The Battle of Ginnis 1885 Sudan | The Last battle the British fought in their Redcoats
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- Опубліковано 4 чер 2024
- The Battle of Ginnis fought on the 30th December 1885 in northern Sudan was the last time that British troops went into battle wearing their famous redcoats.
It also brought to a close, part 1 of Britain's involvement in Sudan and the Mahdist War.
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Other videos in this British-Mahdist war in Sudan:
The Battle of El Teb 1884(plus background as to why British were in Sudan)
• The Battle of El Teb 1...
The Battle of Tamai 1884 (the British square broken)
• The Battle of Tamai 18...
The Battle of Abu Klea (“The Gatling’s jammed and the Colonel’s dead”)
• The Battle of Abu Klea...
The Nile Expedition 1885
• The Nile Expedition to...
The Second Suakin Expedition on the Red Sea Coast
• The Second Suakin Expe...
Gordon of Khartoum (A very Victorian hero)
• General Charles Gordon...
The Battle of Omdurman (Gordon is avenged and the British conquer Sudan)
• What Happened At The ...
The Battle of Ginnis - 30th December 1885 - is pretty much lost to the sands of history.
It wasn’t a close run battle like Abu Klea.
The losses were not on the sort of jaw dropping scale of Omdurman in 1898.
No Victoria Crosses were won.
And it went according to plan - which a lot of battles fail to do.
It was the last time that British troops fought a battle in their traditional red tunics. Now, it does seem that the 6th Dragoons and the Royal Scots wore them during the Zulu rebellion of 1888 but there were no set piece battles there, just a few light skirmishes.
And whilst there are claims that the Connaught Rangers might have worn red coats in 1896, I have struggled to find conclusive proof to corroborate that. Even if it is true, they would have been the only unit wearing red.
At Ginnis, the majority of the British (apart from the Durham Light Infantry) wore their redcoats.
It was the first time that the new Egyptian Army had successfully faced the Mahdists. It also the first time that the British and Egyptian armies had fought side by side. They would do so again in the future, not least at the battles of Atbara and Omdurman in Kitchener’s Sudan campaign.
Above all, the victory at Ginnis had, for the time being, halted the Mahdist steamroller and Egypt was safe. Which was good news to the Khedive (whom the Mahdists wished to depose) and the British and their interest in the Suez Canal.
Taken in the round, Francis Grenfell had won a battle pretty much according to his plans with an international army, including untried Egyptians, and taken the lightest of casualties.
He hadn’t done a bad job.
And his impressive turnaround of the Egyptian Army would continue at the battle of Toski in 1889 when he would smash a Sudanese Mahdist invasion of Egypt.
Grenfell would be honoured with a road named after him in Kensington, west London.
In the 1970’s a tower block was constructed nearby and took its name from the road.
Whilst most Britons won’t know the name of General Francis Grenfell, the will know the name: Grenfell Tower.
The Battle of Ginnis had lasted 4 hours and had cost the Mahdist 400 dead and many more wounded.
Grenfell’s Anglo-Egyptian army had lost 10 men dead and about 40 wounded.
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Chapters
0:00 Introduction
0:45 Back Story
3:05 The Siege at Kosha
4:44 The British in Egypt
6:15 General Francis Grenfell
10:07 Redcoats for last time
11:35 Battle of Ginnis
14:03 Ginnis - The Forgotten Battle
17:05 The History Chap
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My name is Chris Green ("The History Chap") and I am on a mission to share the amazing history of Britain so that we can appreciate where we have come from and why we are here.
History should not be stuffy or a long list of dates or kings & queens.
So rather than lectures or UA-cam animations, I tell stories that bring the past to life.
My aim is to be chat as if I were having a coffee or meal with you. Jean in Maryland, USA recently wrote: "Chris, is the history teacher I wish I had at school!"
Just for the record, I do have a history degree and continue to have a passion for the subject I studied.
Disclaimer: All opinions and comments expressed in the 'Comments' section do not reflect the opinions of Chris Green Communication Ltd t/a The History Chap. All opinions and comments should contribute to the dialogue. Chris Green Communication Ltd does not condone written attacks, insults, racism, sexism, extremism, violence or otherwise questionable comments or material in the 'Comments' section, and reserves the right to delete any comment violating this rule or to block any poster from the channel.
My great grandfather served with the Yorkshire Regiment at Ginnis (I have his Khedive Star) and it is really great to see an in depth look at this rarely mentioned battle.
Glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for sharing story of your great grandfather
There’s a film called ‘The 4 Feathers’ I’m sure it’s set in the same battle , it’s a long winded movie but has an short intense battle scene on this
@@duncanbaillie8721 white man has guns.....black man has spears....just saying
@@forgive7449 then they shouldn't have joined should they?
@@forgive7449 The black men had guns as well, as can be seen in this video.
I love this channel on the British army in the late 1800s . My Great Grandfather died in 1975 he was 99 yrs . I as a teenager visited him with my Grandfather most Saturday mornings , he would tell me stories about his uncle’s who served over in Sudan and against the Zulus . It was fascinating at the time sitting listening to his memories. It to this day has given me this interest in our British military history.
Dont forget to document those stories somewhere!
@@Laconic1 Thankyou I definitely will
@@RobertMiller-ye9hm yes please write them down somewhere other than youtube comments they deserve to be remembered
@@cerxusinvellum2289 thanks for your advice I did a couple weeks ago into a diary. Glad you gave me that advice my friend.
Uncles
Even though I am an American I do so love the history of the British Army and the Royal Navy. I am so happy I came across this channel.
Glad you are enjoying.
Salisbury became the Prime Minister, @@TheHistoryChap? I thought Disraeli took over when Gladstone fell around this time...? 🤔
What a final hurrah to the redcoat as a whole and in a very fitting way. The way he fought the battle, I can see why Grenfell was a member of the Wolseley ring. Just as the Battle of Tel-el-Kebir went the way Wolseley had planned it, the Battle of Ginnis went the way Grenfell had planned it. Wolseley would have been proud. For those viewers of this channel who watched the video on the Battle of Balaclava, at that battle, the British replused a Russian cavalry charge not with a traditional square but in a straight line with concentrated rifle fire. They did the same thing 31 years later at Ginnis against infantry and it worked as well. Prussian Army chief of staff Helmuth von Moltke once said, "No plan survives beyond contact with the enemy". On the most part he was right but in such instances as Tel-el-Kebir and Ginnis, that was not the case and thankfully everything went according to plan. Chris, am I to understand there will be a video on the Battle of Toski because if there is I look forward to it not just because Grenfell fought it but also of Kitchener's part in it. Also, the battle proves Douglas Haig's belief the Egyptians could become good soldiers.
There will be one about Toski but it will be later in the year. Some other topics I want to cover next.
Marlborough is said to have pointed at a map during a Jacobite debouche' and said; ''You will beat them here.'' And they did. Then, there was the magnificent Monash...
@@mattharcla What about Monash?
Certain adjustments had to be made, but they were very minor.
@@nathanappleby5342no
You are a brilliant historical story teller.
That was very enjoyable with the wonderful military artworks.
Thanks for posting.
Very kind of you, thanks.
This is my favourite part of British military history. That transition from red tunics to khaki drill, the single shot martin henry to the Lee Metford in just a few years. You are a wonderful entertaining speaker.
Simon, thank you for your kind words. Glad you are enjoying my stories.
Incredible work I can’t get enough
I’m an American living in the UK and love your channel. Could you look into doing an episode on the RAF Eagle Squadrons, Prince Phillip’s Naval career, or Americans who served in commonwealth armies during the World Wars?
Apart from the R.A.F.did, Americans fight with the British commonwealth before the American government declared war on Japan .
@@chrisholland7367 They absolutely did. I see an estimate of about 9,000 Americans serving with Canadian Forces in WWII. It was apparently far more than that in WW1.
That would be interesting!
Dylan, thanks for the suggestions. I will add to my list of future projects.
Nice one Chris. Thanks, as ever wonderfully presented.
My pleasure. Thanks for your support.
i do so love the way you tell these history stories ..thank you very much
My pleasure. Thank you for your kind words.
Wish I could have had a history teacher like you but that was a long long time ago , keep them coming .
I will indeed. Thanks for your kind comment.
@@TheHistoryChap I do not know if you are indeed a teacher of history in a school or university but I admire your energy and enthusiasm as an historian.
Our history teacher was a total bore. He would ramble on, then tell us to make notes, while he sat and picked his nose!! 🤔
No way could a history teacher do this today. The left would sack him straight away for the sins of colonialism etc. Saying that I had history teachers who actually taught history and not the socialist crap nowadays.
Excellent story telling Chris, thank you.
My pleasure. Glad you enjoyed it
Great job again Chris. I look forward to your next episode. Thank you.
Glad you enjoyed it. The next video should be out later this week. Keep your eyes peeled.
Can hardly wait for the next section, thanks for this one!
My pleasure. Next one should be out by the end of this week.
Very well presented. Most enjoyable. Thank you
Thank you for watching. I Appreciate it.
What a wonderfully-engaging storyteller you are.
Super interesting, Chris. You have a way to bring these events to life. Thank you.
Thanks for watching.
I had totally forgotten about this. Thank you for bringing me back down memory lane. Great video!!
Thanks for watching
Thank you for video ... the usual excellent content and presentation. A battle of which I had never heard .. until now.
Thanks for watching.
I really enjoy listing to this guy's description of historical battles. Thanks.
My pleasure.
Thanks Chris, bloody excellent story, had me rivetted to my chair, Cheers
Very kind of you. Thanks for watching
Thanks again Chris for a thorough and entertaining history lesson.
I love watching your videos. Well done, and look forward to the next. 👏
Really kind of you. Thanks
I could listen to this man talk for hours, thank you for sharing this good sir
My pleasure.
Another fascinating, and superbly illustrated video with archive photos and prints. Thank you, a really excellent video, again!
Glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for watching.
Another riveting presentation, thankyou once again.
very kind of you. Thanks.
Fantastic interesting video as usual, thank you very much and stay well.
Thanks for your ongoing support.
Excellent and thoughtful ,as always!
Very kind of you. Thanks for watching.
Thanks for covering Ginnis .
Very interesting and informative.
Glad you enjoyed it
Cannot wait for the next episode, thanks chris
It is a really fun and slightly sad story. Should be out at the end of this week.
Really enjoyed that and I'm looking forward to the next one, thankyou
Hoping to get it out by the end of the week.
This guy makes for such good listening..All such clarity and understanding of it all..Such an intersting part of British history as well
David, thank you for your kind comment.
I knew nothing of this so I found it most interesting. Really well researched and narrated again.
Neil, thank for your kind comment. I'm glad that you enjoyed it.
Yet another great video, well researched and expertly delivered. A real pleasure to listen to.
That's very kind of you. Thanks.
@@TheHistoryChap I thought the first boer war was the last the British fought in red.
You have described Chris' videos and style perfectly. I think he is, by far, the best presenter of military subjects in the English-speaking world.
PPP 0
sir,you have outdone yourself once again.
i really do admire your work.
Very kind of you. Thanks for your support
it was gladly given.
Excellent bit of information. Much appreciated.
My pleasure
Passed you on to a friend, love your videos Chris you are the type of history teacher my husband should have had. Thank you and Happy Easter.
My pleasure. Thanks for all of your support.
Great video thank you, hope you had a nice christmas/new year.
Yes, I had a lovely Christmas. Happy New Year to you too.
Great post young man!!! Well delivered!!!
My pleasure
Thank you Chris. Absolutely enthralled by the style and content of your excellent work. I hope that you reach a far greater audience, especially the young . Derek.
Very kind of you. Thanks for your support.
Another example of your fantastic skills! Excellent job!
Thank you. Glad you enjoyed it
Another awesome video. Love the interesting history.
Glad you are enjoying. Thanks for your support
Another fantastic video. Congratulations.
Thank you very much!
Yet another fascinating video, Chris: thanks.
☝️😎
Glad you enjoyed watching it.
Storytelling is a dying art. Thanks mate for keeping it alive.
That's a very kind comment. Thank you.
I can also recommend thehistorysquad's channel. A very competent story teller....
Never heard these details before. Thanks!
My pleasure
Brilliantly described and illustrated...
My pleasure. Glad you enjoyed.
Brilliant video again thank you H C.
My pleasure. Thanks for your support
I really love watching your videos, especially the redcoats, this later era redcoat uniforms are my favourite uniforms ever too.
I'm glad that you are enjoying my videos. Thanks for watching.
These videos get better and better!
Very kind, thanks.
Superb Doc. as ever!
Thank you
Thank you for keeping our history and heritage alive.
My pleasure
Great telling of these obscure battles.
Thank you. I am glad that you are enjoying them.
More fantastic content, thank you.
My pleasure. Thanks for watching.
Your channel is absolutely superb, I am beyond thrilled to have found it. Please make it easier to fund you.
Ok.
Fantastic as always, Chris! I've been following your Gordon saga for a while, and I recently watched a documentary about Gordon narrated by Robert Hardy that really put the man in the perspective for me and made me realize that Gordon and TE Lawrence were basically the same man, but just lived at different times.
Very interesting point about Gordon and Lawrence. I do want to do a video about Lawrence but it will have to wait a while. Thanks for watching my videos.
I had a lot more added to my comment below but was lost somehow. Anyway, thanks for another great video Chris. Teaching history has changed over time, my mother who is 87, said she was bored at school as they only taught about UK dates and places. My generation, were taught about a restricted time period in more detail (Tudors and Stuarts). If, like me, you were interested in World or European history, (no internet back then), you had to buy a book!!
I subscribed to a magazine series called “The British Empire”. Lots of colourful pictures!
Another great presentation 👍
Thank you very much
The reorganization and improvement of the Egyptian forces by the British is nothing short of remarkable. The Egyptian forces that would go on to reconquer Sudan in the Second Invasion were as different as Night and Day from those that had been massacred under Hicks Pasha at the start of the Mahdist crisis.
Absolutely agree. They played a key role at Omdurman under Hector MacDonald too.
@@TheHistoryChap very much so!
Another bloody rabbit hole....
Interesting story. On a side note ,I’ve heard that one of the reasons that they liked the red uniforms was that it made it harder for the enemy to count the size of the British forces. Seems that red appears as a large red blob at a distance .
Tom, thanks for sharing that interesting observation.
The rank and file certainly liked the red uniforms - it was a hit with the ladies!
@@Wotsitorlabart Probably why many regiments still have red as their mess dress....
It was actually the cheapest dye at the time it was adopted.
Wouldn't the, harder to count the enemy and large coloured blob concepts, equally apply to uniforms that were blue, green or black? (Ed- especially at a distance)
Never heard of this one! Good drop!
Thanks for taking the time to comment. Appreciated.
First class, as ever. Thank you.
Glad you enjoyed. Plenty more coming your way.
excellent presentation; kudos
Another very interesting video
Thank you
Thanks, pleased you enjoyed it.
This is a fabulous channel.
Thanks for watching my videos.
Awesome, very interesting thanks... Keep them coming please.
Will do. Plenty planned for the coming months
love your story's keep them coming
Will do. Thanks for your support.
Happy new year. Good work keep them coming please
Will do. Loads planned for this year
Great content....Loved it..👍
Thank you.
I knew nothing at all about that battle. Many thanks for a great and informative video.
My pleasure. Thanks for watching.
Thank you for that Sir. A great story.
My pleasure. Thank you for watching
Sir I fully agree with your ending statement. No pun intended, it was a direct hit on the target. And I enjoyed your mini documentary thoroughly. It is a brilliant bit of work. Kudos! I can not wait for the next morsel . God bless you Sir.
Very kind of you. Thanks for all of your support. Have a great week.
Thanks again for a wonderfull story, I found background info in my militairy encyclopedium from Dupuy & Dupuy. I cant do without it..! Regards, Paul Le Coultre.
Thanks for watching
another great story...well told ...
Glad you enjoyed it
Extremely interesting!the Mahdist wars have Always been for me exciting.Heroes like General Gordon or Fred Burnaby,Wolseley,Grenfell deserve always the greatest admiration...Thank you so much for this wonderful program!
My pleasure. A few more to come including the defeat of Hicks Pasha and the Fashoda Incident.
@@TheHistoryChap Thank you.I look forward with great interest!
Great video and he still have time to answer comments!
I try my best, even though it takes well over an hour every single day.
Absolutely brilliant narative.......
Thanks Alan.
Top notch well shared
Glad you enjoyed it.
The redcoat is an enduring symbol. Even in the most outlandish victorian sci fi, be it on the surface of Mars or the depths of space, the flag of the empire is always flown by the march of the redcoat
I love that description of British redcoats on Mars. Thanks for sharing
@@TheHistoryChap It'll even be camouflaged on mars haha
Great job !
Thank you for watching
Great stuff!
Glad you enjoyed it.
Nicely told again👌👌👌
Many thanks.
Excellent video 📹 👌
Many thanks.
Well Chris, what another great story, I could listen too you all day long , now I finally know when the British army changed from the famous red coats to karki, thanks as always,👍👍
My pleasure. Glad you enjoyed it.
AW Hainsworth of Stanningley, Pudsey in West Yorkshire supplied the woolen cloth that was used to manufacture uniforms worn at Trafalgar, Waterloo and at the Charge of the Light Brigade. They continue to supply the cloth for the Guards Regiments and the Royal Family's ceremonial uniforms.
Perhaps those scarlet tunics at Ginnis were made of Hainsworth's Yorkshire woolen cloth.
Thank you for sharing that information. Good to hear that they are still going strong.
Were the Grenfell towers which tragically burned named after our illustrious general? thanks again for a wonderful video. It's these smaller events that really add the continuity in history between the large and familiar ones. Cheers.
David, they were named after the nearby Grenfell Road (avenue?) which in tunr was named after this general.
Very Good and well documented.
Thank you
Well done... subscribed.
Thanks for your support
Good old Garnet Wolseley; kicking butt and taking names from Canada to the African continent. A couple of places as well as a major street in my hometown of Winnipeg, are named for him. As well as the "Viscount" hotel (not entirely sure of that). Love your stuff.
Thanks for watching and I’m glad that you are enjoying too!
Fascinating!!!
Glad you enjoyed.
Great. So interesting
Thanks for watching
great story, i would love to see you cover the battle of bolougne 1940, its a barely known battle overshadowed by the evacuation of dunkirk.
Great suggestion. I will add to my list. Please subscribe so you don't miss it.
my father was taken pow at the battle he was a guardsman.
Excellent video! You could make a video about the Fashoda Incident, did it really almost lead to a war between Britain and France?!
Ha ha, Fashoda is on my list. I will return to Kitchener's Sudan campaign later this year.
splendid! I am sure that we have met in the past...................................
Who knows 😀
Been watching alot of this lately ! A world war 1 series covering their african campaign by you would be awesome mate ! Keep it up
See my response to your comment on the Majuba video.
@@TheHistoryChap will look mate cheers
7:36 - you played that off incredibly well. I’m not nearly as well-composed!
Lucky I didn’t swear! 😂
@@TheHistoryChap At a university conference, I flubbed one of my lines, and I, indeed, did swear. To get back on track, I said, "To quote Billy Joel whenever he messes up, "Well, that was a real rock n' roll f**k up."" to uproarious laughter.
If you hadn't taken that breath to recover, I'd never have noticed!😄
well done.
Thank you
All good stuff.
Thanks for the great effort to produce this video and for reminding us of this forgotten war. I have some comments.
1: A Sudanese army of 6000 men did not threaten Egypt, and maybe the actual military threat was apparent in another context. The people involved in the Ginnis battle were only defending their homeland against foreigners building forts in their land.
2: The official British report on the Sudanese casualties mentioned 500 killed and 300 wounded and went to explain that “the disproportion of is doubtless owing to the extraordinary courage with which the wounded men fought to the end “( Colvile to General Officer Commanding the Division, 1 January 1886 - TNA Military Operation in the Soudan … WO 110/10). The alternative explanation, of course, was that the Sudanese wounded were killed. This is supported by some accounts of the battle. The number of injured should at least be twice the number of killed.
3: I think at least the same attention given to the uniforms should have been given to the weapons used by the Anglo-Egyptian force: Gatling and Gardner machine guns, gunboats, Krupp guns, screw guns, and Martini-Henry rifles. The Sudanese were fighting with swords, daggers, spears, and Remington rifles.
4: Three brigades to invade two small villages by the Nile. A soldier wrote, “…we captured the village & fairly hemmed them in & some took to the water for life& others refused to leave the huts & were shot or roasted alive …” (NAM No 6807/269, Ferguson to his parents 18 January 1886.). Another (Smith Dorrien) marvelled at how “the guns belched forth shells, which went through the mud walls like bullets through a paper target.”
When we glorify the colonial wars, I wish we should not overlook the atrocities committed and the victims of these battles. I just visited the serene village of Ginnis, home to some remarkable and peace-loving people.
5. Kosha/Koshah ( closest to the Sudanese pronunciation for كوشة ) , Kosheh/ Koshey =( mispronunciation by the Egyptian translators with the AngloEgyptian force.
Thanks for taking the time to share.
great episode! Thank you.
My pleasure. Thanks for watching.
Brilliant! But some people say a Maxim battery from the Connaught Rangers may have fought in red at the Battle of Ferkeh in 1896.
Hey, certainly lay claim to that record. However, they were the only unit in that particular bottle to have worn some red. At the battle of Guinness, the whole British Army wore red.