The River War, Winston Churchill [e book reader .txt] 📗
- Author: Winston Churchill
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The captive blacks, who fight with equal willingness on either side, were content to be enlisted in the Soudanese regiments; so that many of those who served the Khalifa on the Atbara helped to destroy him at Omdurman. The most notable prisoner was the Emir Mahmud—a tall, strong Arab, about thirty years old. Immediately after his capture he was dragged before the Sirdar. ‘Why,’ inquired the General, ‘have you come into my country to burn and kill?’ ‘I have to obey my orders, and so have you,’
retorted the captive sullenly, yet not without a certain dignity. To other questions he returned curt or evasive answers, and volunteered the opinion that all this slaughter would be avenged at Omdurman. He was removed in custody—a fine specimen of proud brutality, worthy perhaps of some better fate than to linger indefinitely in the gaol at Rosetta.
With the cool of the evening the army left its bed of torment on the ridge and returned to Umdabia. The homeward march was a severe trial; the troops were exhausted; the ground was broken; the guides, less careful or less fortunate than on the previous night, lost their way. The columns were encumbered with wounded, most of whom were already in a high state of fever, and whose sufferings were painful to witness. It was not until after midnight that the camp was reached. The infantry had been continuously under arms—marching, fighting, or sweltering in the sun—
for thirty hours, and most of them had hardly closed their eyes for two days. Officers and soldiers—British, Soudanese, and Egyptian—struggled into their bivouacs, and fell asleep, very weary but victorious.
British and Egyptian casualties on the Atbara included 20 officers and 539 men killed or wounded. The Dervish loss was officially estimated at 40 Emirs and 3,000 dervishes killed. No statistics as to their wounded are forthcoming.
… … … .
As the battle of the Atbara had been decisive, the whole Expeditionary Force went into summer quarters. The Egyptian army was distributed into three principal garrisons—four battalions at Atbara camp, six battalions and the cavalry at Berber, three battalions at Abadia. The artillery and transport were proportionately divided. The British brigade encamped with two battalions at Darmali and two at the village of Selim, about a mile and a half distant.
For the final phase of the campaign three new gunboats had been ordered from England. These were now sent in sections over the Desert Railway.
Special arrangements were made to admit of the clumsy loads passing trains on the ordinary sidings. As usual, the contrivances of the railway subalterns were attended with success. Sir H. Kitchener himself proceeded to Abadia to accelerate by his personal activity and ingenuity the construction of the vessels on which so much depended. Here during the heat of the summer he remained, nursing his gunboats, maturing his plans, and waiting only for the rise of the river to complete the downfall of his foes.
All through the early months of the summer the preparations for the final advance were steadily proceeding. A second British brigade was ordered to the Soudan. A new battery of Howitzer artillery—the 37th—firing enormous shells charged with lyddite, was despatched from England. Two large 40-pounder guns were sent from Cairo. Another British Maxim battery of four guns was formed in Cairo from men of the Royal Irish Fusiliers. Three new screw gunboats of the largest size and most formidable pattern had been passed over the indefatigable railway in sections, and were now launched on the clear waterway south of the Atbara encampment; and last, but not least, the 21st Lancers [The author led a troop in this regiment during the final advance to Omdurman; and it is from this standpoint that the ensuing chapters are to some extent conceived] were ordered up the Nile. Events now began to move rapidly. Within three weeks of the arrival of the reinforcements the climax of the war was over; within five weeks the British troops were returning home. There was no delay at the Atbara encampment. Even before the whole of the second brigade had arrived, some of its battalions were being despatched to Wad Hamed, the new point of concentration. This place was a few miles north of Shabluka, and only fifty-eight miles from Omdurman. It was evident, therefore, that the decisive moment of the three years’ war approached. The Staff, the British infantry, one squadron, the guns, and the stores were carried south in steamers and barges. The Egyptian division marched to Wad Hamed by brigades. The horses of the batteries, the transport animals of the British division (about 1,400 in number), the chargers of the officers, some cattle, and most of the war correspondents were sent along the left bank of the river escorted by two squadrons of the 21st Lancers and two Maxim guns.
All the thirteen squadrons of cavalry remained three days at Wad Hamed.
After the fatigues of the march we were glad to have an opportunity of looking about, of visiting regiments known in other circumstances, and of writing a few letters. This last was the most important, for it was now known that after leaving Wad Hamed there would be no post or communication with Cairo and Europe until the action had been fought and all was over.
The halt was welcome for another reason. The camp itself was well worth looking at. It lay lengthways along the river-bank, and was nearly two miles from end to end. The Nile secured it from attack towards the east.
On the western and southern sides were strong lines of thorn bushes, staked down and forming a zeriba; and the north face was protected by a deep artificial watercourse which allowed the waters of the river to make a considerable inundation. From the bank of this work the whole camp could be seen. Far away to the southward the white tents of the British division; a little nearer rows and rows of grass huts and blanket shelters, the bivouacs of the Egyptian and Soudanese brigades; the Sirdar’s large white tent, with the red flag of Egypt flying from a high staff, on a small eminence; and to the right the grove of palm-trees in which the officers of the Egyptian cavalry had established themselves. The whole riverside was filled by a forest of masts. Crowds of gyassas, barges, and steamers were moored closely together; and while looking at the furled sails, the tangled riggings, and the tall funnels it was easy for the spectator to imagine that this was the docks of some populous city in a well-developed and civilised land.
But the significance of the picture grew when the mind, outstripping the eye, passed beyond the long, low heights of the gorge and cataract of Shabluka and contemplated the ruins of Khartoum and the city of Omdurman.
There were known to be at least 50,000 fighting men collected in their last stronghold. We might imagine the scene of excitement, rumour, and resolve in the threatened capital. The Khalifa declares that he will destroy the impudent invaders. The Mahdi has appeared to him in a dream. Countless angelic warriors will charge with those of Islam. The ‘enemies of God’
will perish and their bones will whiten the broad plain. Loud is the boasting, and many are the oaths which are taken, as to what treatment the infidel dogs shall have when they are come to the city walls.
The streets swarm with men and resound with their voices. Everywhere is preparation and defiance. And yet over all hangs the dark shadow of fear.
Nearer and nearer comes this great serpent of an army, moving so slowly and with such terrible deliberation, but always moving. A week ago it was sixty miles away, now it is but fifty. Next week only twenty miles will intervene, and then the creep of the serpent will cease, and, without argument or parley, one way or the other the end will come.
The road to the next camp was a long one; for though Royan island, opposite to which the site had been selected, was only seven miles in the direct line, it was necessary to march eight miles into the desert to avoid the Shabluka heights, and then to turn back to the Nile. The infantry were therefore provided with camel transport to carry sufficient water in small iron tanks for one night; and they were thus able to bivouac half-way, and to complete the journey on the next morning, thus making a two days’
march. The mounted troops, who remained at Wad Hamed till all had gone south, were ordered to move on the 27th of August, and by a double march catch up the rest of the army.
Wad Hamed then ceased for the time being to exist except in name.
All the stores and transport were moved by land or water to the south of Shabluka, and an advanced base was formed upon Royan island. Communications with the Atbara encampment and with Cairo were dropped, and the army carried with them in their boats sufficient supplies to last until after the capture of Omdurman, when the British division would be immediately sent back. It was calculated that the scope of this operation would not be greater than three weeks, and on the 27th the army were equipped with twenty-one days’ supplies, of which two were carried by the troops, five by the regimental barges, and fourteen in the army transport sailing-vessels.
All surplus stores were deposited at Royan island, where a field hospital was also formed.
The Expeditionary Force which was thus concentrated, equipped, and supplied for the culminating moment of the River War, was organised as follows: Commander-in-Chief: THE SIRDAR
The British Division: MAJOR-GENERAL GATACRE Commanding 1st Brigade 2nd Brigade BRIGADIER-GEN. WAUCHOPE BRIGADIER-GEN. LYTTELTON
1st Btn. Royal Warwickshire Regt. 1st Btn. Grenadier Guards ” ” Lincoln Regiment ” ” Northumberland Fusiliers ” ” Seaforth Highlanders 2nd ” Lancashire Fusiliers ” ” Cameron Highlanders ” ” Rifle Brigade The Egyptian Division: MAJOR-GENERAL HUNTER Commanding 1st Brigade 2nd Brigade 3rd Brigade 4th Brigade COL. MACDONALD COL. MAXWELL COL. LEWIS COL. COLLINSON
2nd Egyptians 8th Egyptians 3rd Egyptians 1st Egyptians IXth Soudanese XIIth Soudanese 4th ” 5th (half) “
Xth ” XIIIth ” 7th ” 17th “
XIth ” XIVth ” 15th ” 18th “
Mounted Forces
21st Lancers Camel Corps Egyptian Cavalry COLONEL MARTIN MAJOR TUDWAY COLONEL BROADWOOD
4 squadrons 8 companies 9 squadrons Artillery: COLONEL LONG Commanding
(British) 32nd Field Battery, R.A.(with two 40-pounder guns) 8 guns ” 37th ” ” ” (5-inch Howitzers) . 6 guns (Egyptian) The Horse Battery, E.A. (Krupp) … 6 guns ” No. 1 Field Battery, E.A. (Maxim-Nordenfeldt) 6 guns ” No. 2 ” ” ” … . 6 guns ” No. 3 ” ” ” … . 6 guns ” No. 4 ” ” ” … . 6 guns Machine Guns
(British) Detachment 16th Co. Eastern Division R.A. . 6 Maxim ” ” Royal Irish Fusiliers . . 4 “
(Egyptian) 2 Maxim guns to each of the five Egyptian batteries … . 10 “
Engineers
Detachment of Royal Engineers
The Flotilla: COMMANDER KEPPEL
1898 Class Armoured Screw Gunboats (3): the Sultan, the Melik, the Sheikh each carrying: 2 Nordenfeldt guns
1 quick-firing 12-pounder gun 1 Howitzer
4 Maxims
1896 Class Armoured Screw Gunboats (3): the Fateh, The Naser, the Zafir each carrying: 1 quick-firing 12-pounder gun 2 6-pounder guns
4 Maxims
Old Class Armoured Stern-wheel Gunboats (4): the Tamai, the Hafir*, the Abu Klea, the Metemma each carrying: 1 12-pounder gun
2 Maxim-Nordenfeldt guns Steam Transport
5 Steamers: The Dal, The Akasha, the Tahra, The Okma, the Kaibar [*The steamer El Teb,
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