1882–1884.
troubles in egypt—arabi’s rebellion—capture of ismailia—kassassin—tel-el-kebir—end of the war—19th at cairo—badges granted—troubles in eastern soudan—osman digna—regiment ordered to suakin—wreck of the neera—battle of el teb—heavy losses of the 19th—battle of tamai—osman digna’s camp burned—regiment returns to cairo—badges granted.
in june 1879, mahomed ismail, the khedive of egypt, was deposed by the sultan, at the instance of england and france, in favour of his son mahommed tewfik, and a control of egyptian finances was established by the two western powers. in the beginning of 1881, a spirit of insubordination began to show itself among the officers of the egyptian army, who quickly recognised their own power to enforce demands, and adopted as leader, one of their number, said ahmed arabi, better known as arabi pasha. by september, the pretensions of the army had so far increased that, they forced the khedive to dismiss his ministers. attempts were soon afterwards made to get rid of the anglo-french control. arabi’s influence increased daily; he caused himself to be appointed minister of war; and, by april 1882, had practically got the whole of the country into his hands. the khedive was helpless. in may, the french and english fleets were sent to alexandria, in order to strengthen the khedive’s hands. but matters did not improve: arabi openly assumed the direction of affairs, and began to strengthen the forts commanding the alexandria harbour. on the 11th june,[234] serious riots broke out in alexandria, in the course of which a number of europeans were killed, and their houses pillaged. it was seen in england that a military expedition to restore order would probably be necessary, and preparations, in anticipation, began to be made.
in the meantime, the work on the alexandria fortifications had so far advanced as to endanger the safety of the fleets. the french government was unwilling to take action: the remonstrances of the british admiral were met by evasions and denials from arabi pasha. at last, on 11th july, after due notice, the forts were bombarded and destroyed by the british fleet. a force of seamen and marines was landed to secure the safety of the khedive, and put an end to the pillaging and burning of the town by arab marauders, and, on the 17th, two battalions of british infantry, from cyprus, under major general sir archibald alison, landed to hold the town. on the 20th, the british government definitely decided to send a military expedition to egypt, to restore the khedive’s authority. the french government refused to co-operate, and withdrew from further action.
the force sent from england and the mediterranean stations amounted to 25,450 men, of whom 2400 were cavalry: the whole being commanded by lieutenant general sir garnet wolseley. there being no fear of their being attacked at sea, they were sent without convoy, as soon as the ships could be got ready. by the 11th august, the last transport had sailed from england for alexandria. the 19th hussars were among the last to go. on the 10th august, they embarked at southampton, in the assyrian monarch and the montreal, with a total strength of 33 officers, 553 non-commissioned officers and privates, and 464 horses, under command of lieutenant colonel k. j. w. coghill. previous to this, a detachment of 20 men under lieutenant aylmer had sailed in the orient as escort[235] to h.r.h. the duke of connaught. it was also arranged for a contingent from india to operate from suez, consisting of one battalion of british infantry, three battalions of native infantry, and three regiments of native cavalry, under command of major general sir herbert macpherson.
arabi’s army, at the beginning of july, consisted only of about 9000 men. by calling out reserves, and enlisting arabs, it soon reached the number of 60,000 men, and eventually amounted to 100,000.
before the expedition left england, it had been determined to seize the suez canal, and advance on cairo from ismailia; but, as it was expedient that the canal should not be blocked or injured, alexandria was appointed as the rendezvous of the troops on the mediterranean side, and measures were taken to spread the belief that the advance on cairo would be made from that place.
the greater part of the troops being gathered at alexandria, on the 18th august, preparations were made as if an attack on aboukir was intended. troops were re-embarked, and sailed under convoy of the fleet, at noon on the 19th, anchoring in aboukir bay the same afternoon. after dark, while demonstrations of bombarding the aboukir forts were made, the transports weighed anchor, entered the canal, and commenced landing at ismailia on the 20th. the movement was unexpected by the enemy, and no resistance was experienced. by the 22nd, complete command had been gained of the whole canal from port said to suez. on the 21st, nefisha, four miles in front of ismailia, was occupied. early on the 24th, a small force was pushed forward to el magfar, which was occupied after a slight skirmish, in which lieutenant aylmer’s detachment of the 19th hussars took part. at el magfar, it was found necessary to push on to tel-el-mahuta, to secure the water supply. the place was strongly occupied by the enemy, and the small british force was exposed to long[236] range fire of guns and small arms, for many hours, while reinforcements were coming up, which did not happen till the evening. the next morning, the whole force advanced, and occupied tel-el-mahuta after a slight opposition, while the cavalry pushed forward, and occupied the enemy’s camp at mahsamah without resistance. seven guns, with a large quantity of small arms, ammunition and stores, fell into the hands of the british troops. early on the 26th, kassassin was occupied by a brigade of infantry under major general graham, and the troops from suez began to arrive at ismailia.
the 19th hussars, in the assyrian monarch and the montreal, did not reach alexandria in time to take part in these operations. they reached ismailia on the 24th, and completed their disembarkation by the evening of the 26th. the duty assigned to them was to act as divisional troops; the right wing, consisting of two squadrons under lieutenant colonel coghill, formed part of the 1st division under lieutenant general willis; the remaining two squadrons, under lieutenant colonel a. g. webster, formed part of the 2nd division under lieutenant general sir e. hamley. one troop was detailed as escort to sir garnet wolseley throughout the campaign. the right wing joined the head quarters of the 1st division at tel-el-mahuta, on the evening of the 27th.
on the 28th, a demonstration was made by the enemy against graham’s force at kassassin. the right wing of the 19th was ordered in support to mahsamah; but, on its being ascertained that no serious attack was intended they returned to tel-el-mahuta. graham, having been reinforced, and expecting the heavy cavalry brigade to join him, made a general advance after sunset. the orders for the heavy cavalry had, however, miscarried, and did not reach major general lowe for several hours. making a wide sweep into the desert, lowe fell upon the left of the[237] enemy in the dark, and charged, rolling up their infantry; the darkness made pursuit impossible. the sound of the heavy firing, caused the division at tel-el-mahuta to turn out again, but after a brief advance they returned to camp, with the exception of the 19th hussars, who pushed on to kassassin, which they reached at daybreak. it was not till noon, after visiting the scene of the previous night’s encounter, that they were able to off-saddle and rest.
the following twelve days were spent in preparing for the advance on tel-el-kebir, 13 miles from kassassin, where arabi’s army had constructed a formidable line of entrenched works. during these days, the 19th hussars and the indian native cavalry were employed in continual outpost and reconnoissance duties. on the 5th, lieutenant holland was badly wounded.
by the 8th, all was ready for massing the whole force at kassassin preparatory to the advance on tel-el-kebir. early on the 9th, arabi advanced in force on kassassin, attacking in two separate bodies simultaneously, one in front from tel-el-kebir, and the other in flank from es salihiyeh. willis repelled the double attack with ease, and pushed the enemy back to within cannon shot of tel-el-kebir, capturing four guns.
soon after dark on the 12th, the whole force consisting of 17,000 men, with 61 guns, moved out of camp to some high ground in front of kassassin, in preparation for an attack on arabi pasha’s entrenched lines. at 1.30 in the morning, the troops moved silently forwards through the desert, their march directed by a naval officer steering by the stars. the four infantry brigades, in two lines, led the way, supported on the right by the heavy cavalry brigade and horse artillery, and on the left by the naval brigade. in rear of the naval brigade, followed the 19th hussars under lieutenant colonel coghill. one troop of the regiment remained at mahsamah, and another at tel-el-mahuta,[238] to guard those points. at five in the morning the attack was delivered; after half an hour’s severe fighting, the british infantry was in complete possession of the lines. while the heavy cavalry pushed on to zagazig to cut off fugitives, the 19th, under coghill, passed through an opening in the entrenchments, and seized the tel-el-kebir railway station and bridge, cutting off a great number of fugitives. thence the pursuit was continued for three hours, when the 19th returned to the enemy’s late camp. in the afternoon they started again in the track of the heavy cavalry, leaving a troop to protect burial parties, and reached belbeis that evening. on the following evening cairo was taken possession of, and arabi surrendered himself. the only casualty in the regiment was lieutenant barclay who was struck by a fragment of shell from one of the first guns fired by the enemy at tel-el-kebir.
the war was over. a medal, with clasp for tel-el-kebir, was given to all who took part in the campaign. the medals were presented to the regiment by lady dufferin, in her majesty’s name, in the following february. h.h. the khedive also gave a star.
a few weeks after the arrival of the regiment in cairo, a virulent epidemic attacked the horses. in order to shake it off, the regiment was moved to helouan, at the end of the first week in november, with 248 sick horses, 56 having died in cairo. a good deal of sickness also set in among the men. in the following march the regiment returned to cairo, and occupied the abassiyeh barracks, having lost 18 men and 141 horses in the interval. when the regiment went to egypt it had four coloured squadrons, chesnut, bay, brown, and black, while the band were mounted on greys. experience showed that the greys bore the climate better than any others; the chesnuts also bore the climate well. the dark coloured horses[239] suffered most, and were more liable, than the others, to sore backs. in respect to age, the percentage of deaths among horses between five and ten years, was double that among horses between ten and fifteen years. in the hurry of departure from england, about twenty horses, over fifteen years of age, were taken. they were employed as waggon horses, and had perhaps harder work than those under saddle; yet they stood the climate and work better than all the others.
affairs in lower egypt, to outward appearance, seemed to be settling down so satisfactorily that, in november, the regiment received orders to hold itself in readiness to proceed to england. this prospect endured only for a week, when news from upper egypt was received, altering all arrangements.
while the british government were busying themselves with lower egypt, they paid scanty attention to the soudan, which they regarded as a burden and encumbrance that egypt would do well to get rid of. the khedive’s government did not hold this view, and continued to occupy themselves in dealing with a movement that had originated in kordofan, the importance of which was greatly under-estimated at the time. simultaneously with the insubordination of the egyptian army and the rise of arabi pasha, another pretender to power, of a more serious type had arisen in the south. in may 1881, an arab, in kordofan, named mahomed ahmed, proclaimed himself to be the mahdi, and preached a religious war. matters were not improved by communications from arabi, published in the soudan, proclaiming that the khedive’s government was at an end, and that no obedience should be paid to it. by the end of 1882, the mahdi had gathered a large force of fighting men, and had inflicted several disastrous defeats on the egyptian troops. in april 1883, an egyptian force, which came[240] to be known as the “english army,” was organized at khartoum, under the command of major general hicks, who had with him a number of english officers, to advance on kordofan, and put down the revolt.[70] in october, this force was utterly destroyed, and the whole of the soudan was in a blaze. it was at once realized that the reconquest of kordofan and the complete suppression of the mahdi would require operations on a scale that could not then be undertaken. a complete withdrawal from the western soudan was therefore determined on. to effect this, colonel gordon with ￡40,000 was sent to khartoum. meanwhile, the uprising of the tribes had developed in another direction.
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[241] 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[242] 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[243] 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;[244] 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[245] 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]
it being considered that the objects of the expedition[246] had been fully attained, the force was broken up and withdrawn. the 19th embarked on the 1st april, and returned to cairo on the 6th.
by g.o. 10 of january 1885 the regiment was permitted to add the date “1884” to the badges on its appointments. a medal with clasps for el teb and tamai were granted to those present.
