Key Facts
- Duration
- 10 months (13 Mar 1884 – 26 Jan 1885)
- Besieged defenders
- ~7,000 Egyptian troops and ~27,000 civilians
- Mahdist besieging force (peak)
- ~50,000
- Civilian men killed after fall
- ~4,000
- Relief column arrival
- 2 days after city fell
Strategic Narrative Overview
Gordon arrived in February 1884 and found the other garrisons already besieged. He chose to fortify Khartoum instead of withdrawing, but local tribes shifted allegiance to the Mahdi, cutting the city off. Some 30,000 Mahdist troops, eventually rising to 50,000, encircled the city. Food supplies ran out after six months, though the siege lasted ten. A British relief column was eventually dispatched under public pressure but advanced slowly.
01 / The Origins
Egypt had controlled Sudan since 1820, but came under British domination in 1882. In 1881, Muhammad Ahmad declared himself the Mahdi and launched a religious revolt, defeating Egyptian forces in multiple engagements. Unable to suppress the uprising, Britain appointed General Charles Gordon as Governor-General with orders to evacuate Khartoum and its outlying garrisons, rather than commit troops to defend the territory.
03 / The Outcome
On 26 January 1885, Mahdist forces launched a night assault, breached Khartoum's defences, killed the entire garrison including Gordon, and slaughtered approximately 4,000 male civilians while enslaving women and children. The British relief expedition arrived two days later, found it too late, and withdrew from Sudan. The Mahdi founded the Mahdiyah, a religious state that governed Sudan for fourteen years until its defeat in 1898.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Muhammad Ahmad (the Mahdi).
Side B
1 belligerent
Charles George Gordon.
Kinetic Engagement Axis
Scroll horizontally to view full axis. Events plotted relatively.