A detailed, compact volume on the British response, under Lieutenant-General Wolseley, to Egyptian mutiny. In 1881, the Egyptian army mutinied against the Khedive of Egypt and forced him to appoint Said Ahmed Arabi as Minister of War. In March 1882, Arabi was made a Pasha and from this time on acted as a dictator. Arabi demanded that the foreigners be driven out of Egypt and called for the massacre of Christians. This prompted an armed British response, first in the form of a naval bombardment of Alexandria, and then as an expeditionary force under Lieutenant-General Wolseley. This book explores the entire campaign, including Sir Wolseley's 'textbook' operation that was planned and executed with masterly competence.

The British Empire at war in the deserts of Egypt and the Sudan This special Leonaur edition combines into a single volume two works concerning the campaigns of the British Army in Egypt and the Sudan during the later Victorian era. The text is supported by maps sometimes absent in other editions of the text. The first work concerns the Egyptian Campaign of 1882, sometimes referred to as the Anglo-Egyptian (or Second Anglo-Egyptian) War. The motivation for the conflict arose from a military coup by Egyptian army officers against the Khedive, in the form of Tewfik Pasha, which led the British to believe their own essential interests in the region would be destabilised. In response a substantial naval and military force was despatched which resulted in the bombardment of Alexandria. The British army under Wolseley marched on Cairo and won a decisive victory at the Battle of Tel-el-Kabir which led to a period of occupation of the country. The second work in this substantial book concerns the various campaigns against the Mahdists of the Sudan from 1884 to their final defeat at Omdurman in 1898. This is well known period of British imperial history. Even casual students of the period are aware of the rise of the Mahdist movement, the siege of Khartoum held by the enigmatic General 'Chinese' Gordon, the slaughter of Hicks Pasha and his army, the abortive race to relieve Gordon and monumental battles such as El-Teb, Tamai, Abu Klea and Atbara. These were iconic times for the British Empire when 'the Gatling jammed and the colonel was dead' and the ferocious 'fuzzy wuzzy's' achieved the unthinkable and broke the British infantry square. Two excellent histories and highly recommended. Leonaur editions are newly typeset and are not facsimiles; each title is available in softcover and hardback with dustjacket; our hardbacks are cloth bound and feature gold foil lettering on their spines and fabric head and tail bands.

This electronic version has been made available under a Creative Commons (BY-NC-ND) open access license. The Victorian soldier in Africa re-examines the campaign experience of British soldiers in Africa during the period, 1874–1902 – the zenith of the Victorian imperial expansion – and does so from the perspective of the regimental soldier. The book utilises an unprecedented number of letters and diaries, written by regimental officers and other ranks, to allow soldiers to speak for themselves about their experience of colonial warfare. The sources demonstrate the adaptability of the British army in fighting in different climates, over demanding terrain and against a diverse array of enemies. They also uncover soldiers’ responses to army reforms of the era as well as the response to the introduction of new technologies of war. Moreover, the book provides commentary on soldiers’ views of commanding officers and politicians alongside assessment of war correspondents, colonial auxiliaries and African natives in their roles as bearers, allies and enemies. This book reveals new insights on imperial and racial attitudes within the army, on relations between soldiers and the media and the production of information and knowledge from frontline to homefront. It will make fascinating reading for students, academics and enthusiasts in imperial history, Victorian studies, military history and colonial warfare.

Offers a revised and updated history of thirteen of the most significant British conflicts during the Victorian period.

In the early 1880s, Britain intervened in independent Egypt and seized control of the Suez Canal. British forces were soon deployed to Egypt's southern colony, the Sudan, where they confronted a determined and capable foe amid some of the world's most inhospitable terrain. In 1881 an Islamic fundamentalist revolt had broken out in the Sudan, led by a religious teacher named Muhammad Ahmad bin Abd Allah, who proclaimed himself al-Mahdi, 'The Guided One'. In 1884, Mahdist forces besieged the Sudanese capital of Khartoum; Colonel Charles Gordon was sent to the city with orders to evacuate British personnel, but refused to leave. Although the British despatched a relief column to rescue Gordon, the Mahdists stormed Khartoum in January 1885 and he was killed. British troops abandoned much of the Sudan, but renewed their efforts to reconquer it in the late 1890s, in a bloody campaign that would decide the region's fate for generations. Written by leading expert Ian Knight, this fully illustrated study examines the evolving forces, weapons and tactics employed by both sides in the Sudan, notably at the battles of Abu Klea (16–18 January 1885), Tofrek (22 March 1885) and Atbara (8 April 1898).