed the medal received the new clasps only; and a bronze medal and
clasp of similar pattern was given to all authorised Government
followers.
The force operating against the Hazara tribes, under Major-General
Ellis, advanced from Derband, on March 12th., and defeated the tribesmen
at Dilari on March 23rd. All active operations ceased by May 16th., and
before the end of the month the tribes surrendered unconditionally, and
their chiefs accepted the terms imposed on them by General Ellis. The
78th. Highlanders, and 23rd. Welsh Fusiliers, were the British regiments
engaged in this affair.
The clasp inscribed “N. E. Frontier,” was given to the native troops
employed in the Manipur Expedition, between the dates of their advance
from Tamu, March 28th.; Silchar, April 15th; and Kohimar, April 20th.;
to May 7th., 1891; when the operations were ended, by the submission of
the Rajah, and the punishment of the officials who had incited the
attack on the British Resident.
The clasp for “Hunza, 1891,” was granted to all troops employed in the
Hunza-Nagar Expedition, between the 1st. and 22nd. of December, 1891,
both dates inclusive.
The Hunzas are a nation of robbers and slave dealers, inhabiting an
almost inaccessible country. The expedition against them was commanded
by Lieutenant-Colonel A. G. Durand, who, after some sharp fighting,
stormed the strongly fortified fort of Nilt, on the Hunza river,
December 2nd. In this service he was severely wounded. Only Indian
troops were engaged in these operations.