The Battle of El Obeid (or Shaykan), Sudan, 1883

Clip from the 1966 movie “Khartoum“ (134 min; USA 128 min). The dismissal of Suliman Niazi resulted in the appointment of Colonel William “Billy“ Hicks (. Hicks Pasha) as commander-in-chief of an expeditionary force to Kordofan with orders to crush the mahdi, who in January 1883 had captured El Obeid, the capital of that province. Hicks, aware of the worthlessness of his force for the purpose contemplated, stated his opinion that it would be best to “wait for Kordofan to settle itself“ (telegram of 5