Omdurman, 1898: Kitchener's Victory in the Sudan

This volume tells the story of the conquest of the Dervish Empire: the Dongola-Berber campaign, Firket and Atbara, culminating at Omdurman, one of the great desert battles in the imperial drama of the Victorian era - hordes of native warriors set against British discipline and firepower, gunboats on the Nile, a dramatic cavalry charge and Kitchener, the Sirdar, as conqueror. The opposing armies and their leaders are investigated, showing that the fanaticism of the Ansar was no substitute for the modern weaponry of the Anglo-Egyptian army. The appearance and use of the Maxim machine gun, first introduced into the British army in 1891, is studied, as is the basic weaponry of the Mahdist warriors and the personal weapons of British troops involved in the campaign. The latter's uniform is also examined: the red jackets of previous engagements now having been dropped for a Khaki field uniform. Furthermore the leaders of both sides are also looked at, including the severe and ruthless Major-General Sir Herbert Kitchener.