Colonel Mike Snook was commissioned into the Royal Regiment of Wales and over the ensuing 30 years served all round the world in Int he early 1880s Muhammad Ahmed, the Mahd , unleashed a command, operations and intelligence appointments. ī spectacularly successful jihadist uprising against Egyptian colonial He spent two thirds of his career overseas and saw An enthralling tale of Victorian high adventure rule in the Sudan. By the spring of 1884 Cairo had bowed to British pressure extensive active service in four campaigns. He is a combined with an expose of the myths surrounding to withdraw. Beyond the Reach of Empire describes how Major General Charles graduate of Leicester University, Sandhurst and the the failure to save one of the British Empire’s Gordon was despatched to evacuate Khartoum and turn the Sudan over to Army Staff College. Twice honoured for operational greatest heroes self-rule, goes on to explain how and why the Gordon mission backfired, and distinction, he was awarded the MBE in 2000. then homes in on Sir Garnet Wolseley’s planning and execution of the long- Unrivalled accounts of the Battles of Abu Klea He spent four years as a British military adviser in delayed Gordon Relief Expedition, which arrived only two days after the city and Abu Kru South Africa and latterly was the head of the UN’s had fallen and Gordon had been killed. J3 Operations staff in Khartoum. A recognised Underpinned by an extensive programme of fieldwork authority on the military history of the Victorian and photography on remote, rarely-visited battlefields era, he is the author of How Can Man Die Better: the CB CB Secrets of Isandlwana Revealed, Like Wolves on the Fold: The Defence of Rorke’s Drift, Into the Jaws of Death: British ‘Mike Snook’s research and narrative mirror the scale of Victorian Military Blunders 1879–1900 and Go Strong into the The failure, by two days, of Sir Garnet Wolseley’s Desert: The Mahdst Uprising 1881–5. Britain’s Herculean effort to save General Gordon. Ultimately though expedition to save General Gordon from the forces ī the author’s quest is crowned with success, not least because he brings to of the Mahd besieging Khartoum is one of the ī great tragedies of Victorian military history. his story the understanding of a fighting soldier, cutting through the Other books published by Frontline: Colonel Mike Snook’s narrative of the Gordon jingoism and bombast of earlier accounts, laying bare the reasons for Relief Expedition is characterised by scrupulous the campaign’s failure.’ attention to detail, an instinctive grasp of the BRINGERS OF WAR period and an intimate understanding of its setting. The Portuguese in Africa during the Age Mark Urban, author of of Gunpowder & Sail from the 15th to When the author explains how, in a supremely the 18th Century Rifles: Six Years with Wellington’s Legendary Sharpshooters violent ten minutes, a British square was broken at John Laband the Battle of Abu Klea, he does so with rare isbn: 978-1-84832-658-3 authority, in unprecedented detail and with the benefit of many intriguing new insights. The Battle of Abu Kru is similarly afforded a level of attention HARRY SMITH’S LAST THROW it has never before received. The text is supported The Eighth Frontier War 1850–1853 Keith Smith by modern photography of the battlefields. isbn: 978-1-84832-646-0 The author argues compellingly that the Khartoum affair was mismanaged from the outset, not only at a political level but also militarily by Garnet Frontline Books an imprint of Wolseley and the officers of the ‘Wolseley Ring’. Pen & Sword Books Limited The outcome is the exoneration of the man cast in 47 Church Street, Barnsley, S. Yorkshire s70 2as the role of scapegoat and an indictment of Email: [email protected] Wolseley’s generalship over the course of the last Front jacket: Top image: The Death of Gordon (Author’s collection) Bottom image: Before the Walls of Metemmeh, 21 January 1885, ILN and most deeply flawed campaign of his career. artwork by W. H. Overend (most likely based on an eyewitness sketch by Melton Prior) and specially hand-tinted by Frontline Books (Author’s collection). ISBN 978-1-84832-601-9 Scan the QR code for more Frontline titles Jacket design: Shona Andrew / www.spikyshooz.com £35 newsnook 05/November/2013 09:32 Page i B R eyond the each e of mpiRe newsnook 05/November/2013 09:32 Page ii This book is dedicated to the memory of Professor Richard Holmes 1946–2011 newsnook 05/November/2013 09:32 Page iii B R eyond the each e of mpiRe Wolseley’s Failed Campaign to save Gordon and Khartoum colonel mike Snook Frontline Books London newsnook 05/November/2013 09:32 Page iv Beyond the Reach of Empire Wolseley’s Failed Campaign to Save Gordon and Khartoum This edition published in 2013 by Frontline Books, an imprint of Pen & Sword Books Ltd, 47 Church Street, Barnsley, S. Yorkshire, S70 2aS www.frontline-books.com Copyright © Mike Snook, 2013 The right of Mike Snook to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents act 1988. ISBN: 978–1–84832–601–9 all rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the publisher. any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. CIP data records for this title are available from the British Library For more information on our books, please visit www.frontline-books.com, email [email protected] or write to us at the above address. Printed and bound by CPI Group (UK) Ltd, Croydon, Cr0 4YY Typeset in 11/13.5 point arno Pro/arno Pro Light Display newsnook 05/November/2013 09:32 Page v contents List of Plates vii List of Maps and Tables ix Glossary xi Preface xvii Conventions Followed in the Text xxv Chronology xxvii The Course of the Mahdīst Uprising, 1881–1883 Prologue 3 Chapter 1 All Men Worship the Rising Sun 31 Strategic and Political Background to the Nile Campaign Chapter 2 Quandary 61 Gordon at Khartoum: February–April 1884 Chapter 3 Novel Expedients 81 Wolseley’s Plan of Campaign Chapter 4 Delays and Decisions 117 Prosecuting the Campaign: November–December 1884 Chapter 5 Leap in the Dark 139 The March of the Desert Column Chapter 6 Go Strong into the Desert 171 Composition, Organization and Capability of Stewart’s Force Chapter 7 Approach to Battle 200 Jakdul Wells to Abu Klea: 14–16 January 1885 Chapter 8 Under Fire 222 The Battle of Abu Klea: Phase I – On the Defensive Chapter 9 The Valley of the Shadow 241 The Battle of Abu Klea: Phase II – The British Advance Chapter 10 England’s Far and Honour a Name 265 The Battle of Abu Klea: Phase III – The Climax newsnook 05/November/2013 09:32 Page vi Chapter 11 Walking Amongst Vipers 305 Abu Klea: The Aftermath Chapter 12 Endless Confusion 329 The Night March of 18/19 January Chapter 13 The Fight to the Nile 344 The Battle of Abu Kru: 19 January 1885 Chapter 14 The Fort of the Infidels 390 Gubat and Metemmeh: 20–23 January 1885 Chapter 15 Boy’s Own 421 The River Dash: 24 January–4 February 1885 Chapter 16 Too Late: Lies, Myth and Reality 466 Analysis and Conclusions Epilogue 502 Appendices Appendix A Composition of the Nile Expedition 515 Appendix B Organization of the Camel Corps 517 Appendix C Movement Plan to Ambukol and Korti 520 Appendix D Order of Battle: Abu Klea, 17 January 1885 521 Appendix E Order of Battle: Abu Kru, 19 January 1885 523 Appendix F Casualty Return: Abu Klea, 17 January 1885 525 Appendix G Casualty Return: Abu Kru & Metemmeh, 19–21 January 1885 529 Appendix H Lt. Col. J. D. H. Stewart’s Notes on the Suakin–Berber Route 533 Notes 535 Bibliography 564 Index 568 newsnook 05/November/2013 09:32 Page vii plates Plate 1: Major General Charles Gordon; Prime Minister Gladstone; General Lord Wolseley; Colonel William Butler. Plate 2: Brigadier General Sir Herbert Stewart (Royal Collection); Colonel Sir Charles Wilson; Colonel Fred Burnaby; Captain Lord Charles Beresford rn. Plate 3: The British zaribaposition at abu Klea; the view down the abu Klea Valley. Plate 4: The 7-pounders at abu Klea; hand-to-hand fighting at abu Klea. Plate 5: The stone wall on Trafford’s hill; the conical hill viewed from the area of the hospital fort. Plate 6: The Battle of abu Klea. View along the valley from the zaribatowards the wells; looking across the British line of advance. Plate 7: The area of the attack on the left face of the square; dead ground on the approaches to the square. Plate 8: The view from the left rear corner of the square; the author paying his respects at the remains of Burnaby’s cairn. Plate 9: The night march of 18/19 January; Melton Prior’s drawing of the defence of the zaribaat abu Kru. Plate 10: The climax of the Battle of abu Kru. Plate 11: The British zariba position at abu Kru; the fight to the Nile. Plate 12: The Battle of abu Kru. The view from the gravel ridge towards the square; the loss of the Bordein. Plate 13: The steamers fighting at the confluence of the Niles; the action at Wad Habeshi. Plate 14: The steamer Bordeinre-floated by the Mahdīsts; the heavily fortified Bordeinof January 1885 (West Sussex Records Office). Plate 15: Location of the wreck of the Bordein; Captain Trafford’s watercolour of the wreck. Plate 16: G. W. Joy’s portrayal of the death of Gordon. newsnook 05/November/2013 09:32 Page viii newsnook 05/November/2013 09:32 Page ix maps and tables Maps 1. The theatre of operations – The Sudan 1884–5 2 2. Gordon’s reading of the situation in February 1884 62 3. Khartoum and the South Front defence line, from Sandes’s The Royal Engineers in Egypt and the Sudan 68 4. The Nile from Wādī Halfā to Dongola 106 5. The axis of advance across the Bayūda Desert 118 6. Lieutenant Lawson’s sketch map of the Zaribaat abu Klea 215 7. The square at abu Klea 247 8. Verner’s map of the abu Klea battlefield, as it appeared in Macdonald’s Too Late for Gordon and Khartoum 268 9. Verner’s section drawing of abu Klea 276 10. The British approach to Metemmeh 336 11. Verner’s map of abu Kru, Gubat and Metemmeh 400 12. Verner’s map of the 21 January Operation at Metemmeh 406 Tables The Desert Column’s marching-out state, Korti, 8 January 1885 172 The Desert Column’s marching-out state, Jakdul, 14 January 1885 207