The general plan of the desert march was to form posts at the wells of Howeryat, Jakdul, and Abu Klea, and seize Metemmeh, forming at the same time a strong depôt at Jakdul. The first move was made at 3 a.m. on the 30th December, and Jakdul was occupied, garrisoned, and the camels returned for stores, etc., but it was the 8th January before the force definitely started on its mission. It was composed of a Naval Brigade under Lord Charles Beresford, one squadron 19th Hussars, the Guards, Heavy and Mounted Infantry Camel Regiments (the Light was employed chiefly in guarding convoys), half battery Royal Artillery, Royal Engineers, 400 men of the Royal Sussex Regiment (of whom 150 were to be left at Jakdul), one company of the Essex Regiment for the Howeryat post, with “details”; in all about 120 officers and 1900 men, exclusive of natives, camel-drivers, etc. The whole was under the command of Sir Herbert Stewart. The force left Jakdul at 2 p.m. on the 14th January, and on the 16th got touch of the enemy near Abu Klea wells, but too late for fighting that day. At 9 a.m. the following day, square was formed with camels in the centre, the front angles being formed by the Mounted Infantry, the Guards Camel Regiment, with the Artillery between, and the rear angles by the Heavy Camel Regiment and the Royal Sussex Regiment, with the Naval Brigade in the middle of the rear face. The cavalry were left free to act outside; the sick and baggage were left in a zareba guarded by some of the Royal Sussex; and the square, covered by skirmishers, then advanced against the enemy’s line, which was some half mile long, and marked by flags. Though the skirmishers helped to check the enemy’s fire, which had already caused casualties, they were in the way of the defensive power when the Arab rush was made. It was executed with “lightning rapidity, and into gaps formed by the lagging back of the camels the Arab spearmen poured. The fight was sharp and desperate.” Within the square the din of battle was such that no words of command could be heard, and each man was obliged to act on the impulse of the moment. The enemy’s “formation was curious, a sort of variety of the old phalanx. It was as if there were portions of three phalanxes, with rows of men behind. At the head of each rode an Emir or Sheikh with a banner, accompanied by personal attendants, and then came the fighting men. They advanced at a quick, even pace, as if on parade.” And this before the breechloading fire! The “fine old Sheikh on horseback,” who planted his banner in the middle of the broken square, had advanced “with his banner in one hand and his book of prayers in the other.” He “never swerved to the right or left, and never ceased chanting his prayers until he had planted his banner in our square.” Such bravery is worthy of all admiration, and well may Sir Charles Wilson say, “If any man deserved a place in the Moslem paradise, he did.” It was sheer hard hand-to-hand work for a brief space, and then the square re-formed, with its late antagonists falling suddenly back, leaving only their dead. Short as the affair was, 9 officers and 65 men were killed, and 9 officers and 85 men wounded; a serious loss. On the other hand, 1100 Arab dead were counted near the square, and their loss in wounded too was severe. Before moving on, a small fort was built here to contain the wounded, guarded by 100 men of the Royal Sussex, and when this was completed, Sir Herbert marched at 4 p.m. on the 18th for Abu Kru. The guide was one Ali Loda, a local freebooter. But night marches, however advisable under such conditions as Tel el Kebir, are bad with wearied men. The soldiers in this case were exhausted, and did not get within measurable distance of the river, so that between them and water lay the Arab host. Laager was then formed to protect the transport; and was garrisoned by some of the Heavies, the 19th Hussars, the Artillery and Naval Brigade. Then the square moved toward the enemy, not without skirmishes, and while halting for breakfast the enemy’s fire increased, and Sir Herbert received the wound which afterwards proved fatal. At 3 p.m. the advance was resumed, and the Arabs charged as before. But the men were cooler than in the previous action, and none of the enemy got within 100 yards of the square, and in five minutes the Arabs broke and fled. Thereupon the wearied British reached the wished-for stream and bivouacked. The loss had been 1 officer and 22 men killed, and 8 officers and 90 men wounded.
Sir C. Wilson was now in chief command, and made a reconnaissance in force of Metemmeh; but he judged that to storm it would be both costly and inadvisable, and therefore returned to the zareba at Gubat, to meet the Egyptian Government steamers from Khartum. Then ensued a brief delay, necessary to make arrangements for the security of the camp, and also because of the general exhaustion of the men. Sir Charles, therefore, first proceeded down stream beyond Metemmeh, to ensure that there was no force advancing from the north in addition to what might be reasonably expected to arrive from the south, and then turned back, halting for a while at Gubat, and finally reached the immediate neighbourhood of Khartum, to find that all was over. It had fallen, and Gordon had been killed; so, running the gauntlet of guns and rifles, the small flotilla returned to Gubat, but both steamers were sunk and a fresh one had to be sent up. The story of this adventure well merited the telegram received by Sir Charles at Korti from the Secretary of State for War: “Express warm recognition of Government of brilliant services of Sir Charles Wilson and satisfaction at gallant rescue of his party.”[70]
On his return from Khartum, he started for Korti, and on his report, Sir R. Buller was despatched to take command of the desert column, which was to be reinforced by the Royal Irish and West Kent Regiments; but it was soon afterwards decided to abandon the effort to crush the power of the Mahdi, and the small army withdrew by degrees to Korti, with but little molestation on the way. During the march, however, Sir Herbert Stewart succumbed to his wound, and was buried near Jakdul. Like his namesake, who had been with Gordon and was murdered when going down the river at Hebbeh, his loss to the army was serious. “What an ill-fated expedition this has been!” writes Sir C. Wilson. “The whole Sudan is not worth the lives of men like Gordon and the two Stewarts.”
In the meantime, the river column had been pushing on, and had its tale to tell. Under the command of General Earle, it was made up of one squadron 19th Hussars, the South Staffordshire Regiment, the Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry, the Black Watch, and the Gordon Highlanders, with some Egyptian artillery and Camel Corps, etc. The Essex Regiment was, at first, to hold the line of communication of this force between Merowi and Abu Hamed, but the idea had to be abandoned.
The force marched on the 24th, the mounted troops by land, the remainder in the boats, and there was a small skirmish at Berti; but on the news of the fall of Khartum, the force halted for further orders near Dulka Island; and while there, news was received that the enemy, some 1500 strong, had advanced out of the Shukuk Pass and taken up a position at Kirbekan.
As it was still determined to seize Berber, in which operation it was proposed, if possible, to employ the remains of the desert column, General Earle was directed to push on again; and, finding the enemy still blocking the road to Abu Hamed, whence there is a track across the desert to Korosko, he turned the enemy’s left flank and attacked him in flank and rear. The battle was mainly a fire-action, there being only one partial charge of the Arab spearmen; and with the charge of the Highlanders, pipes playing, the enemy were turned out of the rocky hill land on which they were posted, and at the very end of the fight, General Earle was killed, with 2 other officers and 7 men, while 4 officers and 43 men were wounded. The troops engaged had been the Staffordshire Regiment, Black Watch, Egyptian Camel Corps, and the Artillery. On the 20th February, however, the column, now commanded by General H. Brackenbury, was recalled, in accordance with the decision to attempt no further operations until after the hot season. But even this plan was given up by orders from home; and on the 11th May, Lord Wolseley was ordered to withdraw the troops from the Sudan. This was successfully effected, but, as might be expected, the Arab leaders pushed on. Kassala was occupied by Osman Digna from Suakin, and Dongola by the Mahdieh from Khartum. Near this, the town of Kosheh was invested, and the small action of Ginnis was fought in December 1885, the last skirmish of the first Sudan War. Throughout, the enormous physical and administrative difficulties had been successfully met; the conduct of the men, both in battle and on the march, left nothing to be desired. That Lord Wolseley and the expedition failed in their primary object of relieving Khartum and saving Gordon’s life was no fault of theirs. They did all that men could, and the blame rests only on the head of a weak Government, that could not make up its mind until it was too late. Yet “the siege of Khartum lasted for three hundred and seventeen days—only nine less than the great siege of Sebastopol, in which General Gordon first saw active service. For more than ten months the wild tribes of the Sudan were kept in check by the genius, the indomitable resolution, and fertile resources of one man; and, long after the controversies of the present day have been forgotten, the defence of Khartum by General Gordon will be looked on as one of the most memorable military achievements of modern times.”[71]
A medal was given for the campaign, with clasps for Kirbekan, Abu Klea, and Abu Kru; and the rank of viscount was bestowed on the Commander-in-Chief of the two expeditions, those of the Nile and Suakin. Never was honour more justly bestowed.