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Author Topic: Egyptian Forces in Sudan 1883-84  (Read 1186 times)

Offline rivers3162

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Egyptian Forces in Sudan 1883-84
« on: November 27, 2020, 08:15:22 PM »
I’ve recently revived my Sudan project and am expanding my Egyptians but looking to include some of the smaller and more colourful units. I appreciate that there might not be info readily available but any advice would be welcome.

1. Would European officers generally wear the Egyptian uniform or would they wear what they felt comfortable in (in a similar way to British army officers)?

2. I’ve seen sources indicate the mounted gendarmerie wore light blue trousers and jackets - is this correct?

3. At El-Teb, Baker is listed as having some European mounted police with him (mostly Italians). Any ideas on their uniforms?

4. Also at El-Teb, I’ve seen some illustrations and other wargames represent the Alexandria and Cairo gendarmes (infantry) in Zouave style dress, with the fez. Would this be appropriate? I’m hoping so as it will add a bit of colour other than the sea of white I’m painting at present!

Offline Plynkes

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Re: Egyptian Forces in Sudan 1883-84
« Reply #1 on: November 27, 2020, 10:38:51 PM »
There is a photo of Hicks and his staff, and they are all wearing the Egyptian uniform bar one. Can't be sure what he is wearing, either a civilian jacket or a British patrol jacket, maybe. That part of the photo is a little indistinct. They are all wearing fezzes (including him) and the others have white Egyptian jackets. Some are wearing matching trousers, some are wearing the winter blue trousers. A studio photo of Baker has him in a fez and a posh high-ranking uniform covered in gold braid and medals. Doesn't look like the kind of thing you'd wear on campaign. The Perry book has an illustration of him at El Teb in an all-white Egyptian uniform, but in place of the fez he has a red, turban-like cloth wrapped around his head.

Edit: There is a contemporary (newspaper or magazine?) illustration of Baker and his staff: two people are dressed as Baker is described above, while several others seem to be wearing British uniforms and sun helmets.

The only uniform info I have on the mounted Gendarmarie is from the same book, the one by Mike Snook and the Perry twins. It is a modern colour illustration, and has them in an all-white uniform with an Arab-style white head-covering (the sort Bedouins are famous for).

Don't have any info on the uniforms of those European mounted police, unfortunately.

As far as I can tell, the two Gendarmarie infantry battalions wore the standard white Egyptian uniform. The troops at El Teb who ressembled zouaves were the men of the Turkish Battalion. They had baggy white trousers, a blue zouave-style jacket, and a red fez. Contemporary illustrations show them dressed as such.



 Another way you can relieve the monotony is to add a neck flap coming out from under the fez with greenstuff to some of the troops. I haven't seen any commercial figures like this, but it seems like it was pretty common. The Sudanese troops at El Teb seem to have wrapped their entire heads in white cloth (fez and all). The effect is something like a turban (with just a bit of the red of their fez showing just above their forehead), but the cloth also comes down the sides of their face and under their chin, like somebody with a toothache in old movies and comics. Something to consider to spice up the look a bit.

(Just realised, both those suggestions involve adding more white, the very thing you are trying to get away from - feel free to ignore :))



« Last Edit: November 27, 2020, 11:06:49 PM by Plynkes »
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Offline italwars

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Re: Egyptian Forces in Sudan 1883-84
« Reply #2 on: November 28, 2020, 11:22:21 PM »
The only possible kind of “Italian military police” with an Egyptian column in the Sudan for that period could only be the Bashi Buzuk from the brand new Italian colony of Eritrea with a certain interest toward the evolving of the Mahdi ulcer..they had been recruited , once Eritrea was acquired the year before,among  former Egyptian Gendarmerie now lead and trained by Italian Carabinieri Reali NCOs ..(there is even a picture but I’ve to find it of a mounted Eritrean bashi  bazouk same uniform of the first plate)or, as a second hipothesis, local Bazingers trained and lead by some ncos of the Italian commander and explorer Romolo Gessi Pasha now in service of the Khedive who had already successfully fought vs both slavers and Mahdists .
« Last Edit: November 28, 2020, 11:30:10 PM by italwars »

Offline Rogerc

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Re: Egyptian Forces in Sudan 1883-84
« Reply #3 on: December 06, 2020, 07:59:50 PM »
For colour try adding Bashi Bazouk irregulars, blue was the winter uniforms so you can add blue trousers with white jackets for the Gendarmes if you wnt a splash of colour.
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