xxxxxAs we
have seen, the British occupied Egypt following the Anglo-
Acknowledgements
Mahdi: date and
artist unknown. Gordon: date and artist
unknown. Map (The Sudan): considered to
be in the public domain –
https//commons.wikimedia/wiki/File:The+Mahdist+State. The Killing: portrayal by the
Irish painter George William Joy (1844-
xxxxxItxwas a year before the outbreak of the Anglo-
xxxxxThe British
looked on with concern. From the time of their conquest of Egypt
in September 1882 they had insisted that Sudanese affairs were a
domestic matter for the Khedive. However, In view of the
deteriorating situation in this vast country, in December 1883 the
British government, led by prime minister William Gladstone -
xxxxxIn view of Gordon’s knowledge of the country, the choice might appear to be a good one. But it was perhaps a little questionable to ask a man who had done so much to develop the Sudan to preside over its downfall. Certainly in a letter to The Times in January 1884, just before leaving to take up his appointment, Gordon (illustrated here) made it clear that in his view the correct strategy would have been to defeat the Mahdi in order to avoid the possibility of a threat to Egypt itself. This aggressive policy was supported, among many others, by General Lord Garnet Wolseley.
xxxxxOn arrival at Khartoum (arrowed on map),
Gordon was warmly welcomed as the saviour of the city and in many
respects he acted the part. In the early days he did manage to
evacuate 2,500, including many women and children, but he spent most
of his time improving and extending the city’s defences. He provided
gun boats to patrol the Blue and White Nile to the north and west,
and in the south -
xxxxxThexten-
xxxxxIn England
there was an ever growing demand for the sending of a relief
force. Eventually in July the cabinet put plans in motion, but it
took several months to set up, and it did not enter the Sudan
until January. It was then attacked at Abu Klea on January 17th
and two days later at Abu Kru. Commanded by General Lord Garnet
Wolseley, the column repelled both assaults, but this only spurred
on the Mahdi to press home his attack on the besieged city. The
attack was mounted on the night of January 25th 1885.
The Nile was low in water and this enabled the city to be
approached from both north and south. Entrance was gained in the
early hours of the morning and the whole garrison -
xxxxxIn the wake of the disaster General Gordon was seen as a hero and a martyr. The British press blamed Gladstone for the debacle, arguing that he should have sent a relief column earlier. Possibly so, though it is likely that it would only have served to bring forward the attack on the beleaguered city. Gordon’s conduct must also be questioned. His stubborn desire to take on the Mahdists somewhat coloured his judgement, and tended to divert his attention from his appointed task. With hindsight, however, it might well be said that, given the circumstances then prevailing in the Sudan in 1884, the task set by the government and assigned to Gordon was not achievable. Gladstone’s government fell the following June, but he was returned to office the next year.
xxxxxAs we shall
see, in the mid-
xxxxxIncidentally, “Gordon of Khartoum” was born in Woolwich, London,
in 1833, and educated at the Royal Military Academy there. As a
young man he fought in the Crimean War, taking part in the siege
of Sevastopol in 1854-
xxxxx…… There are many statues
and memorials to him at home and abroad. He is especially
remembered in Gravesend, Kent, (illustrated), where, after returning from his gallant service in
China in 1865, he worked improving the river defences. A devout
Christian with a strong social conscience, he spent his leisure time
working for a number of local charities and visiting the sick and
elderly. ……
xxxxx…… The Scottish author Arthur Conan Doyle paid tribute to Gordon in The Adventure of the Empty House, one of his Sherlock Holmes stories. In the novel he describes the palace where he was killed. And the English writer Lytton Strachey takes Gordon as one of his biographies in his famous work Eminent Victorians, first published in 1918.
Vc-