Battle of Tell El Kebir facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Battle of Tel El Kebir |
|||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Anglo-Egyptian War | |||||||
 Battle of Tel el-Kebir painting by Alphonse-Marie-Adolphe de Neuville |
|||||||
|
|||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 United Kingdom*  India |
 Khedivate of Egypt |
||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Garnet Wolseley |
Ahmed ‘Urabi |
||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 13,000 troops 60 guns |
18,000 troops (estimates) 60-75 guns |
||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 57 killed 380 wounded 22 missing |
800 killed and wounded 58 guns captured |
||||||
The Battle of Tel El Kebir was a major fight that happened on September 13, 1882. It took place in Tell El Kebir, Egypt, about 110 kilometers northeast of Cairo. In this battle, the British army, led by General Garnet Wolseley, defeated an Egyptian army. The Egyptian forces were commanded by Ahmed ʻUrabi and had dug in to defend their positions.
The British launched a surprise attack after marching through the night. This battle was the most important event of the Anglo-Egyptian War.
Contents
Why the Battle Started: Trouble in Alexandria
On May 20, 1882, a combined fleet of ships from France and Britain arrived at Alexandria. At the same time, Egyptian soldiers were making the city's defenses stronger. They expected an attack. These events caused a lot of tension in Alexandria. This tension led to riots where people from both sides were hurt or killed.
After the riots, the British and French sent a message to the Egyptian government. They demanded that Urabi's officers in Alexandria remove their coastal defense cannons. The Egyptian government said no. Meanwhile, Britain and France disagreed about what to do next. Most of the people hurt in the riots were not French. So, the French government decided not to support using force.
When the Egyptians ignored the demand, Admiral Seymour ordered the British Navy to attack the Egyptian gun positions in Alexandria. On July 11, at 7:00 AM, the first shot was fired. Soon, the entire British fleet was attacking. The Egyptian defenses fired back, but they did little damage to the British ships. No British ships were sunk.
On July 13, a large group of British sailors landed in the city. The Egyptian soldiers fought hard for several hours. However, the British forces were much stronger. This forced the Egyptian troops to leave Alexandria.
Getting Ready for Battle
General Garnet Wolseley was put in charge of a large British force. His goal was to defeat Urabi's government and bring back the power of the Khedive Tawfiq, who was Egypt's ruler. The British force had 24,000 soldiers from Britain. They gathered in Malta and Cyprus. Another 7,000 soldiers from India joined them through Aden.
Wolseley first tried to reach Cairo directly from Alexandria. But Urabi had placed his troops at Kafr El Dawwar. This was between Cairo and Alexandria. Urabi had built very strong defenses there. British attacks were stopped for five weeks at the Battle of Kafr El Dawwar.
Taking Control of the Suez Canal
Wolseley then decided to try a different way to reach Cairo. He planned to attack from the direction of the Suez Canal. Urabi knew that Wolseley's only other way to Cairo was through the canal. He wanted to block it.
However, Ferdinand de Lesseps, who built the Suez Canal, told Urabi that the British would never risk damaging the canal. He promised Urabi that the British would not land troops there. Urabi trusted de Lesseps. Because of this, Urabi made a big mistake. He did not block the canal, leaving it open for the British to invade.
When Wolseley arrived in Alexandria on August 15, he quickly started moving his troops through the Suez Canal. They went to Ismaïlia. This was done so fast that Ismailia was taken on August 20 without any fighting.
Ismailia quickly received 9,000 more soldiers. Engineers started fixing the railway line from Suez. A small group of soldiers moved along the Sweet Water Canal to Kassassin. They arrived there on August 26.
Egyptian Attack at Kassassin
Urabi tried to stop the British advance. He attacked the British forces near Kassassin on August 28. The British soldiers were surprised because they did not expect an attack. The fighting was intense. However, two British battalions, with their four cannons, held their ground.
The British Heavy Cavalry, which included the Household Cavalry and the 7th Dragoon Guards, had been following the infantry. They were camped about 6 kilometers away. When the cavalry arrived, the British started attacking. They caused many casualties for the Egyptians. This forced the Egyptians to retreat about 8 kilometers.
Another attack by Egyptian forces at Kassassin was also stopped. The Egyptians then went back to their lines to build more defenses.
Capturing Mahmoud Fehmy
Around the same time as the first battle at Kassassin, the British had a big success. They captured the Egyptian chief military engineer, General Mahmoud Fehmy. How he was captured is not fully clear. One story says he had changed into civilian clothes because of the heat. He went for a walk with only one other officer. Then, a group of British cavalrymen ambushed him. Losing Fehmy was a big problem for the defense of Tel El Kebir. This highly respected General had just arrived to supervise building the forts there.
The Battle of Tel El Kebir
Urabi had moved his troops to defend Cairo from Wolseley. His main force dug in at Tel El Kebir. This was north of the railway and the Sweetwater Canal. Both of these linked Cairo to Ismailia on the canal. The defenses were built quickly. They included trenches and strongholds. Urabi's forces had 60 cannons and modern rifles.
Wolseley personally checked the area several times. He found that the Egyptians did not have soldiers guarding the areas in front of their main defenses at night. This meant an attacking force could get close to the defenses under the cover of darkness. Instead of going around Urabi's defenses, which would mean a long march through the desert, Wolseley planned a different approach. He decided to approach the position at night and attack from the front at dawn. He hoped to surprise the Egyptians.
Wolseley began his advance from Ismailia on the night of September 12. He had two groups of infantry soldiers and a cavalry group. A group of Indian soldiers protected the side along the southern bank of the Sweetwater Canal. The main forces marched easily. The desert west of Kassassin was almost flat and clear. It looked like a giant parade ground. Even with stops to keep lines straight, the British troops reached the Egyptian position exactly when Wolseley planned.
_p247_BATTLE_OF_TEL-EL-KEBIR_(1882).jpg)
At 5:45 AM, Wolseley's troops were about 550 meters from the defenses. Dawn was just breaking. Egyptian guards saw them and fired. The first shots were followed by many more from the trenches and by cannons. British troops, led by the Highland Brigade on the left and the 2nd Brigade on the right, charged with bayonets. The Guards Brigade, commanded by Queen Victoria's son, Prince Arthur, supported them.
The smoke from the Egyptian cannons and rifles hid the British advance. The British reached the trenches all along the line at the same time. The battle was over within an hour. Most of the Egyptian soldiers were tired from being on alert all night. Because Urabi's forces had built their defenses so quickly, there were no obstacles in front of them to slow down the attackers. Some groups fought hard, especially the Sudanese troops in front of the Highland Brigade. But those who were not quickly defeated were forced to retreat.
In the end, it was a huge defeat for the Egyptians. Official British numbers reported 57 British soldiers killed. About two thousand Egyptians died. The British army had more soldiers hurt from heatstroke than from enemy attacks.
British cavalry chased the defeated Egyptian soldiers towards Cairo. Cairo was left undefended. Power was then given back to the Khedive. The war was over. Most of the British Army went to Alexandria and sailed home. From November, only a small army was left to occupy Egypt.
Lieutenant William Mordaunt Marsh Edwards received a special award called the Victoria Cross for his bravery during the battle.
See also
