Battle of Tel el-Kebir

Battle of Tel el-Kebir
Part of Anglo-Egyptian War
Date September 13, 1882 Location near Kassassin, Canal Zone, Egypt Result British victory
Belligerents
United Kingdom	Egypt
Commanders
Garnet Wolseley	Ahmed Urabi Mahmoud Fehmy
Strength
18,500 troops 70 guns	15,000 troops 60 guns
Casualties and losses
57 killed 380 wounded 22 missing[1]	1,396 killed 681 wounded

The Battle of Tel el-Kebir or el-Tal el-Kebir was between the Egyptian army led by Ahmed Urabi and the British military fought near Tel-el-Kebir. After discontented Egyptian officers under Urabi rebelled in 1882 the United Kingdom reacted to protect its financial and expansionist interests in the country, and in particular the Suez Canal.

Prologue

Bombardment and invasion of Alexandria

On May 20, a combined Anglo-French fleet arrived at Alexandria. At the same time, Egyptian troops were reinforcing the coastal defenses of the city in anticipation of an attack. These events heightened tension in Alexandria, and eventually triggered a riot in the city between Egyptians and foreigners, in which more than a hundred were killed. The British commanders thought, wrongly, that Urabi and his supporters caused this riot.

As a result, an ultimatum was sent to Urabi's officers in Alexandria to dismantle their coast defense batteries. The Egyptian government refused. Meanwhile, tension increased between Britain and France, and the French refused to support this ultimatum and decided against armed intervention.

When the ultimatum was ignored, Admiral Seymour gave the order for the British fleet to bombard the Egyptian gun emplacements in Alexandria. On July 11 at 7:00 am, the first shell was fired at Fort Adda by HMS Alexandra (1875) and by 7:10, the entire fleet was engaged. The coastal defenses returned fire soon after, with minimal effect and minimal casualties to the British fleet. No British ships were sunk. On July 13, a large British naval force landed in the city. Despite heavy resistance from the garrison for several hours, the overwhelming British forces eventually forced the Egyptian troops to withdraw from the city.

Pre-battle attacks

Photograph of HMS Alexandra

Lieutenant General Garnet Wolseley was placed in charge of a large force with the aim of destroying Urabi's regime and restoring the nominal authority of the Khedive Tawfiq. The total force was 24,000 British troops, which concentrated in Malta and Cyprus, and a force of 7,000 Indian troops which staged through Aden.

Wolseley first tried to reach Cairo directly from Alexandria. Urabi deployed his troops at Kafr-el-Dawwar Battle between Cairo and Alexandria and prepared very substantial defences. There, attacks by British troops were repelled for five weeks.

Securing the canal

Wolseley now decided to approach Cairo from a different route. He resolved to attack from the Suez canal. Urabi knew that Wolseley's only other approch to Cairo was from the canal, and he wanted to block the canal. Ferdinand de Lesseps, upon knowing of Urabi's intentions, assured him the British would never risk damaging the canal, and would avoid involving it in operations at all costs (according to Lutsky ^[2], he even "gave his word of honour to Arabi not to permit the landing of British troops in the Canal Zone, and Arabi trusted de Lesseps (...). By so doing, Arabi committed a grave military and political mistake". Urabi listened to his advice and did not block the canal, leaving it open for an invasion by British forces. As a result, Wolseley's forces were able to quickly secure the canal. Two armies, one from Britain and the other from India landed in the canal. Over 40 warships were involved in the operation. By September 6, the canal was securely in British hands.

Egyptian attack at Kassassin

Urabi attempted to recapture the canal when he attacked the British forces near Kassassin on September 10. The British troops were caught by surprise, as they did not expect an attack. Fighting was intense, and there were heavy losses on the British side. Fortunately for them, the arrival of fresh reinforcements, including the 7th Dragoon Guards and the Highland Brigade, forced the weary Egyptian troops to retreat.

The battle

Urabi redeployed to defend Cairo against Wolseley. His main force dug in at Tel el-Kebir, north of the railway and the Sweetwater Canal, both of which linked Cairo to Ismailia on the canal. The defences were hastily prepared as there was little time to arrange them. Urabi's forces possessed 60 pieces of artillery and breech loading rifles. Wolseley made several personal reconnaissances, and determined that the Egyptians did not man outposts in front of their main defences at night, which made it possible for an attacking force to approach the defences under cover of darkness. Rather than make an outflanking movement around Urabi's entrenchments, which would involve a long march through waterless desert, or undertake formal bombardment and assault, Wolseley planned to approach the position by night and attack frontally at dawn, hoping to achieve surprise.

Wolseley began his advance from Ismailia on September 12, with two infantry divisions and a cavalry brigade. A brigade of Indian troops covered the flank on the southern bank of the Sweetwater Canal. The approach march of the main forces was made easier because the desert west of Kassassin was almost flat and unobstructed, making it look like a gigantic parade ground. Even though there were repeated halts to maintain dressing and alignment, the British troops reached the Egyptian position at the time Wolseley intended.

At 5.45 a.m. Wolseley's troops were barely three hundred yards from the entrenchments and dawn was just breaking, when Egyptian sentries saw them and fired. The first shots were followed by several volleys from the entrenchments. British troops, led by the Highland Brigade on the left flank, and the 2nd Brigade on the right flank with the Guards Brigade in support, charged with the bayonet. The resulting battle was over in an hour. Most of the Egyptian soldiers were tired from having stood to all night. Because of the haste with which Urabi's forces had prepared their defences, there were no obstacles in front of them to disrupt the attackers. Several groups stood and fought, mainly the Sudanese troops in the front of the Highland Brigade, but those not overwhelmed in the first rush were forced to retreat. In the end, it was less a battle than a massacre. Official British figures gave a total of 57 British troops killed. Approximately two thousand Egyptians died. British cavalry pursued towards Cairo, which was undefended.

Lieutenant William Mordaunt Marsh Edwards was awarded a Victoria Cross for his heroism during the battle.

Aftermath

Urabi had retreated in the battle, and with no organised forces left to him, he and his National Party's officials surrendered to the cavalry. He was sentenced to death, but in fear of sparking uprising was later exiled to Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). Wolseley and his senior officers arrived in Cairo by train the next day. Khedive Tawfiq was formally reinstated twelve days later. The guarantees and concessions made by Tawfiq marked the start of the British military occupation of Egypt, which was to last until 1954.

in popular culture

William McGonagall wrote a poem about this battle.A Dublin football club is named after the battle , T.E.K. United.

Notes

Sources

• The Scramble for Africa, Edward Pakenham, Abacus, 1992, ISBN 0-349-10449-2
• Tel el Kebir 1882, Donald Featherstone, Osprey Publishing, ISBN 1-85532-333-8
• The Victorian Soldier in Africa, Edward M. Spiers, Manchester Univ. Press, 2004, ISBN-10: 0719061210

External links

• OnWar.com