Chain of Fire

The Siege of Khartoum and the Campaign of Egypt and the Sudan

Peter Hart

• Publisher: Pegasus Books
• Year: 2025
• Topic: History
• eBook ISBN:
  9781639369782
• Subtopic: 19th Century History
• Index: History

The dramatic story of the siege of Khartoum and Britain’s extraordinarily violent 1882 campaign in Egypt and Sudan.

In the 1880s, British control over northeastern Africa was a political minefield that Prime Minister William Gladstone wished to avoid—until his emissary Charles Gordon was besieged in Khartoum, and the city became the focal point for war.

It was the height of European colonialism. Injustices were administered, bloody battles fought, and civilians were often caught in the crossfire. Among the famed British officers involved were figures who would later adopt starring roles in World War I, such as Egyptian Army officer Captain Herbert Kitchener.

By turns shocking and dynamic, Chain of Fire examines the terrible desert wars using the testimonies of the men who fought there.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Maps
• Preface
• Chapter 1: The Reason Why
• Chapter 2: The Bombardment of Alexandria
• Chapter 3: The Advance to Qassasin
• Chapter 4: The Battle of Tel el Kebir
• Chapter 5: The Rise of the Mahdi
• Chapter 6: Battles of Suakin, 1884
• Chapter 7: The Siege of Khartoum
• Chapter 8: The Starting Gate
• Chapter 9: The Desert Column
• Chapter 10: All Hopes Fade Away
• Chapter 11: Battles of Suakin, 1885
• Chapter 12: Softly Softly: The Dongola Campaign of 1896–7
• Chapter 13: Forward to Atbara, 1898
• Chapter 14: The Battle of Atbara, 8 April 1898
• Chapter 15: One Last Heave
• Chapter 16: The Battle of Omdurman, 2 September 1898
• Chapter 17: On, On to Omdurman
• Chapter 18: Aftermath
• Photographs
• Acknowledgements
• About the Author
• Notes
• Index
• List of Illustrations
• Image Descriptions
• Copyright