The Egyptian campaigns, 1882 to 1885Royle, Charles
History
The Egyptian campaigns, 1882 to 1885
Royle, Charles
Egypt -- History -- British occupation, 1882-1936; Sudan -- History
Squads of men were told off to search for the wounded, a task of some
danger, on account of the number of partially disabled Soudanese lying
in the bush. Here, as at El-Teb, wounded Arabs refused to accept
quarter, but waited an opportunity to spring out and attack any of the
soldiers who came sufficiently close. An eye-witness wrote as follows:--
"One wounded savage lay half reclining on a sloping bank near
the spot where the Gatling gun had been rolled into the ravine.
He was badly wounded in the leg, a bullet having shattered his
knee. Grasping his heavy broad-bladed spear, he looked defiance
and mischief at the soldiers as they approached. A bluejacket
was the first to venture near him, and although Jack had his
rifle and cutlass attached, he liked not the far-reaching spear.
The troops were forbidden to fire, and there was nothing for it
but to tackle the man with steel. The deft handling of the
spear, wounded as the foe was, made Jack cautious. I looked and
watched. A soldier now stole up on the opposite side of the
Hadendowa, but even then the savage, like a wounded stag at bay,
was not to be trifled with. A mean subterfuge, cunning
stratagem, or what you will you may call it, prevailed. A stone
thrown at the Arab's head stunned him for the moment, and before
he recovered the bluejacket had plunged his cutlass into him,
bending the weapon into such a hoop shape that he could barely
withdraw it."
The British losses were as follows:--Killed: Lieut. Montresor,
_Euryalus_; Lieut. Almack, _Briton_; Lieut. Houston Stewart, _Dryad_;
Capt. H. G. W. Ford, York and Lancaster; Major Aitken, Royal
Highlanders; and 86 non-commissioned officers and privates. Wounded:
Seven officers and 103 non-commissioned officers and privates. Missing:
Nineteen men. Of the above, three officers and eleven men were killed at
the taking of the guns, and the loss of the 2nd Brigade at the time of
the square being broken was 70 in killed alone. The number of the enemy
was originally reported by Graham as being from 10,000 to 12,000, and
the loss as over 2,000 in killed. According to one account, over 1,500
lay dead in an area of 200 yards; 600 of these were counted on the spot
where the square was broken. Another account puts the total number of
the enemy's forces engaged at 9,000, and the loss in killed and wounded
2,400. No prisoners were taken.
Of the nature of the surprise intended for him at the ravine, Graham had
ample warning beforehand. Nevertheless he moved his men almost up to the
brink of the spot where the enemy lay in ambush, and very nearly brought
about a disaster.
As to the order given to a part of the front rank to charge, it is
unnecessary to say anything in its condemnation. The charge was made at
nothing. The front rank of the square doubled, whilst the sides and rear
only followed at quick time. It was, as a critic remarked, taking the
lid off the box.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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