Beyond the Reach of Empire: Wolseley's Failed Campaign to Save Gordon and Khartoum

Author:   Mike Snook
Publisher:   Pen & Sword Books Ltd
ISBN:  

9781848326019


Pages:   608
Publication Date:   01 March 2014
Format:   Hardback
Availability:   In Print   Availability explained
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Beyond the Reach of Empire: Wolseley's Failed Campaign to Save Gordon and Khartoum


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Overview

When General Gordon returned to the Sudan in February 1884, the Egyptian colonial regime was on the brink of collapse. His only weapons were his reputation, a flotilla of river steamers and a few thousand demoralized Egyptian troops. Less than a fortnight after his arrival in Khartoum, Egypt' last field force was routed in the Red Sea Littoral. It was only a widespread popular clamour to 'Save Gordon' that forced the Prime Minister's hand. Conventionally the history books relate that Wolseley's great Nile Expedition came within two days of relieving Khartoum. Wolseley was eminently successful in playing up the nearness of the miss and pointing the finger of blame at the politicians. Colonel Mike Snook eschews casual acceptance of Wolseley's version of events. He subjects the feasibility of the expedition to scrutiny, examines the fragility of the British military position in the Sudan as Khartoum and exposes critical failings in both Wolseley's plan and its execution. Drawing on extensive and sometimes hazardous fieldwork, together with participant accounts, Beyond the Reach of Empire brings a fascinating campaign to life. The narrative accounts and analysis of the epic fights at Battles of Abu Klea and Abu Kru are the most comprehensive, historically accurate and compelling versions yet published, and are accompanied within the plate section by striking images of seldom photographed battlefields. AUTHOR: Mike Snook is a graduate of Leicester, RMA Sandhurst and the Staff College at Camberley. His service record includes Afghanistan, Northern Ireland and Bosnia and was twice honoured. In 2000 he was awarded the MBE. His books include 'How Can Man Die Better' and 'Like Wolves on the Fold'. SELLING POINTS: .Written by a serving officer with unprecedented access to the terrain and a thorough understanding of military methods .Significant reappraisal of the role played by Gladstone and Wolseley .Charts the flaws of the operation plan which doomed the rescue mission to failure ILLUSTRATIONS 16 pages of plates

Full Product Details

Author:   Mike Snook
Publisher:   Pen & Sword Books Ltd
Imprint:   Frontline Books
Weight:   1.111kg
ISBN:  

9781848326019


ISBN 10:   1848326017
Pages:   608
Publication Date:   01 March 2014
Audience:   General/trade ,  General
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print   Availability explained
This item will be ordered in for you from one of our suppliers. Upon receipt, we will promptly dispatch it out to you. For in store availability, please contact us.

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Reviews

'Mike Snook's research and narrative mirror the scale of Victorian Britain's herculean effort to save General Gordon. Ultimately though the author's quest is crowned with success, not least because he brings to his story the understanding of a fighting soldier, cutting through the jingoism and bombast of earlier accounts, laying bare the reasons for the campaign's failure.' Mark Urban, author of Rifles: Six Years with Wellington's Legendary Sharpshooters


Author Information

Colonel Mike Snook was commissioned into the Royal Regiment of Wales and over the ensuing 30 years served all round the world in command, operations and intelligence appointments. He spent two thirds of his career overseas and saw extensive active service in four campaigns. He is a graduate of Leicester University, Sandhurst and the Army Staff College. Twice honoured for operational distinction, he was awarded the MBE in 2000. He spent four years as a British military adviser in South Africa and latterly was the head of the UN's J3 Operations staff in Khartoum. A recognised authority on the military history of the Victorian era, he is the author of How Can Man Die Better: the Secrets of Isandlwana Revealed, Like Wolves on the Fold: The Defence of Rorke's Drift, Into the Jaws of Death: British Military Blunders 1879-1900 and Go Strong into the Desert: The Mahdist Uprising 1881-5.

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