Battles Around Suakin
| El-Teb} | 1884 | Hasheen} | 1885 |
| Tamai } | Tofrek } |
Everywhere throughout the Sudan the Mahdi, or False Prophet, had waged a successful rebellion against the authority of the Egyptian Government, which, since the crushing defeat of Arabi Pasha at Tel-el-Kebir, had fallen under Britain’s protection. In order to bring this truculent disturber to submission it was necessary to send a British army to the relief of Tokar near Suakin. The Sudan had for a long time been the impenetrable stronghold of the slave trade. “If any part of God’s earth was dyed with human blood,” said Lord Wolseley, “it was this,” and now in addition to this there was the memory of the treachery at El-Obeid, the capital of Kordofan, where Hicks Pasha’s army was treacherously led into ambush and ultimately massacred. The Mahdi was not present in this battle, but he came later to see the body of Hicks, who was the last to die, and thrust his spear through the Pasha’s body as an example to be followed by all his sheikhs. All this blood—more than the blood of slaves—cried out for vengeance.
As the rebellion spread eastward, Osman the Ugly hastened thither and further inflamed it. This man was a slave trader, whose chief grievance was that he had been ruined by the prohibition of the vile traffic. For a time he had a victorious career, completely annihilating force after force of Egyptian troops. During his investment of Sinkat and Tokar, Baker Pasha was despatched with a force of 3,600 men to the relief of those two towns. But here another terrible slaughter of the Egyptian troops took place in the battle—or rather, the massacre—of El-Teb. An eye witness says of this: “Inside the square the state of affairs was almost indescribable. Cavalry, infantry, mules, camels, falling baggage and dying men were crushed into a struggling, surging mass. The Egyptians were shrieking madly, hardly attempting to run away, but trying to shelter themselves one behind another.”
“The conduct of the Egyptians was simply disgraceful,” said another English officer; “armed with rifle and bayonet, they allowed themselves to be slaughtered without an effort at self-defence, by savages inferior in numbers and armed only with spears and swords.”
Seeing the uselessness of attempting to rally such material, Baker, with his staff, put spurs to his horse and charged the enemy. This small band of determined men cut their way through the formidable array of swords and lances. Soon after this the defenders of Sinkat, finding their stores almost exhausted, decided to fight their way out. Accordingly, 400 men, with many women and children, set out from the town. The men fought valiantly, but they were overpowered by numbers, and only six men and thirty women were left to tell the horrible tale of butchery.
Meanwhile Tokar was still under siege, and Sir Gerald Graham was sent with a small force to relieve it. At El-Teb he came in contact with the Mahdi’s forces; this time the victory was on our side. Having crushed the Mahdi for the time being, he set out for Suakin, which was the concentration point of the Government in its now extensive preparations to humble Osman Digna. They had called on the rebel chiefs to lay down their arms, but the call had met with a most defiant reply. Sir Gerald advanced on Tamai and bivouacked within a mile of the enemy’s position. All night long the British were harassed by shot and shell, but victory came in the morning, though with regrettable loss of life. It was none the less crushing, however, and was followed by a temporary cessation of hostilities. It was not until the following spring that Osman Digna had recuperated sufficiently to face the British troops again. In the campaign which followed, his hordes were successful until after the battles of Hasheen and Tofrek.
It was early in the morning that General Graham with less than 1,000 men arrived at the foot of the hills to the east of Hasheen. He established himself with his staff on one of the hills, and from that point directed the battle which ensued. The wells of Hasheen lay below in the valley.
With the light of day the whole place was seen to be alive with riflemen. Says an eye-witness: “They crowded on the Hasheen hill; they swarmed through the underwood, and nothing could be seen but little puffs of smoke rising over the trees. Here and there a shriek, a groan, a gap in the ranks, instantly filled up, showed that some of the enemy’s bullets had found a billet. But for one that hit, a thousand whistled harmlessly over us.” Volley answered volley from both sides, and the bullets began to fall thick and fast. Where the Sikhs were engaged the fire was especially furious. The enemy showed considerable bravery, but after a while the distant fire of our troops proved too hot for them. Two squadrons of the Bengal Lancers, making a gallant show with their turbans, streaming pennants, and flashing spears, were launched against them, and some desperate fighting now took place in this part of the field. One of the squadrons was dismounted for the purpose of firing volleys, but, being taken at a disadvantage, was driven back with the loss of nine men. The Arabs were led on to the attack by an old sheikh mounted on a camel. He waved his spear frantically, and his equally fanatical followers rushed round the Bengalese flank to their rear. One Lancer officer—an Englishman—was seen to hew down two Arabs in quick succession; while the life of another officer was only saved by the steel breastplate underneath his tunic, which before his departure his wife had insisted on his wearing. On the right, too, about the same time, a similar charge was made by the other two squadrons of Bengal Cavalry and the 5th Lancers. This rapid movement completely checked and scattered a large body of the enemy who were advancing down the Hasheen valley with the intention of turning the British flank. The swarthy-faced Indian troops, with their eyes flashing friendly rivalry beneath their turbans, vied with their fresh-complexioned British comrades to carry off the chief honours of that charge; and so strong was this admirable rivalry that history can only say “Honours easy.”
In the action at Tofrek the Indian Brigade were engaged and showed striking gallantry. The 17th Bengal Native Infantry (the Loyal Regiment) gave some ground at a very important moment, but it was against fearful odds. No more need be said than that “Tofrek” is among their battle honours.
Orders were given to Generals McNeill and Hudson to advance to a certain spot and construct three zarebas at a distance of from six to eight miles from Suakin. Here, at Tofrek, they suddenly found the enemy upon them. In the conflict which ensued, the main brunt of the assault fell upon the 15th Sikhs and the 28th Bombay Native Infantry. Time after time they received assaults with heavy fire, firmly standing their ground and maintaining an intact line. The battle raged most furiously round the Sikhs, a fact which was afterwards confirmed by the hundreds of dead Arabs which lay in front of their position. The Bombay Regiment, though not in the thick of the fight, fought bravely, as proved by the toll of the enemy’s dead and wounded.