Chain of Fire: Campaigning in Egypt and the Sudan, 1882-98

(Hardback, Main)

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In the 1880s, Khartoum became the explosive touchstone for a conflict whose scars continue today.For Victorian Britain, control over North Africa was a political minefield into which Prime Minister Gladstone had no intention of stepping - until his emissary Charles Gordon was besieged in Khartoum. This was the height of aggressive European colonialism. Hardships were endured, injustices administered, hair-raising battles fought and civilians caught in the crossfire of imperial fury. Amongst the British officers were famous figures who would later adopt starring roles in the First World War, such as Egyptian Army sapper Captain Herbert Kitchener. By turns brutal and sparkling, this is an unflinching look at the lives behind the North African conflicts which rocked nineteenth-century Britain.

Reviews

'Praise for Footsloggers:
'An authentic account, whose universal truths about frontline soldiering will resonate with readers of every generation' - Military History Matters Book of the Year 2024

'Powerful, vivid and haunting ... the boredom, horror, humour, and everything else that went with life at the front [makes this] an emotional ride' - Andrew Mulholland

'Thought provoking, erudite, yet eminently readable and entertaining ... A historian and author at the peak of his powers' - Richard van Emden

'Exquisite ... Hart lets these men speak' - Gerard de Groot

Author Bio

Peter Hart was the oral historian at the Imperial War Museum for nearly 40 years. A prolific military historian, he has been an army guide, a battlefield tour guide and hosts the Pete & Gary's Military History podcast. His previous books include Footsloggers, At Close Range and The Last Battle.