The Colonial Period 1788-1901
(need something about the fighting in New Zealand, to which Australia sent troops, 1863 or so)
Sudan March-June 1885
During the early years of the 1880s, an Egyptian regime in the Sudan, backed by the British, came under threat from rebellion under the leadership of native Muhammad Ahmad (or Ahmed), known as Mahdi to his followers. In 1883, the Egyptians sent an army to deal with the revolt. However, the Egyptians were defeated and faced a difficult campaign of extracting their forces. The British sent General Charles Gordon to take care of the problem, but he was killed in January of 1885. When news of his death arrived in New South Wales in February 1885, its government offered to send forces and meet the contingent's expenses. The battle group consisted of an infantry battalion of 522 men and 24 officers as well as an artillery battery of 212 men. It set sail from Sydney on March 3, 1885. They arrived in Suakin, Sudan on March 29, 1885 and were attached to a brigade that consisted of Scots, Grenadiers, and Coldstream Guards. They marched, in a large "square" formation made up of 10,000 men, for Tamai . They reached the village, burned huts that were standing and returned to Suakin, the Australians taking 3 casualties, none fatal. After this, most of the NSW contingent worked on a railway line that was being laid across the desert towards Berber, a town on the Nile. The Australians had been assigned to guard duties, but soon a camel corps was raised and 50 men volunteered. They rode on a reconnaissance to Takdul on May 6. On May 15 they made one last sortie to bury the dead that were killed from the fighting of the previous March. The artillery were posted at Handoub and drilled for a month, but on May 15 they rejoined the camp at Suakin. The only casualties were from disease. By May 1885 the British government decided that the campaign in Sudan was not worth the trouble and left a garrison in Suakin, while the Australian contingent sailed for home on May 17. They arrived in Sydney on June 19, 1885.
Boer War 1899-1902
The Boer War began in 1899, although another war was fought between the Dutch-Afrikaner settlers and the British in 1880, because the intense rivalry was sparked by the discovery of gold and diamonds in the Boer republics. The Boers attacked the British because they felt that the British were eventually going to launch a campaign to conquer their republics. At least 12,000 Australians served in contingents during the war in South Africa. About 600 Australians died from disease and from combat. They fought in the British counter-offensive of 1900 which resulted in the capture of the Boer capitals and in the guerrilla phases of the war until 1902. The colonial troops were valued for their ability to wage war on the veldt.
Before the war broke out in October 1899, Queensland offered troops in July. Soon after, Britain asked New South Wales (NSW) and Victoria for troops as well. The first Australian troops arrived in South Africa in December 1899, which was too late to have been involved in the British defeats of Black Week (December 10-17) when 2,300 men were killed or wounded in three different battles. About 500 member of the Queensland Mounted Infantry and the New South Wales Lancers took part in the relief of Kimberley in February 1900, and men of the NSW Mounted Rifles played a minor role at Paardeberg which was the last major battle in the second phase. After the Boers were defeated, they fragmented and formed small groups of commandos that disrupted British troop movements and lines of supply. The Boers used rifles with smokeless powder and were able to snipe at British infantry, who had a tough time adapting to this style of warfare. By mid-1901, the Australians would ride at night to attack Boer farmhouses or encampments, overwhelming the smaller number of Boers with superior numbers. In the last few months of 1901, the NSW Mounted Rifles traveled 1,814 miles and were involved in 13 skirmishes at the loss of 5 dead and 19 wounded. They killed 27 Boers, wounded 15, and captured 196. In the end, it is believed that 16,175 Australians fought in the Boer War while 251 were killed in action or from wounds, and 267 died from disease, with 43 men missing. Five Australians received the Victoria Cross.
Boxer Uprising 1900-1901
The Boxer Uprising began in 1900 and the western powers soon sent forces to the area. Because most of their troops were engaged in South Africa in the Boer War, the Australians looked to the navy to provide manpower. The reservists were organized into naval brigades in which the training was oriented for coastal defense by sailors who would be capable of ship handling and fighting as soldiers. On August 8, 1900 the first Australian contingents from New South Wales and Victoria sailed for China. When they arrived in Tientsin, they provided 300 men to an 8,000-strong multinational force (made up of Russian, German, Austrian, British Indian, and Chinese troops) to take Chinese forts at Pei Tang which overlooked a rail route. However, the Australian contingent arrived at Pei Tang when the battle was already won. The next action they took part in was against the Boxer fortress at Pao-ting Fu , where the Chinese government was believed to have found asylum after Peking was taken by western forces. The Victorians joined a force of 7,500 on a 10 day march to the fort to find that it had already surrendered. During this time the New South Wales contigent had undertaken garrison duties in Peking when they arrived on October 22 after a 12 day march. Remaining in Tientsin and Peking over the winter, they performed police and guard duties, sometimes working as railwaymen and fire-fighters. Although the Australians played a small role in combat, they did play a role in the resoration of civil order. The entire naval brigade left China in March 1901. Six Australians died from sickness and injury, but none were killed as a result of enemy action.
First World War 1914-1918
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Last updated: 05-15-2005 10:58:20
