Egyptian Sudan

20

The Race to Sudan

Marchand's Expedition and Kitchener's Expedition - McDonald's Expedition - Cavendish's Expedition

Fashoda

When negotiations between England and the Sublime Porte failed in '89 for the British to evacuate Egypt, Monsieur Brunet, the French member of the Egyptian Railway, sent a report to Monsieur Carnot, President of the French Republic and his fellow student, proposing the occupation of a piece of Egyptian territory that would force England to concede and Europe to open the Egyptian question. He suggested that this point be Fashoda in Egyptian Sudan (1) because the French could easily reach it from their African possessions (2), because it was the center of a province (3), and because it was the key to Egypt, situated at the confluence of the Sobat River with the Nile. Monsieur Carnot deemed the idea sound, and the Republic's government sent an expedition in '94. However, England intended to possess Sudan after forcing Egypt to evacuate it. From the African side, after expelling Amin Pasha from the Equatorial region, Colonel Montell said, "England will not evacuate Egypt until it possesses Sudan and the road from Berber to Suakin." In '95, Marchand succeeded Montell in leading the Fashoda expedition, and France sent Monsieur Lefran to Abyssinia to form an expedition to counter Marchand, but he did not succeed. When the British sensed the French expedition and the failure of their African expedition, they sent the Egyptian expedition. When the Sirdar occupied Omdurman, he learned that Marchand had occupied Fashoda on July 10th, two months before the Sirdar's arrival in Omdurman. Marchand's force consisted of 120 Sudanese soldiers and 95 French officers. Lord Kitchener continued his march to Fashoda, where he met Marchand and raised the Egyptian flag 500 yards from the French flag.