Might Makes Right on the Field of Death: The Bloodsoaked Battle of Omdurman — Part II
The British forces watched for the enemy to get within yards before opening up their artillery. They waited, breath held, for the Dervishes to cross into the killing zone.
As the Dervish warriors barreled forward, the British forces and their allies opened artillery fire. A young war correspondent working for the Morning Post, Winston Churchill describes the artillery bombardment saying, “About twenty shells struck them in the first minute.” He goes on further to say “Some burst high in the air, others exactly in their faces. Others, again, plunged into the sand and, exploding, dashed clouds of red dust, splinters, and bullets amid their ranks.”
However, the artillery barrage did not faze the Sudanese Dervishes, as they charged forward shouting, “There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah.”
