Mahdist War: 1885 Gunboat Battle on the Nile
Excerpt from Feature Film Khartoum (U.K., 1966)
In this riveting episode from the 1966 military thriller Khartoum, Gen. Charles "Chinese" Gordon (Charlton Heston) fulfills his orders to evacuate Europeans and Egyptians from the besieged Sudanese capital, sending them all downriver in the steamer Abbas under the command of his aide, Maj. Stewart (Richard Johnson). The vessel is protected by makeshift armor of sheet metal and armed with several Krupp rifled field pieces and Nordenfelt machine guns, well seen in action here. The vessel tows 2 small boats (luggers) loaded with wood fuel. You will note in the last sequence the luggers with their wood supply snag on sinking Arab feluccas. This lack of fuel dooms the Abbas and all aboard her, even though they have fought through the most heavily fortified point on the river. Later in the film we are treated to the grisly consequences.
While this movie takes a lot of liberties with historical fact, the riverboat operation is one that is well founded in Gordon's actual record at Khartoum. Although this is the only reference to it in the film, Gordon did field a small fleet of armed steamers against the Mahdi during his time in command. These makeshift gunboats proved to be one of his most effective weapons in fighting the Mahdist insurgency. In other areas the movie gives in to the temptation to dramatize events and, indeed to deify Gordon (a fact made all the easier by the choice of Heston to play the part -- fresh from his gig as Moses in "The Ten Commandments"). Other noteworthy historical errors include that Gordon and the Mahdi never actually met (though their personal sparring is entertaining to watch in the film, with Sir Laurence Olivier portraying the Mahdi). Also, the fall of Khartoum is played as a set-piece battle in full daylight, with a last-ditch defense by loyal Egyptian troops overwhelmed by numbers. In historic fact, the city was delivered up to the Mahdi by treachery in the dark of night. Few defenders had the chance to load their rifles before having their throats cut. Still, this is a highly entertaining film to watch, with excellent production values, as can be appreciated from this excerpt. The effectiveness of modern weapons in inflicting mass slaughter is convincingly shown.