Battle of al-Ubayyid
The Battle of El Obeid , also called Friday's battle was the futile attempt of the Mahdi, the city al-Ubayyid on 8 September 1882 by the Egyptians in the storm to take.
| date | September 8, 1882 |
|---|---|
| place | al-Ubayyid |
| output | Victory of the egyptians |
| consequences | Siege of al-Ubayyid by Mahdists |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
|
Ansar (Mahdists) |
|
| Commander | |
| Troop strength | |
| approx. 30,000 | approx. 4,000 |
| losses | |
|
around 10,000 dead |
approx. 300 dead |
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Aba - Jebel Gedir I - Sennar I - Jebel Gedir II - al-Ubayyid I - al-Ubayyid II - Sennar II - Sinkat - Sheikan - First Battle of El Teb - Second Battle of El Teb - Tamanieh - Khartoum - Abu Klea - Gallabat - Toski - Firket - Atbara - Omdurman - Umm Diwaykarat
prehistory
After another destruction of an Egyptian expedition army at the end of May 1882 near Mount Gedir in the south of Kordofan , the Mahdists went on the offensive. Muhammad Ahmad , the leader of the Mahdi movement , sent warriors out to conquer Kordofans . The Egyptian garrisons gradually surrendered. In this context, the missionaries Josef Ohrwalder and Luigi Bonomi were captured by the Mahdists. In July 1882 only a few places were under Egyptian control, including the provincial capital al-Ubayyid , the second largest city in Egyptian Sudan and the economic center of the region. Al-Ubayyid's garrison was reinforced by a contingent from Khartoum under the orders of Muhammad Pasha Imam al-Khabir . The first fighting took place in the area, when the Egyptian garrison tried to break up Mahdist troop gatherings. In August 1882, Muhammad Ahmad and his main army left the camp at Gedir for Birket (al-Birkah), south of al-Ubayyid. Meanwhile, the governor ( mudir ) of Kordofan, Muhammad Pasha Said , initiated countermeasures. Due to insufficient strength, he gave the plan to want to fortify the entire city and reduced the fortress ring consisting of a moat and a wall around the governor's palace and the garrison barracks to about 2 km. Muhammad Ahmad tried to convince the governor to surrender through an embassy, but Muhammad Said had the envoys arrested and hanged. Then on September 4th Muhammad Ahmad moved with his warriors to Kaba, only a few hours away from al-Ubayyid, which was reached on September 7th, and charged his brother Muhammad ibn al-Saiyid 'Abd Allah with storming the city. Many residents had already left the city out of fear and joined Muhammad Ahmad, including the merchant and former governor Kordofan Ilyas Pascha and the Egyptian commander Muhammad Pascha al-Khabir.
course
The Mahdist army surrounded the city that night and stormed the fortification ring from all directions on the morning of September 8th. In places the Mahdists overcame the fortification, but were pushed back again. Further unsuccessful attempts at storm followed. The Egyptians then went on the offensive and drove the Mahdists out of the city. Muhammad Said refrained from being pursued to the camp in Kaba because he did not want to leave the city defenseless. The battle cost the Mahdists around 10,000 dead. The commander of the Mahdist army, Muhammad ibn al-Saiyid 'Abd Allah, died in the battle.
It was the first defeat for Muhammad Ahmad's main army, which previously inflicted three devastating defeats on the Egyptians. These victories were achieved in areas with dense vegetation: The Mahdists, who were only armed with edged weapons , were able to carry out surprise attacks from cover and neutralize the tactical advantage of the formed Egyptians armed with rifles. During the attack on the fortification of al-Ubayyid, this advantageous circumstance for the Mahdists was missing, so that the disadvantage of edged weapons became noticeable here. The cannons and rifles captured by the Mahdists in the previous victorious battles remained in Gedir and were therefore not used.
consequences
On the day after the battle, Muhammad Ahmad had the city surrounded to starve it. An expedition dispatched from Khartoum to liberate al-Ubayyid from the siege under the orders of Ali Bey Lufti was defeated by the Mahdists. On January 17, 1883, Muhammad Said surrendered. The attempt of Egypt to recapture Kordofan and al-Ubayyid failed with the destruction of the Egyptian army in the battle of Sheican , so that Egypt was forced to give up the province of Sudan.
literature
- Mekki Shibeika: The Independent Sudan . Robert Speller & Sons, New York, 1959.