Our Sailors Part 18

The bombardment of Alexandria, which commenced the war in Egypt, was of the highest interest to naval men; for here, for the first time, ironclad ships, armed with new and heavy ordnance, attacked forts mounted with the heaviest guns. A bloodless revolution had taken place in Egypt. The army, headed by Arabi Pasha, had quietly pushed aside the authority of the Khedive, and had become supreme in Egypt. The people at large were with the army, and regarded the movement as a national one; its object being to emanc.i.p.ate the country from foreign control.

England was unable to behold the change without apprehension; the Khedive was her own nominee, and had from the commencement of the trouble with the army acted entirely in accordance with the advice of the representative of England. We had a large stake in the country from the numerous loans which had been raised for the most part in England; but we were princ.i.p.ally affected by the fact that the rebels would have it in their power to stop the ca.n.a.l, and so to block the highway to our Eastern possessions.

The Egyptians began to manifest a hostile spirit towards foreigners, and an attack was made upon the Europeans in Alexandria; a large number were killed, and the rest compelled to take shelter on board a ship. A powerful English fleet was a.s.sembled in the port of Alexandria; the att.i.tude of the Egyptians became more and more threatening, and they proceeded to throw up batteries to command the British fleet. Admiral Seymour, who was in command, peremptorily called upon them to desist; but in spite of his threat to open fire upon them they continued to work upon the forts; the fleet therefore prepared for action. All neutral ships were warned to withdraw from the harbour, and the fleet then steamed out and took up its position facing the outer forts.

At seven o'clock on the morning of the 5th of July 1882, the signal to engage the batteries was made on board the admiral's ship the _Invincible_; and the _Invincible, Monarch_, and _Penelope_ immediately opened fire on the forts known as the Mex batteries; while the _Sultan, Alexandria, Superb_, and _Inflexible_, at the same moment, opened fire on the forts at Pharos Point and Ras-el-Tin. The Egyptians were standing at their guns, and instantly replied to the fire. The gunboats were lying in a second line behind the line of battle-ships, but the sailors who manned them were not content to remain idle, and, though without orders to engage, the _Cygnet_ soon crept in close enough to use her guns. The _Condor_ steamed away to the west, and engaged alone and unsupported the Marabout Fort. The admiral, seeing the disproportion of force between the Egyptian fort and the little gunboat, signalled the _Bittern_ and _Beacon_ to join her. The _Decoy_ went of her own accord, and the other gunboats and the _Cygnet_ also moved off to aid in pounding the Marabout Fort.

The roar of the heavy guns of the fleet and batteries was tremendous, and on both sides cannon of vastly heavier metal than had ever before been used in war were sending their deadly messengers. The Egyptians stuck to their guns with the greatest bravery, but their skill was far from being equal to their courage, and the greatest portion of their shot flew high over the vessels; this was especially the case with the heavy guns, the lighter and more manageable pieces were better aimed, and the round shot continually struck the men-of-war but failed to penetrate their iron sides. On the other hand, the huge shot and sh.e.l.l of the ironclads committed terrible devastation on the batteries. These were for the most part constructed of stone, which crumbled and fell in great ma.s.ses under the tremendous blows of the English shot and sh.e.l.l.

After an hour's continued firing the return from the forts began to slacken. Many of the guns were dismounted, and rugged gaps appeared in their walls; but it was not for three hours later that the Egyptian gunners were driven from their pieces. Even then they continued to fire steadily from several of their forts. At one o'clock the gunboats had silenced the fire of the Marabout Fort, and proceeded to aid the _Invincible, Monarch_, and _Penelope_ in their bombardment on the Mex batteries; and the _Temeraire_, which had hitherto been engaged with a fort commanding the Boghaz Channel, joined the _Alexandria, Sultan_, and _Superb_, and their fire completely silenced the Pharos forts and blew up the enemy's powder magazine. By four o'clock in the afternoon, the enemy's fire ceased altogether, but for another hour and a half the fleet continued to pound the forts.

The action was decisive; almost every Egyptian gun was dismounted, the forts were riddled with holes and reduced to ruins, and the slaughter of the Egyptian artillery was very great, while on the English side the casualties amounted to only 5 killed and 28 wounded. So tremendous was the effect produced by the fire of the British guns, that the Egyptian soldiers entirely lost heart, and although the fleet carried no force capable of effecting the capture of the town, if staunchly defended, the Egyptians at once evacuated Alexandria. The European quarter was plundered and fired by the mob of the town, and an enormous amount of damage done.

As soon as the place was found to be evacuated, a strong body of marines and bluejackets landed and took possession of it, and speedily restored order, and held the city until the arrival of the troops from England.

Sir Archibald Alison came out and took command of the force on sh.o.r.e, and, sallying out with 600 men, captured the waterworks at Ramleh--an important position between the sea and the ca.n.a.l, and facing the camp of Arabi's army some four miles distant; here, for some time, artillery duels from time to time went on between the guns of the two armies.

Captain Fisher of the Royal Navy took possession of a railway train and made of it a moving battery. Its armament consisted of two heavy guns and some gatlings; the trucks were protected by sand-bags, and the battery was manned by sailors. This train did great service, as the line of railway ran from Alexandria through the rebel camp, and when reconnaissances were made the movable battery accompanied the troops, and by its fire greatly facilitated the operation.

Until the end of July the princ.i.p.al part of the work of defending Alexandria and checking the army of Arabi fell upon the Naval Brigade, but by that time so large a number of troops had arrived that the services of the sailors on sh.o.r.e were no longer required, and, with the exception of those serving in Captain Fisher's battery, they returned to their respective ships. The marines, however, remained on sh.o.r.e and took part in a sharp engagement which took place on the 5th of August.

Sir Archibald Alison was desirous of discovering the exact position and force of Arabi's advance line of defences, and a reconnaissance, composed of six companies of the 60th Rifles, four companies of the 38th, and four of the 46th, were told off for the service; and seven companies of marines under Colonel Tewson were ordered to advance along the railway embankment in company with the ironclad train. The Rifles were to march by the ca.n.a.l, and the two parties would join at the point where the ca.n.a.l and railway approach closely to each other. The ground between the line taken by the two columns consisted of fields and marshy swamps.

No sooner had the advance begun than a movement was visible in the enemy's lines, and the Egyptians were soon seen extending in skirmishing order 1000 yards in front of the 60th. They took up their position in a deep ditch which crossed the British line of advance, and behind which was a thick jungle, and opened a heavy fire upon the Rifles. The troops advanced steadily in skirmishing order, opening fire upon their almost invisible foes, whose heads only could be seen when they raised them to discharge their muskets. The Egyptians fired high, and although a hail of bullets swept over the heads of the advancing troops there were but few casualties. When the Rifles approached the ditch, the supports were brought up and a rush was made, when the Egyptians at once forsook their position and fled through the jungle.

In the meantime, the marines, advancing along the embankment, had been met by a hot fire from the enemy, whose main position here was a large house, surrounded by entrenchments on which some guns were mounted. The forty-pounder on the moving battery kept up a steady fire on this position; while the marines, pushing forward, were hotly engaged with the enemy's infantry. The two columns advanced abreast until they reached a point some 600 yards from the spot where the railway and ca.n.a.l come together; the embankment was strongly held by the Egyptians, but the marines charged them with fixed bayonets and drove them before them--bayoneting and shooting great numbers.

By this time the enemy were coming up in great strength from their camps. The marines were now unsupported, for Colonel Thackwell, who commanded the other column, had received orders to advance to the White House. There were two white houses on the ca.n.a.l, and he stopped at the first, whereas the second was the one intended; the marines having pushed on farther, were therefore entirely without support, and the enemy, ma.s.sing in great numbers, threatened them on both flanks. The order was therefore given to fall back, but in order to check the enemy while the movement was being carried out, Major Donald with 50 marines advanced boldly close up to the Egyptian position, and kept up so hot a fire that the enemy's advance was checked, while the main body of the marines retired steadily across the fields to the embankment, keeping perfect order in spite of the tremendous fire which was poured into them, and bringing off every wounded man as he fell.

The enemy had now brought up several batteries of artillery, which opened from a distance, and under this cover pressed hotly upon the marines; these, however, retired in alternate companies, turning round and facing their pursuers, and aided by the musketry fire of the sailors in the train as well as by their machine guns and forty-pounder.

Darkness was fast coming on, and as the batteries at the waterworks now opened fire upon the Egyptians, the latter ceased to press the retiring troops, who withdrew without further molestation to their position at Ramleh.

When the main body of troops from England reached Alexandria, with Sir Garnet Wolseley in supreme command, steps were taken to remove the scene of war to Ismailia--half-way along the Suez Ca.n.a.l--in order to advance upon Cairo from that place, and to avoid the necessity for attacking the formidable works which Arabi had erected facing Alexandria. The plan was kept a profound secret: the troops were placed on board the transports, and, escorted by the fleet, steamed away to Port Said at the mouth of the Suez Ca.n.a.l, and then up the ca.n.a.l to Ismailia.

In spite of the efforts of the sailors, upon whom the burden of the operation of disembarkation fell, there was considerable delay before the troops were in a position to advance, and Arabi was able to collect a large army at Tel-el-Kebir, on the line by which the army would have to advance. While the preparations for a forward movement were going on, a portion of the British troops pushed forward; and a brigade, among whom was a battalion of the marines, occupied Ka.s.sa.s.sin, a few miles distant from the Egyptian position.

On the 10th of September, Arabi, seeing how small was the force which had taken up its post near him, determined to attack them, with the intention of crushing them first, and then advancing and destroying one by one the small bodies of British troops at the posts on the line down to Ismailia. He advanced with a powerful force, and so quickly did he push forward that the British had scarcely time to get under arms when the Egyptian sh.e.l.l began to fall fast in the camp. The little force fell in with the greatest coolness, and the marines and 60th Rifles advanced in skirmishing order to meet the vastly superior numbers of the Egyptians. So staunchly and steadily did they fight, that they were able to keep their a.s.sailants at bay until the English cavalry came up from the next post, and, falling upon the Egyptians in flank, completely routed them. At the battle of Tel-el-Kebir, where Arabi's army was completely defeated and the rebellion finally crushed, the marines, who had hitherto borne the brunt of all the fighting which had taken place, were not in the front line of attack, and bore but little share in the fighting, which was done almost entirely by the Highland Brigade.

CAMPAIGN AGAINST THE MAHDI--1883-1885.

After the English had broken up the Egyptian army, and had, for a time at least, practically a.s.sumed the direction of affairs there, they found themselves face to face with an insurrection under a fanatic who a.s.sumed the t.i.tle of the Mahdi. The followers of this man had overrun the whole of the Soudan, shutting up the various Egyptian garrisons in the towns they occupied. One of the chiefs of the Mahdi, named Osman Digma, was threatening the port of Suakim, on the Red Sea, and had besieged the Egyptian garrisons in the towns of Sinkat and Tokar. Admiral Hewett was ordered to protect Suakim, and with the _Ranger, Sphinx, Euryalus_, and _Decoy_ took his station off that town.

Several times Osman Digma's followers came close up to the place, but, whenever they did so, the bluejackets and marines from the four English ships were landed, and the men-of-war opened a fire over the town upon the ground which the rebels must cross to reach it. Thus they succeeded in defending Suakim from any serious attack until Baker Pasha, who was in command of a miscellaneous force known as the Egyptian Police, came down with some thousands of newly-raised troops. These men had received but little drill, and were scarce worthy the name of soldiers; but, as the garrisons of Sinkat and Tokar still held out, although sorely pressed by hunger, Baker Pasha determined to make an effort to relieve them, although he and his officers were well aware of the wholly untrustworthy nature of the force at his command. There were plenty of English troops doing nothing in Egypt, and had but one regiment been sent down to Baker Pasha it would have been worth all the armed rabble he had under him; but the English Government could not at the time bring itself to acknowledge its responsibility for the safety of the Egyptian garrisons.

Baker's force was conveyed down the coast to Trinkatat; Admiral Hewett with some of the ships going down with him. The force was landed and marched towards Tokar; on the way it was attacked by the tribesmen who had embraced the cause of Osman Digma. The undisciplined levies of Baker broke at once when attacked; their English officers fought gallantly; many were killed, and the greater portion of the Egyptians ma.s.sacred almost unresistingly; the rest fled to Trinkatat. The rebels, fearing to come within range of the guns of the English ships, ceased from their pursuit, and the survivors of Baker's force were able to get on board the vessels in safety.

The result of this defeat was that the garrison of Sinkat, who had held out heroically, finding themselves without a hope of relief, and their provisions being wholly exhausted, marched out and tried to cut their way through the besieged town to the coast. They were, however, exterminated, not a man making his way through to tell the tale.

Tokar also fell into the Mahdists' hands, its garrison having accepted terms of surrender; and thus Osman Digma was left free to attack Suakim itself, which but for the presence of the fleet must have fallen into his hands.

BATTLE OF EL TAB.

In the meanwhile the British Government, under the leadership of Mr Gladstone, had come to the conclusion that the advanced posts of the Egyptian Government in the Soudan could no longer be held, and pressed upon that Government the necessity of withdrawing the garrisons. The Egyptians reluctantly accepted the advice of their powerful "ally," but were unable of themselves to execute its purpose. The British Government then applied to General Gordon, who had been formerly governor of the Soudan, and who had more influence over the Arab tribes than any other European of modern times, to undertake the task of the evacuation of Khartoum, the civil population of which numbered about 11,000. General Gordon at once responded to the call of his country, and set out for Khartoum, which he reached with General Stewart as his sole companion on the 16th of February.

At first all seemed well, and Gordon was able to send down some widows and children, 2500 in all, to Korosko, but the events above related at once destroyed all hope of a peaceful retreat; and it became evident that help from without would become necessary if the population were to be saved; but the two British officers never doubted that their country would aid them in their time of need.

The sensation caused in England by the events around Suakim now became so great that Mr Gladstone's Government could no longer evade their responsibility, and now took the step which, had it been taken six weeks earlier, would have saved thousands of lives. English troops were set in motion from Egypt, some regiments were stopped on their way home from India up the Red Sea, and a force was a.s.sembled at Suakim under General Graham; when these were collected they were taken down to Trinkatat by sea, and the disembarkation there began on the 23rd of February 1884.

As usual, all the hard work to be done fell upon the sailors, who worked incessantly--landing stores through the surf, working up to their necks in water. On the 26th, having accomplished this work, a Naval Brigade, consisting of all the marines and sailors who could be spared from the men-of-war, was landed to take part in the expedition, taking with them several gatlings and light ship guns; all of which were dragged by them through the deep sand, no means of transport being available. Two or three days now elapsed before the advance commenced, as some of the troops had not yet arrived; but on the 65th Regiment coming into port in the _Serapis_ transport, orders were given for the advance to commence.

As soon as the 65th landed, they crossed a lagoon, or shallow salt-water lake, which lay behind Trinkatat, and joined the main body, who had already taken post on the other side.

The column consisted roughly of 3000 infantry, 750 cavalry and mounted infantry, 115 men of the Naval Brigade, and about 200 artillery and engineers; of these 150 were left at Trinkatat, and 200 men at the camping ground across the lagoon, which had been entrenched by General Baker and bore his name. The troops advanced in a hollow square. The Gordon Highlanders formed the front face, the Irish Fusiliers the right face, the 65th the left, and the 42nd Highlanders formed the rear of the square. The Rifles marched inside the square next to the Fusiliers, the marines next to the Rifles, the sailors, with six gatling guns, were stationed to the left of the Gordon Highlanders; while the eight seven-pounder guns belonging to the fleet, which had been transferred to the camel battery, were in the centre of the square in reserve. Two squadrons of cavalry were to scout far out on the front and flanks, the rest of the cavalry were to remain in readiness for action in the rear of the square.

Soldiers and sailors were alike in good spirits, and longing to meet the foe and to avenge the ma.s.sacre of Baker's troops on the very ground across which they were about to march; but they knew that the work would be no child's play, and that the greatest steadiness would be needed to resist the tremendous rush of the fanatics. The march began in the morning, and the enemy's scouts were seen falling back as the cavalry dashed out ahead. Their main position was in the neighbourhood of some wells. It was marked by a number of banners floating in the light air on a low ridge which was swarming with men; guns could be seen in position at various points along the position, which extended about a mile in length.

As the column approached the ridge, the natives took up their post behind it; but, as in a direct advance against it, the column would be swept by the fire of their guns and musketry, without being able to make any adequate return against the concealed foes, General Graham determined to turn it by working round its flank. Accordingly, after a halt, the column continued its march in an oblique direction across the face of the position.

At a few minutes before eleven, the cavalry scouts moved away from the front of the column and left it face to face with the enemy, who were now but a few hundred yards away. Their heads could be seen popping up behind the bushes and earthworks, and every moment it was expected that they would rise from their hiding-places and charge down upon the column which was marching past their front at a distance of about 400 yards.

The a.s.sault did not come, but a sudden fire of musketry broke out from the face of the position, and the Krupp guns, captured from Baker's force, in their batteries opened fire on the column. The effect was at once visible, several men in the square fell out from the ranks wounded; but fortunately the enemy fired high, and the storm of shot and sh.e.l.l, for the most part, pa.s.sed harmlessly over the column. Without returning a shot, the column moved steadily on in the line which would soon place them across the end of the enemy's position, and enable them to take it in the rear.

It was very trying to the nerve of the troops to march on without firing while pelted with such a storm of missiles. General Baker was badly wounded in the face by a bullet from a sh.e.l.l, and many men were struck, but by this time the column had reached the desired position; they had pa.s.sed round the enemy's line, and were almost in their rear. They halted now, and the men lay down, while the sailors opened fire upon the enemy with the gatlings, and the men of the camel battery with their seven-pounders,--six guns of the enemy replying. These were well handled and aimed, for the garrison of Tokar had three days before surrendered, and were now fighting in the ranks of their captors, whose guns were all worked by the Egyptian artillerymen.

By twelve o'clock the English guns had silenced those of the enemy, and the word was given for an advance against their position; the bagpipes struck up, the men sprang to their feet cheering, and the column, still keeping its formation as a square, marched straight at the enemy's position. The Arabs ceased firing as the British approached, and when the column was close at hand they leapt to their feet and charged furiously down.

The change of the direction of the march had altered the position of the column, the flank of the square was now its front, and the brunt of the attack fell on the 42nd, 65th, and the Naval Brigade. Groups of twenty and thirty Arabs rushed fiercely down upon them, but they were swept away by the fire of the musketry and the machine guns; but in some places the Arabs came to close quarters, but were unable to break through the line of bayonets.

The column had now reached the position, and with a cheer rushed over the bank of sand. From every bush around them the Arabs leapt up and flung themselves upon the troops. Admiral Hewett himself led the sailors and joined in the hand-to-hand fight. A party of fanatics nearly succeeded in breaking in between the sailors and the 65th, but Captain Wilson, of the _Hecla_, threw himself into the gap, and, fighting desperately, drove back the a.s.sailants.

There was a short halt when the post was captured, to reform the column before moving forward to the attack of the main position of the enemy, of which we were now well in rear; and after a short artillery duel the column again advanced. The whole ground was covered with trenches and innumerable little rifle-pits, all hidden by the close growing bushes, and every foot was contested, the Arabs leaping from their defences and dashing recklessly on the British bayonets. Great numbers of them were slaughtered; and they fought with a desperate courage which extorted the admiration of our soldiers.

At last the column, which was now extended into line, pa.s.sed across the whole of the position occupied by the enemy and emerged in front; the main body of the enemy withdrawing sullenly. Of the Naval Brigade two men were killed, and Lieutenant Royds and six sailors wounded.

No more fighting took place; a portion of the column advanced to Tokar, which the enemy evacuated at their approach, and brought off such of the townspeople as wished to leave. The force then marched down to Trinkatat, and, re-embarking, were conveyed in the transports back to Suakim, and marched out to attack Osman Digma. The Naval Brigade took part in the advance.

BATTLE OF TAMANIEB--1884.

When the column arrived within half a mile of the position occupied by the main force of Osman Digma, they encamped for the night. At eight in the evening, Commander Rolfe, RN, performed a most daring action; he started alone to reconnoitre the camp of the enemy, and made his way close up to their fires, and was able to bring back the news that the enemy were quiet and evidently meditated no immediate attack; the men were therefore able to lie down quietly and sleep for a while. At one o'clock, however, the enemy gathered round the position and kept up a fire all night.

The next day the advance was made, not in squares as before, but in two brigades. In the first of these, with the 42nd and 65th, were the marines and Naval Brigade. As the brigade advanced, the enemy swarmed down to the attack, and the soldiers with their rifles, and the sailors with their machine guns, opened a tremendous fire upon them; but the Arabs still came on with desperate bravery. The brigade was in square, and the 42nd, who were in front, charged the enemy at the double, cheering loudly; but this movement left a gap between them and the 65th, who formed the right face of the square, and, before the gap could be closed up, great hordes of Arabs charged down and burst into the square.

For a while all was confusion. The 65th fell back on the marines. The Naval Brigade, surrounded by the broken soldiers, were unable to use their guns, and, as the confused ma.s.s fell back, had to leave these behind them; but with great coolness they removed portions of the machinery, so that when the guns fell into the hands of the enemy they were unable to use them against us.

Wildly the Arabs pressed down upon the retreating troops, but the second brigade, under General Buller, came up in splendid order, their volleys sweeping away the enemy. This gave the retreating troops time to reform their ranks, and they at once advanced again in line with Buller's brigade; and the enemy were put to flight, after suffering a loss of over 5000 men.

Amongst those who fell in this action were Lieutenant Montresor, RN, Lieutenant Almack, RN, and Lieutenant Houston, RN, with seven of their men who were killed at their guns.

For the subsequent proceedings against the Mahdi, see _Our Soldiers_, page 338.