The Attack on Dammam was an 1866 assault by the British ship HMS ''Highflyer'' to destroy a fort held by the

Second Saudi State The second Saudi state (), officially known as the Emirate of Najd, was a state that existed between 1824 and 1891 in the Najd region of what is now Saudi Arabia. Saudi rule was restored to central (Najd) and Eastern Arabia after the first Sau ...

in the vicinity of

Dammam Dammam (Arabic: الدمام ad-Dammām) is a city and governorate, and the capital of the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. Located on the coast of the Persian Gulf, it had a population of 1,386,166 as of 2022, making it the country's fifth- ...

following Faisal's invasion of Oman, which was allied with the British. The attack ultimately failed due to the lack of adequate preparatory measures by the British expedition.

Background

In late 1865, the

Saudis Saudis (; local dialects: , suʿūdiyyīn) or Saudi Arabians are the citizen population of the Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, who speak the Arabic language, a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language, and share a common Ancesto ...

invaded

Oman Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman, is a country located on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in West Asia and the Middle East. It shares land borders with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Oman’s coastline ...

and headed towards the city of

Saham Saham () is a coastal town in Al Batinah North Governorate, in northeastern Oman Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman, is a country located on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in West Asia and the Middle East. It shares land ...

. At that time, Oman was allied with the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, and a

British Indian British Indians are citizens of the United Kingdom (UK) whose ancestral roots are from India. Currently, the British Indian population exceeds 2 million people in the UK, making them the single largest Ethnic groups in the United Kingdo ...

had been killed by drowning during the attack. This prompted the British to send an ultimatum to Faisal, who died in December of that year. The message was sent to Abdullah bin Faisal. The British sought an official apology for the death of the drowned Indian and of ten other Indians who were plundered and demanded that the Saudis pay the equivalent of US$27,000 in reparations while also requiring assurance that no such attack would occur in the future. If he failed to reply in 17 days, the British warned they would attack the Saudis' forts on the coast. The British ship HMS ''Highflyer,'' which had been sent to Abdullah, returned to

Qatif Qatif Governorate ( ''Al-Qaṭīf'') is a list of governorates of Saudi Arabia, governorate and urban area located in Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia, Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia. It extends from Ras Tanura and Jubail in the north to Damma ...

on January 30. Finding no response from the Saudis, the British launched their attack on

Attack

On February 2, the HMS ''Highflyer'' was sent to attack the Saudi forts at Qatif and Dammam. At Qatif, the British entered the harbor and destroyed a small fort called Burj Abul Lif, alongside a vessel, and then on the next day, the ship arrived in Dammam, led by Lieutenant Long. To destroy, if possible, the fort there, a party was landed, which had to walk through water some considerable distance from the fort, and attacked the place there, but finding the fort garrison much stronger than expected and unable to create an entrance, they were repulsed with a loss of three killed and five wounded (two officers and three men). On February 4, the attack was renewed. Taking advantage of rising water, the fort was bombarded with shots, shells, and rockets; however, the walls could not be breached, and the fort remained in the hands of the Saudis. The attack's failure was due to ignorance of local knowledge of the territory and experience, with only one native

Arab Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...

accompanying the British expedition.

Aftermath

When the HMS ''Highflyer'' returned to

Muscat Muscat (, ) is the capital and most populous city in Oman. It is the seat of the Governorate of Muscat. According to the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI), the population of the Muscat Governorate in 2022 was 1.72 million. ...

on February 9, Captain

Lewis Pelly Lieutenant General Sir Lewis Pelly (14 November 1825 – 22 April 1892) was a British East India Company officer, and then an imperial army and political officer. At the end of his life, he was a Conservative Member of Parliament for Hackney N ...

learned of the defeat at Dammam and was determined to reassert British authority by punishing the Janabah tribe of Sur after they had already refused to pay compensation to the British.So'ad bint Abdullah

References

Sources

*R. Bayly Winder (2015), Saudi Arabia in the Nineteenth Centur

*Lorimer J. G. (1915), Gazetteer Of The Persian Gulf Oman And Central Arabia Vol-1 Part-

*A M Vasilev (2000), The History of Saudi Arabi

*So'ad bint Abdullah Fadil (2024), Political and internal conflict in Oman during the period 1856-1868 AD and foreign positions on it (In Arabic

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dammam Battles involving the House of Saud Battles involving the United Kingdom 19th century in the Arabian Peninsula Conflicts in 1866 History of the Royal Navy Attack