But British coolness and pluck won the day. The Dervish host on horseback swept the plain with a rush that no infantry could have withstood. 'They came very fast, and they came very straight; and then presently they came no further. With a crash the bullets leaped out of the British rifles,' Egyptians, Englishmen, and Highlanders pouring out death as fast as they could load and press trigger; while shrapnel whistled and Maxims growled savagely.
Battle of Omdurman
We need not describe the details of the fighting. The Khalifa's attack was speedily turned into a rout, though many a brave stand was made by the Dervish host. Attacked on two sides, the British force gradually spread itself out like an opening fan, under admirable handling by their generals. At a critical point in the engagement, when Generals Hunter and Macdonald in the front were being threatened by an outflanking movement of the enemy's cavalry, Hunter sent for Wauchope's 1st Brigade to fill the gap between Macdonald on the right and Lewis on the left. The request went to General Gatacre first instead of the Sirdar; but with the soldier's instinct he immediately set the Brigade in motion. Wauchope, cool as a statue, took in the situation at once, and moved his men forward as if on parade, while the Lincolns and the Warwicks under his command—said to be the best shooting regiments in the British army—did great execution, and effectually kept the enemy at bay. They saved the position, for, as one correspondent has said, 'It was the very crux and crisis of the fight. If Macdonald went, Lewis on his left, and Collinson and the supporting camel-corps and the newly returned cavalry, all on his right or rear must all go too.' Exposed to a withering fire, the enemy were unable to withstand the steady discipline of our men. Defeated on all sides, the Khalifa turned and fled. Then was the time for our cavalry. With a dash the 21st Lancers made for the retreating foe, pursuing and slaughtering up to the walls of Omdurman. The bravery of the Dervishes was unquestionable. They literally threw themselves upon the British lines, only to be overwhelmed in a common ruin. Over 11,000 of the enemy were killed, 16,000 wounded, and 4000 were taken prisoners, and this by an army numbering not more than 22,000 men. On the Anglo-Egyptian side the losses were comparatively light, killed and wounded not amounting to above 500.
General Wauchope was fortunate on this occasion in coming out of the engagement without a scratch. In some respects the battle of Omdurman has been described as 'a less brilliant affair than the Atbara. On the other hand it was more complex, more like a modern battle. The Atbara took more fighting, Omdurman more generalship. Success in each was complete and crushing.' Mahdism was no more. It died well. 'It had earned its death by its iniquities, it had condoned its iniquities by its death.' Gordon was avenged. And not only so, it was the dawn of a new era for the long down-trodden Soudan, so that it might in future be a country fit to live in.
We have already referred to General Wauchope's attachment to Scottish Presbyterianism, and told how loyally and consistently he adhered to the Church of his fathers. From the days when he was an ensign, it was known among his brother officers as a casus belli to speak slightingly to him of his Church. He would stand up for Presbyterianism, and would suffer for it if necessary, when its claims were in danger of being thrust into the background. A difficulty of this kind arose after the taking of Omdurman, and it is interesting to note how he acted. Orders had been given to all the chaplains, Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, and Anglican, for a combined Gordon Memorial Service at Khartoum. The Anglican chaplain in Wauchope's division intimated, however, that he would take no part in it if the Presbyterian chaplain were to share in the function. The General used what persuasion he could to move the chaplain to a broader view of things, declaring that he would not displace the Presbyterian, whom he considered one of the best of men. He was, he said, a Presbyterian himself, along with most of his regiment. At last, when persuasion failed, and the Anglican still held his point, the General said, 'then there is nothing for me but to report you to my General of Division.' When General Gatacre heard the story he reported the affair to the Sirdar, who called the three chaplains—Presbyterian, Anglican, and Roman Catholic—and said laconically, something like this: 'You are each under orders, and the man who disobeys must fall to the rear.' This settled the question; all of them took a part. The Memorial Service and the formal entry into Omdurman and Khartoum, taken part in by all the troops, were most impressive spectacles. These over, arrangements were at once made for the withdrawal of the greater part of the army.
Welcome home
The troops returned immediately down the Nile, the British regiments being shipped for England, where they arrived in the early part of October. A hearty welcome greeted their arrival, all classes of society vying with one another in heaping honours upon them.
General Wauchope hurried home so soon as he was relieved of his official duties, and after a short visit to Yetholm, where he was received with great enthusiasm, he and Mrs. Wauchope set out for Niddrie on Monday, 10th October, by train from Kelso.
It was only on the Saturday previous that the villagers of New Craighall heard that the General was to return, but short as was the time for preparation, the determination to give him a hearty welcome was so enthusiastically proceeded with that when he did reach it, the rather quiet and dreary exterior of the village presented quite a festive appearance. Triumphal arches, flags, and streamers floated in the breeze, and wreaths of flowers and evergreens were everywhere visible. It was the home-coming of a victor, beloved by his neighbours, and well known beyond the limits of his demesne.
At the Newhailes station, which was also gaily adorned, the General and Mrs. Wauchope were received on alighting from the train by quite a crowd of friends, among others being Sir Charles Dalrymple and the Misses Dalrymple, Mrs. Arbuthnot and Miss Muir, Councillor and Mrs. Cranston, Edinburgh, Rev. A. Prentice, Rev. R. Burnett, Liberton, Mrs. General Hoggan, and Ex-Provost Young, Loanhead, with the whole village, men, women, and children at their back.