The Suakin Expedition was either of two British-Indian military expeditions, led by Major-General Sir
Gerald Graham, to
Suakin in
Sudan
Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...
, with the intention of destroying the power of the Sudanese military commander
Osman Digna and his troops during the
Mahdist War
The Mahdist War (; 1881–1899) was fought between the Mahdist Sudanese, led by Muhammad Ahmad bin Abdullah, who had proclaimed himself the "Mahdi" of Islam (the "Guided One"), and the forces of the Khedivate of Egypt, initially, and later th ...
. The first expedition took place in February 1884 and the second in March 1885.
First expedition
The first expedition, in February 1884, led to several notable British victories, among them the
Second Battle of El Teb and the
Battle of Tamai.
Second expedition
Following the
fall of Khartoum on 26 January 1885, Graham led a second expedition in March 1885. This expedition is sometimes referred to as the Suakin Field Force. Its purpose was to defeat
Mahdist forces under
Osman Digna in the region and to supervise and protect the construction of the
Suakin-Berber Railway. A week after its arrival in Suakin, the expedition fought in two actions: the
Battle of Hashin on 20 March, and the
Battle of Tofrek
The Battle of Tofrek was fought on 22 March 1885 some 5 miles inland from the port of Suakin on the Red Sea coast of Sudan. A contingent of some 3,000 troops from the British and Indian Suakin Expedition#Second expedition, "Suakin Field Force" le ...
on 22 March.
The British force was later joined by the
New South Wales Contingent, which arrived at Suakin on 29 March. However, within two months the
Gladstone government decided to abandon both the railway and its military campaign in Sudan. General Graham and his Suakin Field Force were evacuated from the port city on 17 May 1885. Nevertheless, Britain maintained an ongoing presence in Suakin between 1886 and 1888, and the then
brevet Lt. Col.
Herbert Kitchener acted out the role of Governor General of Eastern Sudan.
[Green, D., "Armies of God – Islam and Empire on the Nile 1869–1899", pub. Century, 2007, p. 278.]
Note
References
* {{cite book, last=Grant, first=Ian, title=A Dictionary of Australian Military History: From Colonial Times to the Gulf War, year=1992, publisher=Random House, location=Milsons Point, New South Wales, isbn=9780091825928
Conflicts in 1884
Conflicts in 1885
Mahdist War