Pictures from our recent refight of Khartoum

MAD MAHDI MURDER GENERAL GORDON

It was with both pride and sorrow that I watched the gunboats Bordein and Tamihaya round
the bend in the river.As the mahdist guns in fort Omdurman and fort Badir gave lie to the
fact that we still held Khartoum, I paused to reflect on the events of the past few weeks.

In mid-December the enemies siege of Khartoum had become much worse,but it was not until the 5th of January,when fort Omdurman fell that the hopelessness of our position became clear.

Now the enemy could enfilade our lines of defence. Worse still,with the falling Nile,our Southern most wall no longer reached the river. Parties were sent at night to improvise a wall,but
continual harassing fire made the position untenable and Gordon Pasha abandoned the attempts.

We waited.

Surely the British must come soon?.

For the love of God,with our food supplies so low, they must come soon.
On the 20th the enemy fired a 106 gun salute.We worried there had been a
great defeat of the river column.

Spies were sent out and reported wailing women and much activity in
the Mahdi camp.It was a ruse,there had been a battle but the British had
triumphed.

The column was only 100 miles away.
By the night of the 25th morale had dropped. Why had they not come?
We could clearly see the enemy organising for battle.Tomorrow they would
test our defences.Every able bodied man was stood to.We would die fighting.
The next day our 6000 faced the horde.

We could see the approaching dust clouds,the host was without number.
Fort Omdurman and Fort Buri exchanged fire and we started to get the upper hand.

So poor was the Mahdist fire that the 1st Colonial artillery, scorning the walls of the fort, deployed in the open, that they might

"get away from those bloody flies".

That stage did not last long.
Soon the dust cleared and we could see the multitude all around the city
walls.The troops lined the defences but stayed hidden.In the South our best troops deployed near the exposed end of the line and waited.
On they came.

A gatling in the redoubt at the corner of the wall spoke death
and faced them alone.

(Oh look they only have a single gattling gun !!) Ed.

Suddenly,near the Northern end, a "rub" of Ansar burst forward.The cries of
"Allah Akbah" could be heard as 1000 rifles were levelled,aimed and fired.The "faithful"
dropped like flies.Still they came on,into the mine field.More fell,but as if untouched,they
swarmed to the wall and the bayonet work became lively.

And there's more of them

Seeing this brave,if hopeless,lone effort gave new speed to the others.

All along the line our troops stood to and fired.
The enemy fell in their hundreds and the mines took more.

Still more, caught on the wire, were shot where they stood.

A realy jammy die roll

Elsewhere on the wall they streamed to attack our tiring troops.With the
wall breached in the North,Gordon ordered the firing line to withdraw.

Somehow the order never reached my command.

With my gallant town militia and Gatling we contested every inch.

In the South an entire enemy command, under Sheik-Leigh-All-Bad-Die, melted
before our brave Sudanese. Still on they came, with the 5th Sudanese beating off repeated cavalry attacks and the Bashi-Bazouks having some lively bayonet practice.

Now the end was near.The wall now just pinned us in.We were outflanked on all sides.I turned to give an order and was knocked senseless by an Ansar shield.

I awoke to be told the town had fallen.Fort Buri had held for hours,but eventually numbers told.The arsenal had been captured, but the reserve ammunition had been destroyed.
Amongst my fellow captives was a European called Slatin.He had been Gordon's right hand man until captured the year before.As I sat with him an Ansar approached. He produced the head of brave Gordon from a bag and said "Unbeliever,is this not the head of your Uncle?"
"What of it?" said Slatin "He died as a soldier.Happy am I for him.His suffering is over".
Now,after years in a Mahdi jail I am free.The Anglo Egyptian army smashed the Mahdists
at Omdurman and released me to great acclaim.They call me "Arabi Pasha Defender of Khartoum". But there is only one man who deserves the title and he is still there.

Arabi Pasha, Late of Khartoum Garrison