Gordon relief expedition (1884-5), under the command of Wolseley, belatedly despatched (5 August 1884) to relieve Gordon in Khartoum. The commander's preferred route up the Nile had been contested in Whitehall and Egypt by advocates of the shorter Suakim-Berber route, but Berber fell to the Mahdists, so the expedition proceeded by railway and steamer upriver. After the second cataract the 7, 000 men and stores were conveyed by boats and camels to Korti, arriving in December and January. Wolseley split his force into river and desert columns, but, lacking sufficient camels, could only send the desert column (some 1, 800 men) in a two-part movement across the Bayuda Desert to contact Gordon's steamers. The column fought two actions, Abu Klea (17 January 1885) and Abu Kru (19 January 1885), and lost its commander, Maj Gen Sir Herbert Stewart. Sir Charles Wilson assumed command and, on reaching the Nile, reconnoitred and overhauled the steamers before travelling upriver, arriving two days after the town had fallen. Although Wilson was made a scapegoat, the whole expedition lacked urgency and efficient staff work, discrediting both Gladstone and Wolseley.
Bibliography
- Keown-Boyd, Henry, A Good Dusting (London, 1986).
- Preston, Adrian (ed.), In Relief of Gordon (London, 1967)
— Edward M. Spiers
