In August 1883, a slave trader, named Osman Digna, in the Eastern Soudan, had raised the tribesmen, in the name of the Mahdi, and attacked the Egyptian posts in the vicinity of Suakin, the principal seaport of the Soudan, laying siege to Sinkat and Tokar. An Egyptian force for the relief of these places was organized in Cairo, and sent down, under Major General Baker, in December. On the 4th February 1884, while advancing to the relief of Tokar, it was utterly destroyed, Baker and his staff making their escape with difficulty. The fall of Sinkat and massacre of its garrison quickly followed. The presence of British men-of-war at Suakin, alone saved that place. It was evident that without British troops nothing could be done. But beyond securing the safety of Suakin and effecting the relief of Tokar, the British Government had no definite plans.
To effect these objects, a force was organized at Cairo, under Major General Graham, and dispatched from Suez. The 19th Hussars commanded by Lieutenant Colonel A. G. Webster, left Cairo on the 17th February, and embarked in the Osiris and the Neera, with a strength of 20 officers, 457 non-commissioned officers and men, and 395 horses. Three hundred of the horses were small Syrian Arabs procured from the Egyptian cavalry. The force was destined to land at Trinkitat, about 50 miles south of Suakin, and the nearest point on the coast to Tokar.
The Osiris reached Trinkitat on the 22nd February, and the portion of the 19th on board, disembarked the following day. In a reconnoissance made on the 24th, they came in touch with the enemy at once. The Neera, less fortunate, struck on a rock off Suakin, and became a total wreck, though men and horses were all saved; but they did not reach Trinkitat till the 25th. The regiment was brigaded with the 10th Hussars and mounted infantry, about 750 men in all, under Colonel Herbert Stewart. On the 28th, the whole force, consisting of about 4500 men, moved from Trinkitat to Fort Baker, but, before this, the news of the fall of Tokar had been received.
On the 29th, the force advanced against the enemy, who occupied a strong position at El Teb. Moving in a large square, they found the Arab force in position on an isolated ridge covered with bush scrub, and protected with parapets and rifle pits. A squadron of the 10th Hussars covered the front and left face of the square; a troop of the 19th covered the right face. The rest of the cavalry were disposed in rear of the square, in three lines, commanded respectively by Lieut. Colonel Wood, 10th Hussars, Lieut. Colonels Barrow and Webster, 19th Hussars. By their defeat of General Baker, and the capture of Tokar, the enemy had become possessed of guns, small arms and ammunition, which they used very efficiently. As the British force came within range, the cavalry cleared away from the front of the square, which moved to the right, across the front of the position, so as to attack the left flank of the enemy, and the British guns came into action. In forty minutes, the enemy’s guns being silenced, the square moved forward again. As they approached the ridge, the enemy’s fire ceased, and, in small groups of twenty and thirty men, the Arabs dashed at the face of the square with the most reckless valour. Not one of them succeeded in reaching it. Again the British infantry advanced, and again with desperate courage a great force of Arabs hurled themselves on the British bayonets. There are no braver men than the Arabs of the Soudan. Armed with sword and spear, in spite of hundreds being shot down, many of them succeeded in coming hand to hand with their foes and the matter was decided by the bayonet. Thus, fighting at every step, the British infantry swept steadily along the whole line of the enemy’s position, capturing seven guns in their progress. The enemy’s number was computed at from 6000 to 10,000 men. Of these, over 2000 lay dead on the ridge. As the remainder drew off across the plain beyond, the first two lines of British cavalry swept round the end of the ridge, and pursued. After driving the main body of the enemy before them for some distance, it was found necessary to return to encounter a large body of the enemy they had passed in the broken ground, and that now interposed between them and the infantry. The 10th Hussars, and two squadrons of the 19th under Lieutenant Colonel Barrow, charged a large body of Arabs composed of horsemen, men on camels, and footmen, and at once became involved in a desperate hand to hand conflict. This body of Arabs had not been engaged with our infantry, and were quite fresh. Thirty Arab horsemen charged one of the leading squadrons, three of them getting through and wheeling their horses in pursuit regardless of the second line. The Arab swordsmen and spearmen, taking advantage of the scrub and broken ground, hamstrung horses as they passed, and then attacked the riders. Captain Freeman of the 19th and several men were killed, and many wounded. Of all those who lost their horses in the mêlée, Colonel Barrow alone escaped alive. His horse was killed, and he received a thrust from a spear that passed through his arm and penetrated his side. Surrounded by numbers of the enemy, he must have been killed, had it not been for the devotion of Quarter Master Sergeant William Marshall who rode to his assistance, seconded by Sergeant Fenton and Private Boseley. Marshall gave the Colonel his hand. Running in this fashion, in rear of the charging squadrons, Barrow, with the heavy spear swaying to and fro in his side, managed to get free of the enemy before he sank down. His attendant trumpeter, in spite of sixteen terrible wounds, kept his horse going, and escaped from the press, to die of his injuries later. Captain Jenkins, on whom the command of the two squadrons devolved, on Barrow being disabled, was engaged by three of the enemy at once. His horse was wounded in three places, but he himself escaped with a slight wound. Horsemen, as a rule, have little difficulty in dispersing and driving before them disordered infantry: but, so extraordinary was the activity and bravery of the Arabs, and the skill with which they used their spears and two-handed swords that, in the uneven ground covered with low mimosa bushes, they were more than a match for horsemen. It was not till some men had dismounted, and opened fire on them, that they sullenly drew off and retreated.
Meanwhile, the other two squadrons of the regiment, acting independently under Lieutenant Colonel Webster and Major Hanford-Flood, had cleared the flank of numerous small parties of the enemy. By 1.30 the action was at an end. The total British loss was 34 killed or died of wounds, and 155 wounded. To this the 19th Hussars contributed one officer killed, two wounded, 13 non-commissioned officers and men killed or died of wounds, 20 wounded; a heavier loss than fell on any other regiment engaged at El Teb. Every single casualty in the regiment was caused in hand-to-hand combat, by sword or spear. For his gallant behaviour, Quartermaster Sergeant William Marshall received the Victoria Cross. Lieutenant Colonel Barrow’s wound was of so terrible a nature that it was not thought possible he could survive, but he lived to go through another and more arduous campaign.
On the following day the force advanced on Tokar. Sergeant James Fatt of the 19th while scouting in advance, rode boldly into the village, while it was still uncertain whether there would be any opposition, and brought out one of the villagers. Osman Digna’s camp was taken without resistance: two guns and a great quantity of small arms, ammunition and stores, captured from General Baker’s force, being taken by the cavalry.
On the 5th March, the regiment paraded, for inspection by General Graham and Colonel Stewart, and received complimentary addresses from both officers.
On the 6th, the force re-embarked at Trinkitat, and landed at Suakin the following day, to encounter Osman Digna in person, who was encamped at Tamai, sixteen miles from Suakin. On the night of the 12th, the whole force bivouacked in front of Osman Digna’s position; the infantry at about one mile, the cavalry four miles in rear of the infantry. At eight the next morning, the advance commenced: the two infantry brigades in squares, the cavalry in rear of the left. The Arab skirmishers, who had pelted the British encampment with rifle fire during the night, fell back, increasing in numbers as they retired. Seeing a great number of the enemy in front of them, massed in a ravine, the front line of the 2nd brigade charged with the bayonet, destroying the formation of their square. The active Arabs broke into the opening, stabbing and slashing at close quarters. Numbers followed, and for a few minutes a catastrophe was imminent. The cavalry galloped forward on the left, dismounted, and poured volley after volley into the flank of the advancing Arabs, while the bayonet and spear contended for victory within the square itself. The 1st brigade, which had repulsed a similar charge, swept the right face of the 2nd brigade square with its fire, and, in a few minutes, the last surviving Arab who had penetrated the square had paid the penalty. The ranks were reformed, and the infantry advance was resumed, the cavalry clearing away the numerous small parties of the enemy who still clung to the broken ground. The battle was over. In those few minutes over 2000 of the enemy had fallen, out of an estimated number of 12,000: of the British force, 109 officers and men were killed, and 112 wounded. The 19th Hussars lost one killed and two wounded.
On the following day the force advanced to Tamai, burned Osman Digna’s camp, and returned to Suakin. For a fortnight the force lay at Suakin, the cavalry and mounted infantry being employed in daily reconnoissances. On the 27th, the whole force advanced for a distance of 25 miles to ascertain if the enemy remained in any force. A few hundreds only were found. Beyond some desultory skirmishing, which drew from the General in command a highly complimentary order, nothing serious occurred, and the force returned to Suakin.
“Too high praise can scarcely be given to the Cavalry and Mounted Infantry, who bore the brunt of a long skirmish on rocky ground unsuited for cavalry action, and who, the following morning, although nearly twenty-four hours without water for their horses, performed admirable scouting duty during the advance of the force in a mountainous district, when distant peaks and ridges had to be crowned and watched.”[71]