Second battle of El Teb
| date | February 29, 1884 |
|---|---|
| place | El Teb, 14 km southeast of Trinkitat, eastern Sudan |
| output | British victory |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
| Commander | |
| Troop strength | |
| 4500 soldiers 22 cannons 6 machine guns |
10,000 soldiers |
| losses | |
|
34 dead |
2000 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
The Second Battle of El Teb (February 29, 1884) took place during the Mahdi uprising in Sudan . A British unit under the command of General Gerald Graham managed to defeat the Mahdists under Osman Digna .
Starting position
The Mahdi uprising broke out in Sudan in 1881. The Mahdist General Osman Digna carried the Mahdiya to eastern Sudan. On February 4, 1884 he was able to defeat an army under Baker Pasha in the First Battle of El Teb . In Britain, Baker's defeat fueled calls for regular British troops to intervene. In order to hold the Red Sea coast, which is important for securing the sea routes to India , and to maintain an alternative to the route to Khartoum over the Nile, the British now sent their own troops to Sawakin. On February 12, the Suakin Field Force landed under General Gerald Graham. These had participated in the Anglo-Egyptian War and were now partly on their way back to India .
The battle
On February 21, a force under the command of General Gerald Graham left Trinkitat for El Teb. The force consisted of 4,500 soldiers with 22 cannons and 6 machine guns . On February 29th they approached the main Mahdist position on a hill near El Teb. The position was expanded with trenches and rifle positions. The Mahdists also had various artillery pieces at their disposal, which they had captured near Tokar and which were partly operated by defectors. The British troops formed a square and tried to reach the position of the Mahdists from the rear under the protection of strong rifle and artillery fire. After a short artillery battle, the Mahdists' guns were switched off and the British troops were able to attack. The Mahdists hid in trenches to avoid enemy fire, then stormed the attackers in small groups of 20 to 30 men and not in the expected mass attack. Another tactic was to pretend to be dead while the British cavalry attacked and, as they slowly retreated, jump up and cut the horses' tendons and then attack the riders. The Mahdists had fortified a small settlement on the hill and offered bitter resistance. The British infantry had to fight the Mahdists in close combat with the bayonet in their positions.
Result
After taking the position at El Teb, the troops led by Graham marched to Tokar and met no further resistance. After the battle, much of the weapons Baker lost were found. The British suffered only minor losses as the Mahdist fires were mostly very imprecise. Baker, who was accompanying the troops, was injured in the jaw. The Mahdists suffered heavy losses, 2000 of their fighters alone were killed. Despite his victory, Graham was aware that Osman Digna's troops were far from defeated and still received great popular support. British troops therefore left Suakin on March 10, with the intention of inflicting a definite defeat on the Mahdi supporters. On March 13, 1884, the battle of Tamanieh broke out .
literature
- Michael Asher : Khartoum: The Ultimate Imperial Adventure . Penguin Global, London 2006, ISBN 978-0-14-025855-4 .
- Henry Cecil Jackson: Osman Digna . Methuen & Co Ltd., London 1926.
Individual evidence
- ^ Henry Cecil Jackson: Osman Digna . Methuen & Co Ltd., London 1926 p. 210