Everything about William Hicks totally explained
» For the American comedian, see Bill Hicks.
Colonel
William Hicks (also known as
Hicks Pasha,
1830 -
1883),
British soldier, entered the Bombay army in
1849, and served through the
Indian mutiny, being
mentioned in despatches for good conduct at the action of
Sitka Ghaut in
1859.
In
1861 he became captain, and in the
Abyssinian expedition of
1867-
68 was a brigade major, being again mentioned in despatches and given a
brevet majority. He retired with the honorary rank of colonel in
1880. After the close of the
1882 Anglo-Egyptian War, he entered the
Khedive's service and was made a pasha. Early in
1883 he went to
Khartum as chief of the staff of the army there, then commanded by
Suliman Niazi Pasha. Camp was formed at
Omdurman and a new force of some 8000 fighting men collected--mostly recruited from the
fellahin of Arabi's disbanded troops, sent in chains from Egypt. After a month's vigorous drilling Hicks led 5000 of his men against an equal force of
dervishes in Sennar, whom he defeated, and cleared the country between the towns of
Sennar and
Khartum of rebels.
Relieved of the fear of an immediate attack by the
mahdists the Egyptian officials at Khartum intrigued against Hicks, who in July tendered his resignation. This resulted in the dismissal of Suliman Niazi and the appointment of Hicks as commander-in-chief of an expeditionary force to
Kordofan with orders to crush the mahdi, who in January
1883 had captured
El Obeid, the capital of that province. Hicks, aware of the worthlessness of his force for the purpose contemplated, stated his opinion that it would be best to "wait for Kordofan to settle itself" (telegram of
August 5).
The Egyptian ministry, however, didn't then believe in the power of the mahdi, and the expedition started from Khartum on
September 9. It was made up of 7000 infantry, 1000 cavalry and 2000 camp followers and included thirteen Europeans. On the 10th the force left the Nile at Duem and struck inland across the almost waterless wastes of Kordofan for Obeid. On
November 5 the army, misled by treacherous guides and thirst-stricken, was ambushed in dense forest at Kashgil, 30 miles south of Obeid. With the exception of some 300 men the whole force was killed. (See the
Battle of El Obeid).
According to the story of Hicks's cook, one of the survivors, the general was the last officer to fall, pierced by the spear of the khalifa
Mahommed Sherif. After emptying his revolver the pasha kept his assailants at bay for some time with his sword, a body of Baggara who fled before him being known afterwards as "Baggar Hicks" (the cows driven by Hicks), a play on the words baggara and baggar, the former being the herdsmen and the latter the cows. Hicks's head was cut off and taken to the mahdi.
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