Major General Kitchener, Sirdar (Commander-in-Chief) Egyptian Army, 1898 Battle of Omdurman and the Charge of the 21st Lancers Wooden Pencil Box.
On 2nd September 1898 The Battle of Omdurman (also known as Karary), during the Mahdist War, was fought between a British-Egyptian expeditionary force, led by Major General Herbert Kitchener and a Sudanese army of the Mahdist State. Sudanese tribesmen unsucessfully attacked the British lines.
The 350 men of the 21st Lancers charged another force of about 700 men that had appeared on the right flank. Hidden in a gulley were a further 2000 Mahdists. The Lancers cut their way out of the ambush, but suffered the highest British casualty rate at Omdurman and lost 119 horses. This was one of the last full scale cavalry charges of the British Army. Three Victoria Crosses were awarded to men of the 21st Lancers.
The victory of the British–Egyptian force was a demonstration of the superiority of a highly disciplined army equipped with modern weaponry over a force twice its size armed with older weapons. Mahdist forces suffered about 10000 deaths, 10000 wounded and 5000 captured, compared with British/Egyptian/Sudanese losses of about 50 deaths and 380 wounded. A year later, the remaining Mahdist forces were defeated and Anglo-Egyptian Sudan was established.
Approximate weight is 239 grams.
Approximate dimensions are 23.3 cm length, 5.2 cm width and 4.5 cm height.
In good condition with age related wear and loss of definition to the picture detail. There is no key.
