In those distant days the world was tranquil and our country relatively rich and
powerful. In spite of the wishes of many statesmen of both political parties,
England was drawn into Egypt. After the Bombardment of Alexandria in 1881, we
became to all intents and purposes the paramount power.
It was at this moment that the Rebellion of the Mahdi plunged the vast, remote
provinces of the Soudan into bloodshed and confusion. Mr Gladstone's Government viewed with
horror being involved in the Soudan. They unhesitatingly resolved to relinquish the Soudan
to barbarism. General Gordon was sent to Khartoum to wind up affairs and bring away the
surviving soldiers and Egyptian colonists.
He was soon 'hemmed in', and the long blockade began. The relievers arrived
before Khartoum two days too late. The city was already in the hands of the Dervish mob.
Gordon and nearly all the people he would not desert had been massacred. The evacuation
of the Soudan was thus complete.
However, the story had sunk deeply into British hearts. After the overthrow
of Mr Gladstone in 1886, the British Government set about the recovery of the ruined
territory. At the head of the Egyptian Army stood Kitchener, a British officer of
exceptional capacity and growing repute.
More than ten years after the sack of Khartoum, the first advance into the
Dongola Province began, and two years later, in 1898, the armies of the savage Dervish
empire were shattered and largely destroyed in the Battle of Omdurman.
