| Battle of Ferkeh | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theMahdist War | |||||||
 Anglo-Egyptian troops storm the village of Ferkeh (illustration from a British book) | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Mahdist State |  United Kingdom Egypt | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Osman Azrak Hammuda † | Sir Herbert Kitchener | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 3,000–4,000 men | 9,000–9,500 men | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 44 emirs killed 4 emirs captured 800–1,500 soldiers killed 500 soldiers wounded 500–600prisoners of war | 20 soldiers killed 81–83 soldiers wounded | ||||||
TheBattle of Ferkeh (orFirket) occurred during theMahdist War in which an army ofMahdists was surprised and routed by Egyptian forces, led bySir Herbert Kitchener, on 7 June 1896. It was the first significant action of thereconquest of Sudan, which culminated in the September 1898Battle of Omdurman.
In June 1896, at the start of the Sudan campaign, Kitchener's Anglo-Egyptian force was advancing onDongola, in Northern Sudan. Ferkeh was a small fortified village on the banks of theNile. It was the first important Mahdist position that was encountered and was occupied by 3,000 Mahdist warriors, led by theEmirs Hammuda andOsman Azrak.[1]
Kitchener's force, nominally in service of theKhedive of Egypt but in fact under direct British control, was composed of Egyptian and Sudanese soldiers, led by British officers. It numbered 9,000 men, accompanied by three batteries offield guns and one battery ofMaxim guns.[2] Apart from officers with the Egyptian Army, the Maxim battery were the only European troops present and was manned by detachments from theNorth Staffordshire Regiment and theConnaught Rangers.[3] The latter, according to some sources, wore red coats, not khaki. If so, that would be the last time in which British troops fought in red (theBattle of Ginnis, on 30 December 1885, was the last time that it certainly occurred.)[citation needed]
Kitchener divided his force into two columns. One was formed mostly ofinfantry and had to march along the Nile to attack Ferkeh from the North. The other consisted ofcavalry, camel-mounted infantry andhorse artillery units and was sent through the desert to attack from the Southeast. Both columns departed in the evening of the 6th and marched through the night, deploying at dawn in the morning of the 7th.[4]
The attack caught the Mahdists completely by surprise, and they made only uncoordinated attacks against the deploying Egyptians during which Emir Hammuda was killed. Many of the Mahdists then turned and fled. The cavalry column should have cut off their retreat but were hidden from view by the terrain. Many, including Osman Azrak, made good their escape along the Nile. Other Mahdists stayed in their fortifications in the village and fought to the end. The Egyptians had to clear the position withbayonets.[4]
The battle lasted less than three hours, from 04:30 to 07:20, and resulted in the deaths of 20 Egyptians and 800 to 1,000 Mahdists.[4]
In strategic terms, Ferkeh was not a major battle since it was only an outpost of the Mahdist State that had been surprised and overrun. However, the battle had a significant psychological effect since it was the first substantial victory of the Egyptian Army after it had been reorganised by the British. Also, the battle showed that the Mahdist forces could be defeated, which boosted the Egyptian Army's morale, and unsettled their opponents at the onset of the reconquest campaign.[5]
Those present were later awarded theKhedive's Sudan Medal with clasp 'Firket' andQueen Victoria's Sudan Medal.[3]