With Kitchener in the Soudan : a story of Atbara and Omdurman

by G. A. Henty

  " It is certainly important news, Mr. Hilliard. Hitherto we have supposed that Fadil had joined the Khalifa before the fight at Omdurman, and there was therefore no fear of his reappearing here. We know very little of the force at Gedareh. We took some prisoners yesterday, but their accounts are very conflicting; still, there is every reason to believe that the garrison is not strong. Certainly, as General Rundle says, we should be in a much better position there than if we were attacked in the open. No doubt the Arabs who got off in the skirmish yesterday carried the news there, and probably some of them would go direct to Fadil, and if he came down upon us here with his eight thousand men our position would be a desperate one. It cost us four days to cross the river at El Fasher, and would take us as much to build boats and recross here, and before that time he might be upon us. It is evident, gentlemen, that we have only the choice of these alternatives —either to march at once against Gedareh or to retreat immediately, crossing the river here or at El Fasher. As to remaining here, of course it is out of the question."

  The consultation was a short one. All the officers were in favour of pushing forward, pointing out that, as only the 16th Egyptians could be considered as fairly disciplined, the troops would lose heart if they retired, and could not be relied upon to keep steady if attacked by a largely superior force, while at present they would probably fight bravely. The Arab battalion had been raised by the Italians, and were at present full of confidence, as they had defeated the Mahdists who had been besieging Kassala. The Arab irregulars had of course the fighting instincts of their race, and would assault an enemy bravely; but in a defensive battle against greatly superior numbers, could scarcely be expected to stand well. As for the eighty camel-men, they were all Soudanese soldiers discharged from the army for old age and physical unfitness; they could be relied upon to fight, but small in number as they were, could but have little effect on the issue of a battle. All therefore agreed that, having come thus far, the safest as well as the most honourable course would be to endeavour to fight the enemy in a strong position.

  Although it may be said that success justified it, no wilder enterprise was ever undertaken than that of sending thirteen hundred only partly disciplined men into the heart of the enemy's country. Omdurman and Atbara, to say nothing of previous campaigns, had shown how desperately the Dervishes fought, and the order for the garrison of Kassala to undertake it can only have been given under an entire misconception of the circumstances, and of the strength of the army under Fadil that they would almost certainly be called upon to encounter. This was the more probable, as all the women and the property of his soldiers had been left at Gedareh when he marched away, and his men would therefore naturally wish to go there before they made any endeavour to join the Khalifa.

  Such, indeed, was the fact. Fadil concealed from them the news of the disaster at Omdurman for some days, and when it became known he had difficulty in restraining his troops from marching straight for Gedareh.

  "Do you go on with us, Mr. Hilliard?" Colonel Parsons asked, when they had decided to start for Gedareh.

  " Yes, sir. My instructions are to go on with you, and if the town is besieged, to endeavour to get through their lines and carry the news to General Hunter if I can ascertain his whereabouts; if not, to make straight for Omdurman. I have two fast camels which I shall leave here, and return for them with my black boy when we start."

  "We shall be glad to have you with us," the Colonel said; " every white officer is worth a couple of hundred men."

  As they sat and chatted Gregory asked how the force had crossed the Atbara.

  " It was a big job," Colonel Parsons said. " The river was wider than the Thames below London Bridge, and running something like seven miles an hour. We brought with us some barrels to construct a raft. When this was built it supported the ten men who started on it, but they were, in spite of their efforts, carried ten miles clown the stream, and it was not until five hours after they embarked that they managed to land. The raft did not get back from its journey till the next afternoon, being towed along the opposite bank by the men. It was evident that this would not do. The Egyptian soldiers then took the matter in hand. They made frameworks with the wood of the mimosa scrub, and covered these with tarpaulins which we had fortunately brought with us. They turned out one boat a day capable of carrying two tons, and six days after we reached the river we all got across.

  " The delay was a terrible nuisance at the time, but it has enabled you to come up here and warn us about Fadil. Fortunately no Dervishes came along while we were crossing, and indeed we learned from the prisoners we took yesterday that the fact that a force from Kassala had crossed the river was entirely unknown, so no harm was done."

  The sheik of the little village took charge of Gregory's camels. Some stores were also left there under a small guard, as it was advisable to reduce the transport to the smallest possible amount. The next morning the start was made. The bush was so thick that it was necessary to march in single file. In the evening the force halted in a comparatively open country. The camel-men reconnoitred the ground for some little distance round, and saw no signs of the enemy; they camped, however, in the form of a square, and lay with their arms beside them in readiness to resist an attack.

  The night passed quietly, and at early dawn they moved forward again. At six o'clock the camel-men exchanged a few shots with the Dervish scouts, who fell back at once. At eight a village was sighted, and the force advanced upon it in fighting order. It was found, however, to have been deserted, except by a few old people. These, on being questioned, said that the Emir Saadalla, who commanded, had but tAvo hundred rifles and six hundred spearmen, and had received orders from Fadil to surrender. Subsequent events showed that they had been carefully tutored as to the reply to be given. The force halted here, as Gedareh was still twelve miles away, and it was thought better that if there was fighting, they should be fresh. At midnight a deserter from the Dervishes came in with the grave news that the Emir had three thousand five hundred men, and was awaiting them two miles outside the town. There was another informal council of war, but all agreed that a retreat through this difficult country would bring about the total annihilation of the force, and that there was nothing to do but to fight.

  Early in the morning they started again. For the first two hours the road led through grass so high that even the men on camels could not see above it. They pushed on till eight o'clock, when they reached a small knoll. At the foot of this they halted, and Colonel Parsons and the officers ascended it to reconnoitre. They saw at once that the deserter's news was true: a mile away four lines of Dervishes, marching in excellent order, were making their way towards them. Colonel Parsons considered that their numbers could not be less than four thousand, and at once decided to occupy a saddle-back hill half a mile away, and the troops were hurried across. The Dervishes also quickened their movements, but were too late to prevent the hill from being seized. The Arab battalion had been leading, followed by the Egyptians, while the irregulars, divided into two bodies under Arab chiefs, guarded the hospital and baggage.

  The Dervishes at once advanced to the attack of the hill, and the column wheeled into line to meet it. Even on the crest of the hill the grass was breast-high, but it did not impede the view of the advancing lines of the Dervishes. Into these a heavy and destructive fire was at once poured. The enemy, however, pushed on, firing in return; but being somewhat out of breath from the rapidity with which they have marched, and seeing nothing of the defenders of the hill save their heads, they inflicted far less loss than they were themselves suffering. The fight was continuing when Colonel Parsons saw that a force of about three hundred Dervishes had worked round the back of the hill with the intention of falling upon the baggage. He at once sent one of the Arab sheiks to warn Captain Fleming, who from his position was unable to see the approaching foe. Colonel Parsons had asked Gregory to take up his position with the baggage, as he foresaw that, with their vastly greater numbers, it was l
ikely that the Dervishes might sweep round and attack it.

  Scarcely had the messenger arrived with the news, when the Dervishes came rushing on through the high grass. In spite of the shouts of Doctor Fleming and Gregory, the escort of one hundred and twenty irregular Arabs stationed at this point at once broke and fled. Happily a portion of the camel corps, with its commander, Captain Ruthven, a militia officer, was close at hand. Though he had but thirty-four of these old soldiers with him, he rushed forward to meet the enemy. Doctor Fleming and Gregory joined him, and, all cheering to encourage the Soudanese, made a determined stand. Gregory and Zaki kept up a steady fire with their Remingtons, and picked off several of the most determined of their assailants. The fight, however, was too unequal; the Dervishes got in behind them and cut off the rear portion of the transport, and the little band, fighting obstinately, fell back with their faces to the foe towards the main body.

  One of the native officers of the Soudanese fell. Captain Ruthven, a very powerful man, ran back and lifted the wounded soldier and made his way towards his friends. So closely pressed Avas he by the Dervishes that three times he had to lay his burden down and defend himself with his revolver, while Gregory and Zaki aided his retreat by turning their fire upon his assailants. For this splendid act of bravery Captain Ruthven afterwards received the Victoria Cross. Flushed by their success, the Dervishes pushed on. Fortunately at this time the main force of the Dervishes was beginning to waver, unable to withstand the steady fire of the defenders of the hill, and as they drew back a little the Egyptian and Arab battalions rushed forward.

  Shaken as they were, the Dervishes were unable to resist the attack, and broke and fled, pursued by the Arab battalion. The Egyptians, however, obeyed the orders of Captain MacKerrel and, halting, faced about to encounter the attack from the rear. Their volleys caused the Dervishes to hesitate, and Captain Ruthven and his party reached the summit of the hill in safety. The enemy, however, maintained a heavy fire for a few minutes, but the volleys of the Egyptians at a distance of only a hundred yards were so deadly that they soon took to flight. The first shot had been fired at half-past eight. At ten the whole Dervish force was scattered in headlong rout. Had Colonel Parsons possessed a cavalry force the enemy would have been completely cut up; as it was, pursuit was out of the question. The force therefore advanced in good order to Gedareh. Here a Dervish Emir, who had been left in charge when the rest of the garrison moved out, surrendered at once with the two hundred black riflemen under him. He had long been suspected of disloyalty by the Khalifa, and at once declared his hatred of Mahdism, declaring that though he had not dared to declare himself openly, he had always been friendly to Egyptian rule.

  The men with him at once fraternized with the Arabs of Colonel Parsons' force, and were formally received into their ranks. The Emir showed his sincerity by giving them all the information in his power as to Fadil's position and movements, and by pointing out the most defensible positions. None of the British officers had been wounded, but fifty-one of the men had been killed and eighty wounded. Five hundred of the Dervishes were left dead upon the field, including four Emirs. Not a moment was lost in preparing for defence, for it was certain that Fadil, on hearing the news, would at once march to retake the town. The position was naturally a strong one. Standing on rising ground was Fadil's house, surrounded by a brick wall twelve feet high. Here the Egyptian battalion and camel corps were placed, with the hospital and two brass guns which had been found there. A hundred yards away was another enclosure with a five-foot wall, and two hundred yards away a smaller one. The Arab battalion was stationed to the rear of this in a square enclosure with a brick wall twelve feet high, in which was situated a well.

  These four buildings were so placed that the fire from each covered the approaches to the other. Two hundred yards from the well enclosure was a fortified house surrounded by a high wall. As the latter would need too many men for its defence, the wall was pulled down and a detachment placed in the house. No time was lost. The whole force was at once employed in pulling down huts, clearing the ground of the high grass, and forming a zareba round the town. The greatest cause for anxiety was ammunition. A large proportion of that carried in the pouches had been expended during the battle, and the next morning Colonel Parsons, with a small force, hurried back to Mugatta to fetch up the reserve ammunition, which had been left there under a guard. He returned with it three days later. An abundant supply of provisions had been found in Gedareh, for here were the magazines not only of the four thousand men of the garrison and the women who had been left there, but sufficient for Fadil's army on their return. There were three or four wells and a good supply of water.

  The ammunition arrived just in time, for on the following morning Captain Ruthven's camel-men brought in news that Fadil was close at hand. At half-past eight the Dervishes began the attack on three sides of the defences. Sheltered by the long grass they were able to make their Avay to within three hundred yards of the dwellings occupied by the troops. But the intervening ground had all been cleared, and though time after time thejr made rushes forward, they were unable to withstand the withering fire to which they were exposed.

  After an hour's vain efforts their musketry fire ceased, but half an hour later strong reinforcements came up and the attack recommenced. This was accompanied with no greater success than the first attack, and Fadil retired to a palm-grove two miles away. Of the defenders five men were killed, and Captain Dwyer and thirteen men wounded.

  For two days Fadil endeavoured to persuade his troops to make another attack, but although they surrounded the town and maintained a scattered fire they could not be brought to attempt another assault, having lost over five hundred men in the two attacks the first day. He then fell back eight miles.

  Three days later Colonel Parsons said to Gregory: " I think the time has come, Mr. Hilliard, when I must apply for reinforcements. I am convinced that we can repel all attacks, but we are virtually prisoners here. Were we to endeavour to retreat, Fadil would probably annihilate us. Our men hava behaved admirably; but it is one thing to fight well when you are advancing, and another to be firm in retreat. But our most serious enemy at present is fever. Already the stink of the unburied bodies of the Dervishes is overpowering, and every day it will become worse. Dr. Fleming reports to me that he has a great many sick on his hands, and that he fears the conditions that surround us will bring about an epidemic; therefore I have decided to send to General Rundle for a reinforcement that will enable us to move out to attack Fadil."

  "Very well, sir, I will start at once."

  "I will write my dispatch, it will be ready for you to carry in an hour's time. You had better pick out a couple of good donkeys from those we captured here. As it is only nine o'clock you will be able to get to Mugatta this evening. I don't think there is any fear of your being interfered with by the Dervishes. We may be sure that Fadil is not allowing his men to roam over the country, for there can be little doubt that a good many of them would desert as soon as they got fairly beyond his camp."

  "I don't think there is any fear of that, sir; and as my camels will have had ten days' rest, I should have very little fear of being overtaken even if they did sight us."

  " We are off again, Zaki," Gregory said. " We will go down to the yard where the animals we captured are kept, and choose a couple of good donkeys. I am to carry a dispatch to Omdurman, and as time is precious we will make a straight line across the desert; it will save us fifty or sixty miles."

  "I am glad to be gone, master; the smells here are as bad as they were at Omdurman when we went in there."

  " Yes, I am very glad to be off too."

  An hour later they started, and arrived at Mugatta at eight o'clock in the evening. The native with whom the camels had been left had taken good care of them, and after rewarding him and taking a meal Gregory determined to start at once. The stars were bright, and there was quite light enough for the camels to travel. The water was emptied from the skins and f
illed again. They had brought with them sufficient food for four days' travel, and a sack of grain for the camels. An hour after arriving at the village they again started.

  "We will follow the river bank till we get past the country where the bushes are so thick, and then strike west by north. I saw by Colonel Parsons' map that that is about the line we should take."

  They left the river before they reached El Fasher, and continued their journey all night and onward till the sun was well up; then they watered the camels (they had this time brought with them a large half-gourd for the purpose), ate a good meal themselves, and after placing two piles of grain before the camels, lay down and slept until five o'clock in the afternoon.

  " We ought to be opposite Omdurman to-morrow morning. I expect we shall strike the river to-night. I have kept our course rather to the west of the direct line, on purpose; it would be very awkward if we were to miss it. I believe the compass is right, and I have struck a match every hour to look at it; but a very slight deviation would make a big difference at the end of a hundred and fifty miles."

  It was just midnight when they saw the river before them.

  " We can't go wrong now, Zaki."

  "That is a comfort. How many miles are we above its junction with the White Nile?"

  " I don't know."

  They rode steadily on, and day was just breaking when he exclaimed: " There are some buildings opposite. That must be Khartoum. We shall be opposite Omdurman in another hour."

  Soon after six o'clock they rode down to the river bank opposite the town, and in answer to their signals a large native boat was rowed across to them. After some trouble the camels were got on boai'd, and in a quarter of an hour they landed.

  "Take the camels up to my house, Zaki; I must go and report myself at head-quarters."

  General Eundle had not yet gone out, and on Gregory sending in his name he was at once admitted.