The Sudan

1884-1898 (booklet)

Reviewed by Larry Diffield

By Doug Johnson, Illustrations by Greg Rose. Published by Savage & Soldier magazine, copyright 1981. 40 pages, +6.00.

Interest in the Colonial Wars period from 1800 through 1920 or so has never been overwhelming in the United States. The hasn't bothered Doug Johnson, however, and he and his magazine Savage & Soldier continue to turn out interesting, detailed and informative articles to delight the small band of true believers. Recently he has begun to consolidate this mass of data in books organized by topic and amplify it into a resource of real worth. The first such effort is THE SUDAN, and from its promise, we hope there will be many more.

The booklet consists of nine feature articles from various issues of Savage & Soldier and its British counterpart Soldiers of the Queen dealing with the Egyptian - Sudanese conflict at the close of the Nineteenth Century. These cover the Egyptian Army, the Madhist Army, its firepower effectiveness, the battle of Ginnis, operations of the Desert Column, and such technical subjects as Mahdist flags and standards, whether Mahdist noble cavalry had mail armor, whether and when the British wore Redcoats in Egypt and a brief note on non- British- Egyptian armies the forces of the Mahdi fought.

Besides this selection of topics of interest, artist Greg Rose contributes a series of color plates of postcard size, bound into the pages of the volume. These appear to be photographs of watercolor originals, and cover the uniforms of all combatants, and some who were merely present. The colonial modeller will have no trouble using these as a uniform guide and an example of typical field equipment.

With the reappearance of Minifigs Colonial Range (now entitled THE SWORD AND THE FAME, after Yaquinto's popular introductory rules), and the emergence of several lines of 15mm Colonials, gamers may now experiment with the particulars of colonial warfare with small numbers of Europeans and faithful (or nearly so) Askaris against large numbers of tribesmen or subjects of some native leader, justly incensed at some attempt to introduce the benefits of European Civilization (with the help of Mssrs Maxim and Gatling) to the puir beknighted heathen. if this experiment should take you to the Sudan, around 1890, Doug Johnson will be glad to provide you with a handy native guide. Recommended to everyone who enjoys thoughtful history well done! -

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