i recall accounts of the battle of omdurman in 1898, the british surgeons were appalled at the wounds caused by these barbed sudanese spears and their difficulty in regards removal from the wounds. winston churchill charged with the 21st lancers in the battle, tho he used a mauser automatic in lieu of a lance. of course the modern weapons of the brits & egyptians made it mostly a massacre of the sudanese.
on our side:25,800 brits, egyptians and allied sudanese.
on the mahdi's side 52,000 sudanese.
casualties:
our side: 47 killed, 382 wounded.
their side: 10,000 killed, 13,000 wounded, 5,000 captured - i assume the remainder fled.
|