The Mahdi Mohammed Ahmed's Uprising of the Sudan, 1883

The Egyptian Government (under significant British influence) sent General William Hicks, a former British Officer in India, and 10,000 Egyptian troops to suppress the uprising and protect Egyptian citizens in the Sudan. A shock was sent throughout Egypt, and the British Empire when the news reached Cairo that on Nov. 3, 1883 the ENTIRE Expeditionary force was wiped out by the Mahdist insurgents at the battle of El Obeid!

General Hicks leads his Egyptian army against the Mahdi's Ansar

The Egyptian vanguard prepares for the impending assault

The Mahdist force is larger than expected

Units form into lines and begin volley firing

The battle quickly becomes hand-to-hand

Wave after seemingly endless wave of Ansar begin to 

overwhelm Hick's force

The Anglo-Egyptian line is broken

A desperate few fall back into a last stand

The attackers surround the last surviving members of the Expeditionary Force

...and the entire Expedition is wiped out!...The British respond by calling on "Chinese" Gordon to defend Khartoum....but that's another story isn't it?

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