I too, enjoyed an interesting time lunching on hot german potato salad while viewing your very fine presentation on the expedition to save General Gordon. I am a subscriber, and a history major. Your enthusiasm and style are a cure for the usual dry and dusty lectures that I attended in college and viewed here on UA-cam. I am very impressed by your courtesy of replying to all the comments received here. Thanks for your wonderful channel. Keep up the good work.
James, thanks for your support. I must say that responding can be very time consuming but it seems the least I can do if someone has taken the time to post a comment.
Congrats on the fine delivery of this historical event. It was very intriguing and interesting to say the least. Thanks for your time and work that you put into this video which you have shared.
Excellent yet again. Omdurman will be fun. Churchill. His polo injury, his Mauser and charge with the 21st Lancers who’s unofficial nickname had become ‘though shalt not kill’ due to lack of active service
Have you noticed that everyone in British history that ever got remembered for a place had a last name that was a first name. Gordon of Khartoum, Lawrence of Arabia, Clive of India, Scott of the Antarctic, Montgomery of Alamein and a bunch of others. My wife's last name was Oliver and I thought of taking it, just so that I could be Oliver of Kota Beach, or somewhere. Nobody ever heard of a Braithwaite of anywhere.
There's at least one General Braithwaite in this list. Knock yourself out and bathe in the glory of your illustrious namesakes... en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Braithwaite_(surname)
@@rednaughtstudios You say, "at least one General Braithwaite". How many were there, realistically? It can't have been good. I picture a lot of heavy drinking and long anecdotes.
My great great grandfather was joint Chief Paymaster of the Army Pay Department and accompanied Wolesley on the Gordon Relief Expedition to act as paymaster to the expedition.
Splendidly told! When bringing Kitchners conquest of Sudan, don't forget to mention Leopold II intervention in South -Sudan at Redjaf on the Bar El Ghazal. An interesting dramatic story as well.
As nice as that would be, Chris really does just British military history. Though unlikely to happen, what would also be nice is a video, History Chap quality, of the Battle of Adowa, the third Islandlwana that the world witnessed.
@@TheHistoryChap absolutely, splendid idea! Interesting Victorian figure as well. I visited the region around Lake Albert in Ituri in Congo RDC, where he had his last head quarter as govenor of the Equatoria province of the Sudan agai st the Mahadist and saved his so-called rescuer Stanley. Looking forward !
Watch Charlton Heston's film when he was young. After watching your two videos I really learned about the entire story portrayed. Congratulations from Brazil.
The most famous painting of Gordon's death, by William Joy is on display at Leeds Art Gallery and worth checking out, although I don't think they do it justice. Their one and only classical painting gallery is often filled with other, more modern displays that detract from the paintings.
Certainly has. Just finished watching your Boer War catalogue. Opened my eyes in regards to this 'all conquering' British army. As a Liverpool fan I now also know where the name of our stand came. Each video is well researched and scripted 👌🏻
Reminds one of the British being besieged in Iraq. I believe in WW1. Britain in the Victorian period was truly a vast Empire in its international territorial expanse. With its extremes in distance,they ran into problems the Roman empire did in trying to cover such an empire. Especially in military emergencies,even with the advent of the industrial age and railroads.
So those scenes in Four feathers were based on the flying column fight. Good production design that, everything pretty accurate as far as kit and weapons go.
Another excellent video. Some amazing stories from the Victorian era with larger than life characters, brilliance, courage and blunders brought to life by these videos and the books of George Macdonald Fraser and - more recently- Robert Brightwell whose latest book “Assignment Sudan” covers the events of this video from the perspective of a character who was there!
Excellent video. Learned more from this 26 minutes than from 4 years of history education. How the world has changed in just 140 years. We now welcome Islamists to our own country and offer them free housing, education and healthcare.
Thank you very much for your last few videos concerning Britain’s growing involvement in both North and East Africa; these followed-on well from your earlier instalments on South Africa. I now feel that I am beginning to better understand the concept of the term “The Scramble for Africa.” Do you have any plans for tracing the development of Anglo incursion into West Africa, especially into the countries which we now call Nigeria and Ghana?
@@TheHistoryChap great stuff, many people today don't know how British history is linked with these two countries apart from the awful slave trade. People like the awful Simon Webb have gone on record to claim Africa had no history, before we came despite empires in many African countries long before the colonial period.
@@oldboygeorge7688 They didnt have any history. The British, French and Dutch should still be running them. I read lots of articles with citizens of these countries begging, " the whhytes," to come back. Look at them!! Each one a corrupt, disease ridden dump. Their leaders have nothing but contempt for their citizens, who are forsaken. I recently read a report from a Ugandan diplomat to the UK. She stated explicitly how the country was before the British, how it was during, and how it was after. A violent, starving, disease ridden country before their arrival. It thrived under British rule. Went back to a nightmare when they left. Look at Sudan after all these years. Corrupt, brutal, slavery, poverty. And they are being imported into our countries!!!!! Why are all these countries basket cases?
The whole plan by Wolseley always seamed to me to be more about showing how clever he was and less about actually rescuing Gordon. The river route was a poor choice, the Camel Corps was a publicity stunt that could have been undertaken by an infantry brigade with camels as the baggage train. Without the wait for the boats and the training of men to ride camels they could have set off earlier and therefore have a much greater chance of achieving the actual goal of the mission. Look forward to watching all your videos on the Sudan campaign.
May I know more about what happened to Major general William Earle? I saw his statue in Liverpool, and knew he died in this expedition, but I don't find much about him on the internet. Any additional information would be great. Thanks in advance good sir
Excellent recount of the Gordon of Khartoum story. Full of your usual eye for detail. However, I do think you could have highlighted the political reluctance to rescue Gordon and the UK governments reluctance to get involved in what was essentially an Egyptian adventure. A reluctance by the way which permeated almost all of the, essentially, "free enterprise" colonisation of Africa from the colonisation of West and East Africa and in particular Southern Africa...with the exception of the area around the cape which was essentially a lay over on the way to India. As I say, I'm really enjoying your work and was wondering if you ever thought of covering Livingstone's great travels and his talent for getting lost in his journeys 😁
Thanks Robert. I have mentioned it in both my video about the battle of El Teb and also my 2-part story on Gordon of Khartoum. So I didn't want to rake over old coals. But you are correct in saying that Gladstone was anti-getting involved, which does not suit many people's view of Britain always looking to seize other people's lands.
Brilliant This has long been a subject of interest to me. A whos who of Victorian military officers. I own a pistol made for Sir Herbert Stewart. I have long wondered if it was with him at Abu Klea. Hope to see all interested at the clash of empires display in London this July. History lives.
Excellent explanation of the futility of these British far away wars, that seriously stretched the supply chain, etc,etc Well said and thank you 😊 The history chap 🇬🇧🇬🇧
I think the blame lay completely with Gordon's ego. Gladstone's initial decision to help evacuate Sudan was, I believe, the correct one. The Sudanese campaign was an unnecessary and a totally avoidable conflict, and the deaths of thousands could have been avoided, if not for Gordon's refusal to leave Khartoum. If Gordon had of returned to Egypt, there would not have been the public outcry to rescue him, and Gladstone would not have been obliged to send a relieving force, against his own wishes.
Gordon was govenor-general of Sudan earlier from 1877-1879. As a devoute Christian and Abolitionist he tried his hardest to secure a stranglehold on the slave trade that florished through his area starting in 1878. He spent most of 1877 trying to develop his leadership role in the city and country as a whole. The next year he went on to enact laws that punished anyone caught engaging in the slave trade. He also enacted laws punishing others who were caught castrating young African men. That penalty was death. He consistantly asked for help from the Egyptians much to no avail all while having very little troop or logistical support from the British Government. He also discovered that many times the Egyptians and other Arab leaders were engaging and benifiting from the very institution he was trying to stop. All this while they paid lip service to him. Some other problems that he faced was the vast area of desert that was unable to be oversighted in stopping slave caravans. These slave caravans would just move to another route bypassing checkpoints. In one case, disgrunted he went out and found one of the slave caravan routes and bought a small number of slaves and had them freed. His efforts even though done with moral intentions, failed to end the slave trade in Sudan. He also failed to set up a system of free trade. He ended up leaving Sudan in 1879 due to poor health and exhaustion.
Aujourd'hui dimanche 9 avril 2023 : dimanche de pâques chez les chrétiens , Pessah ou pâques juive et 18é jour du ramadan chez les musulmans. Je dis comme le général Gordon dans film Khartoum : " Il semblerait que ma vie soit un livre que personne ne peut lire et moi encore moins que quiconque. " To be or not to be, that s the question.
For the looking for an excellent book on this expedition, they should purchase: With The Camel Corps Up The Nile, by Lord Edward Gleichen. It’s fantastic 😍
The funny thing was most of the Canadian voyageurs weren’t voyageurs at all, they were mostly young city bred guys with more experience in clerking than boating. Very few real voyagers signed up.
The decision to travel up the Nile led to fatal delays and was clearly a mistake. All the other decisions (including Gladstone's reluctance to get involved) seem to me to within the bounds of reasonableness. It's instructive though to note how a series of reasonable decisions can lead to a fiasco! Perhaps the root cause is the ludicrous situation where we were trying to prop up a corrupt and bankrupt Egyptian (nominally Turkish) regime in Sudan on a shoestring?
Peter, I like your comment that a series of reasonable decisions can lead to a fiasco. My experiences in business and politics is that no one sets out to screw things up. It evolves and rapidly one decision compounds another.
It's left to wonder if Wilson's force would mean any difference at that moment, he could have succeded only with a full force, which was a bit worn out after two hardly fought battles. He could have succeded only by disobeying orders which is a bit of an irony. There were still 6000 soldiers in the city which was not a small force, Gordon could have managed defense better.
While the outcome was indeed tragic for Gordon and some of the other Ashanti Corps of Officers and the military careers of others I don't lay blame on Gladstone or Wilson. I concur with Gladstone's concerns of keeping out of the affairs of the Sudan. England had enough irons in the fire internationally at that time and the directions to conduct a relief operation was indeed advisable. No if I must lay blame, it's on Gordon himself. He threw out the directive given him and instead sets himself up as a British Caliph. All the deaths suffered as a result I lay on Gordon's head. So to speak. Just saying. As a matter of amusement on my poor understanding of proper English usage I was bewildered and confused when the mention if the Royal Sussex Regiment came up. My American ears heard "The Royal Sausage Regiment." Now where did they acquire that marvelous name I asked? Did they hail from a portion of England where pork farmers are celebrated? Too funny. The joke's on me.
It's that conquest of empire even Nazi's used Roman salute and eagle crest , other cultures not at all related to Europe only differed in language and religion namely the Ottomans
Amazing bravery shown by British Soldiers the World is a better place having the U.K. playing a positive role in defeating brutal Islamic extremism, I am proud of my ancestors defending the innocent and defending life, liberty and freedom around the World
One of my great grandfathers was nearly caught by the Mahdists a couple of days before Abu Klea when he fell asleep during the march and his hungry camel wandered away from the column looking for food.
That was such a well told story, felt like i was down on the ground. Really was unaware of this part of history. Really enjoyed the dynamics being told between the varies Generals, the "thinking General", the dilemmas, the logistics, the mourning of General Gordon, giving an idea of the mood on the home front, its a very humanized way of telling the story that made the "characters" very real, and not just pages in a history book. Thank you, this as been a great epic of twist and turns. Do appreciate the mini recaps at the beginning of each video too, it does help to digest & chronologically remember events as they're occurring. Feel absolute blessed to watch these.
I first read about the siege of Khartoum back in college, but with no details or context. I next heard about the siege of Khartoum in "Gunboat! Small Ships At War" by Bryan Perritt. Now, I am somewhat hooked on the "small" wars of the British Empire!
True story, an Australian general was scheduled to take over a UN observation force in Sudan when South Sudan were breaking away, circa 2005. Apparently, the appointment was terminated when the Sudanese took exception with General Gordon of Australia deploying to Khartoum.
My Friday is made. Another exciting adventure to watch while I enjoy my lunch. The master hits another home run. As a history major in college I continue to be an avid follower many decades since. The History Chap never disappoints.
This channel is a gem for it's great coverage on these relatively obscure colonial wars. You'll find countless channels covering well trodden subjects like the world wars, but not what's covered here; especially the quick biographies on soldiers I've never heard of. Well, I've had fun learning about the characters and eccentrics from the Victorian era colonial wars!
@@stewartlancaster6155 up your reading comprehension. "Never heard of", as you imply, and "relatively obscure", which is what I wrote, have very different meanings. You also, didn't read or comprehend the other part of my post where I mentioned all of the random figures from the Victorian era he mentions.
@@TheHistoryChap I am glad that Brits Are no longer in Sudan. I am glad that Russians will be in Sudan and I praying God to stop brutal civil war in Sudan 😢
Thomas Huxley held that the two most fascinating people of his age were Charles Darwin and Charles Gordon. I highly recommend reading Gordon's notes. He was an extremely unique and capable man of his age while at the same time he was the bane of the UK military because he had a distinct tendency to avoiding war rather then trying to profit from it.
By taking a look at that contemporary map and one of today I finally came to the conclusion that Gordon probably could have escaped with his life way before being killed but something like that just wasn't in his character. Gordon running from the enemy, could you imagine? Nope, sure couldn't.
It was the times. Generals promoted because of their connections, money payments and social standing and the idea of "glory". Not much changed until after WWII where the silly brits were taught a valuable lesson by Hitler and his professional generals. BTW, the American military is like that now; incompetent lifers who can't do anything else in life, all looking for the seat on the board as corporations pay them off for authorizing purchases of vastly expensive, mostly useless arms.
Considering that all that Gordon was supposed to do was oversee the Egyptian evacuation of Khartoum, not only could he have escaped, it seems that he outright defied his orders in order to not escape.
First time I come across your videos. I must say your videos are very entertaining and very good, I enjoy them so much. Absolutely fantastic. Thank you for making something so educational and at the same time so entertaining. You are the definitive history chap. And no less authentic too 😀👍👍👍
@The History Chap Same here! I just saw your videos today, and I am already hooked on them! Keep up the good work, I have watched four already and will in next week, probably watch another half dozen.
I too, enjoyed an interesting time lunching on hot german potato salad while viewing your very fine presentation on the expedition to save General Gordon. I am a subscriber, and a history major. Your enthusiasm and style are a cure for the usual dry and dusty lectures that I attended in college and viewed here on UA-cam. I am very impressed by your courtesy of replying to all the comments received here. Thanks for your wonderful channel. Keep up the good work.
James, thanks for your support.
I must say that responding can be very time consuming but it seems the least I can do if someone has taken the time to post a comment.
Another great episode on one of the finest history channels on youtube - can‘t wait for the next one
Thanks for your support.
Congrats on the fine delivery of this historical event. It was very intriguing and interesting to say the least. Thanks for your time and work that you put into this video which you have shared.
Thanks for watching. Glad you found it interesting
Excellent yet again. Omdurman will be fun. Churchill. His polo injury, his Mauser and charge with the 21st Lancers who’s unofficial nickname had become ‘though shalt not kill’ due to lack of active service
Andy, I'm glad that you enjoying my videos about the Sudan campaign.
Have you noticed that everyone in British history that ever got remembered for a place had a last name that was a first name. Gordon of Khartoum, Lawrence of Arabia, Clive of India, Scott of the Antarctic, Montgomery of Alamein and a bunch of others. My wife's last name was Oliver and I thought of taking it, just so that I could be Oliver of Kota Beach, or somewhere. Nobody ever heard of a Braithwaite of anywhere.
I like your style. Keep looking for that Braithwaote of wherever.
BOMBAY BOB , AFGHAN ALOWICIOUS ,
@@waynesmith9408 Did you ever meet Dagenham Diedre? Everyone else did.
There's at least one General Braithwaite in this list. Knock yourself out and bathe in the glory of your illustrious namesakes...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Braithwaite_(surname)
@@rednaughtstudios You say, "at least one General Braithwaite". How many were there, realistically? It can't have been good. I picture a lot of heavy drinking and long anecdotes.
My great great grandfather was joint Chief Paymaster of the Army Pay Department and accompanied Wolesley on the Gordon Relief Expedition to act as paymaster to the expedition.
Fascinating. Thanks for taking the time to share your family connection to this video.
Love to hear more about Wolseley in Canada and Ashanti!
Donald, I will cover that in the New Year.
A spirited narration. Good show.
Straight to the point history! Use of maps , photos and paintings!, well done!
Thank you for watching.
All good stuff - your enthusiasm is infectious !
Many thanks.
So good👌these Victorian stories are excellent, keep 'em coming!
Will do. Thanks for watching.
Splendidly told! When bringing Kitchners conquest of Sudan, don't forget to mention Leopold II intervention in South -Sudan at Redjaf on the Bar El Ghazal. An interesting dramatic story as well.
As nice as that would be, Chris really does just British military history. Though unlikely to happen, what would also be nice is a video, History Chap quality, of the Battle of Adowa, the third Islandlwana that the world witnessed.
@@nathanappleby5342 indeed. It's an interesting idea!
Emin Pasha story would be a great one. Don't want to deviate too much from British military history or I could end up going all over the show.
@@TheHistoryChap absolutely, splendid idea! Interesting Victorian figure as well. I visited the region around Lake Albert in Ituri in Congo RDC, where he had his last head quarter as govenor of the Equatoria province of the Sudan agai st the Mahadist and saved his so-called rescuer Stanley. Looking forward !
Yet another enthralling and interesting upload. I've enjoyed them all. Sir, you are an historical behemoth. I salute you!!
Many thanks for those kind words.
I've been catching up...enjoying the stories...
Thanks for watching my videos, glad you are enjoyed them.
Your video made my day. Thank you for providing this great education of British history. Love it!
Thanks for watching.
you are great storyteller !
Thank you. Please join my newsletter at www.thehistorychap.com
Thanks again Chris. Most compelling! Your fan in Orlando.
Richard, thanks for your support.
Then you did it again Chris, another really good episode. And thanks for not using dramatic background music!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Perhaps old school?
I can do "Old school". It's my British History Chap style!
Watch Charlton Heston's film when he was young. After watching your two videos I really learned about the entire story portrayed. Congratulations from Brazil.
Thanks for watching my video, glad you enjoyed it.
The most famous painting of Gordon's death, by William Joy is on display at Leeds Art Gallery and worth checking out, although I don't think they do it justice. Their one and only classical painting gallery is often filled with other, more modern displays that detract from the paintings.
Thanks for sharing.
Been enjoying this series. Never really researched it.
Hope it is shedding some light for you.
Certainly has. Just finished watching your Boer War catalogue. Opened my eyes in regards to this 'all conquering' British army. As a Liverpool fan I now also know where the name of our stand came. Each video is well researched and scripted 👌🏻
The film Khartoum was a pretty accurate cover of proceedings, but nice to know the full account of things.
Thanks. Glad you enjoyed.
Reminds one of the British being besieged in Iraq. I believe in WW1. Britain in the Victorian period was truly a vast Empire in its international territorial expanse. With its extremes in distance,they ran into problems the Roman empire did in trying to cover such an empire. Especially in military emergencies,even with the advent of the industrial age and railroads.
Thanks for sharing that interesting similarity with the Roman empire.
Kilroy corbin was here (1952-present] cold war veteran history student for life
well done mate
Thank you
Excellent stuff as always. Thank you.
My pleasure. Glad you enjoyed it.
This 'History Chap' is one hell of a story teller. I look forward to more of his output.
Very kind of you. Please sign up for my weekly newsletter at www.thehistorychap.com
So those scenes in Four feathers were based on the flying column fight. Good production design that, everything pretty accurate as far as kit and weapons go.
depends which "Four Feathers" film you are referring to.
@@TheHistoryChap The modern one with heath ledger (?). The Snider in the hands of the first insurgent they hit was a nice touch.
Excellent as always, keep them coming. Might i suggest the Afghan wars?
They are on my list. Keep with me as I research and script my videos. it takes a little bit of time :)
I really enjoy your lectures,thanks for your hard work.
Glad you like them.
Please sign up to my newsletter at www.thehistorychap.com
Another excellent video. Some amazing stories from the Victorian era with larger than life characters, brilliance, courage and blunders brought to life by these videos and the books of George Macdonald Fraser and - more recently- Robert Brightwell whose latest book “Assignment Sudan” covers the events of this video from the perspective of a character who was there!
Thanks for watching my video & for sharing the book details.
Another well told yarn,great!
Thank you.
Very well told Sir
Glad you enjoyed it, thanks for watching
Excellent as usual. Thank You
Thanks for watching.
@@TheHistoryChap Incidentally, William Gardner, of Gardner Gun fame, was the first firearms designer to use the term "machine gun".
Another excellent and exciting narration....................
Thank you for your support.
Excellent video. Learned more from this 26 minutes than from 4 years of history education. How the world has changed in just 140 years. We now welcome Islamists to our own country and offer them free housing, education and healthcare.
Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts.
Listening to this excellent account I could not stop thinking about Jonesy's "don't like it up 'em' " remark from Dad's Army.
I think I need to do a story all about Corporal Jones.
This video is timely,with a civil war going on now in Khartoum,N.Sudan.
Thanks for watching
The best video on this subject ever thank you. I am sure The History Guy is jealous!
Thanks for your kind comment.
Splendid sir, huzzah!
Thank you kindly!
Another excellent and informative video!!
Glad you enjoyed. Thanks for watching.
Nice to know the RSR was on the Khartoum boat
Thank you for commenting
Wolseley was famous throughout his career- apart from being the very modern model of a Modern Major General - for blaming every one else but him
Indeed he was. Not a particularly nice trait.
Brilliant as usual.
Thanks
Currently reading "Between Two Flags." a Biography on Baron Sir Rudolf von Slatin Pasha. A very interesting part of British History.
Yes, a very interesting man (& story). it was some of his memoirs that were used to justify Kitchener's invasion.
Another great History lesson, thank you for this superb work.
My pleasure. Thanks fro watching.
As ever objectively presented
Declan, thanks for those kind words.
Thank you very much for your last few videos concerning Britain’s growing involvement in both North and East Africa; these followed-on well from your earlier instalments on South Africa. I now feel that I am beginning to better understand the concept of the term “The Scramble for Africa.” Do you have any plans for tracing the development of Anglo incursion into West Africa, especially into the countries which we now call Nigeria and Ghana?
Yes, West Africa - esp. Ashanti Wars on the cards.
I’m sure that the subject will do you credit, Chris.
@@TheHistoryChap great stuff, many people today don't know how British history is linked with these two countries apart from the awful slave trade. People like the awful Simon Webb have gone on record to claim Africa had no history, before we came despite empires in many African countries long before the colonial period.
@@oldboygeorge7688 They didnt have any history. The British, French and Dutch should still be running them. I read lots of articles with citizens of these countries begging, " the whhytes," to come back. Look at them!! Each one a corrupt, disease ridden dump. Their leaders have nothing but contempt for their citizens, who are forsaken. I recently read a report from a Ugandan diplomat to the UK. She stated explicitly how the country was before the British, how it was during, and how it was after. A violent, starving, disease ridden country before their arrival. It thrived under British rule. Went back to a nightmare when they left. Look at Sudan after all these years. Corrupt, brutal, slavery, poverty. And they are being imported into our countries!!!!! Why are all these countries basket cases?
The whole plan by Wolseley always seamed to me to be more about showing how clever he was and less about actually rescuing Gordon. The river route was a poor choice, the Camel Corps was a publicity stunt that could have been undertaken by an infantry brigade with camels as the baggage train. Without the wait for the boats and the training of men to ride camels they could have set off earlier and therefore have a much greater chance of achieving the actual goal of the mission.
Look forward to watching all your videos on the Sudan campaign.
Richard, a very good point and well made. Have you seen my two videos about Gordon?
ua-cam.com/video/z4DggwS1Wr0/v-deo.html
@@TheHistoryChap Not yet - I'm going to go through the whole campaign so will definitely watch those.
You are right.
May I know more about what happened to Major general William Earle? I saw his statue in Liverpool, and knew he died in this expedition, but I don't find much about him on the internet. Any additional information would be great. Thanks in advance good sir
I will try to make a video about him later this year. Please subscribe so you don't miss it.
Excellent recount of the Gordon of Khartoum story. Full of your usual eye for detail.
However, I do think you could have highlighted the political reluctance to rescue Gordon and the UK governments reluctance to get involved in what was essentially an Egyptian adventure.
A reluctance by the way which permeated almost all of the, essentially, "free enterprise" colonisation of Africa from the colonisation of West and East Africa and in particular Southern Africa...with the exception of the area around the cape which was essentially a lay over on the way to India.
As I say, I'm really enjoying your work and was wondering if you ever thought of covering Livingstone's great travels and his talent for getting lost in his journeys 😁
Thanks Robert. I have mentioned it in both my video about the battle of El Teb and also my 2-part story on Gordon of Khartoum.
So I didn't want to rake over old coals.
But you are correct in saying that Gladstone was anti-getting involved, which does not suit many people's view of Britain always looking to seize other people's lands.
Nearly missed this one but thankfully saw it and what a story! Thanks for this great history lesson. Stay well.
Glad you enjoyed. Merry Christmas.
And so Wolseley's dithering and saviour complex led to the death of Chinese Gordon.
excellent
Many thanks
Very good
Thank you.
Outstanding! As you English say, bloody marvelous! 🤣👍🏻 subscribe button hit for sure! Cheers!
Thanks for your support
Brilliant
This has long been a subject of interest to me.
A whos who of Victorian military officers. I own a pistol made for Sir Herbert Stewart. I have long wondered if it was with him at Abu Klea.
Hope to see all interested at the clash of empires display in London this July. History lives.
Enjoy the exhibition. I am trying to make time to get down there too.
Excellent explanation of the futility of these British far away wars, that seriously stretched the supply chain, etc,etc Well said and thank you 😊 The history chap 🇬🇧🇬🇧
Thanks for taking the time to comment.
I think the blame lay completely with Gordon's ego. Gladstone's initial decision to help evacuate Sudan was, I believe, the correct one. The Sudanese campaign was an unnecessary and a totally avoidable conflict, and the deaths of thousands could have been avoided, if not for Gordon's refusal to leave Khartoum. If Gordon had of returned to Egypt, there would not have been the public outcry to rescue him, and Gladstone would not have been obliged to send a relieving force, against his own wishes.
Thanks for watching my video & for you comment.
My grandmother's uncle, Private Gilman, 2nd Life Guards, died of disease on this campaign. I have some of his letters sent from Egypt..
Thanks for sharing your family story.
Gordon was govenor-general of Sudan earlier from 1877-1879. As a devoute Christian and Abolitionist he tried his hardest to secure a stranglehold on the slave trade that florished through his area starting in 1878.
He spent most of 1877 trying to develop his leadership role in the city and country as a whole. The next year he went on to enact laws that punished anyone caught engaging in the slave trade. He also enacted laws punishing others who were caught castrating young African men. That penalty was death. He consistantly asked for help from the Egyptians much to no avail all while having very little troop or logistical support from the British Government. He also discovered that many times the Egyptians and other Arab leaders were engaging and benifiting from the very institution he was trying to stop. All this while they paid lip service to him. Some other problems that he faced was the vast area of desert that was unable to be oversighted in stopping slave caravans. These slave caravans would just move to another route bypassing checkpoints. In one case, disgrunted he went out and found one of the slave caravan routes and bought a small number of slaves and had them freed.
His efforts even though done with moral intentions, failed to end the slave trade in Sudan. He also failed to set up a system of free trade. He ended up leaving Sudan in 1879 due to poor health and exhaustion.
Thanks for sharing.
Good rendition of an interesting period.
Many thanks. Glad you enjoyed it.
A great tale well told. Subb;d.
Thanks for your support.
Excellent .
Many thanks.
Wilson was correct in all his decisions, the army as too often before and since, didn't like men who thought!
Thanks for taking the time to comment
The British deserve all they got ,especially the officers and generals
Thank you for taking the time to comment
Aujourd'hui dimanche 9 avril 2023 : dimanche de pâques chez les chrétiens , Pessah ou pâques juive et 18é jour du ramadan chez les musulmans. Je dis comme le général Gordon dans film Khartoum :
" Il semblerait que ma vie soit un livre que personne ne peut lire et moi encore moins que quiconque. "
To be or not to be, that s the question.
Thank you for sharing
For the looking for an excellent book on this expedition, they should purchase: With The Camel Corps Up The Nile, by Lord Edward Gleichen. It’s fantastic 😍
Thanks for the info!
Redvers Buller, to be known as Sir Reverse Buller after Spion Kopp
Thanks for the feedback.
The funny thing was most of the Canadian voyageurs weren’t voyageurs at all, they were mostly young city bred guys with more experience in clerking than boating. Very few real voyagers signed up.
How interesting. Thanks for sharing.
The decision to travel up the Nile led to fatal delays and was clearly a mistake. All the other decisions (including Gladstone's reluctance to get involved) seem to me to within the bounds of reasonableness.
It's instructive though to note how a series of reasonable decisions can lead to a fiasco!
Perhaps the root cause is the ludicrous situation where we were trying to prop up a corrupt and bankrupt Egyptian (nominally Turkish) regime in Sudan on a shoestring?
Peter, I like your comment that a series of reasonable decisions can lead to a fiasco. My experiences in business and politics is that no one sets out to screw things up. It evolves and rapidly one decision compounds another.
exciting story
Pretty much forgotten but so many of the characters who were involved pop up again in British history.
It's left to wonder if Wilson's force would mean any difference at that moment, he could have succeded only with a full force, which was a bit worn out after two hardly fought battles. He could have succeded only by disobeying orders which is a bit of an irony. There were still 6000 soldiers in the city which was not a small force, Gordon could have managed defense better.
Thank you for taking the time to comment
While the outcome was indeed tragic for Gordon and some of the other Ashanti Corps of Officers and the military careers of others I don't lay blame on Gladstone or Wilson.
I concur with Gladstone's concerns of keeping out of the affairs of the Sudan. England had enough irons in the fire internationally at that time and the directions to conduct a relief operation was indeed advisable.
No if I must lay blame, it's on Gordon himself. He threw out the directive given him and instead sets himself up as a British Caliph. All the deaths suffered as a result I lay on Gordon's head. So to speak. Just saying.
As a matter of amusement on my poor understanding of proper English usage I was bewildered and confused when the mention if the Royal Sussex Regiment came up.
My American ears heard "The Royal Sausage Regiment." Now where did they acquire that marvelous name I asked? Did they hail from a portion of England where pork farmers are celebrated?
Too funny. The joke's on me.
History Chap, anything on Gordon's exploits in China? I've not seen much on it.
Try this one:
ua-cam.com/video/z4DggwS1Wr0/v-deo.html
Gordon looked like Paul Newman.
Thanks for taking the time to comment.
Sudan's Mahdi avenged the boxer
Thank you for taking the time to comment.
Accurate and balanced
I try to do that although probably don’t always hit the mark.
It's that conquest of empire even Nazi's used Roman salute and eagle crest , other cultures not at all related to Europe only differed in language and religion namely the Ottomans
So glad Sudan is such a peaceful place now, lol.
Such a shame. Lovely country.
Redvers Buller whose statue is at Exeter St.Davids never wanted his promotion in the South Africa War. He was capable but not a thinker.
Still remained popular with his men.
Amazing bravery shown by British Soldiers the World is a better place having the U.K. playing a positive role in defeating brutal Islamic extremism, I am proud of my ancestors defending the innocent and defending life, liberty and freedom around the World
Thank you for taking the time to comment
If Wilson has Jeeps in those days, supply would have been a doddle :)
Strange to think that some of the men on this expedition would have lived long enough to see jeeps (&and aircraft bombing enemies)
"Lets get Lawrence Olivier to play the Mahdi! It'll be great!"
Thanks for sharing.
I get the feeling Gordon was a bit of a knob
Maybe, maybe not.
Gordon won even in death
Thanks for taking the time to comment.
I don't get it, send 24 soldiers and don't evacuate Gordon, WTF. Makes no sense. Like Yoda said "do or do not."
Thanks for taking the time to comment
Imperialist jingoism at its worse . Hubris that wasn't tested and then found lacking by the Boers and Zulus in the South African wars
Thank you for sharing your opinion
Makes you proud to be British, those were the days eh.?. We were afraid of nobody.
Glad you enjoyed the story.
The whole event is wonderfully covered in The Triumph Of The Sun by Wilbur Smith. Really worth reading.
Thanks for sharing
I thought I'd read all of WIlburs (RIP) books, thanks for that, one of my favorite all time authors.
I will
One of my great grandfathers was nearly caught by the Mahdists a couple of days before Abu Klea when he fell asleep during the march and his hungry camel wandered away from the column looking for food.
My Great Grandfather was in the 2nd Battalion Grenadier Guards Detachment of the Guards Camel Regiment.
My mother smoked camels!
@@charlesstanger4269 I'd heard that about her.
My Great grandfather Sold Camels, Two Hump 🐫 strongs or the Lights with one hump 🐪 lol 😂😂
Jolly good story old chap. Jolly good.
A little-known fact, Nubia or Sudan was traditionally orthodox Chistian and was conquered/ Islamized by Egypt much later than regions further north.
Thanks for sharing
That was such a well told story, felt like i was down on the ground. Really was unaware of this part of history. Really enjoyed the dynamics being told between the varies Generals, the "thinking General", the dilemmas, the logistics, the mourning of General Gordon, giving an idea of the mood on the home front, its a very humanized way of telling the story that made the "characters" very real, and not just pages in a history book. Thank you, this as been a great epic of twist and turns. Do appreciate the mini recaps at the beginning of each video too, it does help to digest & chronologically remember events as they're occurring. Feel absolute blessed to watch these.
Very, very kind of you. Thanks.
I first read about the siege of Khartoum back in college, but with no details or context. I next heard about the siege of Khartoum in "Gunboat! Small Ships At War" by Bryan Perritt.
Now, I am somewhat hooked on the "small" wars of the British Empire!
I never understood the reason for the Crimean war. Can anyone explain why it happened ? Please respond …
True story, an Australian general was scheduled to take over a UN observation force in Sudan when South Sudan were breaking away, circa 2005. Apparently, the appointment was terminated when the Sudanese took exception with General Gordon of Australia deploying to Khartoum.
Interesting story.
Was he Aboriginal Gordon ??? Just asking …
My Friday is made. Another exciting adventure to watch while I enjoy my lunch. The master hits another home run. As a history major in college I continue to be an avid follower many decades since. The History Chap never disappoints.
Wow, what kind words, thank you.
If you want to chat history, by all means drop me a line via my website (www.thehistorychap.com)
This channel is a gem for it's great coverage on these relatively obscure colonial wars. You'll find countless channels covering well trodden subjects like the world wars, but not what's covered here; especially the quick biographies on soldiers I've never heard of. Well, I've had fun learning about the characters and eccentrics from the Victorian era colonial wars!
Glad you are enjoying the stories.
you are clearly not British if you have never heard of this campaign.
@@stewartlancaster6155 up your reading comprehension. "Never heard of", as you imply, and "relatively obscure", which is what I wrote, have very different meanings. You also, didn't read or comprehend the other part of my post where I mentioned all of the random figures from the Victorian era he mentions.
Many of these conflicts were re-made famous by films in the 60's - this is where I (as an American) first heard fo them.
@@TheHistoryChap I am glad that Brits Are no longer in Sudan. I am glad that Russians will be in Sudan and I praying God to stop brutal civil war in Sudan 😢
Thomas Huxley held that the two most fascinating people of his age were Charles Darwin and Charles Gordon. I highly recommend reading Gordon's notes. He was an extremely unique and capable man of his age while at the same time he was the bane of the UK military because he had a distinct tendency to avoiding war rather then trying to profit from it.
Thanks for taking the time to share.
By taking a look at that contemporary map and one of today I finally came to the conclusion that Gordon probably could have escaped with his life way before being killed but something like that just wasn't in his character. Gordon running from the enemy, could you imagine? Nope, sure couldn't.
Think you are probably right.
Gordon was a bit of a religious but and had no intention of evacuation
It was the times. Generals promoted because of their connections, money payments and social standing and the idea of "glory". Not much changed until after WWII where the silly brits were taught a valuable lesson by Hitler and his professional generals. BTW, the American military is like that now; incompetent lifers who can't do anything else in life, all looking for the seat on the board as corporations pay them off for authorizing purchases of vastly expensive, mostly useless arms.
Considering that all that Gordon was supposed to do was oversee the Egyptian evacuation of Khartoum, not only could he have escaped, it seems that he outright defied his orders in order to not escape.
@@advicepirate8673 The whole British army, 90%,, were "glory hounds". More like "Simpering, privileged highly literate in Greek lap dogs.
First time I come across your videos. I must say your videos are very entertaining and very good, I enjoy them so much. Absolutely fantastic. Thank you for making something so educational and at the same time so entertaining. You are the definitive history chap. And no less authentic too 😀👍👍👍
Very kind of you. Glad you are enjoying.
@The History Chap
Same here! I just saw your videos today, and I am already hooked on them!
Keep up the good work, I have watched four already and will in next week, probably watch another half dozen.
You and your channel are truly excellent! Thank you for reviving my knowledge and now appreciation for the British army in the 19th century
Thank you very much. Plenty more coming your way.
This was outstanding and I really enjoyed it. I loved the movie Khartoum also.
Glad you enjoyed.