The Revolt of Arabi Pasha shown in
military art prints of the Battle of Tel el Kibir, during the Revolt of Arabi Pasha 1882.
Historical art print of the Black Watch at the Battle of Tel El Kibir,
part of our range of historical military prints of the Egyptian and Sudan
Campaigns.
When
the Arabi rebellion broke out in Egypt in June 1882, almost absolute
anarchy reigned in Cairo and Alexandria. At that time there were computed
to be living in Egypt 37,000 Europeans, and the fortifying of Alexandria
continuing to be proceeded with in spite of the protests of the English
and French governments, the late Admiral Beauchamp Seymour, afterwards
Lord Alcester, threatened to bombard the forts, after the English people
had be warned to leave the country. All the world knows how this threat
was carried out, and the subsequent proceedings in which the Life Guards
bore a distinguished part.
At Tel-El-Mahuta, on 25th August, Arabi had succeeded in constructing his
first dam across the Suez canal in pursuance of his design for cutting off
the principal supply of water to the greater part of the country. The
troops under Wolseley consisted of three squadrons of Household Cavalry,
two guns and about 1,000 infantry; the force opposed to them was about
10,000. The water in the canal was getting dangerously low. Sir Garnet as
he was then, determined to capture the dam and sent two squadrons against
it. They dashed at the task with such fiery elan and with such success
that Wolseley was moved to admiration, and recorded the fact in his
dispatch describing the affair. "Under the bursting shells the
colossal troopers sat like statues amid a conflagration" (this was at
the beginning of the battle, and some of the men and horses had only been
landed the day before) "as quietly as they had been wont to sit a
short time before in the arched gateways of Whitehall." It was said
that Wolseley had no great opinion of the Life and Horse Guards' powers of
endurance, or indeed of their use at all, and it was with the idea of
proving them that he directed them to charge and take Arabi's dam.
At
Kassassin on the 28th August, General Graham's force was vigorously
attacked by the Egyptians. He signalled for assistance, which was afforded
him by the Life Guards and the Blues with the Horse Artillery, and the 7th
Dragoon Guards. Then came the so-called "Midnight Charge".
Considering that the attack was not seriously begun till 4.30 p.m., and
that General Graham ordered a general return to camp at 8.45 p.m., the
title is certainly a misnomer. When they arrived near enough to the scene
of the conflict for bullets to drop among the troopers, they halted just
to breathe the tired horses, and then came the order to charge. Like a
thunderbolt, furious and irresistible, the heavy troopers rode for the
enemy. A terrible scene of slaughter and confusion ensued; the enemy fled
in great disorder, and the battle was won.
The
decisive battle of the campaign was fought on the 13th September at
Tel-el-Kebir. The Life Guards bore their share in the fight, which was
chiefly confined to the pursuing and the cutting off of the enemy. The
battle, however, was not of lengthy duration. From the time the enemy
opened fire until he was in full retreat, only about half an hour
elapsed; but into that short space a deal of hard and splendid fighting
took place. The Egyptians were certainly taken by surprise, despite the
fact that they slept fully armed and behind earthworks, for Arabi told the
officer who took him to Ceylon as a prisoner, that when our men delivered
the attack he himself was in bed; and complained that they did not leave
him time enough even to get his boots on. Arabi's army was in consequence
of this crushing defeat, completely broken up, and the British entered
Cairo the next day. In October the Life Guards returned to England.
In
1884 they went again to Egypt and took part in the Nile Expedition,
mounted on Camels. Their uniform when actually on service in Egypt
consisted of grey "jumpers," yellow cord breeches, dark blue
"putties" and white helmets, brown ankle boots and belts. It did
not take long for the gallant troopers to get used to the
"gawd-forsaken oont" although the beast was not looked upon
altogether with favour. Of course the camels were used simply as a
means of locomotion and not as chargers.
The
Life Guards shared with their comrades the sickening jam produced by the
fanatics' rush on the square at Abu Klea, when it was desperate hand to
hand fighting. The Heavy Camel Corps composed of detachments from the Life
Guards and other heavy regiments occupied the rear face of the left rear
angle of the square, when the troops moved to within 500 yards from the
enemy's position, as marked by their flags, a horde of Arabs rose suddenly
out of cover and went straight at the square. The Mounted Infantry, on the
left face, poured such a scathing fire upon them that they swerved round
the left flank and dashed furiously upon the Life Guards. The onslaught
was so tremendous that the Guards and their comrades were borne back and
their line assumed the form almost of a semicircle. Only sheer bayonet
work was possible. The crush was terrific, numbers of camels were killed,
and were used as rallying points and as shelter by the soldiers; and the
reek of powder and clouds of dust added to the confusion. For about 15
minutes this lasted, and during that time Colonel Burnaby, who went into
action with a double-barrelled sporting gun, was killed, his jugular vein
being cut through by a spear. Support was forthcoming, however, and
shoulder to shoulder the gallant British soldiers simply swept back the
black stream, and killed every single man that had penetrated their lines.
After the Arabs were driven off 800 of their dead were found inside the
square. The British loss was very heavy, for out of 1,800 men there were 9
officers and 65 men killed, and 85 wounded, among the latter being only 2
officers of the Life Guards. But the heaviest loss fell upon the Heavy
Camel Corps, six of whose officers were killed. A portion of the Heavy
Camel Corps took part in the march of Stewart's Column across the desert
from Corti to Metammeh and back which no less an authority but Von Moltke
declared to be the work not only of soldiers, but of heroes.
