The Battle of El Teb fought on the 29th February 1884, was the first battle between the British and the Sudanese Mahdists, that would culminate in the Battle of Omdurman 14 years later.
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The battle between 15,000 Sudanese warriors under the Mahdi’s lieutenant, Osman Digna and a British Army which included famous regiments such as the Black Watch and the Gordon Highlanders occurred in eastern Sudan, close to the Red Sea coast.
It was fought less than 3 weeks after the Sudanese had defeated an Egyptian army on exactly the same spot.
But, whereas, that first battle had been a chaotic failure for the Egyptian s in their attempt to suppress the revolt (against Egyptian rule) by the self-proclaimed Mahdi, the second battle resulted in a British victory.
This is the story of the Battle of El Teb - or in fact, both battles of El Teb, in 1884.
Having taken over de-facto rule in Egypt, the British had now inherited Egypt’s foreign policy in Sudan - a country that they had occupied for about 50 years.
British Prime Minister, William Gladstone, was keen to avoid getting embroiled in propping up the Egyptian empire in Sudan, not least because he saw it as a potential drain on military and financial resources.
On the other hand, he did want to prop up the Khedive in Egypt.
Ans so, Gladstone pressurised the Egyptians to evacuate their colony.
A British Army officer, seconded to the Khedive, was sent to organise the withdraw from Khartoum - General Charles Gordon.
After the Egyptian debacle at El Teb, Gladstone ordered a British force to land on the Red Sea coast of Sudan to relief two Egyptian garrisons that were besieged inland and support their evacuation.
The British force, commanded by General Gerald Graham VC, consisted of 850 cavalry, 3,300 infantry and sappers and 28 guns.
The cavalry was made up of the 10th and 19th Hussars.
Whilst the infantry brigade consisted of the 1st Black Watch, the 3rd King’s Royal Rifle Corps, the 1st Gordon Highlanders, the 2nd Royal Irish Fusiliers, the 1st York & Lancaster Regiment, the Royal Marines Light Infantry, along with an attachment from the Royal Engineers.
Finally, Graham’s army was supported by 20 guns from the Royal Artillery, consisting of a mixture 7 pounders, 9cm Krupps guns, and mountain guns.
Further artillery support was provided by the 162 men of the Naval Brigade armed with two 9 pound guns and 6 Gatling and Gardiner machine guns.
On Friday 29th February 1884, the British Army advanced towards the hamlet of El Teb, where the Mahdi’s lieutenant, Osman Digna, was waiting with 15,000 warriors from the Beja tribe.
The British advanced in a square and at one point Graham ordered the infantry to lie down so that his guns had clear lines of sight on the attacking Mahdists.
In the two hour battle, the British had lost 30 men killed and 149 wounded, whilst the Mahdists lost over 2,000 killed.
The Battle of El Teb was the first time the British Army had been in action in Sudan. It wouldn’t be the last.
Nor had they heard the last of Osman Digna.
Within the month his warriors were once more facing up to the British and this time they would actually break the British square at the Battle of Tamai.
#thebattleofelteb #sudan #mahdistwar
Chapters
0:00 Introduction
0:42 Egyptian empire in Sudan
3:00 The Mahdist Revolt
4:49 Valentine Baker
6:30 First Battle of El Teb
8:30 British involvement in Sudan
11:00 British Red Sea Expedition
13:04 Second Battle of El Teb
17:00 Conclusion
17:48 The History Chap
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My name is Chris Green ("The History Chap") and I am on a mission to share the amazing history of Britain so that we can appreciate where we have come from and why we are here.
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30 июл 2024
