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Daly History Blog - James Daly

While by no means a definitive account of its subject, it is an entertaining single volume account, well worth the read. This reviewer can see why Pen & Sword chose to republish it.

African Armed Forces Journal, July 2010

Under orders from the Prime Minister, who wavered over the decision, several thousand British troops were sent to an extremely hot and uncomfortable desert country where, along with soldiers from other nations, they were to rescue the country from a fanatical Islamic jihadist sect notorious for their courage, fighting prowess and willingness, even desire, to give their lives for their cause in the belief that such a death would bring rewards in paradise. The British troops were angered at the poor state of their equipment, especially small arms, and the tardiness of any positive responses to their appeals to the government. However, they fought with extreme courage against a relentless foe. Praise was singled out by everyone for the cool bravery and selflessness of the explosive disposal teams who had considerable numbers of mines to deal with. No, we are not talking about Afghanistan or the Taliban in the 21st century. This was Sudan in the 1880s where the enemy were the Dervishes led by the Mahdi, who considered himself to be the natural successor to the prophet Mohammed and whose aim was the removal of the British and Egyptians from their territory coupled with the spread of Islam to embrace the Middle East and beyond.
The author, Philip Warner, is no doubt well known to many FPS members as he was a lecturer in Military History at the RMA Sandhurst. Himself an ex-soldier and FEPOW, he has written many books on military history. It is, therefore, surprising and disappointing that this book is rather disjointed, trying to cover a wide range of history and giving as much information about the British and Egyptian armies as the eponymous Dervishes. Another criticism is that the book suffers from the absence of a map of the region, this exacerbated by the tale flitting about from town to town and region to region, embracing not only the Sudan and Egypt but also Abyssinia. Notwithstanding the foregoing, this is an interesting read full of colourful characters: Gladstone, Gordon, Kitchener, Wolseley, Churchill and many more. The intriguing parallels between the Sudan campaign and that of today in Afghanistan are constantly in focus. Sadly, it seems that few lessons have been learned in the almost 120 years which have elapsed between the two conflicts.

Pennant Magazine

Philip Warner's Dervish: The Rise and Fall of an African Empire provides a sound introduction to this remarkable episode in British military history. Parallels with modern resurgent Islam spring to mind, even though the book originally appeared in 1978. A good story well told.

Soldier Magazine Sept 2010