1898 Two Large Antique Prints - Battle of Omdurman, Sudan - 21st. Lancers Horses
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1898 Two Large Antique Prints - Battle of Omdurman, Sudan - 21st. Lancers Horses:
$15.00
Two superb double-page photogravurespublished in The Graphic magazine (see below) on September 10, 1898 and entitled as follows;
\"The Heroes Of The Omdurman Charge : The 21st. Lancers On Their Way To The Front\"
\"The Advance On Omdurman : Laying The Telegraph Cable Across The Nile\"
On the reverse of one is a full page illustration of Cameron Highlanders rushing for news of the battle in Sunday papers - see scan
See below for an account of the Battle and the critical role played by the 21st. Lancers
Good condition with central folds as originally published. Blank or unrelated text to the reverse. Dated in top border. Page size 23 x 16inches.
These are original antique prints and not reproductions . Great collectors item for the historian - see more of these double page engravings in Seller\'s Other Itemswhich can be combined for mailing at no additional cost.
Note: Free Postage - if 3 of these double-page lots are purchased, international mailing will be free - if 2 lots are purchased , domestic mail would be free.
Battle of OmdurmanFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaNot to be confused with2008 attack on Omdurman and Khartoum.Battle of OmdurmanPart of theMahdist War
(War of the Sudan)
\"The charge of the 21st Lancers\" by Edward Matthew Hale.Date2 September British-Egyptian VictoryBelligerentsUnited Kingdom
EgyptSudanCommanders and leadersSir Herbert KitchenerAbdullah al-TaashiStrength8,200 British,
17,600 Sudanese and Egyptian soldiers52,000 warriorsCasualties and losses47 dead[1]
382 wounded10,000 killed
13,000 wounded
5,000 captured[hide]
- v
- t
- e
- El Obeid
- El Teb
- Tofrek
- Tamai
- Khartoum
- Abu Klea
- Kirbekan
- Ginnis
- Suakin
- Guté Dili
- Dufile
- Gallabat
- Toski
- Agordat
- Kassala
- Ferkeh
- Atbara
- Omdurman
- Umm Diwaykarat
At theBattle of Omdurman(2 September 1898), an army commanded by theBritishGeneral SirHerbert Kitchenerdefeated the army ofAbdullah al-Taashi, the successor to the self-proclaimedMahdi,Muhammad Ahmad. It was a demonstration of the superiority of a highly disciplined army equipped with modernrifles,machine gunsandartilleryover a vastly larger force armed with older weapons, and marked the success of British efforts to re-conquer theSudan. However, it was not until the 1899Battle of Umm Diwaykaratthat the final Mahdist forces were defeated.
Omdurmanis today a suburb ofKhartoumin central Sudan, with a population of some 1.5 million. The village of Omdurman was chosen in 1884 as the base of operations by the Mahdi, Muhammad Ahmad. After his death in 1885, following the successfulsiege of Khartoum, his successor (Khalifa) Abdullah retained it as his capital.
Contents[hide]- 1Battle account
- 2Aftermath
- 3Fictional accounts
- 4In art
- 5References
- 6Further reading
- 7External links
The battle took place at Kerreri, 11km north of Omdurman. Kitchener commanded a force of 8,000 British regulars and a mixed force of 17,000 Sudanese and Egyptian troops. He arrayed his force in an arc around the village of Egeiga, close to the bank of theNile, where agunboatflotillawaited in support, facing a wide, flat plain with hills rising to the left and right. The British and Egyptiancavalrywas placed on either flank.
Abdullah\'s followers, known asAnsarand sometimes referred to asDervishes, numbered around 50,000, including some 3,000 cavalry. They were split into five groups--a force of 8,000 under Osman Azrak was arrayed directly opposite the British, in a shallow arc along a mile (1.6km) of a low ridge leading onto the plain, and the other Mahdist forces were initially concealed from Kitchener\'s force. Abdullah al-Taashi and 17,000 men were concealed behind the Surgham Hills to the west and rear of Osman Azrak\'s force, with 20,000 more positioned to the northwest, close to the front behind the Kerreri hills, commanded byAli-Wad-Heluand Sheikh ed-Din. A final force of around 8,000 was gathered on the slope on the right flank of Azrak\'s force.
The battle began in the early morning, at around 6:00 a.m. After the clashes of the previous day, the 8,000 men under Osman Azrak advanced straight at the waiting British, quickly followed by about 8,000 of those waiting to the northwest, a mixed force of rifle- and spearmen. The British artillery opened fire at around 2750m (about 1.7 miles), inflicting severe casualties on the Mahdist forces before they even came within range of theMaxim gunsand volley fire. The frontal attack ended quickly, with around 4,000 Mahdist casualties; none of the attackers got closer than 50m to the British trenches. A flanking move from the Ansar right was also checked, and there were bloody clashes on the opposite flank that scattered the Mahdist forces there.
The Battle of Omdurman, 1898, from the Purton Museum, England. This illustration depicts the British wearing red ceremonial uniforms to identify the different regiments involved. The regiments in the picture have a number printed with them and a key at the bottom to identify them. The red uniforms had in fact been superseded bykhakisince 1848 in India.Kitchener was anxious to occupy Omdurman before the remaining Mahdist forces could withdraw there. He advanced his army on the city, arranging them in separate columns for the attack. The British light cavalry regiment, the21st Lancers, was sent ahead to clear the plain to Omdurman. They had a tough time of it. The 400-strong regiment attacked what they thought were only a few hundred dervishes, but in fact there were 2,500 infantry hidden behind them in a depression. After a fierce clash, the Lancers drove them back (resulting in threeVictoria Crossesbeing awarded). On a larger scale, the British advance allowed the Khalifa to re-organize his forces. He still had over 30,000 men in the field and directed his main reserve to attack from the west while ordering the forces to the northwest to attack simultaneously over the Kerreri Hills.
Kitchener\'s force wheeled left in echelon to advance up Surgham ridge and then southwards. To protect the rear, a brigade of 3,000 mainly Sudanese, commanded byHector MacDonald, was reinforced with Maxims and artillery and followed the main force at around 1,350m. Curiously, the supplies and wounded around Egeiga were left almost unprotected.
MacDonald was alerted to the presence of around 15,000 enemy troops moving towards him from the west, out from behind Surgham. He wheeled his force and lined them up to face the enemy charge. The Mahdist infantry attacked in two prongs and MacDonald was forced to repeatedly re-order his battalions. The brigade maintained a punishing fire. Kitchener, now aware of the problem, \"began to throw his brigades about as if they were companies\".[2]MacDonald\'s brigade was soon reinforced and the Mahdist forces were forced back; they finally broke and fled or died where they stood. The Mahdist forces to the north had regrouped too late and entered the clash only after the force in the central valley had been routed. They pressed Macdonald\'s Sudanese brigades hard, but theLincolnshire Regimentwas quickly brought up and with sustained section volleys repulsed the advance. A final desperate cavalry charge of around 500 horsemen was utterly destroyed. The march on Omdurman was resumed at about 11:30.
Aftermath[edit]Around 10,000 Mahdists were killed, 13,000 wounded and 5,000 taken prisoner. Kitchener\'s force lost 47 men killed and 382 wounded, the majority from MacDonald\'s command. One eye-witness described the appalling scene:
They could never get near and they refused to hold back. ... It was not a battle but an execution. ... The bodies were not in heaps—bodies hardly ever are; but they spread evenly over acres and acres. Some lay very composedly with their slippers placed under their heads for a last pillow; some knelt, cut short in the middle of a last prayer. Others were torn to pieces ...[3]
Controversy over wounded Mahdists killed after the battle began soon afterwards.[4]Churchill thought Kitchener was too brutal in his killing of the wounded.[5]
The Khalifa escaped and survived until 1899, when he was killed in theBattle of Umm Diwaykarat.
Several days after the battle, Kitchener was sent toFashoda, due to the developingFashoda Incident.
Kitchener was ennobled as a baron, Kitchener of Khartoum, for his victory. FourVictoria Crosseswere awarded, three to members of the 21st Lancers, as a result of this action: 2nd LieutenantRaymond H.L.J. De Montmorency, CaptainPaul A. Kenna, PrivateThomas Byrneand one to CaptainNevill Smythof the2nd Dragoon Guards (Queen\'s Bays).[6]
Winston Churchillwas present at the battle and he rode with the 21st Lancers. He published an account in 1899 as \"The River War: An Account of the Reconquest of the Soudan\", which is the basis for this article. Present as a war correspondent forThe TimeswasColonel Frank Rhodes, brother ofCecil, who was shot and severely wounded in the right arm. For his services during that battle he was restored to the army active list.
The Battle of Omdurman has also lent its name to many streets in British and Commonwealth cities, for example \'Omdurman Road\' inSouthamptonand \'Omdurman Street\' inFreshwater, Sydney.
Fictional accounts[edit]The 1939 film adaptation of the novelThe Four Feathersis set in the time of this battle, and covers other aspects of the Sudan Campaign.
The 2008 novelAfter Omdurmanby John Ferry is partly set during the 1898 re-conquest of the Sudan, with the book\'s lead character, Evelyn Winters, playing a peripheral role in the Battle of Omdurman.
In the British television sitcomDad\'s Army, the character ofCorporal Jonesoften refers to the days he spent serving underGeneral Kitchenerat the Battle of Omdurman.
The 1972 filmYoung Winstonincludes a depiction of the initial Anglo-Egyptian artillery bombardment at the start of the battle as well as a recreation of the charge of the 21st Lancers.
The 2009 novelThe Devil\'s PaintbrushbyJake Arnottinvolves a retelling of the life ofHector MacDonald, and includes the battle and Kitchener\'srailway-building drive through Sudan.
The 2005 novel \"The Triumph of the Sun\" by Wilbur Smith depicts the siege of Khartoum and the Battle of Omdurman with mixture of historical and fictional characters
In art[edit]The subject of the battle made its appearance in several oil paintings exhibited in Britain at the time. In particular, the charge of the 21st Lancers held special appeal and several artists portrayed the scene includingStanley Berkeley,Robert Alexander Hillingford,Richard Caton Woodville,William Barnes Wollen, Gilbert S. Wright, Edward Mathew Hale, Capt.Adrian Jones, Major John C. Mathews, andAllan Stewart.[7]The pictorial press covered the campaign extensively and employed several artists to record the events.[8]
The GraphicFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaFront page ofThe Graphicduring theTichborne Casein 1873
The Graphicwas aBritishweeklyillustratednewspaper, first published on 4 December 1869 byWilliam Luson Thomas\'s company Illustrated Newspapers Limited.
The influence ofThe Graphicwithin the art world was immense, its many admirers includedVincent Van Gogh, andHubert von Herkomer.[1]
It continued to be published weekly under this title until 23 April 1932 and then changed title toThe National Graphicbetween 28 April and 14 July 1932; it then ceased publication after 3,266 issues. From 1889 it also publishedThe Daily Graphic.
Contents[hide]- 1Background
- 2Realization
- 2.1Artists
- 2.2Writers
- 3Weekly topics
- 4Innovations
- 5The Daily Graphic
- 6Demise
- 7References
- 8Further reading
- 9External links
The Graphicwas founded byWilliam Luson Thomas, a successful artist, wood engraver and social reformer. Earlier he, his brother and his brother-in-law had been persuaded to go to New York and assist in launching two newspapers,Picture GalleryandRepublic. Thomas also had an engraving establishment of his own and, aided by a large staff, illustrated and engraved numerous standard works.[2]Exasperated, even angered, by the unsympathetic treatment of artists by the world\'s most successful illustrated paper,The Illustrated London News, and having a good business sense Luson Thomas resolved to set up an opposition. His illustrated paper, despite being more expensive that its competition, became an immediate success.[1]
Realization[edit]When it began in 1869, the newspaper was printed in a rented house. By 1882, the company owned three buildings and twenty printing presses, and employed over 1,000 people. The first editor wasHenry Sutherland Edwards. A successful artist himself, founder Thomas recruited gifted artists includingLuke Fildes,Hubert von Herkomer,Frank Holl, andJohn Millais.
The Graphicwas published on a Saturday and its original cover price was sixpence, while the Illustrated London News was fivepence.[1]In its first year, it described itself to advertisers as \"a superior illustrated weekly newspaper, containing twenty-four pages imperialfolio, printed on fine toned paper of beautiful quality, made expressly for the purpose and admirably adapted for the display ofengravings\".
In addition to its home market the paper had subscribers all around theBritish EmpireandNorth America.The Graphiccovered home news and news from around the Empire, and devoted much attention to literature, arts, sciences, the fashionable world, sport, music and opera. Royal occasions and national celebrations and ceremonials were also given prominent coverage.
Artists[edit]Artists employed onThe GraphicandThe Daily Graphicat the end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th century included John Charles Dollman,Helen Allingham,Edmund Blampied,Alexander Boyd,Frank Brangwyn,Randolph Caldecott,James H. Dowd,Harry Furniss,Phil May,Ernest Prater,Leonard Raven-Hill,Sidney Sime,Snaffles (Charles Johnson Payne),George Stampa,Edmund Sullivan,Bert ThomasandF. H. Townsend,Luke FildesandHenry Woods.
Writers[edit]Writers for the paper includedGeorge Eliot,Thomas Hardy,H. Rider HaggardandAnthony Trollope.[1]Malcolm Charles Salamanwas employed there from 1890 to 1899.Beatrice Grimshawtravelled the South Pacific reporting on her experiences for the \"Daily Graphic\".[3]
Weekly topics[edit]- Topics of the Week: 12 paragraphs ofnewscoverage.
- Amusements: A roundup of activities for the week, for the middle-class reader.
- Our illustrations: a summary of all the illustrations in the edition.
- Home: a summary of the news in Britain.
- Churchnews
- Legal: Trials and Cases of interest to the target reader.
- A weeklyserialwritten by popular authors of the time, such asWilliam Black(although this seemed to appear in the 1880s).
- Book reviews
- A summary of the new developments in science.
- Ruralnotes: information about theseasonand tips about crops, and other news concerning the rampant unrest of the farm labourers.
- New Music: Reviews of the latest music and musicals.
- Obituaries: of Church leaders, factory owners, European Royalty, musicians and noteworthy Victorians.
- Sport: coverage of football and cricket (withW.G. Grace)
- Motoring: c. 1903-1908Dorothy Levitt,The Fastest Girl on Earth, wrote a column on motoring from the point of view of \'A woman\'s right to motor\'. A collection of her articles formed the basis of the bookThe Woman and the Car: A chatty little handbook for all women who motor or who want to motorin 1907/9.
There were at least three pages dedicated to advertising and it is interesting to see the obsession withhygiene, with countless adverts for toothpaste and soap products (and \'miracle-cure\' pills).
Innovations[edit]The Graphicwas designed to compete with the famousIllustrated London News(established in 1842), and became its most successful rival. Earlier rivals such as theIllustrated Timesand thePictorial Timeshad either failed to compete or been merged with theILN. It appealed to the samemiddle-classreadership, butThe Graphic, as its name suggests, was intended to use images in a more vivid and striking way than the rather staidILN. To this end it employed some of the most important artists of the day, making an immediate splash in 1869 withHouseless and Hungry, Luke Fildes\' dramatic image of the shivering London poor seeking shelter in a workhouse.
It is much more difficult to produce and print illustrations than type. Improvements in process work and machinery at the end of the 1880s allowed Luson Thomas to realize a long cherished project, a daily illustrated paper.[2]
The Daily Graphic[edit]In 1889, Luson Thomas\'s company H. R. Baines and Co. commenced publication of the first daily illustrated newspaper in England, which was calledThe Daily Graphic. This is not to be confused with its American precursorof the same name, which was the first American daily illustrated newspaper, founded in 1873.
Demise[edit]Luson Thomas\'s seventh sonGeorge Holt Thomaswas a director of the newspaper company and became general manager. Holt Thomas foundedThe Bystanderand laterEmpire Illustratedbefore abandoning newspapers in 1906 and making a greater name for himself in the aviation industry.[4]
On August 15, 1932Time Magazinereported the name change toThe National Graphicand editorWilliam Comyns BeaumontofThe Bystandertook over, replacingAlan John Bott.[5]
1898 Two Large Antique Prints - Battle of Omdurman, Sudan - 21st. Lancers Horses:
$15.00