WITH THE NILE EXPEDITION
A Forlorn Hope--Scouting in the Desert--The Battle of Abu
Klea--Metammeh--The Death of Gordon--A Dangerous
Retreat--"Major French and His Thirteen Troopers."
Sir John French's first experience of actual warfare was a bitter one.
If ever the British Government bungled one of their military
enterprises more thoroughly than another, it was the Nile Expedition
of 1884-5. What began as a forlorn hope ended in complete failure, and
in three short months French experienced the miseries of retreat, of
failure, and of work under an invertebrate War Office.
To this day no one has ever justified the hidden processes of logic by
which the Government responsible came to the conclusion that the
Soudan must be evacuated. It is true that the Mahdi, Mohammed Ahmed,
had won considerable successes against our forces since his appearance
in 1881. But no army of any dimensions had ever been opposed to his
"Divine powers." Why Gordon should have been entrusted with the
evacuation is not so doubtful. W.T. Stead and other journalistic
pundits conceived him to be the man for the task, however much Egypt's
ruler, Lord Cromer, might differ from their verdict. So to Khartoum
Gordon was sent with an all too small band of followers. Presumably
the authorities imagined that the man who had worked miracles in China
with neither men nor money would settle the Soudan on equally
economical terms. But the Mahdi's black braves were other mettle than
the yellow men, as Gordon himself well knew from his past experience
in the Soudan.
[Page Heading: THE SLEEPER WAKES]
Reaching Khartoum on February 18, 1884, he quickly discovered how
perilous the defeat of Baker Pasha at El-Teb had made his position. He
at once warned his superiors, but nothing was done. In April he found
Khartoum besieged, but even that did not startle the Home authorities
from their lethargy. At length, however, the Government realised that
to allow their General to perish at the hands of the Dervishes might
be to forfeit their prestige in Egypt. Lord Wolseley was accordingly
instructed to relieve Khartoum at all costs.
Those instructions were more easy to give than to obey. Wolseley
decided to send a flying column across the desert from Korti to
Metammeh and thence to Khartoum; and a second up the Nile. With the
luckless flying column went part of the 19th Hussars, under
Lieutenant-Colonel Barrow. Major French was second in command.
On December 30, General Herbert Stewart's little force, with its
thousand odd men and two thousand camels, was on parade for inspection
near Korti. At first there was some doubt as to how the camels would
stand the attack of the Mahdi's wild warriors.
"In order to test the steadiness of our camels as regarded noise and
firing, the 19th Hussars one day at brigade drill charged on the
unprotected mass of camels, cheering and yelling. Everybody expected
to see them break their ropes and career wildly over the desert. The
only result was that one solitary camel struggled to his feet, looked
round and knelt down again; the others never moved an eyelid.
"That was satisfactory: and as firing into them with blank cartridges
and over them with ball had already been tried ... with no visible
result, the general opinion was that they would stand charging niggers
or anything else in creation with equanimity. Sad to say we came to
the conclusion that it was want of brains _pur et simple_ that caused
our steeds to behave thus docilely: any other animal with a vestige of
brain would have been scared to death, but, as it was, no one
regretted their deficiency."[1]
[Page Heading: THE KITCHENER WAY]
Before the corps set out from Korti, Sir Herbert Stewart sent for the
chief men at Ambukol who knew the desert route. Showing them money he
asked whether they would act as guides. This they refused to do. Said
Stewart, "You will come anyway. If you like to ride to Metammeh tied
on your camels well and good; if you prefer not being lashed on, you
will get these nice presents." They agreed to go! So they were sent to
ride ahead of the column, guarded by some of the 19th, who had orders
to shoot if they attempted to fly. But no such effort was made.
The rest of the 19th had more arduous work to do. During the whole
weary march they were far ahead of the column scouting.
"On coming to a plain with hills in the distance, you'd see various
specks on the tops of the furthest hills, and with the help of your
glasses discover them to be the 19th. Sir Herbert (Stewart) was
immensely pleased with them and pointed them out to me as being the
very acme of Light Cavalry."[2]
The column itself was almost half-a-mile in length, even when by night
it marched in close order. It was a strange sight to see the camels,
with long necks outstretched, swaying across the desert towards the
horizon, both the men and their ostrich-like steeds enveloped in a
huge cloud of dust. A wind storm arose more than once, flinging
blinding clouds of sand in the men's faces. On New Year's Eve,
however, the soldiers shouted themselves hoarse with "Auld Lang Syne"
as they plodded wearily along the moonlit desert.
Very soon the cavalry had an opportunity to distinguish themselves. On
the following day a halt was called "to allow the indefatigable 19th
to find out the reason of a faint light burning far off on the
plain.... They returned with several natives, a string of camels and
several loads of dates. They had found ... the natives bivouacked for
the night, surprised them, captured as much loot as possible and
bolted the rest."[3]
After a fortnight's marching the column came in touch with the enemy
at Abu Klea. At this time French's work was peculiarly dangerous. He
spent night after night in the desert in solitary watching and waiting
for the Dervishes.
On January 16 the 19th Hussars were sent to reconnoitre. They
reported that the Mahdi had mustered considerable force between the
British camp and the wells. Stewart determined to fight his way
through to the wells at any cost. Leaving a very small force to hold
his camp, he formed his main body into a square, in which form it
advanced. No sooner had the advance begun than the enemy opened a
terrific fire. Yet the square pushed on, despite constant halts
necessary to assure its formation remaining intact, as the guns were
hauled over the rutty and uneven surface of the desert.
Soon, however, the Dervishes rushed to the attack, and Stewart found
himself outnumbered by four to one. The attack was delivered with
appalling force. The Arabs' shouts as they rushed forward have been
described by an eye-witness as like the thunder of the sea.
[Page Heading: THE BROKEN SQUARE]
Their onslaught was so sudden that the square was broken, the heavy
camel corps suffering specially severely. So did the naval brigade
whose solitary Gardner gun jammed at the critical moment. When Lord
Charles Beresford was attempting to clear it his assistants were all
speared and he himself was knocked senseless under the gun. Somehow or
other, with much difficulty, he managed to get back to the square.
During the afternoon, however, the Arabs' attack began to diminish in
violence. Here was the cavalry's opportunity. They charged the enemy
with great impetuosity. Gradually the Dervishes were driven off by the
aid of the artillery. But there were the wells still to capture, and
the detachment of the 19th Hussars was given that important mission.
They were able to accomplish it without resistance. That night the
thirsty force was able to drink water again--albeit yellow in colour
and weird of taste.
After a brief rest the advance on Metammeh was continued, with the
Hussars still in the van. On the following night there was a scene of
wild disorder. It was very dark and camels began to stumble and lose
their places in the long grass.
The men were so weary that many went to sleep and even fell from their
camels, which wandered along unguided and strayed far from the column.
The night was extraordinarily dark, and there was no moon to light the
way for the exhausted column through the wild and pathless country,
which would have been difficult to traverse even in broad daylight. At
times it was discovered that the troops were going in a circle and the
rear guard found itself in front of the force.
When at last open ground was reached the enemy were found to be in
strength. Once again a fight was inevitable for the tired force. So
Stewart had a zeriba of camel saddles, boxes, etc., hastily flung up
to protect his men. By this time the horses of the 19th Hussars were
so done up as to render them useless. French's regiment, therefore,
was left with some artillery, under Colonel Barrow, in the zeriba,
along with the war correspondents, who had tried in vain to make a
dash back to Abu Klea.
[Page Heading: THE GUARDS AT ABU KLEA]
The rest of the force once more formed into a square to meet the
enemy's attack. It was like a tornado when it came.
With a headlong rush eight hundred spearmen, led by emirs on
magnificent horses, hurled themselves upon the British square. Without
a tremor the troops awaited their onslaught, cheering loudly as they
saw the fluttering banners of the enemy approach. The brunt of the
attack was on the left angle of the front face, where the Guards and
Mounted Infantry received the charge, at a distance of three hundred
yards, with a fire so deadly that the front ranks of the yelling
Dervishes were mown down. The battle was over within a few moments.
The enemy never got within thirty yards of the square, but with broken
ranks and wild confusion the spearmen fled, leaving two hundred and
fifty of their dead upon the field.
This rapid victory was largely due to the garrison in the zeriba, who
made very effective use of their guns. The enemy left two hundred and
fifty dead on the field. Yet not a single British soldier was either
killed or wounded in actually repelling the charge. Among those
seriously wounded later in the day was General Stewart, who died of
his wounds a few days later. Almost his last words to Colonel Barrow
were, "Take care of the 19th Hussars; they have done well."
But all this gallantry was vain. While the force was still near
Metammeh, news came of the fall of Khartoum. An officer who was with
him when the blow fell has recorded that he never saw French so
profoundly moved as he was on the receipt of these black tidings. With
Khartoum fallen the mission of the flying column was ended. Its
position indeed had become extremely precarious. The problem before
the authorities was now not how to relieve Khartoum, but how to
relieve the Relieving Expedition.
It cannot be said that they solved it very successfully. Buller was
sent up to Gubat to take command. With him he brought only the Royal
Irish and West Kent Regiments to reinforce the column. And his
instructions were to seize Metammeh and march on Berber!
[Page Heading: HIS FIRST RETREAT]
Once on the scene, however, Buller soon saw the hopelessness of the
situation. Considering that the fall of Khartoum had released a host
of the Mahdi's followers, the storming of Metammeh was now a doubly
difficult enterprise; an attack on Berber would have been simply
suicidal. Buller accordingly determined on a retreat.
On February 13 he evacuated Gubat. On March 1 his advance guard had
reached Korti. In this retreat the 19th Hussars again did splendid
work. For days on end the column was submitted to that unceasing
pelting of bullets which Buller characterised in one of his laconic
dispatches as "annoying." But Barrow, the Hussars' chief, was a master
of the art of reconnoitring. Time and again he and his men were able
to deceive the enemy as to the direction of the column's march. It was
then that French had his first experience in "masterly retreat."
How sorely the column was pressed may be shown from one incident.
While he was preparing to evacuate Abu Klea, Buller received
information to the effect that the enemy was advancing upon him with a
force of eight thousand men. He determined upon a desperate measure.
He left standing the forts which he had intended to demolish and
filled up the larger wells.
A desert well, to the Oriental, is almost sacred, and never even in
savage warfare would such a course have been adopted. But Buller knew
that the absence of water was the only thing that could check the rush
of the oncoming hordes, and this deed, terrible as it may have seemed
to the Eastern mind, was his sole means of covering his retreat.
Orders were therefore given to fill up all the principal wells with
stones and rubbish. It was certainly an effectual measure, for the
enemy would be delayed for many hours, perhaps days, before he could
restore the wells and obtain sufficient water to enable him to
continue in pursuit of the British force which was so hopelessly
outnumbered. In the circumstances Buller could not be blamed for
saving British lives at the price of Oriental tradition.
Sir Evelyn Wood was also sent with reinforcements from Korti to
strengthen the force at Gakdul Wells. There he met French for the
first time. "I saw him," Sir Evelyn relates, "when our people were
coming back across the desert after our failure, the whole force
depressed by the death of Gordon. I came on him about a hundred miles
from the river--the last man of the last section of the rear guard! We
were followed by bands of Arabs. They came into our bivouac on the
night of which I am speaking, and the night following they carried
off some of our slaughter cattle."[4]
[Page Heading: MENTIONED IN DISPATCHES]
Major French was quickly able to distinguish himself in the retreat.
For Buller was a believer in cavalry and used it wherever possible. In
his dispatch on the retreat he paid French the following handsome
tribute:
"I wish expressly to remark on the excellent work that has been done
by a small detachment of the 19th Hussars, both during our occupation
of Abu Klea and during our retirement. Each man has done the work of
ten; and it is not too much to say that the force owes much to Major
French and his thirteen troopers."
The flying column occupied just two months in its fruitless
expedition. But no more trying experience was ever packed into so
short a time. On that march across the Bayuda desert history has only
one verdict. It is that pronounced by Count von Moltke on the men who
accomplished it:--"They were not soldiers but heroes." None of the men
earned the title more thoroughly than Major French and his troopers.
"During the whole march from Korti," says Colonel Biddulph, "the
entire scouting duty had been taken by the 19th Hussars, so that each
day they covered far more ground than the rest of the force."[5] The
enemy themselves came to respect the little force of cavalrymen. "Even
the fierce Baggara horsemen appeared unwilling to cross swords with
our Hussars," wrote one who accompanied the column. Major French and
his regiment had firmly established their reputation.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] _With the Camel Corps up the Nile_, by Count Gleichen, by
permission of Messrs. Chapman and Hall.
[2] _With the Camel Corps up the Nile_, by Count Gleichen, by
permission of Messrs. Chapman and Hall.
[3] _With the Camel Corps up the Nile_, by Count Gleichen, by
permission of Messrs. Chapman and Hall.
[4] For this and much other valuable information the writer is
indebted to Field-Marshal Sir Evelyn Wood.
[5] _The Nineteenth and their Times_, by Col. J. Biddulph, by
permission of Mr. John Murray.