Battle of Omdurman 1898
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 2 September 1898 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1898 | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
| Era | 19th century (1800–1913) | derived from year |
| Location | Sudan | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Africa | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | Mahdist War | Wikidata P361 |
| Participants | United Kingdom, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland | Wikidata P710 |
| Coordinates | 15.7519, 32.5201 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Omdurman, also known as the Battle of Karary, was fought during the Anglo-Egyptian conquest of Sudan between a British–Egyptian expeditionary force commanded by British Commander-in-Chief (sirdar) major general Horatio Herbert Kitchener and a Sudanese army of the Mahdist State, led by Abdallahi ibn Muhammad (the Khalifa), the successor to the self-proclaimed Mahdi, Muhammad Ahmad. The battle took place on 2 September 1898, at Kerreri, 11 kilometres (6.8 mi) north of Omdurman.
Following the establishment of the Mahdist State in Sudan, and the subsequent threat to the regional status quo and to British-occupied Egypt, the British government decided to send an expeditionary force with the task of overthrowing the Khalifa. The commander of the force, Sir Herbert Kitchener, was also seeking revenge for the death of General Gordon, who had been killed when a Mahdist army captured Khartoum thirteen years earlier. On the morning of 2 September, some 35,000–50,000 Sudanese tribesmen under Abdullah attacked the British lines in a disastrous series of charges; later that morning the 21st Lancers charged and defeated another force that appeared on the British right flank.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Omdurman (revision 1379393370), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
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Other battles of the Mahdist War
- Battle of Shaykan 1883
- Battle of Tamai 1884
- First and second battles of El Teb 1884
- Siege of Khartoum 1884
- Battle of Abu Klea 1885
- Battle of Ginnis 1885
- Battle of Dufile 1888
All 8 battles of the Mahdist War →
Browse more: battles in Sudan · Africa · 19th century battles