Chain of Fire

The gripping story of the siege of Khartoum and Britain's extraordinarily bloody 1882 campaign in Egypt and Sudan Shortlisted for the Military History Matters Book of the Year Award 2026 'Gripping' Britain at War 'Deeply informative and entertaining ... Peter Hart is an excellent guide' Military History Matters In the 1880s, control over northeastern Africa was a political minefield into which Prime Minister Gladstone did not want to step - until his emissary Charles Gordon was besieged in Khartoum, and the city became the focal point for war. It was the height of European colonialism. Injustices were administered, bloody battles fought and civilians caught in the crossfire. Among the British officers were figures who would later adopt starring roles in the First World War, such as Egyptian Army sapper Captain Herbert Kitchener. By turns shocking and dynamic, Chain of Fire examines the terrible desert wars using the testimonies of the men who fought there.