Beyond the Reach of Empire : Wolseley's Failed Campaign to Save Gordon and Khartoum

In the early 1880s the Mahdi unleashed a spectacularly successful jihadist uprising against Egyptian colonial rule in the Sudan. Early in 1884 Cairo bowed to British pressure to withdraw. Beyond the Reach of Empire describes how Major General Charles Gordon was dispatched to evacuate Khartoum and turn the Sudan over to self-rule. It goes on to explain how and why the mission backfired, and then homes in on Sir Garnet Wolseley’s planning and execution of the long-delayed Gordon Relief Expedition which arrived, according to popular myth, only two days after the city had fallen and Gordon had been killed. Colonel Mike Snook’s narrative is characterized by scrupulous attention to detail, an instinctive grasp of the period, and an intimate understanding of its setting. The author argues compellingly that the Khartoum campaign was mismanaged from the outset. The outcome is the exoneration of Colonel Sir Charles Wilson, the man cast in the role of scapegoat, and an indictment of Wolseley’s generalship over the course of the last and most deeply flawed campaign of his career. REVIEWS ‘Mike Snook's research and narrative mirror the scale of Victorian Britain's herculean effort to save General Gordon. Ultimately though the author's quest is crowned with success, not least because he brings to his story the understanding of a fighting soldier, cutting through the jingoism and bombast of earlier accounts, laying bare the reasons for the campaign's failure.’ Mark Urban, author of Rifles: Six Years with Wellington’s Legendary Sharpshooters When General Gordon returned to the Sudan in February 1884, the Egyptian colonial regime was on the brink of collapse. His only weapons were his reputation, a flotilla of river steamers and a few thousand demoralized Egyptian troops. Less than a fortnight after his arrival in Khartoum, Egypt s last field force was routed in the Red Sea Littoral. It was only a widespread popular clamor to Save Gordon that forced the Prime Minister s hand. Conventionally the history books relate that Wolseley s great Nile Expedition came within two days of relieving Khartoum. Wolseley was eminently successful in playing up the nearness of the miss and pointing the finger of blame at the politicians. Colonel Mike Snook eschews casual acceptance of Wolseley s version of events. He subjects the feasibility of the expedition to scrutiny, examines the fragility of the British military position in the Sudan as Khartoum and exposes critical failings in both Wolseley s plan and its execution. Drawing on extensive and sometimes hazardous fieldwork, together with participant accounts, Beyond the Reach of Empire brings a fascinating campaign to life. The narrative accounts and analysis of the epic fights at Battles of Abu Klea and Abu Kru are the most comprehensive, historically accurate and compelling versions yet published, and are accompanied within the plate section by striking images of seldom photographed battlefields. In the early 1880s the Mahdi unleashed a spectacularly successful jihadist uprising against Egyptian colonial rule in the Sudan. Early in1884 Cairo bowed to British pressure to withdraw. Beyond the Reach of Empire describes how Major General Charles Gordon was despatched to evacuate Khartoum and turn the Sudan over to self-rule. It goes on to explain how and why the mission backfired, and then homes in on Sir Garnet Wolseley's planning and execution of the long-delayed Gordon Relief Expedition which arrived, according to popular myth, only two days after the city had fallen and Gordon had been killed. Colonel Mike Snook's narrative is characterized by scrupulous attention to detail, an instinctive grasp of the period, and an intimate understanding of its setting. The author argues compellingly that the Khartoum campaign was mismanaged from the outset. The outcome is the exoneration of Colonel Sir Charles Wilson, the man cast in the role of scapegoat, and an indictment of Wolseley's generalship over the course of the last and most deeply flawed campaign of his career. Full review available at http://www.warhistoryonline.com/reviews/beyond-reach-empire-wolseleys-failed-campaign-save-gordon-khartoum-review-mark-barnes.html (please copy and paste into your browser) As featured in Wye Local Magazine. "In the early 1880s the Mahdi unleashed a spectacularly successful jihadist uprising against Egyptian colonial rule in the Sudan. Early in1884 Cairo bowed to British pressure to withdraw. Beyond the Reach of Empire describes how Major General Charles Gordon was despatched to evacuate Khartoum and turn the Sudan over to self-rule. It goes on to explain how and why the mission backfired, and then homes in on Sir Garnet Wolseley s planning and execution of the long-delayed Gordon Relief Expedition which arrived, according to popular myth, only two days after the city had fallen and Gordon had been killed. Colonel Mike Snook s narrative is characterized by scrupulous attention to detail, an instinctive grasp of the period, and an intimate understanding of its setting. The author argues compellingly that the Khartoum campaign was mismanaged from the outset. The outcome is the exoneration of Colonel Sir Charles Wilson, the man cast in the role of scapegoat, and an indictment of Wolseley s generalship over the course of the last and most deeply flawed campaign of his career."--Publisher description In The Early 1880s Muhammad Ahmed Unleashed A Spectacularly Successful Jihadist Uprising Against Egyptian Colonial Rule In The Sudan. By The Spring Of 1884 Cairo Had Bowed To British Pressure To Withdraw. This Book Describes How Major General Charles Gordon Was Dispatched To Evacuate Khartoum And Turn The Sudan Over To Self-rule, Goes On To Explain How And Why The Gordon Mission Backfired, And Then Homes In On Sir Garnet Wolseley's Planning And Execution Of The Long-delayed Gordon Relief Expedition, Which Arrived Only Two Days After The City Had Fallen And Gordon Had Been Killed. -- Back Cover. Mike Snook. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 564-567) And Index.