He arrayed his force in an arc around the village of Egeiga, close to the bank of the Nile, where a twelve gunboat flotilla waited in support,[3] facing a wide, flat plain with hills rising to the left and right. In July, responding to a request by Queen Victoria, Gladstone sent aid in the form of troops led by Gen. Sir Garnet Wolseley. Controversy over the killing of the wounded after the battle began soon afterwards. Tony Bunting is a historian who has recently completed a research project at the University of Central Lancashire on the evolution of nineteenth-century British imperialism. Kitchener’s engineering genius led to another campaign-winning development – the shallow draft river gunboat. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). In the meantime, more information about the article and the author can be found by clicking on the author’s name. Battle of Omdurman The massacre of the army of Sudanese Dervishes on a plain near Omdurman on September 2nd, 1898, was an occasion that a new military technology by Britain in battle. The frontal attack ended quickly, with around 4,000 Mahdist forces casualties; none of the attackers got closer than 50 m to the British trenches. Meaning of battle of omdurman. Losses: British, 48 dead, 380 wounded of 25,000; Mahdist, 10,000 dead, 14,000 wounded of 50,000. Kitchener's force wheeled left in echelon to advance up Surgham ridge and then southwards. They had a tough time of it. In what has been described as the last operational cavalry charge by British troops, the 400-strong regiment attacked what they thought were only a few hundred dervishes, but in fact there were 2,500 infantry hidden behind them in a depression. At the Battle of Omdurman on September 2, … The 1939 film adaptation of the novel The Four Feathers is set in the time of this battle, and covers other aspects of the Sudan Campaign. His Elder brother, Hubert, was killed at the Battle of Omdurman in the Sudan on September 2 nd 1898, an Imperial campaign fought to avenge the death of Chinese Gordon at Khartoum in 1885. Kitchener was anxious to occupy Omdurman before the remaining Mahdist forces could withdraw there. Let us know. Elsewhere on the battlefield, the khalifa ordered his concealed forces to attack. This marked a crucial stage of the battle but Kitchener was able to deploy two gunboats to a position on the river where their cannon and Nordenfelt guns broke up the Mahadist force before it could destroy Broadwood's detachment and possibly penetrate the flank of the Anglo-Egyptian infantry.[5]. [10] The debate was ignited by a highly critical article published by Ernest Bennett (present at the battle as a journalist) in the Contemporary Review, which evoked a fierce riposte and defense of Kitchener by Bennet Burleigh (another journalist also present at the battle). Unknown September 18, 2017 at 4:59 PM. [6] One of the participants of this fight was Lieutenant Winston Churchill. The 52 quick firing guns of the British artillery opened fire at around 2,750 metres (1.71 mi),[4] inflicting severe casualties on the Mahdist forces before they even came within range of the Maxim guns and volley fire. Lewis's Egyptian Brigade managed to hold its own[4] but MacDonald was forced to repeatedly re-order his battalions. The march on Omdurman was resumed at about 11:30. Battle of Omdurman: September 2nd, 1898 . [13] However, mindful of the effect that patriotic public opinion could have on his political career, Churchill significantly moderated criticism of Kitchener in his book's second edition in 1902. {{data.product.event.name}} {{shiparea}}, Confirm sales automatically: Yes, with the following message: {{data.product.autoconfirm_notes}} It was first published in 1903. A meticulous, methodical general, Kitchener prepared and executed the expedition with scrupulous attention to logistics. British policy towards Sudan in the 1890s was callous at best, determined not by the desires of locals but by European power politics. Kitchener's force lost 47 men killed and 382 wounded, the majority from MacDonald's command. Replies. 41 Questions from Britannica’s Most Popular World History Quizzes. Nevertheless the battlefield is still an important historical site. To protect the rear, a brigade of 3,000 mainly Sudanese, commanded by Hector MacDonald, was reinforced with Maxims and artillery and followed the main force at around 1,350 metres (0.84 mi). The brigade maintained a punishing fire. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. MacDonald was alerted to the presence of around 15,000 enemy troops moving towards him from the west, out from behind Surgham. The 2005 novel The Triumph of the Sun by Wilbur Smith depicts the siege of Khartoum and the Battle of Omdurman with a mixture of historical and fictional characters. It was a demonstration of the superiority of a highly disciplined army equipped with modern rifles, machine … However, it was not until the 1899 Battle of Umm Diwaykarat that the final Mahdist forces were defeated. Like a spouting volcano, clouds of flame, stones, and dust burst from out the city. Sent ahead for reconnaissance, the 21st Lancers, with young war correspondent Winston Churchill temporarily one of their number, rode into a hidden mass of Mahdists, who inflicted sixty-one casualties on the startled horsemen. The Battle of Omudurman was the climax of a fourteen year struggle the British and the Sudanese Mahdists. Kitchener commanded a force of 8,000 British regulars and a mixed force of 17,000 Sudanese and Egyptian troops. A brigade of Sudanese troops, under General Hector Macdonald, found itself isolated in the face of some 15,000 Mahdists; they resisted courageously until support arrived and disciplined firepower drove off the enemy. The prize at the end of the conflict was to have complete control of the Sudan. They were fired from the 5-inch howitzers, which sent a half-dozen of 50-lb. Kitchener, now aware of the problem, "began to throw his brigades about as if they were companies". It was a demonstration of the superiority of a highly disciplined army equipped with modern rifles, machine guns, and artilleryover a force twice its size armed with older weapons, and marked the success of British effo… One eyewitness described the appalling scene:.mw-parser-output .templatequote{overflow:hidden;margin:1em 0;padding:0 40px}.mw-parser-output .templatequote .templatequotecite{line-height:1.5em;text-align:left;padding-left:1.6em;margin-top:0}. The Siege of Khartoum commenced on March 13, 1884. A final desperate cavalry charge of around 500 horsemen was utterly destroyed. Article excerpt "THE MASSACRE OF THE ARMY OF Sudanese Dervishes on a plain near Omdurman in the Sudan was an occasion that a new military technology was tested -- to devastating effect -- by Britain in battle. In subsequent years it was said that the battle of Omdurman was won in the Railway workshops of Wadi Halfa – what turned out to be one of the great engineering enterprises of modern times. 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