The Battle of El-Teb

The Sudan, 29th February 1884

BACKGROUND
In 1881 Muhammad Ahmad, A Muslim preacher proclaimed himself the Mahdi the redeemer of Islam and raised the tribes of the Sudan in a holy war against their Egyptian masters. The Mahdist revolt spread inexorably throughout the country. Egyptian troops sent out to restore order were easily defeated. Province after province fell into the hands of the Mahdi's followers known as the Ansar or 'helpers'. Only small pockets of resistance remained in the form of beleaguered Egyptian garrisons. These would eventually all surrender except for those that sallied out in a vain attempt to reach safety. Many soldiers, together with their modern weapons and stores of ammunition, would subsequently fall into the hands of Mahdist forces. Following European intervention in Egypt in 1882, the country was effectively run as a British protectorate, although still nominaly remaining hand to part join of the Ottoman Aden Empire. and British when troops the were stationed in garrisons around the country and were therefore on troops from india British government moved to help the Egyptian authorities deal with the worsening crisis in the Sudan. Britain's initial objective was to mount an effective withdrawal of Egyptian troops rather than to prop up the failing regime. This was the task given to General Charles Gordon. Gordon established himself at Khartoum in February of 1884 where, of contrary the to his instructions, fortifying he the entertained capital and notions defending province:

eqquiping a small fleet of gunboats. He would soon find himself trapped as the tribes of northern Sudan rose in support of the Mahdi, cutting off Khartoum from the outside world. For a while Gordon hoped that help would coastal come from the under east via the strategically important bases Anglo-Egyptian

control. The battle of El-Teb was fought as part of this contest for control of the eastern coast.

THE ANTAGONISTS
The warlike Beja people controlled a large part of the eastern Sudan accupying a region that stretched from the Red Sea to within 100 miles of Khartoum. Although not strict adherents to the Mahdi's rule, the Beja were keen to jump on the bandwagon when revolution broke out. Their leader was ex-slave trader and Emir to the Mahdi Osman Digna, but the forces around El-teb on the 29 th February 1884 were under the command of his nephew Madani Ibn Ali and Abdullah ibn Hamid, the Emir of the Coast. Troops were drawn from the Beja tribes of the Hardendowa, Gemilab, Ashraf, Arteiga and Hassinab as well as allied Sudanese tribes. Their opponents comprised a British expeditionary force diverted from Suez to reinforce the Egyptian garrison at the port of Suakin which then attempeted to relieve the town of Tokar which lay about ten miles to the south. Previous attempts by the Egyptians to reach Tokar had ended in disaster. The morale of the native garrisons was therefore shaky to say the least. When Commander-inChief General Sir Gerald graham landed at Suakin he learned that Tokar has already fallen, but decided to press on as far as El-Teb in any case, having decided that a show of force was needed.

THE BATTLE
The Sudanese had dug in along a ridge of hills where they had constructed a series of rifle pits and artillery redoubts or 'sangars'. Behind the first hill lay the ruins of a brick sugar refinery which had been fortified. The village of El-Teb lay on the more distant hill protected by its own sangar. The Beja were well armed, having captured thousands of Remington rifles together with 45,000 rounds of ammo in an earlier encounter with Egyptian forces. They had also taken possession of four Krupps field guns, two bronze mountain guns, a Gatling gun and rockets. Two of these artillery pieces were arranged on the sangar on the southern tip

of

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remaining

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itself. The approach to the Sudanese position consisted of broken and scrubby ground. Overall, the Sudanese had occupied a naturally defensible position which they had fortified and eqquiped with artillery. The British force advanced scouting towards ahead. El-Teb in a large his brigade square

square with artillery placed at the corners and the cavalry and mounted infantry Graham manoeuvred across the front of the enemy position, attempting to move round the Sudanese flank. As soon as this formation gained the attention of the Krupps cannons in their hillside sangar, Graham withdrew his cavalry beyond range and returned fire with his own guns succwssfully silencing the enemy's fire. Graham followed up by advancing towards the enemy who withstood the first volleys of the British infantry and charged upon the square. This charge was repulsed and the British pushed forwards taking the guns. At this point to Graham and launched proved his more cavalry than a against match the for Beja, the mistaking A their orderly withdrawal for a general retreat. The Ansar turned fight cavalry. protracted mle ensued much to the disadvantage of the mounted arm. Meanwhile the British infantry, having worked their way round the enemy's flank, proceeded to close combat with troops dug in around the old sugar refinery. After fierce hand-to-hand fighting with the Highlanders, the Sudanese retreated to their third line of defence around El-Teb from where their remaining artillery continued to shell the British troops. A protracted fire fight ensued, during which the Sudanese artillery was finally silenced before the Gordons charged in to take position. The majority of the Sudanese forces withdrew in good order after puting a stiff resistance and even defying a cavalry charge that was expected to scatter them. Both sides showed remarkable discipline throughout. It was an important victory for the British if only demonstrate that the Mahdists could be beaten, but it was an inconsequential action whenn seen against the overall objectives of the war.

The British Army

Commander-in-Chief General Sir Gerald Graham 1st Brigade Commander Major General Redvers Buller 75th Gordon Highlanders 24x infantry 3rd Battalion, 60th Kings Royal Rifle Corp 24x infantry 89th Royal Irish Fusiliers 24x infantry 6th Battery, 1st Brigade, Scottish Division Royal Artillery 1x 7-pounder mountain gun 2nd Brigade Commander Major General Davis 42nd Royal Highlanders, the Black Watch 24x infantry 65th York and Lancasters 24x infantry Royal Marine Light Infantry 24x infantry Naval Brigade 1x Gatling machine gun, 5x crew, 1x Gardiner machine gun, 5x crew Cavalry Brigade Commander Brigadier General Stewart 10th Hussars 12x cavalry 19th Hussars 12x cavalry Mounted Infantry 6x cavalry Abyssinian Scouts 6x cavalry

The Sudanese Army

Commander-in-Chief Madani ibn Ali 1st Brigade Chief Abdullah ibn Hamid Beja Unit 30x warriors with rifles Beja Unit 30x warriors with rifles Beja Unit 30x warriors with spears Beja Unit 30x warriors with spears Beja Unit 30x warriors with spears Beja Unit 30x warriors with spears Beja Unit 30x warriors with spears Beja Unit 30x warriors with spears Allied Sudanese Unit 30x warriors with spears Allied Sudanese Unit 30x warriors with spears Beja Skirmishers Unit 10x warriors with rifles Beja Skirmishers Unit 10x warriors with rifles Artillery 2x Krupps gund, 6x crew 2nd Brigade Chief Ali Baggara Cavalry Unit 12x warriors with spears Baggara Cavalry Unit 12x warriors with spears Camel Cavalry 12x warriors with spears Camel Cavalry 12x warriors with spears