General Gatacre / The Story of the Life and Services of Sir William Forbes Gatacre, K.C.B., D.S.O., 1843-1906

by Lady Beatrix Wickens Davey Gatacre

CHAPTER XII

1897-1898

FROM ALDERSHOT TO BERBER

1897

When Gatacre reached Aldershot on Sunday, August 11, 1897, he found that his Brigade was already engaged in manoeuvres. The training was so arranged that year that though a continuous scheme was carried on from day to day, the troops returned each evening to their barracks. His Royal Highness the Duke of Connaught, who commanded the Aldershot District, sent a kind message of welcome to the new Brigadier, saying that he would not expect to see him out for the first few days, but hoped that he would soon be able to take up the command of his troops in the field.

Route-marching

As the field-days all took place within easy reach of Aldershot, many ladies used at first to ride out on their bicycles to see what was going on. This practice was, however, suddenly dropped after we learnt that two of our friends had been taken prisoners one day. They were detained, and entertained, at the Headquarter Camp during the day's operations, and were not liberated until the troops were on the march homewards. It was thought that ladies thus prowling round until they got in touch with their husbands' corps would quite innocently carry information that would materially affect the execution of the military scheme.

It was a great pleasure to Gatacre to find himself in England again. His sociable and friendly instincts all came into play. I remember his getting hold of a list of the cadets at Sandhurst, and seeking out the sons of his friends, and asking them over to such events as would interest them. He set about getting horses, and looked forward to a hunting season at home. The Brigade route-marching was positively an enjoyment to him; he took so much interest in his new regiments that he would get up early on the route-marching days and be on the barrack square to see the first battalion march out, and sit there on his horse until the last man of the last battalion had passed him. Then cantering on, he would work his way up to the head of the column and see the first and the last company march in. He found the most genuine and unaffected pleasure in every phase of his work. The conditions under which it was carried out were much easier and less exacting than they had been in India. Indeed, the light work that goes on after October 1 was so much of a holiday to him that all thought of long leave was postponed till later in the season.

At Christmas he took ten days' leave, which we spent at my father's house in Sussex. The distance being only twenty-four miles, and the weather being open, we did the journey on horseback, and had a few days' hunting with Lord Leconfield's hounds during our visit. On Monday, January 3, we rode back, and, arriving late, had just sat down to luncheon when the A.D.C. suddenly turned up, bringing a telegram in his hand.

1898

"This seemed so important, sir," he said, "that I thought I ought to bring it myself."

The telegram was from the War Office in London to the Aldershot Divisional Office, and ran:

"Please send General Gatacre and Major Snow, Brigade-Major, here as soon as possible; may be wanted for foreign service."

There had been a paragraph in the morning papers announcing the movement of troops from Cairo up the Nile, and this news supplied us with the true interpretation. The General got away by the next train, and in the afternoon sent back this telegram:

"Arrive 9.15; sail Wednesday next."

Having returned so recently from India, the General had all that he wanted in the way of field-service uniform and camp kit. Though twenty-four hours seemed a short time in which to make preparations for such a momentous journey, still he got away more comfortably than the other men who had received the same short summons. On Tuesday morning he cleared up work in the office, and handed over his Brigade; he left Aldershot in the evening, and started from Charing Cross at 8.30 a.m. on Wednesday, January 5, 1898, for Egypt, via Marseilles.

There is no need to tell over again the long story of the gradual loss of the Soudan to Egypt, with the encroachment of the Dervish Empire, nor of the fall of Khartoum with the death of General Gordon ("my brother dreamer in an iron race") on January 26, 1885, nor of the patient preparation that had been going on in the thirteen years that had passed. This book is concerned only with the final act of the drama, the defeat of the forces of the Khalifa Abdullahi, and the recovery of the capital.

In 1898 Sir Herbert Kitchener was Sirdar of the Egyptian Army. He had organised his force for the purpose it was to fulfil, and had gradually crept onwards up the Nile, until, on September 3, 1897, he reached and occupied Berber. At that point he was, as it were, within striking distance of Khartoum. This view seems also to have been held by the enemy, for in December the Intelligence Department heard of warlike preparations on his part. This report precipitated the massing of the forces on our side. The Sirdar knew that he could call for the assistance of British troops when the real struggle was to take place, and he made his call in December.

Orders were immediately issued for the concentration of three battalions at Wady Halfa. The 1st Lincolnshire and the 1st Cameron Highlanders were already at Cairo, the 1st Warwickshire were moved from Alexandria, while the 1st Seaforth Highlanders at Malta were warned and shipped to Cairo in a very short space of time. This regiment was also pushed forward, as soon as others had been brought from Crete and Gibraltar and Burma, to maintain the usual garrison in Lower Egypt. The command of this service Brigade was given to Major-General W. F. Gatacre, C.B., D.S.O. Major d'Oyly Snow accompanied him as Brigade-Major, and Captain R. G. Brooke as A.D.C.

The General proceeded by train to Assouan, and by boat to Wady Halfa, which he reached on Thursday, January 25. It was here that he first met the Sirdar. But the troops had already passed on in front to Railhead, which was then the other side of Abu Hamed. From Wady Halfa the new Desert Railway, which was still under construction, leaves the Nile and strikes out to the south-east across the open country towards Abu Hamed, a journey of about 250 miles.

Writing from Camp Guheish, about seventeen miles south of Abu Hamed, on February 2, the General says:

"We arrived here last night about eight o'clock, after a long journey across the desert from Halfa. Such a desert—not a thing to be seen but sand and a few low black rocks jutting out of the plain. A few straw-coloured birds, like stonechats, and a wagtail I saw at one place; goodness knows what they live on. At one o'clock we were within one mile of Abu Hamed, and were steaming steadily along, when, in ploughing through a sand-drift, we went off the line, and had to turn to and clear the line with the few shovels on the train and our hands. Fortunately we were only a mile from Abu Hamed, so I sent on a messenger, and in fifty minutes a relief train came up, and, with the help of jacks, the engine was got on to the line again in four hours. It was fortunate we did not run off the line in the middle of the Desert, or we should have been delayed at least a day, and would have been put to inconvenience for food, though of course we had some. Well, I found Snow waiting for us, and we detrained our horses safely, and then, after going on another mile, we came to our camp, placed between the Nile and the railway—a howling desert, with a tremendous wind blowing night and day. The dust fills everything, but the climate up to date is magnificent, and I hope will continue so for a long time; quite cold at night and in the morning, sufficient to make me put on my great-coat, and at night, though of course I sleep in my clothes, I am glad of all the blankets I can put on.... The Maxim guns I left at Halfa temporarily, as we haven't got sufficient food for the mules yet, but as soon as the train is running through we shall have them up."

A fortnight later the railway had grown longer, and as Railhead advanced, so the British Brigade moved southwards and finally camped at Abu Dis.

Gatacre used the three weeks that the troops were encamped by the railway to get in touch with his Brigade—to feel and to improve their marching powers. His methods excited some comment at the time, but afterwards, when there was a real call for exceptional exertions, it was frankly admitted that the previous training had been of great value. "It is impossible to deny that, while discipline and health were successfully maintained, the general efficiency was greatly increased."[[1]]

[[1]] The River War, by Winston Spencer Churchill, vol. i. p. 366.

There were, however, two directions in which efficiency was seriously hampered—boots and bullets. The General writes on February 2:

"The present-shaped bullet .303 Lee-Metford rifle has little stopping power. Well, we have only this class of ammunition, so I am altering the shape of the bullet to that of the Dum-Dum bullet, which has a rounded point. I do this by filing the point off. Before I left Cairo I provided four hundred files and small gauges to test the length of the altered bullet, and daily here we have 2,800 men engaged on this work. I borrowed fifty railway rails and mounted them flat side uppermost, to form anvils on which to file. We have a portion of men unpacking, and another portion packing, so that the same men are always at the same work. The men are getting very sharp at it; it would make a capital picture. This is a terrible place for boots, and many of the men whose boots were not new at starting have mere apologies for boots on their feet. Fortunately, we have time to rectify this, and I have taken the necessary steps."

And again a week later:

"The men are working very well; we have no drink, and therefore no crime or sickness. I am getting on well with altering our ammunition. We have 3,000,000 rounds to alter, but are making good progress, altering about 80,000 rounds per day."

In the same letter we read:

"There are crocodiles in the river here, but not many. A fisherman caught one about three feet long, a most vicious little brute, who snaps at everyone and everything; he is tied by the middle with a piece of string, and swims about in a bath; he will probably be eaten when his master gets hungry. Three days ago a gazelle was trapped and sent in to us by a native. He was uninjured, and a beautiful little brute, with large eyes like Lorna's. We all decided to keep him as a pet, and he got quite tame in a few hours. But alas! we got hungry, and some one suggested that he might escape—so we ate him. Perhaps it was the wisest course."

In a letter dated Abu Dis, February 24, we get the first word of the forced march that was ordered on the following day:

"I am so frightfully busy that I cannot find time for anything, so I think I may as well sit down and write to you for relaxation. Yesterday we had a seventy-mile ride to a place called Bastinab and back, looking out for future camping-grounds, for I have got a hint to be ready to move on at once, as Mahmoud at Metemma has crossed over to the east side of the Nile, and threatens to attack Atbara and Berber.... We may have to move and stack our camp baggage, etc., by the side of the line in the desert, and march on in light order, the same sort of thing as in Chitral—a most exciting business this would be, wouldn't it?

"My Maxim Battery came in to-day; I am quite pleased to get it. The men are looking splendid, and we have only thirty or so sick out of a total strength of nearly 3,000. I have now got my camel transport, something like 800 animals; this makes me more independent, and if I am required to move I can do so."

Between February 22 and 25 a series of telegrams had been flying between the Sirdar at Berber and the Brigadier at Abu Dis. All the details of the march which would be necessary to bring the British troops forward were proposed on the one side and sanctioned on the other, so that when on Friday, February 25, the following telegram was received at midday, orders were immediately issued and the start was made that evening.

"News has come in that enemy in ten rubs advancing. You can therefore move Brigade as arranged.—SIRDAR."

(A rub means any number between 500 and 1,500 men.)

To which this message was sent in reply:

"I shall arrive at Atbara Camp nine or ten o'clock on Wednesday second with Maxims and 2,000 men; guns and cavalry will arrive on first.—GATACRE."

I have found a rough draft of the official report of the forced march made by the British Brigade on Berber in accordance with the order received, and have decided to print this narrative almost as it stands.

"The 1st Lincolnshire and detachment 1st Royal Warwickshire Regiment, with the six guns Maxim Battery, Royal Engineer detachment, Army Hospital Corps, and Army Service Corps, moved to Railhead, sixteen miles, by an empty ballast train, thence by route march seven and a half miles to camp at El Sherreik, which they reached at daylight on the morning of Saturday, February 26, all well. Remainder of Warwicks moved at midnight, arriving at Sherreik 7.30 a.m. The 1st Cameron Highlanders bivouacked by the side of the railway, and on the arrival of a train at 5 a.m. were railed to Railhead. They reached camp at 9.30 a.m. all well.

"At El Sherreik the Brigade halted for the day, and at 10 p.m. started on their march for Diveryah. Tea was made at Nedi, and the troops left again, after resting, at 2.30 a.m. on Sunday. Bastinab was reached shortly after daybreak. Captain Bainbridge, Egyptian Army, supplied firewood, and fires were lit, it being very cold. Here sixty pairs of fantasses were taken, as no water was available en route. The road onward proved rocky and sandy in places, and was very heavy going for tired men, but Diveryah was reached at 3 p.m. The stony nature of the country completely wore out many of the boots. The last three miles were very trying, as the sun was hot; there was no shade, and the men felt the weight of their equipment. The bivouac was laid in a small nullah, running at right angles to the Nile, and the men made themselves very comfortable. Finding that a great number of men had worn through the soles of their boots, I arranged with Captain Strickland, Egyptian Army, to convey about 400 men, under the command of Major Napier, Cameron Highlanders, by an Egyptian steamer to Berber. They left Diveryah on Monday morning, February 28, and reached Berber the same day, where they were refitted from the boot store of the Egyptian Army, and rejoined the Brigade on arrival.

"At 2.30 a.m. on Monday, February 28, the Brigade moved from its bivouac en route to Um Hosheyo by the desert track, which, almost immediately after leaving the bivouac, lay through brushwood and broken ground. Owing to touch being lost by the rear battalion, a delay of three-quarters of an hour ensued, when the march was resumed over a rough and stony piece of country. After about five miles the track improved, and at 6.15 a.m. the first man of the Brigade marched into Um Hosheyo. Continuing its march the advanced guard reached a grove of Dom palms at Wady Hamar at 8.30 a.m., where a halt was made till 4.30 p.m. to enable the troops to cook and sleep. At 4.30 p.m. the troops again moved forward over a good level track, and continued marching until 10.45 p.m., at which hour Genenetti was reached. Total distance from El Sherreik to Genenetti forty-five miles. Here we dropped another 122 men whose boots had completely gone.

"At 3 a.m. on Tuesday, March 1, the Brigade paraded and moved off along a fairly good track, heavy in places, for Aboudyeh, twelve miles. After a trying hot march the Brigade reached a point two miles north of Aboudyeh at 9 a.m., where they rested till 4.30 p.m. Three men were reported missing, but it was subsequently ascertained that they had proceeded with other men who had worn out their boots from Genenetti, under command of Major Snow, Brigade-Major, with spare ammunition and commissariat supplies. At 4.30 p.m. the troops left Aboudyeh for El Hassa, thirteen miles, a very hot evening, over (at first) a good hard plain, crossed here and there by heavy sandy khors; there was little wind, and the column marched till 11 p.m. through dense clouds of dust. After marching about two miles the Brigade halted to give the men water at Aboudyeh, where a certain number of wells containing brackish water were found. The inhabitants turned out and provided dilus (buckets) and ropes, willingly giving the men water. Company after company filed past, each man getting half a canteen full of water. After this halt no more water was obtainable, as the route lay inland, and the men had to rely on their water-bottles.

"At 11 p.m. on Tuesday the Brigade filed on to the El Hassa camping-ground, about three miles north of Berber, and bivouacked by the side of the Nile. Two miles before reaching El Hassa, the General Officer Commanding received a letter by camel messenger from His Excellency the Sirdar, directing that the column should halt for twenty-four hours, and pass through Berber at 5.30 a.m. on the morning of March 3. The Brigade, therefore, remained halted till 3.30 a.m. on the morning of Thursday the 3rd, when it marched for Berber.

"On arriving at the north end of the town of Berber, the column was reinforced by the 400 men who had been refitted with boots from the Egyptian Army stores. The Sirdar met the column at about 5.30 a.m. on the outskirts of the town, and was heartily cheered by the troops as they passed him. The bands of the Soudanese battalions played in the three regiments, and the men met with a great reception from all ranks of the battalions in garrison, who turned out to a man, and afterwards provided tea and cigarettes for the men, and breakfasts for the officers, at the camping-ground. The officers likewise received much hospitality at the hands of the Sirdar and the various messes in garrison. At 4.30 p.m. the troops moved on again to Camp Dabeika, eleven miles from Berber, along an excellent desert track, about a mile from, and parallel to, the Nile. The Brigade arrived with no sick man. The conduct of the troops during the whole march was excellent; there were no cases of difficulty between them and the natives of the country, and there was no crime, which may be considered as highly satisfactory and showing the state of discipline in which the commanding officers hold their regiments."

The General marched the greater part of the way on foot, and made use of his spare horses to mount footsore men. When questioned on this point, he gave the following reply in a letter:

"With regard to my doing our long march on foot, it was nothing to me; troops necessarily march slowly, and it is pleasanter and less fatiguing (not to speak of its being a better example) for me to walk all the way. I always had my horse with me, and I constantly had to get on to go to the head of the column, or the tail, to see if all was going right, and this made a nice change."

The distance from Railhead to El Hassa, just short of Berber, was sixty-five to seventy miles, and this journey was accomplished between 10 p.m. on Saturday and 11 p.m. on Tuesday—seventy-three hours. Another fifteen miles on Thursday completed the march to Dabeika.

This concentration had its effect on the enemy, who gave up any idea of attacking the Sirdar on the Nile, and the camp was unmolested for the next three weeks. Some critics have on this account made out that Gatacre overtaxed his troops in bringing them along at an unnecessary pace in such a climate; but surely the measure of the necessity for rapidity lies in the danger which this junction averted rather than in the security which it brought about. Moreover, it was the Sirdar on the spot who decided and gave orders: the General carried them out. At the time he wrote of it as a race between himself and Mahmoud.