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By Eric Niderost
It was the morning of September 1, 1898, the day before the Battle of Omdurman. Lieutenant Winston Churchill of the Queen’s 4th Hussars rode out with four squadrons of the 21st Lancers to scout the approaches to Omdurman, a Sudanese village on the west bank of the Nile opposite Khartoum, epicenter of a revolt that had rocked the very foundations of the British Empire. An Anglo-Egyptian army under Maj. Gen. Sir Herbert Kitchener was a few miles behind the cavalry screen. Kitch
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3 thoughts on “Battle of Omdurman: The Last British Cavalry Charge”
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3 thoughts on “Battle of Omdurman: The Last British Cavalry Charge”
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Kudos for a brief, readable and exciting account of a pitiful moment in military warfare and world history. For the most part, little is well known about British exploits and influence in Africa here in the U.S. Readers of this short account may enjoy reading Thunderbolt, by Lewis Sorley, a prominent U.S. military history historian. Likewise those interested in the conflict in Vietnam may enjoy my four-part film series entitled “The Long Home Home Project” available on Amazon Prime here in the U.S. Thank you again for having this available online.
Great description. Thanks for it. An enjoyable and informative read.
Only one small correction:
you wrote that “eventually the Khalifa was tracked down and killed in battle”. That gives a false impression. Muhammad Ahmad was the Mahdi who captured Khartoum and rallied the forces that Kitchener defeated at Omdurman. He did NOT die in battle but died unexpectedly on June 22nd 1885 from typhoid, six months after the death of General Gordon.
I think you might be allowing people to mix up the death of the Mahdi with his successor.
Interesting article, but the title is wrong.
The Last British Cavalry Charge
Huj, November 8th 1917
At 1.30pm on November 8, 1917, just outside Huj, a small dusty town deep in the Sinai Desert, 181 horses of the Worcester Yeomanry Cavalry ridden by men armed with sabres, galloped into a force of 20,000 Turks, 21 German field guns and three Austrian 5.9 Howitzers. It was to become the final cavalry charge of the British Army