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689:. Out of the forty men in the Naval contingent, Lieutenants Alfred Piggott and Rudolph de Lisle were killed along with Chief Boatswain's Mate Bill (Billy) Rhodes and five other seamen and seven more were wounded. Beresford was 'scratched' on the left hand by a spear as he managed to duck under the gun. The weight of the rush pushed the sailors back into the face of the square. Several dervishes got inside the square, but found the interior full of camels and could not proceed. The troops in the rear ranks faced about and opened fire into the press of men and camels behind them, and were able to drive the dervishes out of the square and compel them to retreat from the field.
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661:, which they achieved with perfect discipline, though still under fire from enemy snipers. The square moved slowly towards the wells along the side of the wadi, over very difficult, undulating, rocky ground. Suddenly the square was ambushed by a huge Mahdist force that had been concealing itself in the wadi. The British guns were on the leading face of the square, and the Naval Brigade, with their Gardner machine gun, at the rear left-hand corner, nearest the wadi. Several officers and men of
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then gave an impromptu order for the Heavy Camel
Regiment to wheel out of the square in support of the Gardner gun. The gun had been tested and found very reliable in Britain, but had not been tested in a desert with loose sand getting into its mechanism. It fired seventy rounds and then jammed, and
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On 20 January a flotilla of four steamers with a motley force of
Sudanese and Egyptian troops sent downriver by Gordon reached the British camp. After some reconnaissance up and down the river, Wilson set off towards Khartoum with two of the steamers and a small force on 24 January. His orders from
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travelled by river from Korti to
Khartoum, Stewart's column was to cut across country by column directly for Khartoum, since time was running short according to what little information was available from the garrison. The force was composed of four regiments of camel-mounted troops (Guards, Heavy,
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The battle was short, lasting barely fifteen minutes from start to finish. Casualties for the
British were nine officers and 65 other ranks killed and over a hundred wounded. The Mahdists lost 1,100 dead during the fifteen minutes of fighting, made all the worse by only 3,000–5,000 of the dervish
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So 'ere's ~to~ you, Fuzzy-Wuzzy, at your 'ome in the Soudan; You're a pore benighted 'eathen but a first-class fightin' man; An' 'ere's ~to~ you, Fuzzy-Wuzzy, with your 'ayrick 'ead of 'air — You big black boundin' beggar — for you broke a
British square!
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Wolseley were to make contact and confer with Gordon. They arrived after 11 o’clock on 28 January and were met with enemy fire from the riverbanks. Khartoum had fallen to the Mahdi on 26 January and Gordon had been killed.
775:, his intelligence officer). (Stewart would die of his wound a month later.) Wilson was slow to organize his forces, and in tarrying another day, it was he who was the cause of that advance detachment's delay.
657:), but were sniped at from the high ground around them by Mahdist rifle units – mainly soldiers from southern Sudan – all night. They took several casualties. At first light Stewart ordered them to form a
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1156:, volume 3, No. 3 (December 2001), 78–84. (Describes the failed British attempt to rescue major general Charles Gordon and friendly forces at Khartoum from the Dervishes led by the Mahdi.)
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The Desert Column arrived on the salient overlooking the wadi of Abu Klea not long before sunset, and
Stewart decided not to attack that night. The British built a defensive position (or
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were killed at the battle. As the
British halted to repel the Mahdist force, a gap opened up towards the rear left corner of the square. This was caused when Captain
1147:, "Khartoum - The Ultimate Imperial Adventure" Penguin, 2004. Includes a vivid description of the battle from the perspective of both British and Mahdist forces.
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on the afternoon of 19 January near Abu Kru, in the vicinity of
Metemmeh, in which it repulsed another charge by the Mahdists. The column's leader, Major General
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reported that he "fell while reforming a broken
British square" (this being one of only two recorded cases of a British square 'breaking' in the 19th century).
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The
British then withdrew from the Sudan, leaving the Mahdi to rule Sudan for the next 13 years. The official public blame for this failure was left with
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More celebrated and of higher literary quality , but taking substantial liberties for the exact events, is the mention of the battle in verse two of
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The rhymes in these poems show varying attempts at pronouncing "Klea" from the English spelling, and the rhyme with "fear" shows British English
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The place is generally known in British military records as Abu Klea, which arose as a contemporary British spelling of its Arabic name, '
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The Desert Column set out from Abu Klea in the late afternoon of 18 January and marched through the night towards Metemmeh. It fought a
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Light and Mounted Infantry), detachments of the various infantry regiments in Egypt and of the River Column, and a detachment of the
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Weep not my boys, for those who fell, They did not flinch nor fear. They stood their ground like Englishmen, and died at Abu Klea
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966:, a film from 2002, where the battle is portrayed very different from reality and as a disastrous defeat instead of a victory.
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force being engaged. Among the dervish dead was Musa wad Helu, one of the Mahdist chiefs. British national hero Colonel
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Snook, Col Mike, "Beyond the Reach of Empire: Wolseley's Failed Campaign to Save Gordon and Khartoum." (London, 2013).
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The battle and one of its notable participants is mentioned in the song "Colonel Burnaby", which has as its chorus:
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forces encamped near Abu Klea. The Desert Column, a force of approximately 1,400 soldiers, started from
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for delaying several months to authorise a rescue, to the considerable anger expressed in public of
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Craig, Simon, "Breaking the Square: Dervishes vs. Brits at the 1885 Battle of Abu Klea",
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Beyond the Reach of Empire: Wolseley's Failed Campaign to Save Gordon and Khartoum'
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The British forces consisted of 1,400 British of the Desert Column under Sir
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fought bravely to save his officer, Lieutenant Guthrie, and was awarded a
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unit which took part in the battle still exists today, re-numbered as
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as the crew tried to clear it they were cut down in a rush by the
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Dictionary of battles from the earliest date to the present time
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is wrong, as the British force at Abu Klea had the American
585:, mounted on horses. Four light field pieces and a small
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The River War: An Account of the Reconquest of the Sudan
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And sing in praise of Sir Herbert Stewart’s little army,
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took place between 16 and 18 January 1885, at Abu Klea,
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Photograph of two Sikh soldiers of the Camel Corps, by
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The emblem of 176 (Abu Klea) Battery Royal Artillery
553:, Sudan, who was besieged there by Mahdist forces.
878:But the voice of the schoolboy rallies the ranks,
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1194:Full text of the poem, from McGonagall Online.
672:RN, commanding the Naval Brigade, ordered the
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290:1,100 killed, unknown wounded (British claim)
8:
1165:, Middlesex: The Echo Library, 2007. 43–48.
872:And the regiment blind with dust and smoke.
560:(أَبُو طُلَيْح). The British commander Sir
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824:At the charge of the bayonet at Abou Klea
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80:Learn how and when to remove this message
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564:was mortally wounded during the battle.
529:, between the British Desert Column and
394:British-Egyptian expeditions (1885–1889)
43:This article includes a list of general
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880:"Play up! play up! and play the game!”
676:to be run out on the left flank of the
862:…The sand of the desert is sodden red,
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18:Camel Corps (Gordon Relief Expedition)
876:And England’s far, and Honour a name,
709:was killed by a spear to the throat.
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275:14,000 (3,000 engaged in the battle)
696:Map of the battle field of Abu-Klea
1070:by Thomas Benfield Harbottle, 1904
680:to provide covering fire. Colonel
49:it lacks sufficient corresponding
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1045:. 20 October 2007. Archived from
822:That made ten thousand Arabs flee
801:The battle was celebrated by the
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870:'s jammed and the colonel dead,
421:Ethiopian campaigns (1885–1889)
1093:. Frontline. pp. 166–168.
27:Part of the Mahdist War (1885)
1:
443:Italian campaigns (1890–1894)
1159:Churchill, Winston Spencer.
1104:McGonagall, William (1885).
624:Royal Marines Light Infantry
338:Mahdist uprising (1881–1885)
1123:Ayers, R. (25 March 2021).
1018:"The Desert Column, 1884–5"
725:Distinguished Service Order
611:Mounted Infantry Detachment
541:", was to march across the
471:British-Egyptian reconquest
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1224:Battles of the Mahdist War
1079:White-Spunner, pp. 400–408
829:and so on for 19 stanzas.
749:Egyptian Campaign Memorial
682:Frederick Gustavus Burnaby
1200:Painting by Karl Kopinski
596:Units involved included:
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1106:"The Battle of Abu Klea"
539:Gordon Relief Expedition
1043:"Sudan Wars, 1884–1889"
929:. The last lines read:
608:Guards Camel Detachment
64:more precise citations.
1192:The Battle of Abu Klea
945:The Triumph of the Sun
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229:Commanders and leaders
119:The Battle of Abu Klea
1127:. The Kipling Society
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619:Royal Sussex Regiment
593:completed the force.
547:Charles George Gordon
400:Emin Pasha Expedition
280:Casualties and losses
123:William Barnes Wollen
1089:Snook, Mike (2013).
992:"Battle of Abu Klea"
818:, come join with me,
523:Battle of Abu Tulayh
1229:January 1885 events
591:Gardner machine gun
167:16.9833333°N 33.3°E
163: /
1049:on 20 October 2007
1022:Savage and Soldier
996:BritishBattles.com
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807:William McGonagall
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707:Royal Horse Guards
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629:Royal Navy Brigade
519:Battle of Abu Klea
99:Battle of Abu Klea
1219:Conflicts in 1885
1179:978-1-84832-601-9
1153:Military Heritage
1110:McGonagall Online
963:The Four Feathers
905:machine gun. The
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1001:19 February
927:Beja people
923:Fuzzy-Wuzzy
911:176 Battery
814:Ye sons of
757:East Sussex
674:Gardner gun
558:Abu Tͅuleiħ
473:(1896–1899)
459:2nd Agordat
449:1st Agordat
328:Mahdist War
170: /
106:Mahdist War
62:introducing
1208:Categories
1027:4 February
971:References
759:, England.
589:manning a
568:Background
287:82 wounded
158:33°18′00″E
155:16°59′00″N
45:references
1053:21 August
787:Gladstone
739:Aftermath
727:. Gunner
712:The Times
687:dervishes
665:Alexandra
521:, or the
489:Abu Hamed
432:Guté Dili
285:76 killed
1198:Abu Clea
955:Khartoum
939:See also
851:'s poem
803:doggerel
753:Brighton
551:Khartoum
499:Omdurman
454:Serobeti
437:Gallabat
378:Kirbekan
368:Abu Klea
363:Khartoum
267:Strength
146:Khartoum
141:Location
1131:15 June
903:Gardner
899:Gatling
868:Gatling
842:arhotic
705:of the
531:Mahdist
464:Kassala
373:Abu Kru
348:Shaykan
244: (
58:improve
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957:(film)
921:poem "
765:battle
659:square
654:zariba
635:Battle
494:Atbara
479:Ferkeh
410:Suakin
405:Dufile
388:Ginnis
383:Tofrek
353:El Teb
207:
183:Result
47:, but
805:poet
721:Cecil
535:Korti
527:Sudan
484:Rejaf
427:Kufit
415:Toski
358:Tamai
272:1,400
1175:ISBN
1133:2023
1055:2020
1029:2016
1003:2023
866:The
816:Mars
747:The
663:HMS
517:The
133:Date
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549:at
343:Aba
247:DOW
121:by
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979:^
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1181:.
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319:e
312:t
305:v
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77:(
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