Siege of Khartoum

Death of General Gordon at Khartoum by J. L. G. Ferris

Date	13 March 1884 – 26 January 1885
Location	Khartoum, Mahdist Sudan
Result	Mahdist pyrrhic victory

Belligerents

British Empire

Egypt

Mahdist Sudan

Commanders and leaders

Charles George Gordon †

Muhammad Ahmad

Strength

Land:
7,000
cavalry
infantry
unknown artillery
Sea:
9 gunboats

Land:
50,000 warriors,
unknown artillery
Sea:
unknown skiffs

Casualties and losses

Almost entire force destroyed

unknown, but reportedly heavy

~4,000 civilians dead

The Battle of Khartoum, Siege of Khartoum or Fall of Khartoum was the conquest of Egyptian held Khartoum by the Mahdist forces led by Muhammad Ahmad. Egypt had held the city for some time prior, but the siege that the Mahdists engineered and carried out from 13 March 1884 to 26 January 1885 was enough to wrest control away from the Egyptian administration. After a ten-month siege, when the Mahdists finally broke into the city, the entire garrison of Egyptian soldiers was killed along with 4,000 Sudanese civilians.

Since the 1882 Anglo-Egyptian War, the British military presence had ensured that Egypt remained a de facto British protectorate. Egypt also controlled Sudan, and the administration of Sudan was considered a domestic Egyptian matter by the British government. It was left to the Khedive's government to administer. As a result, the suppression of the Mahdist revolt was left to the Egyptian army, which suffered a bloody defeat at the hands of the Mahdist rebels at El Obeid, in November 1883. The Mahdi's forces captured huge amounts of equipment and overran large parts of Sudan, including Darfur and Kordofan.

The Mahdist forces backed their self-proclaimed Mahdi, Muhammad Ahmad. He claimed to be the redeemer of the Islamic nation and enjoyed the support of many in Sudan who desired independence from their Egyptian rulers.

The rebellion brought Sudan to the attention of the British government and public. Prime Minister William Gladstone and War Secretary Lord Hartington did not wish to become involved in Sudan and persuaded the Egyptian government to evacuate all their garrisons in Sudan. General Charles George Gordon, a popular figure in Great Britain and former Governor-General of Sudan in 1876-79, was appointed to accomplish this task.

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Wikipedia