A British column fought off a vastly larger Mahdist force while attempting to relieve General Gordon besieged at Khartoum.
Key Facts
- Date
- 19 January 1885
- British force size
- 1,200 troops
- Mahdist force size
- 13,000–14,000 troops
- Days after Abu Klea
- 2 days
- British commander
- Brigadier General Sir Herbert Stewart
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Following the Battle of Abu Klea two days earlier, a British column under Brigadier General Sir Herbert Stewart was cutting across the Great Bend of the Nile in a desperate effort to reach Khartoum and relieve General Gordon, who was besieged there by Mahdist forces.
On 19 January 1885, the British force of approximately 1,200 men came under sustained attack from a pursuing Mahdist army estimated at 13,000 to 14,000 fighters while a short distance from the Nile. The engagement, also called the Battle of Gubat, saw the outnumbered British column defend itself against overwhelming numbers.
The British force succeeded in fighting off the Mahdist pursuit and eventually reached the Nile, yet the costly delays caused by the battles at Abu Klea and Abu Kru meant the relief expedition arrived too late to save General Gordon, who was killed at Khartoum on 26 January 1885.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Brigadier General Sir Herbert Stewart.
Side B
1 belligerent