Omdurman, Battle of

Omdurman, Battle of

▪ African history
      (Sept. 2, 1898), decisive military engagement in which Anglo-Egyptian forces, under Major General Sir Herbert Kitchener (later Lord Kitchener), defeated the forces of the Mahdist leader Abd Allāhʿ and thereby won Sudanese territory that the Mahdists had dominated since 1881.

      Preparations for an advance against ʿAbd Allāh's forces at Omdurman began at the end of July 1898, with the dispatch to Kitchener at Wad Ḥamad (above Al-Matammah on the west bank of the Nile River) of reinforcements from Cairo. There, on August 24, a combined Anglo-Egyptian force of 26,000 men was amassed. It comprised a British division of two brigades, an Egyptian division of four brigades, and mounted troops, artillery, engineers, and a flotilla. The Mahdist forces numbered some 40,000 but their simple weapons were no match for Kitchener's modern armaments.

      While a force of Arab irregulars—friendly to the Anglo-Egyptian forces and under British command—proceeded southward to clear the Nile's east bank of all opposition as far as the Blue Nile, the Anglo-Egyptian army under Kitchener proceeded southward along the west bank unopposed. On September 1, while the British army's flotilla shelled the Mahdist forts on both sides of the river and breached the wall of Omdurman, Kitchener bivouacked four miles north of the city at Egeiga on the west bank. He repulsed two successive charges on his lines by Mahdist forces on September 2, slaughtering the Mahdist troops with machine guns and artillery and subsequently sweeping the field in an old-fashioned cavalry charge. He then marched on Omdurman, where he further decimated the Mahdist forces. The Mahdist total losses were about 10,000 killed, 10,000 wounded, and 5,000 taken prisoner. The British had about 500 casualties.

      The results of the battle were the destruction of ʿAbd Allāh's army, the extinction of Mahdism in the Sudan, and the establishment of British dominance there.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Omdurman, Battle of — (1898)    A critical engagement resulting in the reestablishment of Anglo Egyptian control over the Upper Nile Valley. Fought on September 2, 1898, during the British campaign against the Dervishes of the Sudan, Omdurman brought Lord Kitchener to …   Encyclopedia of the Age of Imperialism, 1800–1914

  • Omdurman — Market in Omdurman …   Wikipedia

  • Omdurman — prop. n. A battle (1898) in which an Anglo Egyptian army under Lord Kitchener defeated the Sudanese. Syn: battle of Omdurman. [WordNet 1.5] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Battle of Magersfontein — Part of Second Boer War …   Wikipedia

  • Battle of Omdurman — Infobox Military Conflict conflict=Battle of Omdurman partof=the Mahdist War (War of the Sudan) campaign= caption=The charge of the 21st Lancers. date=2 September 1898 place=Omdurman, Khartoum, Sudan casus= territory= result=Decisive Anglo… …   Wikipedia

  • Battle of Umm Diwaykarat — Infobox Military Conflict conflict=Battle of Umm Diwaykarat partof=the Mahdist War date=November 24, 1899 place=Kordofan, Sudan result=Decisive British/Egyptian victory combatant1=flagcountry|United Kingdom flagcountry|Egypt|Ottoman… …   Wikipedia

  • battle of Omdurman — noun a battle (1898) in which an English and Egyptian army under Kitchener defeated the Sudanese • Syn: ↑Omdurman • Regions: ↑Sudan, ↑Soudan • Instance Hypernyms: ↑pitched battle …   Useful english dictionary

  • Omdurman — noun 1. a city of Sudan; located in the central Sudan on the White Nile opposite Khartoum • Instance Hypernyms: ↑city, ↑metropolis, ↑urban center • Part Holonyms: ↑Sudan, ↑Republic of the Sudan, ↑Soudan 2 …   Useful english dictionary

  • Battle — This article is about combat. For other meanings, see Battle (disambiguation). Generally, a battle is a conceptual component in the hierarchy of combat in warfare between two or more armed forces, or combatants. In a battle, each combatant will… …   Wikipedia

  • Battle class destroyer — The Battle class were a class of destroyers of the British Royal Navy (RN) and Royal Australian Navy (RAN). Built in three groups, the first group were ordered under the 1942 naval estimates. A modified second and third group, together with two… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”