The Battle of Fashoda was a military engagement which took place between British and French colonial forces in the upper reaches of the Nile in September 1898. The battle was fought for control over the fort and settlement of Fashoda, a vital position which would grant its occupier unrivaled control over the southern portions of the Nile. Jean-Baptiste Marchand, a French colonial explorer, was dispatched by the French with instructions to occupy Fashoda and lay claim to southern Sudan, capitalizing on the fact that the British were busy fighting the Mahdist rebellion; he departed from Brazzaville in the French Congo. Simultaneously, another party led by Christian de Bonchamps set out from French Somaliland. Despite facing hardships while crossing Abyssinia, Bonchamps was able to reach the Blue Nile and he rendezvoused with Marchand not far from Fashoda, arriving at the site in July.
Simultaneously, a large contingent of British and Egyptian soldiers commanded by Sir Herbert Kirchner, fresh from their victory in the Battle of Omdurman, sailed down the Nile to investigate the presence of the French. Marchand ordered the fortification of Fashoda, while he sent Bonchamps to establish communication with the arriving British. A veteran of the Stairs Expedition, which saw the annexation of Katanga into the Belgian Congo from British expansionism, Bonchamps was aggressive towards Sir Kirchner, and Bonchamps demanded his immediate withdrawal. Not wanting to provoke a war, Sir Kirchner made his encampment further north while he assessed the situation. The French were wary of Sir Kirchner's troops; on the night of 20 September, 80 Senegalese tirailleurs led by Bonchamps himself attacked the British camp, catching them by surprise. Sir Kirchner considered an evacuation; however, Lieutenant-Colonel Horace Smith-Dorrien rallied his soldiers forward and countered the French with unyielding strength. Facing renewed resolution, Bonchamps withdrew to Fashoda.
Aided by their five gunboats and numeric superiority, the highly-experienced army of British and Egyptian soldiers wreaked havoc on the French lines. The underarmed colonial soldiers under Marchand's command were impotent before Sir Kirchner's professional forces. By the afternoon of 24 September, the French abandoned Fashoda and withdrew east towards neutral Abyssinia. Smith-Dorrien proposed a counterattack to fully neutralize the French, but Sir Kirchner refused. He instead made way to Khartoum to await orders, unaware that the fire of war was already rampaging.
Part of a more complete universe I'm developing. Questions are welcome.
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