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

In the early 1880s, Muhammad Ahmed, the self-styled Mahdi, led a successful jihadist uprising against Egyptian colonial rule in the Sudan. The Egyptian military suffered defeats, and Cairo eventually withdrew. Major General Charles Gordon was sent to evacuate the garrison of Khartoum and turn the Sudan over to self-rule. Gordon's mission backfired, and Sir Garnet Wolseley's planning and execution of the Gordon Relief Expedition were flawed. The book explores the myths surrounding the failure to save one of the British Empire's greatest heroes and argues that the Khartoum affair was mismanaged from the outset.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 608 pages
Publication date: 07 October 2022
Publisher: Pen & Sword Books Ltd

In the early 1880s, Muhammad Ahmed, the self-styled Mahdi, launched a remarkable jihadist uprising against Egyptian colonial rule in the Sudan. The Egyptian military faced a series of catastrophic defeats, including the routing of major expeditions led by hired-in British colonels, William Hicks Pasha and Valentine Baker Pasha. By the spring of 1884, Cairo had succumbed to British pressure and withdrew entirely. Beyond the Reach of Empire chronicles how Major General Charles Gordon was dispatched by Gladstone to evacuate the garrison of Khartoum and turn the Sudan over to self-rule. Fearless, profoundly religious, and a committed anti-slaver, Gordon would be on familiar ground. In the late 1870s, the Khedive of Egypt had employed him as Governor-General of the Sudan. When he arrived in Cairo, Gordon was offered and accepted the post for a second time. The author proceeds to explain how and why the Gordon mission backfired, before focusing on Sir Garnet Wolseley's planning and execution of the long-delayed Gordon Relief Expedition. The most advanced part of the British force reached within sight of Khartoum only two days after it fell. Mike Snook's narrative is characterized by meticulous attention to detail, an instinctive grasp of the period, and an intimate understanding of its setting. The result is an enthralling tale of Victorian high adventure, combined with an expose of the myths surrounding the failure to save one of the British Empire's greatest heroes. The author argues compellingly that the Khartoum affair was mismanaged from the outset. The outcome is the exoneration of the man cast in the role of scapegoat, and an indictment of Wolseley's generalship over the course of the last.

Weight: 798g
Dimension: 157 x 233 x 49 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781399013550