Khartoum 1885: General Gordon's last stand

(Paperback)

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Fully illustrated and featuring full-colour maps and bird's eye views of the battlefield, this detailed volume examines a key moment in Britain's military relationship with the Sudan.

Early in 1881 unrest in the Sudan began to crystallise around Mohammed Ibn Ahmed el-Sayyid Abdullah. Proclaiming himself the long-expected Madhi, the Guided One of the Prophet, he preached that the Sudan was to be purged of its Egyptian oppressors. Drawn in by the Egyptian failure to deal with the situation, the British sent General Gordon to organise an evacuation. On reaching Khartoum however, General Gordon believed, incorrectly, that the Madhi could be reasoned with. Instead of negotiating, the Madhi besieged the town for 317 days.

This title looks in particular, although not exclusively, at the battles fought by the British columns sent to relieve Khartoum.

Reviews

"This book presents a nice overview of the campaign... There are more detailed books that cover some of these operations, but none that cover the enter campaign and condense it as nicely." --Joe Kauffman, SITEO Newsletter (November 2007)

Author Bio

Donald Featherstone has long been a student of military history and has visited many of the world's most famous battlefields. He has written extensively on a large number of military campaigns from the point of view of both the historian and the wargamer.