Part 20

=The Afghan Medal.=--With the Afghan medal, which was granted on March 19th, 1881, were issued six bars for ALI MUSJID, PEIWAR KOTAL, CHARASIA, AHMED KHEL, KABUL, and KANDAHAR. The medal bears on the obverse a crowned head of Queen Victoria, which is not truncated like her effigies on the other medals, but the shoulders are couped by the bevel of the medal, which is 1⅖ in. in diameter. The bust is surrounded by the legend VICTORIA REGINA ET IMPERATRIX. This obverse is the fourth of the series facing page 188. On the reverse a column of Anglo-Indian soldiery is depicted on the march; an officer leads the way, accompanied by an infantrymen; an elephant bearing a mounted gun on its back makes the central feature, with native cavalry to fill up the foreground of a picture which has a fortress-capped mountain for background. AFGHANISTAN is impressed above in raised letters, and the date ~1878-9-80~ in the exergue. The names of the British recipients were engraved in rather squat Roman capitals, but the medals given to native troops were generally engraved in slanting writing letters. The suspenders to this medal are straight, like the General Service medals, the bars rather broad with square ends; the ribbon, 1¼ in. wide, is green with broad dark-red edges.

=Star for Kabul-Kandahar, 1880.=--Her Majesty also bestowed a bronze decoration on the troops who accompanied Major-General Sir Frederick Roberts on his 318-mile march from Kabul to Kandahar. It was subsequently granted to the troops which then composed the garrison of Kelat-i-Ghilzie, and who accompanied the force from that place to Kandahar. The decoration is a five-pointed radiated star, with small balls between the inner angles, and was made from the bronze guns taken at the battle of Kandahar on September 1st. In the centre is the Imperial monogram V.R.I., encircled by a band, with raised border inscribed ~KABUL TO KANDAHAR~, having ~1880~ below with a twig of laurel on either side. At the top is the Imperial crown, from which is a ring for suspension. The reverse is plain with a hollow centre, round the edge of which the name and regiment of the British recipient are indented in skeleton block letters. But those given to the native troops were generally engraved in a sloping script, as on the India 1895 medal, and occasionally in block capitals. The ribbon, 1½ in. wide, is of the rainbow pattern, but unwatered.

THE EGYPTIAN CAMPAIGNS

In 1882, owing to the rebellion of Arabi Pasha, British troops and ships were sent to Egypt. The bombardment of Alexandria took place on July 11th, followed by the decisive battle of Tel-el-Kebir, on September 13th. During this campaign the famous midnight charge of the heavy brigade at Kassasin took place. The British army of about 11,000 infantry, seamen, and marines, 2,000 cavalry, with 60 guns, marched on Tel-el-Kebir, under Sir Garnet Wolseley, who finding the rebel entrenchments reaching at least 4 miles from the canal out into the desert, and that his force would have to attack without a scrap of cover, decided to make a night march from Kassasin to get within charging distance of the enemy's position. The march was directed by Lieutenant Rawson, R.N., who steered by the stars, and the "monotonous tramp, the sombre lines, the dimly discerned sea of desert faintly lighted by the stars, were at once ghostly and impressive." When about 300 yards from the enemy's trenches the Highland Brigade, just before daybreak, rushed forward, and with a cheer went over the trenches, where after a stubborn resistance of about half an hour the rebels fled in confusion towards Zagazig, and the capture of Arabi at Cairo concluded the war. Nine British officers and 48 men were killed, 27 officers and 385 men wounded or missing. For his brilliant conduct of the war Sir Garnet Wolseley was raised to the peerage.

The following troops were engaged at Tel-el-Kebir: One batt. Grenadiers, Coldstreams, and Scots Fusilier Guards; 18th, 42nd, 46th, 60th, 72nd, 74th, 75th, 79th, 84th, and 87th; detachments of the 1st and 2nd Life Guards and Royal Horse Guards; 4th and 7th Dragoon Guards; 19th Hussars; a batt. of Marines; Marine Artillery, and a brigade of Seamen. The following Indian troops were also engaged: 7th Bengal and 20th Punjab Infantry; 29th Beloochees; 2nd, 6th, and 13th Bengal Cavalry.

=Egyptian Medal, 1882.=--The medal is a simple one, 1⅖ in. in diameter, depending from a suspender like that on the Ashantee medal; the ribbon is 1¼ in. wide alternately blue and white, three blue stripes and two white. On the obverse is the same Queen's head as on the Ashantee medal, but the reverse has a well-modelled Sphinx, with ~EGYPT~ in block letters above and ~1882~ in the exergue, while bars were given for the two engagements, ALEXANDRIA 11TH JULY and TEL-EL-KEBIR. They are wide and square, and set rather far apart, as in the Afghan medal of 1878-80. The names are engraved on the edge in slanting Roman capitals; in a few instances the naming is done in upright capitals.

=The Khedive's Star.=--Prince Twefik gave to all who took part in the campaign a bronze star of five points bearing on the obverse in the centre a front view of the Sphinx, behind which are three pyramids in the distance encircled by a band bearing the inscription ~EGYPT 1882~, and below in Arabic characters "The Khedive of Egypt" and the year of the Hegira "~1299~." On the reverse within a raised border is the Khedive's monogram T.M. (Twefik Muhammad), surmounted by a crown with crescent and star above. The star is suspended from a laureated bar bearing a crescent and star by means of a dark-blue ribbon 1½ in. wide.

=Against the Dervishes.=--Quite a different type of enemy were the followers of the Mahdi, who after practically exterminating the Egyptian army of 7,000 men led by Hicks Pasha, and under the generalship of the slave-trader, Osman Digna, had made short work of Baker Pasha's 5,000 Egyptians at El-Teb on February 1st, 1884, met at the same place on the 29th, and fought the force of 4,000 men which Major-General Graham had got together. The battle, which was of a determined character (see also page 321), the brunt falling on the "Black Watch," the 65th, and Naval Brigade, resulted in the defeat of the Arabs with a loss of 2,000 killed; 22 British officers and 167 men were killed or wounded. For this battle those who already possessed the Egyptian medal received the bar inscribed EL-TEB.

The following troops were engaged at El-Teb: "Black Watch"; Gordon Highlanders; Irish Rifles; King's Royal Rifle Corps; 1st Batt. York and Lancaster Regiment; 100 Royal Engineers; 126 artillerymen; 328 men of 10th Hussars; 410 of 19th Hussars; 125 Mounted Infantry; Marine Light Infantry and Marine Artillery, and a Naval Brigade of 162 men.

=Tamaai.=--Fourteen days later the British force again met the Mahdi's hosts, and at Tamaai routed the Arabs with a loss of over 3,000. It was at this battle that a few Arabs first got into the British square. The "Black Watch," whose quick movement on being ordered to charge, left a gap between themselves and the York and Lancaster Regiment, losing Major Aitken, 8 sergeants, and 50 men killed, 3 officers and 26 men wounded. The British losses were 5 officers and 104 men killed, and 8 officers and 120 men wounded or missing. (See also Naval Section, page 322.)

The following troops were engaged at Tamaai: "Black Watch"; Gordon Highlanders; Royal Irish Fusiliers; York and Lancaster Regiment; King's Royal Rifle Corps; Artillery; 26th Company Royal Engineers; a squadron of the 10th and 19th Hussars; Royal Marines and a Naval Brigade.

A bar for TAMAAI was given for this battle, and to those who took part in that of El-Teb also a bar bearing the words EL-TEB--TAMAAI. The battle of Suakin on March 27th brought the first Soudan War to a close. Those who landed at Suakin or Trinkitat between February 19th and March 26th, and had taken part in the 1882 campaign, were granted the bar for SUAKIN 1884. It was further approved that a bar be issued to all those who were actually present at either or both of the actions on February 29th and March 13th; this bar to be inscribed EL-TEB--TAMAAI for those who were in both actions, and EL-TEB or TAMAAI for those who were in one or the other, but not both.

=To Relieve Gordon.=--The Mahdi, however, was not conquered; he had merely run away to fight another day. The defence of Khartoum for ten months by General Gordon, and the belated and unsuccessful attempts to relieve him, are matters of history which will not be easily forgotten; but for our purpose they recall the gallant Britisher who refused to yield, and the splendid efforts which were made by the officers and men who went up the Nile in 1884-5. They started from Cairo in September under Lord Wolseley, and reached Dongola early in November, when the gallant Sir Herbert Stewart started off with his little army of 1,600 men to reach Khartoum, by first marching 170 miles and then travelling 100 miles by steamer.

=Abu Klea.=--It was during this march that the battle of Abu Klea--"where the rifles jammed and the shoddy bayonets twisted like tin"--was fought on January 17th, 1885, and the survivors of the little band of about 1,200 who took part received the bar ABU KLEA. Here the genial giant Colonel Fred Burnaby was thrown from his horse in riding outside the square to assist some skirmishers, and killed as he lay on the ground, and here Lord Charles Beresford had many hair-breadth escapes from death (see page 325), while the Arabs achieved the remarkable feat of breaking a British square and getting inside, killing the wounded and a number of camels ere they were themselves dispatched. This, one of the most strenuous of the battles in the Sudan, resulted in a loss to the enemy of over 2,000, and to the British of 9 officers killed and 9 wounded (2 dying of their wounds), 65 non-coms. and men killed, and 85 wounded; but the enemy were still active, and as Sir Herbert Stewart marched on he found his way to the Nile barred by them, so a zareba was formed at Abu Kru, and here he was mortally wounded. The enemy were driven off; the harassed troops pressed on, reached the Nile, and heard that Khartoum had fallen! Their pluck, perseverance, and privations were in vain. In the fight between Abu Klea and the river 1 officer and 22 men were killed, and 8 officers and 90 men wounded; this was called the battle of Gubat, but no bar was given for it.

The following troops were engaged at Abu-Klea: Sussex Regiment; Mounted Infantry; Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers; Heavy Camel Corps; 19th Hussars, and a Naval Brigade.

=Kirbekan.=--During the campaign the battle of Kirbekan was fought on February 10th, and Major-General Earle, the General in Command, killed in a manner which calls to mind Forbes Mitchell's description of how Hodson, of Hodson's Horse, met his death. The battle had been won, but odd parties of survivors were being routed out; the General, despite warnings, went up to a stone hut full of Arabs, and essayed to enter it, but was shot dead. Needless to say his death was avenged--indeed, of the force of 2,000 Lord Wolseley said "scarcely any can have escaped." Two colonels were also killed at this battle, which raged for five hours. The "Black Watch" lost Lieutenant-Colonel Coveney killed, and Lieutenant-Colonel Wauchope wounded. The bar inscribed KIRBEKAN was well earned. It should be noted that no medal for this campaign is genuine which has a single bar inscribed Kirbekan; it was only given in combination with the bar THE NILE 1884-85. There are, of course, other combinations, but these were due to the fact that the recipient had taken part in the earlier campaigns. Four-bar medals are rather rare, and five-bar medals very uncommon.

The following troops were engaged at Kirbekan: South Staffordshire Regiment; 1st Batt. Black Watch, squadron 19th Hussars; 2 gun crews of artillery; small naval detachment with maxim gun--about 1,200 men.

The following troops received the bar for the Nile: "Black Watch"; Gordon and Cameron Highlanders; 18th Royal Irish; Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry; Royal West Kent Regiment; Essex Regiment; South Staffordshire Regiment; 19th Hussars; Heavy Camel Corps, and a Naval Brigade.

=To Recover the Sudan.=--The fall of Khartoum led to the organisation of another campaign in order to recover the Sudan from the power of Osman Digna, and for this arduous campaign those who did not receive the new Egyptian medal had a bar added to the one they possessed for SUAKIN 1885. During this campaign a New South Wales contingent of 800 took part. A battle which came as a surprise, and resulted in heavy losses, was fought on March 22nd, 1885, and for this a bar inscribed TOFREK was given. The only entire regiment present was the 1st Batt. Royal Berkshire. The losses of the Hadenowas were over 1,500; the British lost 5 officers and 94 men killed, 6 officers and 136 men wounded, 1 officer and 70 men missing, and of the Indian contingent 120 were killed or wounded.

The following troops were present at Tofrek: the Berkshire Regiment; a detachment of Royal Engineers; a squadron of the 5th Lancers and 20th Hussars; a battalion of Marines; a Naval Brigade, and an Indian Brigade.

By a General Order dated September 1st, 1885, a medal of the 1882 pattern was granted to all Her Majesty's forces employed in the operations in the Sudan, in commemoration of their arduous labours in the ascent of the Nile, and their gallantry in the operations which ensued, and also for the operations in the Eastern Sudan in the vicinity of Suakin; and Her Majesty further approved of the issue of the following bars: THE NILE 1884-85, ABU KLEA, KIRBEKAN, SUAKIN 1885, and TOFREK. A General Order dated June 1st, 1886, signified that the Egyptian medal be granted to the troops engaged in the operations of the Upper Nile who had not previously received it.

=Gemaizah, 1888.=--The neighbourhood of Suakin was again the scene of battle when, on December 20th, 1888, the Dervishes advanced on the place with the determination to invest it. General Grenfell, however, forced the issue, and on December 20th, 1888, after one and a half hour's fighting, totally routed them; for this battle the bar for GEMAIZAH 1888 was awarded by an Army Order in January 1890, and the medal to all who were employed at, or south of, Korosko on August 3rd, 1889.

The following troops were engaged at Gemaizah: King's Own Scottish Borderers; the Welsh Regiment; Royal Irish Rifles; 137 officers and men 20th Hussars; Mounted Infantry; 17 officers and men of the 24th Company Royal Engineers; Naval Brigade of men from H.M.S. "Starling" and "Racer," and Egyptian troops.

=Toski.=--After this battle the expedition was withdrawn, and the Sudan was left to the mercy of the Dervishes, Suakin alone being held by the British and Egyptians. Ever on the war-path, the followers of the Mahdi resolved to invade Egypt, and were actually permitted to penetrate northwards for about 50 miles. At Toski, however, they were seriously encountered by Sir F. Grenfell, the Sirdar of the Egyptian Army, and on August 3rd a terrific but comparatively bloodless battle for the British and Egyptians was fought. The Dervishes, however, were routed, and almost every leader was killed. For this battle a bar inscribed TOSKI 1889 was awarded to all troops who were present at the action. Men who had received bars for former Egyptian campaigns, on receiving new ones, returned the old ones to the Commissary-General of Ordnance, Woolwich Arsenal; the rivets of all genuine medal bars are, therefore, always the same. The names and regiments are usually engraved in slanting Roman letters, but those given to the navy are generally stamped in rather large skeleton upright Roman letters.

The following were engaged at Toski: 98 officers, non-commissioned officers, and men of the 20th Hussars, and Egyptian troops.

=Tokar.=--The battle of Tokar was fought in 1890, but the British silver medal was not awarded for this engagement. The Egyptian Government, however, issued a bar inscribed in Arabic characters "Tokar" and "1308 H" (~TOKAR 1890~), to be worn with the Egyptian Star, which, except for variations in the date, had been awarded to all who took part in the campaigns. Officers and men from the "Dolphin" and "Sandfly" received this star and British officers who were serving with the Egyptian Army.

=The Khedive's Star.=--For the first campaign the Star bears in Arabic and English ~EGYPT 1882~; for the campaigns of 1884 and 1885 ~EGYPT 1884-6~; but for the campaigns 1888-9, which include the fighting round Suakin and up the Nile, the Star was issued without a date.

=Riel's Rebellion.=--Whilst we were busy in Egypt, "Riel's Rebellion" was engineered in 1885 among the half-breeds and Indians on the North-West Territories. It was a nine-days' wonder, but nevertheless a troublesome one. Riel was attacked at Batoche on May 11th, defeated by General Middleton, and after trial executed.

By Militia General Orders dated September 18th, 1885, the Canadian troops which took part in suppressing the rebellion were awarded a medal inscribed on the reverse in fancy letters NORTH-WEST CANADA 1885, the date being placed in the centre, with North-West above and Canada below, and the whole surrounded by a wreath of maple leaves, the terminals of which are at the bottom of the medal. The obverse is the same as the Egyptian 1882 medal, and the bar similar to that used with that medal. One bar for SASKATCHEWAN was issued with the medal to those who took part in that engagement. The medals were issued unnamed, but they are found both engraved and impressed; the ribbon is blue-grey, with two red stripes.

=The Canada Medal.=--In January 1899 the Home Government approved of the issue of a medal by the Canadian Government to the Imperial Forces and Canadian Militia which had taken part in the campaigns occasioned by the Fenian Raids, and in the Red River expedition, 1870, so ably organised by Viscount Wolseley. This medal, which I illustrate facing page 148, had the recipient's name and regimental number, as well as the regiment, generally impressed in square block letters. The obverse is as on the Egyptian 1882 medal. The ribbon is of scarlet, with a broad white stripe down the centre. When the medals were struck in 1899, 16,120 were issued; of these only 365 had the single bar for RED RIVER; 150 were issued with the two bars FENIAN RAID 1866 and RED RIVER 1870; 30 only were issued with the combination of RED RIVER 1870 and FENIAN RAID 1870, and twenty with three bars for FENIAN RAID 1866, FENIAN RAID 1870, and RED RIVER 1870.

=Annexation of Burma.=--Britain also became involved in another Burmese War while the Egyptian campaigns were proceeding. King Theebaw, who commenced his reign in a murderous manner, impelled by the financial straits into which his extravagance had led him, began to extort money from British subjects, and moreover laughed at the demand that a British agent should be installed at Mandalay, expressing his contempt for the "barbarians" in a very decided and provocative manner. As a result an expedition under Major-General (afterwards Sir H. N. D.) Prendergast, V.C., was sent into the country; the dethronement of the King was declared by the British, Minhla was stormed and carried, and the victorious troops marched to Mandalay, where Theebaw and his army surrendered. On January 1st, 1886, Lord Dufferin proclaimed the annexation of Burma. The British troops had plenty of work, however, after this, for the dacoits gave a deal of trouble; several pitched battles were fought, and the country remained in an unsettled state for some time. Medals and bars were given for two periods during this expedition and long-drawn guerilla warfare. For the first period the Indian General Service Medal 1854 was awarded, with a bar inscribed BURMA 1885-87, and it is noteworthy that for the first time a medal of bronze was given to all authorised camp followers. To those who took part in the second period of fighting a bar for BURMA 1887-89 was awarded; the bars only, in both instances, being given where the soldier already possessed the medal.

The following regiments took part in the Burma campaign, 1885-7: Royal West Surrey Regiment; Liverpool Regiment; Somerset Light Infantry; Royal Welsh Fusiliers; Hampshire Regiment; Yorkshire Light Infantry; Royal Munster Fusiliers; 1st Battery 1st Brigade East Division; 5th Battery 1st Brigade South Division; 7th Battery 1st Brigade North Division; 8th Battery 1st Brigade London Division; 9th Battery 1st Brigade Cinque Ports Division Artillery. The following native regiments were also engaged: 1st, 2nd, 5th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 15th, 16th, 18th, 26th, 27th, 44th Bengal Infantry; 3rd, 12th, 13th, 15th, 16th, 17th, 21st, 23rd, 25th, 27th Madras Infantry; 1st Madras Pioneers; 1st, 5th, 7th, 23rd, 25th, 27th Bombay Infantry; 3rd Goorkas; 2nd and 3rd Infantry Hyderabad Contingent; 1st, 3rd, 4th, 6th Companies Madras Sappers and Miners; 2nd, 4th, and 5th Companies Bengal Sappers and Miners; 2nd Company Bombay Sappers; 1st Madras and 1st Bombay Lancers; 2nd Squadron 2nd Madras Cavalry; 3rd Cavalry Hyderabad Contingent; 7th Bengal Cavalry; No. 1 Bombay Mountain Battery; No. 4 Punjab Mountain Battery.

=Naga, 1879-80.=--To those engaged in the operations against the Nagas, an uncivilised race of hillmen in the north-east of Assam, during March 1875, December 1879, and January 1880, a bar inscribed NAGA 1879-80 was awarded. Only British officers and native troops received this medal or bar, and it has so far been seldom met with in England. The medals realise in the sale-room, according to condition, anything between 10s. and 30s. apiece.

The Naga expeditionary force comprised the 42nd, 43rd, and 44th Goorkas; 18th Bengal Native Infantry, with the crews of two mountain guns.

=Sikkim, 1888.=--Another expedition into Sikkim became necessary in March 1888, owing to an attempt on the part of the Thibetans to annex the district which lies to the north of Darjeeling. The British field force under Colonel (afterwards General) T. Graham had to march over rough mountain tracks, and through dense jungle, where pestilent leeches, attaching themselves to man and beast, added to the hardships of the campaign. It was not until September 24th that any really big action was fought, and that was decisive; the Thibetan army of 10,000 men being attacked on the Tukola ridge, and within a short time totally routed by the British force of 2,000 with comparatively little loss to the victors.

The force engaged in this campaign was mainly composed of Goorkas, the 32nd Bengal Pioneers, and two companies of the 2nd Batt. Derbyshire Regiment. The bar for SIKKIM 1888 was added to the medal already won by those who had taken part in the Indian wars, and the medal with bar was granted to those who did not possess one. Bronze medals with the bar were awarded to authorised followers.