Mahdist War: A History from Beginning to End by Hourly History

Author:Hourly History [History, Hourly]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-05-10T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Six

The Suakin Expedition

“The slaughter was complete. The British Government resolved to add to it. The garrisons they had refused to rescue they now determined to avenge.”

—Winston Churchill

The vast majority of British and Egyptian troops, government officials, and civilians located in Khartoum were defeated and disposed of in one way or another by the Mahdists by January 1885. However, there were still others left in smaller garrisons throughout Sudan. Both during and after the siege of Khartoum, fighting took place in other parts of Sudan to rescue these garrisons.

One of these outposts was at Suakin, which is located in northeast Sudan on the Red Sea. The Suakin Expedition involved a few different battles, mostly taking place outside the garrison but launched from Suakin since its location on the Red Sea meant that it was accessible by boat for Egypt and Britain.

Like the troops in Khartoum, those in Suakin were largely Egyptian led by a British commander. These troops were not well-trained, which made movement difficult. Many had also been told that they would not be serving in Sudan, so being sent there made them disgruntled. This made them an easy target when they departed Suakin and reached El Teb, on the way to another garrison, on February 4, 1884. Even though they were outnumbered and out-weaponed, the Mahdists overtook the Egyptians, leaving only about one in five of the more than three thousand troops alive.

After this defeat, the discontent and mistrust between Egyptian forces and British leadership in Suakin grew. The Mahdist army once again took advantage of these strategical weaknesses. The British were not ready to give up, however, and diverted troops and supplies leaving India to Sudan to reinforce the beleaguered forces at Suakin.

The British knew that many Mahdist soldiers were still in position at El Teb, so that was where the units from India went first. The British had nearly 5,000 troops who were well-armed. However, so were the Mahdists—not only with their own weapons but with weapons they had seized from the British and Egyptians. The British units from India were led by Lieutenant General Gerald Graham and arrived on February 29, 1884. They surrounded the Mahdist entrenchments, but the Mahdists were ready for this tactic. They hid in their trenches, and then when the fighting died down, they attacked in small clusters—only up to around 30 soldiers at a time. This disoriented the British, who had expected a much larger battle against the full army at once. The Mahdists were resourceful in other ways as well. They did not have the cavalry that the British had, so in order to defeat them, Mahdist soldiers would lie down, appearing to be dead, and then injure the horses and kill the riders as they went by.

Despite the creative tactics used by the Mahdists, this battle did not result in a sound victory for either combatant. Technically the British defeated the Mahdists, but at heavy costs. Both suffered casualties, but the British were able to march forward toward Tokar, the site of another British-Egyptian garrison.

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