The Battle of Ginnis fought on the 30th December 1885 in northern Sudan was the last time that British troops went into battle wearing their famous redcoats.

It also brought to a close, part 1 of Britain's involvement in Sudan and the Mahdist War.

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Other videos in this British-Mahdist war in Sudan:

The Battle of El Teb 1884(plus background as to why British were in Sudan)
   • The Battle of El Teb 1884 - Mahdist W...  

The Battle of Tamai 1884 (the British square broken)
   • The Battle of Tamai 1884 | British- M...  

The Battle of Abu Klea (“The Gatling’s jammed and the Colonel’s dead”)
   • The Battle of Abu Klea 1885 | British...  

The Nile Expedition 1885
   • The Nile Expedition to rescue General...  

The Second Suakin Expedition on the Red Sea Coast
   • The Second Suakin Expedition 1885 | T...  

Gordon of Khartoum (A very Victorian hero)
   • General Charles Gordon (Part 1 -  Chi...  

The Battle of Omdurman (Gordon is avenged and the British conquer Sudan)
   • What Happened At  The Battle of Omdur...  


The Battle of Ginnis - 30th December 1885 - is pretty much lost to the sands of history.
It wasn’t a close run battle like Abu Klea.
The losses were not on the sort of jaw dropping scale of Omdurman in 1898.
No Victoria Crosses were won.
And it went according to plan - which a lot of battles fail to do.

It was the last time that British troops fought a battle in their traditional red tunics. Now, it does seem that the 6th Dragoons and the Royal Scots wore them during the Zulu rebellion of 1888 but there were no set piece battles there, just a few light skirmishes.

And whilst there are claims that the Connaught Rangers might have worn red coats in 1896, I have struggled to find conclusive proof to corroborate that. Even if it is true, they would have been the only unit wearing red.
At Ginnis, the majority of the British (apart from the Durham Light Infantry) wore their redcoats.

It was the first time that the new Egyptian Army had successfully faced the Mahdists. It also the first time that the British and Egyptian armies had fought side by side. They would do so again in the future, not least at the battles of Atbara and Omdurman in Kitchener’s Sudan campaign.

Above all, the victory at Ginnis had, for the time being, halted the Mahdist steamroller and Egypt was safe. Which was good news to the Khedive (whom the Mahdists wished to depose) and the British and their interest in the Suez Canal.

Taken in the round, Francis Grenfell had won a battle pretty much according to his plans with an international army, including untried Egyptians, and taken the lightest of casualties.
He hadn’t done a bad job.

And his impressive turnaround of the Egyptian Army would continue at the battle of Toski in 1889 when he would smash a Sudanese Mahdist invasion of Egypt.


Grenfell would be honoured with a road named after him in Kensington, west London.
In the 1970’s a tower block was constructed nearby and took its name from the road.

Whilst most Britons won’t know the name of General Francis Grenfell, the will know the name: Grenfell Tower.


The Battle of Ginnis had lasted 4 hours and had cost the Mahdist 400 dead and many more wounded.

Grenfell’s Anglo-Egyptian army had lost 10 men dead and about 40 wounded.

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Chapters
0:00 Introduction
0:45 Back Story
3:05 The Siege at Kosha
4:44 The British in Egypt
6:15 General Francis Grenfell
10:07 Redcoats for last time
11:35 Battle of Ginnis
14:03 Ginnis - The Forgotten Battle
17:05 The History Chap

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My name is Chris Green ("The History Chap") and I am on a mission to share the amazing history of Britain so that we can appreciate where we have come from and why we are here.

History should not be stuffy or a long list of dates or kings & queens.
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