On 15th August the final advance began, and on the 22nd the whole force
was concentrated at Wad Hamed, some 50 miles from Omdurman, a brilliant
achievement even for the Sirdar, for it meant that 23,000 men, with all
impedimenta, stores, and ammunition, had been moved within ten days 150
miles across the desert into the enemy's country by means of marching
and the use of the flotilla on the Nile.
"The task before them is one of the most arduous that an army has ever
been called upon to perform, being at a distance of something like 1200
miles from the real base of operations, on the sea, in a climate the
conditions of which are trying, and amidst deserts devoid of all
resources--even of those few which existed in 1884 when the British
forces under Lord Wolseley advanced to Metammeh, and which have since
been utterly destroyed by the complete devastation of the villages on
the banks of the Nile and the murder or despoliation of their
inhabitants."--Field-Marshal Sir J.L.A. Simmons, in a letter to the
_Times_.
On the 2nd September the army lay encamped at Agaiga on the Nile, a few
miles only from Khartoum, having already come into touch with he
Khalifa's outposts, the main body of whose army, some 40,000 or 50,000,
had come out of Omdurman, and was intrenched between them and the city.
The Sirdar's camp was in the form of a semicircle, with about one mile
of the Nile for its diameter. On the extreme left was the 32nd
Field-Battery R.A.; and next them, with their left on the Nile, and on
the right of the guns, lay the second British brigade (Rifles,
Lancashire, Northumberland, and Grenadier Guards); then the first
British brigade (Wauchope's), Warwicks, Seaforths, Camerons, and
Lincolns; then Maxwell's 2nd Egyptian; Macdonald's, and then Lewis with
his right on the Nile. On the left, and extending close down to the
lines, was a small hill, Gabel Surgham; and on the right, some way off,
the rising ground of Kerrin. The camp was protected by a zareba and
trench, with spaces at intervals, and all along the river were the
flotilla of gunboats.
At an early hour the whole army was armed and everything in readiness
for the advance, when the scouts and the pickets of the 21st Lancers
came galloping in with the astounding but most welcome news that the
Khalifa, instead of waiting to be attacked behind his intrenchments, as
did Mahmoud at Atbara, was rapidly advancing with his whole army upon
the zareba. Nothing could have been more fortunate for the Sirdar or
more foolish on the part of the Khalifa; had he even remained in his
position he would have caused his assailants heavy loss, while had he
awaited our attack in Omdurman the siege might have presented many
difficulties. As it was, over-confident in the fanatic courage of his
followers, and their superior numbers, he threw his host upon our fire,
verily "Quem deus vult perdere prius dementat" was true in his case.
The black flag of the Khalifa and the huge host of the Arabs was soon
seen approaching, and at 6:30 a.m. the firing commenced. First the
Maxims and 15-pounder field-guns, 2800 yards; then the Lee-Metford
rifles. The air was full of shot and bullet, shrapnel and shell, mowing
out great gaps in the charging masses, who never faltered in their
movement. Thousands upon thousands fell, and were succeeded by
thousands upon thousands who likewise fell; and of all that host never a
man reached the zareba. Nothing could exceed the courage of the
dervishes. Following their old tactics, they meant to rush the zareba,
piercing, as they hoped, the line of fire by sheer force of numbers.
"Stormed at by shot and shell,
Bravely they fought and fell."
A large body of horse tried to break through the centre, and were
annihilated. At length human endurance could do no more, and the
shattered remnants of what had been but an hour before a mighty host,
withdrew behind Gabel Surgham. So ended the first act, with a loss of a
few hundred in killed and wounded; 10,000 dervishes were slain.
It was at first thought when the last dervish disappeared behind the
high ground that the fight was over, and that Omdurman lay open; and
after a delay occupied in removing the wounded to the steamers, and
replenishing ammunition, the army, about 9:30, re-formed for marching,
moved out of the camp. Lyttleton's and Wauchope's brigade, turning by
the left, moved round the bottom of Gabel Surgham; Maxwell passing on
their right, while Lewis and Macdonald moved away much farther on the
right; and thus the brigades became at some distance apart.
And now took place one of the most stirring events of this eventful day.
The 21st Lancers, trotting ahead a mile or more beyond Gabel, came upon
a small body of dervishes hiding in a hollow; and Colonel Martin having
decided to cut them off, the regiment charged in line, led by Colonel
Martin. Within 200 yards of the enemy the horsemen saw the trap that
had been laid for them; instead of 200 or 300 men in a hollow, 2000 or
more dervishes lay in wait for them in a narrow and rather deep ravine.
Four hundred against 2000 rode the Lancers, and somehow or another were
into the ravine and out again, and with lance and sword and revolver had
pushed and hacked their way through the dense mass of the enemy. Clean
through and out on the other side; but not all of them, for any whose
horse fell and could not recover at once was cut to pieces. There were
many wonderful escapes, and many acts of bravery. The colonel rode
through well in front without drawing sword or revolver; his horse fell
in the midst of the _melee_ but was up again, and both came through
without a scratch. Perhaps 80 dervishes were knocked over, but the
Lancers suffered severely.
Lieutenant Grenfell fell at the head of his troop, and ten of his men
with him. As he was lying surrounded by a crowd of dervishes,
Lieutenant de Montmorency, who had got through safely, returned to his
assistance. He succeeded in driving off the enemy, and finding
Lieutenant Grenfell dead he attempted to place the body across his
horse. While he was doing this his horse bolted, and he was left to
face the enemy. Captain Kenna and Corporal Swabrick came to his
assistance, and fortunately caught the horse and were able to keep the
enemy at a distance with their revolvers, while all three got safely
through. Lieutenant De Montmorency received the Victoria Cross, and
also Captain Kenna, who had also saved Major Windham, whose horse was
bolting, by taking him up behind him on his own horse.
Meantime Macdonald's brigade, which had moved away to the right, had to
bear a sudden attack of 15,000 dervishes who had rallied behind the high
ground, and with reckless courage threw themselves upon the Egyptian
ranks, who now found themselves attacked on three sides at once. In old
times no Egyptian troops could have sustained the shock, but all was
altered now. Admirably handled by their commander, both men and
officers as cool as on parade, the brigade thrown practically into line,
with the left and right thrown back, held their own, mowing down the
enemy with a well-sustained fire. The guns soon came to the relief, and
shot and shell fell from steamers on to the devoted host; and Wauchope's
brigade coming up, the rout of the dervishes was soon complete.
Again the army advanced, and soon after four o'clock the Sirdar with the
captured standard of the Khalifa entered Omdurman, arriving just after
the Khalifa, with a small body of followers, had succeeded in slipping
away.
A Victoria Cross was also given to Captain Nevill Smyth, who galloped
forward and engaged in single combat with an Arab who was attacking camp
followers, and killed him, being slightly wounded himself.
The Funeral of General Gordon. On Sunday, 4th September, the Sirdar,
Generals, and Staff, with detachments from all branches of the army,
steamed up the Blue Nile to the ruins of Khartoum, and on the summit of
Gordon's old palace, the scene of his death, hoisted the Union Jack and
the Egyptian flag. After this ceremony the bands played the Dead March,
the chaplains--Presbyterian, Roman, Wesleyan, and Anglican--offered
prayer, and hymns were sung on the very spot where the hero fell.
Among the numerous rewards given for services in this campaign, none was
more popular than the peerage conferred upon the Sirdar, now Lord
Kitchener of Khartoum.